DemDaily: Game of Guns
November 17, 2024
Madison, Wisconsin: One Child, one teacher dead. Six injured, two critically. The shooter, a 15-year-old girl, was found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wounds at the scene.
The shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School on Monday was the 83rd US school shooting of 2024, and the 488th mass shooting -- defined as when four or more victims are injured or killed by a gun.
Mass Shootings are, for the most part, an American phenomenon. The motive for the shooting is still undetermined and it remains unclear how the shooter acquired the weapon, reportedly a 9mm pistol.
| Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States. In 2023 gun-related incidences accounted for the death of 297, and injury of 641, children ages 0 to 11. Among teens aged 12 to 17, guns accounted for the death of 1,385 and the injury of 3,871 more. 65% of child and teen gun deaths are homicides. |
Everytown for Gun Safety rates Wisconsin as #21 in the country for gun safety. There is no permit, background check or firearms registration required when buying a handgun from a private individual, and open carry is legal for any person who is 18 years or older.
The Badger state does have child access prevention laws, including prohibition of guns in K–12 schools and a requirement that firearms be stored, unloaded, and separate from ammunition in certain circumstances.
In a statement on Monday, President Joe Biden called the shooting "shocking and unconscionable ...From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that don't receive attention — it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence...We cannot continue to accept it as normal.
"Every child deserves to feel safe in their classroom. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write – not having to learn how to duck and cover."
Biden has taken more executive action to combat the crisis of gun violence in America than any President in history -- pushing the limits of his presidential powers to counter inaction by Congress. He has issued over two dozen executive orders .-- from keeping dangerous weapons out of criminal hands and repeat shooters off our streets, to holding rogue firearms dealers and traffickers accountable and increasing resources to law enforcement and communities.
In June 2022, Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in nearly 30 years. The Act provides funding incentives for states to pass red-flag laws, strengthen background checks for 18-21 year-olds, and close the "boyfriend loophole," among other actions. In July 2023, he introduced the Safer American Plan, which proposed a $37 billion investment to support law enforcement and crime prevention.
In September 2023 the President announced the formation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, to address the nation's gun violence epidemic. It is unlikely the office will survive the new administration.
| The United States boasts a gun-related murder rate 26 times greater than that of other high-income nations, and a firearms suicide rate eight times higher than any country. According to the Brady Campaign, an average of 327 people are shot every day in the US, with an average of 117 deaths per day. |
President Bill Clinton signed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB) ban into law in 1994, but it expired in 2004 and subsequent legislation to restore the ban has yet to successfully reach another president's desk.
Following every mass shooting -- too many of which have included children -- politicians and elected officials use their bully pulpit to decry the violence and the massacres, but little has been done by Congress to implement real gun safety legislation, which is entirely in their control.
Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the Abundant Life School tragedy this afternoon: “It’s another school shooting, another community being torn apart and hurt by gun violence. And of course, our nation mourns for those who were killed, and we pray for the recovery of those who are injured and for the entire community. But look as we hold our loved ones close this holiday season, we as a nation must renew our commitment to end the horror of gun violence."
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Sources: EveryTown for Gun Safety, Gun Violence Archive, Brady, Giffords Law Center, CNN, Newsweek, ABC
