Between January 1 and December 1, 2018 there were 329 mass shootings in the United States. Since the murderous attack last February at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida that killed 14 students and three staff members, 309 more people have died in these mass shootings. Unfortunately, so far major national campaigns and protests against easy access to weapons of mass assault have produced few tangible results. Other than in Florida where the Parkland shootings occurred, no other state dominated by the Republican Party has enacted any substantive gun control legislation. Florida imposed a three-day waiting period to buy firearms and raised the purchasing age from 18 to 21, but otherwise guns are still readily available.
The Associated Press assembled a list that shows the limited move toward gun control, even in Democratic “Blue” states. The list includes 126 legislative actions, although five were vetoed by governors, and two in California are still pending a governor’s signature.
The most common legislation, passed in fifteen states including New York, imposes restrictions on certain people purchasing guns, including the mentally ill, convicted criminals, and people with a record of domestic violence. Twelve states increased penalties for people in possession of illegal weapons and nine states enacted bump stock bans because these devices transform semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic killing machines. Unfortunately, “Red” states like Idaho, Alabama, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, Wyoming, South Dakota, Utah, Oklahoma, and West Virginia have gone in the opposite direction, increasing access to guns and “stand-your-ground” justifications for using them.
The United States and the American people now await the next mass killing, followed by outrage, followed by explanations and excuses, and then followed by political inertia.
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