Marshall Memorial Fellowship: Time for Action to Halt Gun Violence in the U.S.
On June 12, 50 people were killed in a popular gay bar in Orlando. The worst mass shooting in U.S. history has again revived the debate on how to halt gun violence in the U.S. Mateen, 29, born in New York, had a concealed carry permit from the state of Florida allowing him to legally purchase a firearm in the state. Although ISIS has officially taken credit for the attack on social media (not yet proved by the American authorities), this shooting must also be understood squarely in the context of the American problem with domestic gun violence, a perception being conveyed across the majority of American media coverage. In Orlando, felons, fugitives, illegal immigrants or juveniles are not allowed to buy guns, but suspected terrorists, even if on the FBI radar (as Mateen) are not part of this list.
It is worth remembering that in 2015 in the U.S., there were 372 mass shootings killing 475 people and wounding 1,870; 64 school shootings; 13,286 people were killed by firearms; and 26,819 were injured. The statistics are both shocking and intriguing. Just as notable, it is estimated that there about 300 million guns are owned by about one third of the American population. If we compare these statistics to the 1.2 million U.S. deaths in every conflict from the War of Independence to Iraq, the figures are even more alarming: there were about 1.4 million firearm deaths between 1968 and 2011, and of all the number of gun murders in the U.S. in 2012, 60% were by firearms owned by private citizens.
No wonder that President Obama recognized, in a town hall meeting at Benedict College, in Columbia, South Carolina on March 6, 2015, that in many areas of the country it’s easier to buy a handgun and clips than it is to buy fresh vegetables, or to buy a firearm than it is to buy a book. In an attempt to change this reality, on January 5th this year, President Obama presented his new strategy to curb gun violence in America by focusing on new background check requirements to enhance the effectiveness of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, buttressed by greater education and enforcement efforts of existing laws at the state level.
Will this be sufficient? That was one of the topics that I addressed with Vincent DeMarco, in Baltimore, Maryland as part of the Marshall Memorial Fellowship. Vincent DeMarco is President of the Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, a longtime advocate for public health causes including reducing teen smoking and gun violence and expanding health care access. I met with him to hear how gun laws in the United States vary considerably in their form, content, and level of restriction and are broader or more limited in scope of the existing federal firearms laws. In the case of Maryland, a Handgun Qualification License, training, fingerprints and exhaustive background checks are required, and applicants must demonstrate a "good and substantial reason" to carry a handgun, which makes it very difficult for ordinary citizens to obtain one. In addition, Maryland has one coordination and Analysis Center with license plate reader cameras connected to Criminal Background Check programs and Permit/License Holder lists from the different states that can easily monitor who have a firearms permit/license without even stopping the car.
Yet even with these measures, conflicting reports about police chases that may have involved gunfire have being logged every week. The handgun purchaser licensing lobby and advocacy groups keep reminding us that the rise in homicides and violence with a firearm is directly attributable to the repeal of the licensing and background check requirement. How long will firearms remain so powerful in American society? We stand poised at a moment to find out, as the increased spate of shootings and President Obama’s calls to action create momentum for change. As the congressional battle over gun control intensifies, the next U.S. President will surely have to do more than just feel the pulse (ironically the name of the bar) of the Americans on this issue. He or she will have to put this issue at the top priority of the national policy agenda. For Orlando and for all the victims and American families, it’s time for enduring action.
Ana Isabel Xavier, Invited Assistant Professor at NOVA University and Research Fellow in the Portuguese Institute of International Relations, is a Spring 2016 European Marshall Memorial Fellow.