{"id":190829,"date":"2022-05-25T14:06:39","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T18:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=164232"},"modified":"2022-05-25T14:06:39","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T17:29:50","slug":"8-facts-about-mass-killings-gun-related-violence-that-democrats-must-acknowledge-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/8-facts-about-mass-killings-gun-related-violence-that-democrats-must-acknowledge-2\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Facts About Mass Killings & Gun-Related Violence That Democrats Must Acknowledge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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President Biden is urging Congress to act and “do what we know needs to be done” following a school shooing in Uvalde, Texas. (Photo: Whitehouse.gov<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Biden wants the country to act following a school shooting Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas, that left at least 19 children and two adults dead<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?” said Biden from the White House Tuesday night. “When in God’s name are we going to do what we know needs to be done?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it’s understandable that there is an impulse to want to do something after these tragedies, one must pause and consider the facts about active shooters and gun-related violence in America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are eight facts that need to be part of the conversation moving forward: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Most Mass Killers Bought Their Guns Legally <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the New York Times<\/em> recently reported<\/a>, “From 1966 to 2019, 77 percent of mass shooters obtained the weapons they used in their crimes through legal purchases, according to a comprehensive survey of law enforcement data, academic papers and news accounts compiled by the National Institute of Justice, the research wing of the Justice Department.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Democratic lawmakers are now making a push to criminalize private transfers <\/a>(aka pass universal background checks), but in the majority of cases, there was nothing to disqualify these killers from purchasing a firearm from a gun shop (or FFL).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The “Preferred” Firearm of Active Shooters Isn’t an AR, It’s a Handgun<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There’s a narrative that the “preferred weapon” of active shooters is an AR-pattern rifle. However, this is not true. The majority of active shooters use handguns to perpetrate their attacks<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Statista<\/a>, between 1982 and May 2022, handguns were used in about 77 percent of mass shootings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bloomberg-funded publication, The Trace<\/em>, has even reported<\/a> on this. It found that pistols were used in 56 percent of active shooter events between 2000 and 2015. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(Photo: The Trace<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The deadliest school shooting in American history, the one at Virginia Tech in 2007<\/a>, was carried out with two commonly-owned handguns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It must be said, a national ban on black rifles would not stop mass killings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Armed Citizens Stop Active Shooters<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The FBI\u2019s 2021 report<\/a> on \u201cactive shooter incidents,\u201d which was published this month, indicated that armed private citizens killed four active shooters last year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were a total of 61 active shooter suspects last year. Percentage-wise, that means armed citizens stopped 6.5 percent of all active shooters in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we save even one life from gun violence, it’s worth it. Tell Congress: #WeDemandAVote<\/a>. https:\/\/t.co\/ykZsvHHoV5<\/a>, pic.twitter.com\/4JQSrrnNCC<\/a><\/p>\u2014 Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 22, 2013<\/a><\/blockquote>