An analysis of U.S. gun deaths has found a link between mass shootings and family or domestic violence.
“Everytown for Gun Safety” Analysis Links to Domestic Violence
Michael Bloomberg’s gun violence prevention group, Everytown for Gun Safety, analyzed data from mass shootings that took place between January 2009 and July 2014. The group defined “mass shootings” as shootings in which at least four people were murdered by a firearm. Based on the analysis, during that five and a half year period, there were 110 mass shootings. 57 percent of those 110 shootings were related to domestic or family violence.
Sobering Evidence
Kim Gandy, president of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, feels the report shows sobering evidence for improving gun laws. “It’s clear that many of these murders were committed by people already barred from gun ownership by federal law — but that law is full of loopholes, like background checks not being required for private sales, like Craigslist or at gun shows,” she said. “It’s shocking that the gun lobby has succeeded in blocking such common-sense solutions, and that there aren’t more members of Congress standing up on the issue.”
Gun Enforcement Failing
While under federal law, individuals convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense or those subject to a permanent domestic violence restraining order are not legally able to buy or possess firearms, many guns are still able to be purchased without a background check. Because of that, enforcement of current laws is made all but impossible. Additionally, federal gun prohibitions are only applicable in cases where the abuser is married, lives with, or has a child with the victim. This law does not include dating partners and convicted stalkers. As a result, many domestic abusers are able to dodge background checks. Based on the Everytown analysis, one-quarter of mass shootings during which the perpetrator killed a former or current partner, the perpetrator would not have been legally barred from owning a firearm.
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Source: The Huffington Post, Mass Shooting Analysis Finds Strong Domestic Violence Connection, July 18, 2014
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