Scribd
Upload
3 views

*_ Gun class

The document discusses the prevalence of mass shootings in the U.S., highlighting notable incidents and the uneven distribution of gun ownership among Americans. It explains the historical context of the Second Amendment and the influence of the NRA on gun legislation, illustrating the divide between gun rights advocates and gun control proponents. Looking ahead, it suggests potential solutions such as buyback programs and background checks, while noting the challenges of implementing similar measures to those in Australia due to constitutional differences.

Uploaded by

charlotte.schneiderd2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
3 views

*_ Gun class

The document discusses the prevalence of mass shootings in the U.S., highlighting notable incidents and the uneven distribution of gun ownership among Americans. It explains the historical context of the Second Amendment and the influence of the NRA on gun legislation, illustrating the divide between gun rights advocates and gun control proponents. Looking ahead, it suggests potential solutions such as buyback programs and background checks, while noting the challenges of implementing similar measures to those in Australia due to constitutional differences.

Uploaded by

charlotte.schneiderd2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 59

(1) Some facts & figures

(2) Key explanations


(3) Looking ahead…
(1) Some facts & figures

Any well-known mass shootings


you may have heard of?
(1) Some facts & figures

• Some of the
deadliest mass
shootings in recent
history:

o Columbine
(1999) : 13
o Virginia Tech
(2007) : 32
o Sandy Hook
(2012) : 28
o San Bernardino
(2015) : 14
o Orlando
(2016) : 49
o Las Vegas
(2017) : 59
o El Paso
(2019) : 22
(1) Some facts & figures

How many weapons are already out there in


circulation in the US?
(1) Some facts & figures

• 300+mn guns are in circulation in the US


o About 1 for every American on average, right?

• Actually : gun ownership is very uneven


o 4 in 5 Americans (78%) do not own a gun
o And a tiny minority (3%) possesses half the guns (!)
(1) Some facts & figures

Who are gun owners?


Where do they live?
What party do they vote?
Etc.
(1) Some facts & figures
(1) Some facts & figures

Midwest Northeast
West
Coast
West

Deep South
(1) Some facts & figures
(2) Key explanations

" Why isn’t the gun issue solved?


( / Why can’t America be disarmed? )
(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations

• To understand the current gun situation, you need to go


back in time... to 1791, when the US Constitution got
amended (under the Bill of Rights’ first ten amendments)

o The Second Amendment


made it a constitutional right
for Americans to ‘bear arms’
in order for them
to defend themselves,
especially through militias
(2) Key explanations

Are gun laws identical everywhere in the US?


And if not, why so?
(2) Key explanations

• The Constitution is a loosely-worded document dating back


200+ years.

! Since then, multiple Supreme Court rulings have interpreted the


Second Amendment as an individual right,

which any of the 50 US states can apply as they see fit


(2) Key explanations

[ state v. federal levels ]

• Supreme Court rulings have given


rise to a whole variety of gun laws
statewide

(without any clear-cut, or too


strictly defined federal
framework):

o from the toughest (California)

o to the most permissive or lenient


(Texas)

(Nevada [Vegas] being in that


category)
(2) Key explanations

A gun culture
(2) Key explanations
• Many Americans hold this
constitutional right sacred, and
oppose any restriction to it

[ = gun rights activists ]

• They refuse to acknowledge that


the context the Second Amendment
was written in may no longer apply
today:

o Militias [civilian armies] were meant


for self-defense at a time where
professional armies didn’t exist

o Late 18th century firearms could


only fire once a minute or so
[they didn’t have burst fire
capabilities of 800+ shots a minute
like today’s fully automatic
weapons]
(2) Key explanations

How do you call


the two main camps
on the gun question?
(2) Key explanations

2 camps oppose each other

Gun rights Gun control


advocates proponents

- oppose gun control - support gun control

- have a strict reading - have a loose reading


of the Constitution of the Constitution
= the 2nd Amendment = the 2nd Amendment
shouldn’t be limited should be adapted

- are often found in - are often found in


conservative states liberal states
(2) Key explanations

2 camps oppose each other

Gun control Gun rights


proponents advocates

- support gun control - oppose gun control

- have a loose reading - have a strict reading


of the Constitution of the Constitution
= the 2nd Amendment = the 2nd Amendment
should be adapted shouldn’t be limited

- are often found in - are often found in


liberal states conservative states
(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations

What about lobbying?


(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations

• Key to understanding the gun issue is the powerful & highly


influential US gun lobby (the NRA or National Rifle Association,
founded in 1871)

! which can rely on strong membership (4.2+ million)

! and has proved very skilled at talking congressmen into blocking


any federal gun legislation in past years & decades
(2) Key explanations

How does the NRA exert its influence?


(2) Key explanations

John Cole, ‘Gums Control’, The Times-Tribune, Dec. 31st, 2012.


(2) Key explanations

Jim Morin, ‘Will do nothing’, The Miami Herald, July 24th, 2012
(2) Key explanations

• The NRA not


only funds
politicians’
campaigns,
but is very
influentional
among voters,
who follow the
lobby’s ratings
of politicians

• Ratings range
from:
o A+ (pro-
gun)
o to F (gun
control)
(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations

Ever heard of Obama’s 2013 gun bill?


(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations
(2) Key explanations

How many gun control bills passed Congress


in recent years?
(2) Key explanations

• As a result : 100 gun bills


have been proposed to
Congress since 2011,

o … none of which passed


the floor….

" Up until March 2019 when


a bump stock ban bill passed
Congress

• Obama once said:


o ‘failure to tackle gun crime
[was] [his] biggest
disappointment’
(July 2015)
(3) Looking ahead…
(3) Looking ahead…

Effective, durable solutions


would include

Effective
Mop-up or background checks
buyback programs
- Checking buyers’
- Buying back the 300+ mn background
guns in circulation in the (medical and/or criminal
US records)
- To avoid second-hand or - Making sure buyers are
black-market sales fit to possess a gun
- // Australia 1996, 2002 - Fixing the 3-day-limit
loophole
(3) Looking ahead…

What is the 3-day loophole?

(also known as the Charleston loophole)


(3) Looking ahead…
! The 3-day limit loophole

• If a background check takes more than three days, you can still buy
a weapon (!)

o The FBI has three days to complete a criminal background


check on a person who wants to buy a gun.

o If the bureau cannot complete the check in three days —


because of problems getting records from states, budget
shortfalls, or understaffing— the person can buy the weapon.
(3) Looking ahead…
! The 3-day limit loophole

! EX. : The Charleston shooter (June 2015) benefited from that loophole.

o The Nazi sympathizer who killed nine people at a black church in


Charleston should not have been able to purchase the handgun
he used because he had previously admitted to drug possession

o But the gun seller didn’t get an answer back from the FBI
background check within three days; on the fourth day, the future
killer walked away with a Glock 41 .45-caliber handgun.
(3) Looking ahead…

How much would a buyback program cost?


(3) Looking ahead…
! Aug. 5, 2019
(3) Looking ahead…

How did Australia solve its gun problem?


(3) Looking ahead…
How did Australia solve its
gun problem?

(1996 Australia)

1. Then Australian Prime Minister John Howard


received bipartisan support for his National Firearms
Agreement

2. The National Firearms Agreement combined (a) a


buyback program + (b) universal background checks
(3) Looking ahead…

How comparable are Australia & the US on


that gun question?

Can the US simply mimic Australia?


(3) Looking ahead…
Can the US simply mimic
Australia?

" Australia had a powerful gun lobby to handle, too.

" BUT gun rights in Australia weren’t a constitutional right


the way it is in the US.

" It didn’t require constitutional review/revision by a


Supreme Court. A bill through Canberra’s Parliament was
enough.
(3) Looking ahead…

• For the US to mimic Australia,


favorable political conditions are needed :

- in Congress

and

- in the Supreme Court

= an alignment of stars, of sorts ..


(3) Looking ahead…

How gun friendly is today’s Congress?

How likely is it to pass gun control bills?


(3) Looking ahead…

How gun friendly is today’s Supreme Court?

You might also like