30 Years Of US Mass Shootings 30/62/1007

A simple break down of the mass shootings in the United States from the past 30 years, with 62 mass shootings, leaving 1007 victims. 30/62/1007

30/62/1007

Since 1982 the United States has had 62 mass shootings. Posted here are a few visuals and some information to help put all of it in perspective. Some people say that most of the guns were illegal, some people say that the access that mentally ill people have to weapons can never be controlled, some say that banning semiautomatic and assault weapons will not stop people from committing these mass shootings. I hope you can form a better opinion based of of the facts.

Here are the Overall Statistics

How many years, how many shootings, how many victims, how many guns, how many shooters were mentally ill, how many weapons were obtained legally?

I know it is hard to visualize everything from just a chart so I will help with that later on. Just glance over the stats a bit.

1st UP The Banning Of Assault Weapons.

Banning semiautomatic and assault weapons will not cut down on mass shootings. Is that really the issue? I agree that there will always be mass shootings, as much as we hate it there is no way to stop every single crazy person. If you would do me a favor and look up to the chart above and see that space between 1994 and 2004. Just so you understand more as to why that space looks nothing like the rest of the chart. 1994 is the year that President Bill Clinton (With the support of Ronald Reagan I would like to add) signed into law the Assault Weapons Ban as part of the 1994 Crime Bill. Targeting semi-automatic weapons bearing characteristics of military guns, the AWB banned a wide range of weapons, such as the AK-47 and the AR series of rifles. One year before that in 1993 Clinton signed the Brady Bill into law. The Brady Bill was supported by and endorsed by Ronald Reagan especially because The Brady Bill is named after Reagans press secretary Jim Brady, who was wounded in the 1981 assassination attempt on then President Reagan who was also shot. The bill created a mandatory five-day waiting period after handgun purchases and required local law enforcement to run background checks on purchasers. The assault weapons ban had it's loopholes and some parts of it didn't work which is why in 2004 the Bush Administration let it expire rather than keeping it and fixing it. Because the Republican-led Congress declined to take up the matter. The result was criticism on Bush from both sides: the gun owners who felt betrayed and the gun ban proponents who felt he did not do enough to pressure Congress into passing the AWB extension.

So that is the reason for the 10 year difference in the middle of that chart. Do you think the Assault Weapons Ban helped? Yes there were 17 mass shootings in that 10 year span, but like I said before we cannot control shootings. Could we control Casualties though? Just in case here are the stats for the 11 years before the ban, the 10 year ban, and the 7 years after. Take into account that all of these include revolvers, shotguns, semiautomatic, and assault weapons.

1982-1993 (11 years)

18-Shootings

156-Killed

162-Wounded

318-Total

1994-2004 (10 years of Assault Weapons Ban)

17-Shootings

108-Killed

131-Wounded

239-Total

2005-2012 (only 7 years after the Ban was lifted)

27-Shootings

249-Deaths

450-Total

Since 1982 there have been 1,007 victims involved in mass shootings. The Last 7 years after the Ban was lifted accounts for almost half. Would the numbers have continued to fall if the ban was still in place and the loopholes and problems fixed? I am sure that those 450 victims would have liked to have found out.

Number 2 The Majority of all the weapons used in mass shootings are Illegal!

Except in America where 49 of the 62 shootings were carried out with Legally obtained weapons. Leaving only 13 shootings to use Illegal weapons. Which carries us into who should be allowed to buy these weapons?

Onto 3 Mentality

Clinton signed the Brady Bill which performs background checks and made the 5 day waiting period before purchasing a gun. Should Mental Illness have been added to that? If 41 of the 62 shootings were carried out buy mentally ill persons with 49 out of 62 using legally obtained guns?

Down to 4 Semiautomatic/Assault weapons verses Revolvers/Shotguns

This graph shows the 3 different types of the 142 guns used in those 62 mass shootings. 20 were revolvers, 19 were shotguns and 103 were semiautomatic/assault weapons. This sort of ties into the Banning of assault weapons so we won't spend too much time on it. Does it look like the Assault Weapons Ban could have made a difference here?

5. 1007 Victims

In 30 years since 1982 there have been 62 Mass Shootings. 513 victims in those shootings were killed. 494 of those victims were wounded. You may wonder why I am typing the numbers in as digits when the proper format is to spell out the words. It is in hopes that it will help you grasp the magnitude of the amount of human beings that have been victim to these massacres. Those numbers are of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews, aunts, uncles, students, teachers, grandparents, citizens dropping off mail, people having breakfast together, people watching movies, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, and wives. 1007 people just like you and me who were just going about their own daily lives who had them cut short, or forever changed. 1007 human beings.

30/62/1007

30/62/1007

30 years/62 mass shootings/1007 victims

What is Being Done Today.

President Barrack Obama issued 23 Executive Orders on the issue of Gun Control on January 16, 2013.

1. Issuing a presidential memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

2. Addressing unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

3.Improving incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

4. Directing the attorney general to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

5. Proposing a rule making to give law enforcement authorities the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

6. Publishing a letter from the A.T.F. to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

7. Starting a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

8. Reviewing safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

9. Issuing a presidential memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

10. Releasing a report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and making it widely available to law enforcement authorities.

11. Nominating an A.T.F. director.

12. Providing law enforcement authorities, first responders and school officials with proper training for armed attacks situations.

13. Maximizing enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

14. Issuing a presidential memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research gun violence.

15. Directing the attorney general to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenging the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

17. Releasing a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

18. Providing incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

19. Developing model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

20. Releasing a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

21. Finalizing regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within insurance exchanges.

22. Committing to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

23. Starting a national dialogue on mental health led by Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, and Arne Duncan, the secretary of education.

Also Proposed Congressional Actions:

1. Requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales, including those by private sellers that currently are exempt.

2. Reinstating and strengthening the ban on assault weapons that was in place from 1994 to 2004.

3. Limiting ammunition magazines to 10 rounds.

4. Banning the possession of armor-piercing bullets by anyone other than members of the military and law enforcement.

5. Increasing criminal penalties for "straw purchasers," people who pass the required background check to buy a gun on behalf of someone else.

6. Acting on a $4 billion administration proposal to help keep 15,000 police officers on the street.

7. Confirming President Obama's nominee for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

8. Eliminating a restriction that requires the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to allow the importation of weapons that are more than 50 years old.

9. Financing programs to train more police officers, first responders and school officials on how to respond to active armed attacks.

10. Provide additional $20 million to help expand the a system that tracks violent deaths across the nation from 18 states to 50 states.

11. Providing $30 million in grants to states to help schools develop emergency response plans.

Providing financing to expand mental health programs for young people.

So what do you think?

I am all for gun rights. There is no need what so ever for anyone out side of the military to have a semiautomatic weapon or assault rifle. They were made for the military to inflict maximum damage and casualty. You have seen how many shootings involved which weapons, and the tragic outcome of them. I have said before that there will always be tragedies like this. If we can fix it to where there isn't the opportunity to inflict maximum damage, and casualties then we should. Next time it could be someone you love or you, at the gym, in a restaurant, at a concert, buying groceries, or just walking down the street.