After mass shootings, politicians in Washington have failed to pass new gun control legislation, despite public pressure. But laws are being passed at the state level, largely to loosen restrictions.
Student activists are presenting important, emotionally powerful counter-narratives to those of the gun lobby. Their success will depend on whether they can sustain these efforts.
Teens’ brains develop different skills along a predictable timeline. These milestones should influence the legal age boundaries for voting, buying guns and being put to death.
Research is the foundation for evidence-based policies. But because of funding prohibitions, there’s little US research to inform the contentious debate around gun violence and gun control.
Horrific mass shootings in the US typically renew the national debate about gun policy. A gun researcher explains the lack of funding for study in this area and what that means for informed policy.
The current debate over the right to bear arms versus regulation is at a stalemate, but a new dialogue that focuses on the social burden of firearms might provide a new way forward.
Though the perpetrators of the mass shooting in California appear to have acquired their guns legally, the vast majority used in violent crimes are obtained illegally.
PhD Student, Harry S. Truman School of Government and Public Affairs. Graduate Fellow, Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri-Columbia