New White Paper Shows Gun Licensing Saves Lives
September 12, 2019
Gun licensing could have potentially prevented mass shootings at Parkland and Pulse Nightclub, among others
WASHINGTON -- Guns Down America, a bolder, broader movement calling for dramatically fewer guns in America, has released the results of a new white paper, “How Firearm Licensing Can Potentially Save Lives.”
This study found that of the 27 deadliest shootings over the last six years where it could be determined how the firearms were obtained, a federal licensing requirement may have prevented the shooter from acquiring the firearms used in 52% of the incidents. In these 14 ncidents, 169 individuals were fatally shot and 131 individuals were shot and injured.
“Background checks alone are not enough if we are going to build a future with fewer guns,” said Igor Volsky, Founder and Executive Director of Guns Down. “If we raise the standard for gun ownership in America with gun licensing, we will save lives.”
Read the full white paper here.
To make its determination, the study reviewed public information about the perpetrators that would have been available to law enforcement in the nation’s deadliest mass shootings over the last six years. Mass shootings that could have been prevented by a gun licensing program:
● Pulse Nightclub shooting resulted in 49 deaths and 53 firearm injuries. ● Sutherland Springs Church shooting resulted in 25 deaths and 20 firearm injuries. ● Stoneman Douglas school shooting resulted in 17 deaths and 17 firearm injuries. ● Washington Navy Yard shooting resulted in 12 deaths and 3 firearm injuries. ● Charleston Church shooting resulted in 9 deaths and no firearm injuries.
The study from Guns Down is the second this year showing that purchaser licensing is more effective than background checks alone in reducing gun deaths. Purchaser licensing is currently used by nine states and Washington, D.C. A study from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy Research also reached the same conclusion. That study can be found HERE.