One might have hoped that the assassination attempt on former President Trump, along with the tragic death of a rally attendee and the severe injuries sustained by two others, would have urgently refocused the debate on firearm availability and regulation. Instead, it has become part of political rhetoric and Republican unsubstantiated political attacks, diverting attention away from the crucial and urgent discussion on gun control that needs immediate action.
This entirely preventable tragedy raises the question: why Trump opposes strict gun control laws? Why do Republicans not want to prohibit assault weapons? Why and how did the young perpetrator of this heinous crime get an AR-15? These questions call for immediate action and change to prevent tragic incidents like this one.
According to a 2017 report by the Small Arms Survey, a reputable international research project that monitors the global distribution of arms and their impact, there are approximately 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the U.S., significantly outnumbering the country’s population of around 330 million. This saturation of weapons, a clear sign of the urgent need for stricter regulations, contributes to their accessibility, which, with lax firearm laws, plays a significant role in the frequency of firearm attacks, including mass shootings.
School shootings are incredibly painful as they target children and young adults in what should be safe learning environments. These incidents leave deep psychological scars on survivors and disrupt entire communities, a fact that should deeply concern us all. The traumatizing events at Columbine High School in 1999, Virginia Tech in 2007, and Stoneman Douglas and Santa Fe High Schools in 2018 are stark reminders of the vulnerability of educational institutions to such violence. We must empathize with the victims and their families and act to prevent such tragedies from recurring. There have been 413 school shootings since Columbine.
What is truly horrifying is that firearms account for the number one cause of children’s death in the U.S., a sobering fact that should stir our collective empathy and concern.
In 2022, the United States experienced over 48,000 deaths because of firearms, averaging around 132 casualties per day. Of these, more than half were suicides, while over 40% were homicides involving firearms. In the same year, firearm injuries of all types ranked among the top five causes of death for individuals aged 1-44. Specifically, for children and teenagers aged 1-19, firearm injuries were the leading cause of death. These statistics are not just numbers; they represent the lives of our children and our future lost to preventable gun violence.
Firearm shootings play a significant role in domestic violence as well. An intimate partner in the United States shoots and kills an average of seventy women monthly (Everytown analysis of CDC, National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), 2019). This is a stark reminder of the urgent need for stricter gun control laws to prevent such tragic incidents, and it should make us all feel the urgency of this issue.
The Brady Campaign PAC estimates that a current or former partner shoots dead at least one woman every 16 hours (www.bradyunited.org). From 2001 to 2012, intimate partners murdered 6,410 women with guns, more than U.S. soldier deaths in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Weapons in the home drastically increase the danger, especially for abused women. They are five times more likely to be murdered if their abuser has a gun. The risk of murder during domestic disputes increases by 500 percent if a firearm is present. Domestic violence accounts for 57 percent of mass shootings, and American women are disproportionately affected, being twenty-eight times more likely to be killed by a gun than women in similar countries.
A study found that ninety-two percent of all women killed with guns in high-income countries in 2015 were American. (Grinshteyn E, Hemenway D. Violent death rates in the U.S. compared to those of the other high-income countries, 2015. Preventive Medicine. 2019; 123:20-26. Calculated based on all gun deaths among women, including suicides). This is another powerful reminder of the pressing need for stricter gun control laws to prevent such tragic incidents, and it should make us all feel the gravity of this issue, particularly for the safety of women.
The likelihood that women die from firearm homicide in the U.S. is twenty-eight times higher than in similar countries (Everytown analysis of the most recent year of gun deaths by country (2015 to 2019), GunPolicy.org (accessed January 7, 2022). This outcome is driven mainly by Intimate Partner Violence.
A current or former intimate partner perpetrates nearly half of all female firearm homicides. In terms of gun violence, the United States is the nation most dangerous for women among countries with high incomes.
Gun availability distinguishes the United States from other industrialized countries, where gun accessibility is difficult and murders by firearms are low or nonexistent.
Former President Trump and most Republican lawmakers oppose strict gun laws and refuse to prohibit assault weapons, which violate Second Amendment rights, they allege. They also fear that supporting gun control legislation will diminish their re-election prospects. Very vocal, anti-gun control voters make up the base of the Republican Party. In addition, they do not want to lose the financial support of the National Rifle Association.
Trump, a friend of the NRA, consistently supported gun rights, often echoing the NRA’s positions on issues such as expanding concealed carry laws, opposing stricter background checks, and defending gun ownership.
As president, Trump took several actions that were in line with NRA priorities. He moved back an Obama-era regulation that would have made it more challenging for people with mental illnesses to purchase firearms. He nominated judges to federal courts, including the Supreme Court, who favored Second Amendment rights, a move lauded by the NRA.
While Trump typically resisted sweeping gun control measures, his administration, under pressure, responded to specific occasions of gun violence. For example, after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, Trump endorsed a ban on bump stocks, devices that enable semi-automatic rifles to fire more quickly. The Department of Justice enacted this ban in 2018. However, with the help of Trump’s appointed justices, the Supreme Court struck down the law in a 6–3 decision in the Garland v. Cargill (6/14/2024) case.
For his support, the NRA donated significantly to Donald Trump’s campaign, both directly and indirectly, during the 2016 presidential election. Through its Political Action Committee (PAC) and its affiliated groups, the organization spent millions of dollars to support Trump and oppose his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
The NRA’s influence on gun control policies is significant, as it has the financial resources to support or oppose political candidates based on their stance on gun rights. This influence, however, often comes at the cost of public safety and the lives of innocent Americans.
The NRA spent more than $30 million to help get Trump elected in 2016, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. His gratitude, Alana Abramson from TIME reported, was echoed in his remarks. “You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you,” he said. The NRA’s spending on Trump’s behalf was one of the most significant financial commitments made by the organization in any election cycle.
On May 26, 2022, Newsweek published a Full List of Republican Senators Who Receive Funding From the NRA. It included the following senators:
Mitt Romney: $13,648,000
Richard Burr: $6,987,000
Roy Blunt: $4,556,000
Thom Tillis: $4,421,000
Marco Rubio: $3,303,000
Joni Ernst: $3,125,000
Josh Hawley: $1,392,000
Mitch McConnell: $1,267,000
Ted Cruz: $176,000
Although all polls show that the overwhelming of the American public supports “commonsense gun safety” laws, Senator Bernie Sanders (2018, p.145) wrote:
“Congress is not listening to the American people on this issue. They are listening to the very well-funded NRA, an organization with enormous political power.”
These laws are not radical or extreme. They simply aim to prevent gun violence by implementing measures such as universal background checks, safe storage requirements, and restrictions on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons.
Despite studies refuting their claim, Republicans allege people must have firearms to protect themselves. Owning or carrying a gun does not provide security—the likelihood of someone getting killed increases when they own a gun. In addition, a gun owner has a 500% greater chance of committing suicide.
Democrats rightly argue that Second Amendment Rights are not absolute, and they also accused Republicans of putting their political aspirations and money over public safety. Among the many firearm control laws most Republicans voted against were the Assault Weapon Ban of 2022, the Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022, the Protecting Our Kids Act (June 8, 2022), several gun background check acts, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022), the Assault Weapons Ban of 2023.
The former president was lucky; the bullets from an assault weapon, which Congress should have prohibited a long time ago, grazed his ear. However, they claimed the life of Corey Comperatore, a father of two, and critically wounded two others. Similar firearms have caused countless tragedies, killing school children, shoppers in malls and grocery stores, and innocent bystanders. Sadly, because of the reckless firearm policies championed by Donald Trump and Republicans in both chambers, this cycle of violence will continue. More parents will mourn their children, and more people will grieve for their lost loved ones. Regrettably, the question is not whether it will happen again but when and where.