Ending Gun Violence In America – 2013 Policy Overview

1. Ending Gun Violence In America – 2013 Policy Overview Nina Vinik Program Director The Joyce Foundation

2. Ending Gun Violence In America – 2013 Policy Overview • Context • Common Sense Solutions • Policy Updates – Federal and State • Research • Public Opinion • Joyce Foundation Strategies

3. Violent Crime and Bullying Are Not Unique to America Percentage of 15-Year-Olds Who Were Bullied at Least Once in Previous Months Percentage of People Victimized for 11 Violent Crimes (Excluding Homicide) Source: Dr. Matthew Miller, Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Presentation at Johns Hopkins Research Summit, 2013 Source: WHO Europe Health Policy Surveys, 2001-2002

4. American Violence is More Lethal Homicide Rates Per 100,000 Source: Dr. Matthew Miller, Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Presentation at Johns Hopkins Gun Research Summit, 2013

5. 2010 Homicide Data by Race Source: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC

6. Access to Guns is the Difference • Compared to other industrialized nations, the difference in America is easy access to firearms. • In the public health literature, study after study has confirmed that where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths. • This is true even across US state lines. • According to Professor Matthew Miller of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center: “Time series and cross-sectional studies of U.S. cities, states, and regions generally find that, all else equal, where firearms are more prevalent, more Americans of all ages and both genders are dying by homicide, suicide, and firearm accidents.” (Presentation to the Johns Hopkins Gun Research Summit, 2013)

7. Sensible Solution: Background Checks The Problem • 40% of gun transfers occur without a background check in the secondary market – at gun shows, over the internet, or out of the back of a truck. • Millions of prohibiting records are missing in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). • Currently, 17 states have submitted less than 10 mental health records into NICS. The Virginia Tech killer’s mental health records were missing in NICS.

8. Sensible Solution:Background Checks The Solution • Require a background check on all gun sales. • Improve incentives for states to share prohibiting records with NICS.

9. Sensible Solution:Limiting Lethality The Problem • Military-style assault weapons, armed with high-capacity magazines that can store up to a one hundred round magazine of ammunition. • Assault weapons and/or high-capacity magazines are commonly used in mass shootings, including at Newtown, Aurora, Tucson, Fort Hood, Northern Illinois, Virginia Tech, Columbine, and many more. • The 1994 ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, which expired in 2004, was riddled with weaknesses. For example, the law allowed the gun industry to evade the ban by manufacturing weapons with minor cosmetic modifications.

10. Sensible Solution:Limiting Lethality The Solution • Reinstate the federal assault weapons ban (and strengthen the definition of an assault weapon) and ban high-capacity magazines over 10 rounds.

11. Sensible Solution:Improving Gun Enforcement The Problem • Gun laws are only as strong as the enforcement of existing laws. • But existing laws sometimes make the job of law enforcement harder. • For example, there is no distinct federal crime for gun trafficking, forcing police and prosecutors to rely on technical paperwork violations – which can be hard to prove.

12. Sensible Solution:Improving Gun Enforcement The Solution • Create a federal statute against gun trafficking and make it easier to crack down on straw purchasers. • Appoint a permanent director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the federal agency responsible for enforcing the nation’s firearms laws, which has gone without a permanent director for over six years.

13. Policy Update:Congress • In April, the US Senate rejected a series of gun violence prevention measures, including a bipartisan compromise crafted by Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) to strengthen federal gun background checks. • Advocates are not backing down. • 180 co-sponsors for a House bill. • Several senators that voted against Manchin-Toomey, including Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), have seen their approval ratings plummet amid public outcry. • Majority Leader Harry Reid will consider bringing the issue back after immigration reform.

14. Policy Update:States • New York - strengthen assault weapons ban, restrict high-capacity magazines, and extend background check to private sellers. • Connecticut - extend background checks to private sales and strengthen the state’s assault weapons ban. • Colorado - require background checks on all gun sales and ban high-capacity magazines. • Maryland - restrict assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and requires handgun buyers to be licensed with the state police. • Delaware - require background checks on all gun sales. • Nevada – require background checks on all gun sales (vetoed) • Georgia - stopped a bill to expand gun carrying into public places. • Wyoming - stopped a bill to allow teachers to carry guns in schools.

15. Encouraging Research • One of the great challenges in reducing gun violence is incomplete data and lack of funding for research. • The President’s Task Force made two important recommendations: • Empower the CDC to conduct public health research about guns: The President’s budget recommended an additional $10 million for federal research about gun violence. • Expand the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS): NVDRS is a public health surveillance system that tracks holistic data about firearms deaths, including the type of gun used and details on youth gun access. Currently, 18 states participate in NVDRS, and the President has recommended an additional $20 million to expand the program to all 50 states.

16. Broad Support for Reform

17. Even Among NRA Members and Gun Owners

18. Joyce Foundation Grant-Making Strategies • Targeted state investments • Grassroots and grasstops organizing – including faith based organizations, law enforcement, gun violence survivors, and other key constituency groups • Building the research agenda to support gun policy reform • Legal strategies • Research based messaging

19. Questions? Nina Vinik Program Director The Joyce Foundation