2-2 Final Project Milestone One Topic Selection - S. Bodmer
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Apr 3, 2024
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Sarah Bodmer
Judith L. Bragger, Ph.D.
February 25, y
2-2 Final Project Milestone One Mass Shootings and Gun Control
The contemporary social issue I have chosen to research is violent crimes, more specifi-
cally mass shootings. The reason I have chosen this topic is because the community I live in just experienced a mass shooting. It was the first mass shooting in the state of Maine, and hopefully the last. It happened in my community. People I know were directly affected by this tragic event.
My family was required to shelter in place while the person responsible for this crime was still on the loose. Helicopters were searching for this person close to my home, where I was alone with my children. The fear for our safety was very real and something I never thought I would have to experience. Something I wish no one will ever have to experience again. Mass shootings “are tragedies resulting in multiple victims of firearm-related violence in a single incident, and typically in a single public location” (Soni & Tekin, 2022). Mass shootings impact the mental health of the survivors and communities in which they happen. Before 1970, the overall number of mass shootings was generally low, “about 7 per billion people, or seven mass shootings for every billion people, between 1900 and about 1970” (Girgis, 2022). After 2-2 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE ONE
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1970, as guns and automatic weapons became more available to the general population, the num-
ber of mass shooting incidents increased with it “by four times, so now mass shootings occur about 28 times per billion people around the world” (Girgis, 2022). The Colt Armalite Rifle-15 (AR-15) is known as “Americas Rifle” and "hit the market in the early 1960s as the first civilian version of the military
’
s M16 rifle” (Watkins et al., 2018). This AR-15 could hold a 20-round magazine and was marketed towards hunters, campers, and collectors. In 1977, the inventor of the AR-15 Eugene Stoner’s rights expired, “It opened the way for dozens of weapons manufac-
turers to produce their model, using the same technology” (Watkins et al., 2018). In 1994, the Clinton administration passed a law banning the sale of all assault weapons “The legislation stopped production of civilian rifles like the AR-15, and introduced the term assault weapons to the public” (Watkins et al., 2018). After this ban was put in place, the overall statistics of gun-re-
lated violence didn’t decrease as expected. Gun rights advocates say “loopholes allowed for the sale of slightly modified versions throughout the ban” (Watkins et al., 2018). When the ban on assault weapon sales ended in 2004, the American Culture was different than it was before the ban started. Patriotism was the American way due to 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assault weapons are being shown on the news, and in movies, children are using them while playing video games, all of this has played a role in today’s society being disconnected from the value of human life, the danger of guns, and death. Gun Manufacturers were marketing the as-
sault weapons as modern sporting rifles and were selling them at an affordable price “The aver-
age cost of an AR-15 is $800. Most range in price from $1,200 TO $750. A basic AR rifle should
cost around $700, and a high-end model costs around $1,100” (Buck, 2023). Mass shootings “have significant detrimental effects on the health of the people who wit-
ness them, those who live in the communities surrounding them, and those who identify with the 2-2 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE ONE
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demographic groups targeted in them”(& Tekin, 2022). A person's exposure and experience with
a mass shooting can determine the effect it has on them. Children affected by school shootings “increases the likelihood of youth antidepressant use and suicide risk. School shooting survivors experience declines in health and engage in more risky behaviors, even as adults” (Soni & Tekin,
2022). Adults living in communities with mass shootings “experience reductions in community well-being and mental and emotional health, even if they did not directly witness the shooting” (Soni & Tekin, 2022). There is also a link to the added stress for women during pregnancy who experience a mass shooting in their community and have premature births or low birth weight. Certain demographic groups who are viewed as a target in a mass shooting may experience an increase in psychological distress. The overall opinion of Americans is mass shootings and gun control is a problem that needs to be addressed. In a June 2023 survey conducted by the PEW Research Center on gun ownership and gun policy, there is an overall concern by Americans about gun violence, the ease
of purchasing guns, and stricter gun laws. When asked about the 3 topics; “six-in-ten U.S. adults say gun violence is a very big problem in the country today, up 9 percentage points from spring 2022”, “61% of Americans say it is too easy to legally obtain a gun in this country”, and “six-in-
ten U.S. adults (58%) favor stricter gun law” (Schaeffer, 2023). During the 2022 midterm voter election poll, voters made it loud and clear they ”want Congress to address mass shootings and support a host of public policies aimed at addressing gun violence” (Howard Henderson et al., 2023). American voters want stricter gun policies in place with “17% indicating mass shootings and gun policy as one of their top priorities. Mass shootings were sixth among all priorities men-
2-2 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE ONE
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tioned by voters, coming in higher than education or immigration” (Howard Henderson et al., 2023).
The debate between reducing mass shootings and stricter gun laws seems like it would go hand in hand. The majority of Americans believe the AR-15 and similar assault weapons are a problem and because of their capability, are used too often for things other than their intended use, like mass shootings. According to The Violence Project, a non-profit that tracks mass shoot-
ing incidents, if you look at the 190 incidents dating back to 1966 as a whole, “perpetrators in 80 percent of attacks used at least one handgun, while 28 percent used a semiautomatic assault weapon, like an AR-15 or its variant”(Mascia, 2023). More recent mass shootings have a differ-
ent statistic. If you look at 10 years of data starting in 2010, “34 percent of incidents involved an assault weapon, while 66 percent didn
’
t”(Mascia, 2023). But in the last 3 years, “assault weapons
rifles have been used in 59 percent of mass shootings”(Mascia, 2023). A recent gun control sur-
vey shows that 87% of voters support requiring a criminal background check before anyone can purchase a gun. The survey also asked if the legal age to purchase a firearm should be raised and mental health checks should be in place, “Vast majorities also support raising the legal age to buy guns to 21 (81%) and requiring mental health checks for all gun purchasers (80%” (Saric, 2023). There was also overwhelming support at 80% for guns to be taken away from people if they pose a danger to the public or themselves, and 61% supported banning assault rifles alto-
gether. With all of the support to put stricter regulations into place, why has nothing been done about it yet? The gun control debate is strongly related to the Second Amendment of the Consti-
tution and “most Republican members of Congress, argue that proposals to limit access to firearms infringe on the right of citizens to bear arms” (Kavi, 2023). Even though the majority of
2-2 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE ONE
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Americans are for stricter gun control, the political debate will always delay the process until 100% of Americans, regardless of political party agree.
References
Buck, J. (2023, September 19). How much does an AR-15 cost? 2022 price list
. Gun Tradition. https://guntradition.com/how-much-does-an-ar-15-
cost-2021-price-list/ Girgis, R. (2022, December 7). Is there a link between mental health and mass shootings?
. Columbia University Department of Psychiatry. https://www.columbiapsychiatry.org/news/mass-shootings-and-mental-
illness 2-2 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE ONE
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Howard Henderson, D. B., Lee, N. T., Allen, L. M., Williamson, V., Molly E. Reynolds, A. P., & Rozenshtein, A. Z. (2023, July 18). Voters want congress to address gun violence and mass shootings
. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/voters-want-congress-to-address-
gun-violence-and-mass-shootings/ Kavi, A. (2023, January 26). Gun control, explained
. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/explain/2023/gun-control Mascia, J. (2023, July 18). Are handguns or rifles used more often in mass shootings?
. The Trace. https://www.thetrace.org/2023/07/mass-
shooting-type-of-gun-used-data/ Saric, I. (2023, April 29). Fox News Poll finds voters overwhelmingly want restrictions on guns - axios. https://www.axios.com/2023/04/28/fox-
news-poll-voters-want-gun-control Schaeffer, K. (2023, September 13). Key facts about Americans and guns
. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/09/13/key-facts-about-
americans-and-guns/ Soni, A., & Tekin, E. (2022, September 15). Mass shootings in the United States: Population health impacts and ...
healthaffairs.org. https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hpb20220824.260250/ 2-2 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE ONE
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Watkins, A., Ismay, J., & Gibbons-neff, T. (2018, March 3). Once banned, now loved and loathed: How the AR-15 became “
America
’
s rifle.”
The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/03/us/politics/ar-15-
americas-rifle.html 2-2 FINAL PROJECT MILESTONE ONE
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