US mass shootings becoming more frequent – and more deadly

US mass shootings becoming more frequent – and more deadly
by Mona Chalabi, 12/2/15, cross-posted from The Guardian

The shooting in San Bernardino with 14 victims has added to the growing number over the past three decades, but support for gun control has fallen

Mass shootings have become an everyday occurrence in the US. Photograph: The Guardian

The shooting in San Bernardino with 14 victims has added to the growing number of mass shootings in the US.

The San Bernardino sheriff’s department confirmed 14 people are dead in Wednesday’s shooting. That would make this the worst killing since 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school in 2012 and the sixth deadliest mass shooting since 1982, according to a database built by Mother Jones.

 FBI active shooter statistics Photograph: FBI

More shootings

In 2014, 336 mass shootings were recorded by a Reddit community which tracks all incidents where four or more individuals are injured (including the shooter). That number has already been surpassed this year. In the 334 days since 1 January, there have been 351 mass shootings in the country – that total doesn’t include today’s shooting.

The number of victims has also risen. In 2014, 383 people were killed in mass shootings and 1,239 were injured. So far this year, 447 individuals have been killed and 1,292 injured.

Official numbers can be found from a report published by the FBI last year, which studied active shooting situations (though their definition of a mass shooting is broader and includes all incidents where “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area”). The FBI figures point to a rise since 2000 both in the number of incidents and the number of casualties.

Increasingly frequent mass shootings. Photograph: Mother JonesFewer days between mass shootings



The last mass shooting occurred just five days ago at a Planned Parenthood clinicin Colorado Springs, when a gunman killed three people and injured nine others. That too appears to be part of a wider pattern where the interval between shootings is falling. An analysis from the Harvard School of Public Health and Northeastern University last year found that between 1982 and 2011 mass shootings occurred every 200 days on average. Between 2011 and 2014, they occurred every 64 days as the chart above from Mother Jones shows.

More support for gun ownership

Despite the rise in the number of mass shootings, public opinion about gun control has shifted over that period away from controlling gun ownership according to Pew Research Center.

Their survey question, which has been asked since 1993, has been criticised as polarizing and too simplistic. The question asks: “What do you think is more important – to protect the right of Americans to own guns or to control gun ownership?”  However, separate questions about banning specific weapons also point to rising support for the right to own guns.

When Pew has conducted surveys immediately before and after shootings, they have found that violence has little effect on public opinion about gun control.

Petition Calls On Astorino To Ban Gun Shows

Petition Calls for Ban on Gun Shows at Westchester County Center
By Ashley Hughes, cross-posted from: Westchester Magazine, 10/6/15

Following the mass shooting in Oregon, the petition says it's time to bring back the ban

M&R GLASGOW/ VIA FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS

A petition with more than 1,500 signatures is calling for gun shows to be kept out of the Westchester County Center.

The petition was launched, in part, as a response to last week’s mass shootings at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, which killed ten people and injured nine others.

The petition was launched on the website MoveOn.org. Its creator, Westchester County resident Charles Bell, calls for County Executive Rob Astorino to permanently ban gun shows at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. The petition has gained 1,650 signatures in the past few days.

Gun shows were banned at the county center, first under previous County Executive Andrew Spano, a Democrat, for 10 years. However, Astorino, a Republican, ended the ban when he came into office in 2010.

While Astorino canceled a gun show at the WCC following 2012’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, a spokesman for the county executive told The Journal News that if a future request to hold a gun show came in from a licensed operator, the county government would consider it.

"Banning sportsman shows... where the sales of firearms to law abiding citizens are fully monitored and include background checks, does not address the fundamental causes behind horrific killings," Ned McCormack, an Astorino spokesman, told The Journal News. "Our best defense for preventing anti-social, violent behavior is to look at root causes in a comprehensive way that encourages collaboration from all quarters, including supporters of the Second Amendment."

For all other events at the center, there is a ban on “weapons of any kind.”

Part of Astorino’s unsuccessful campaign for governor last year focused on his goal to repeal Governor Andrew Cuomo’s SAFE Act. The bill banned the sale of specific weapons and required registration for those already purchased, among other provisions. One of those provisions instituted a requirement for background checks on all gun sales in New York, including at gun shows. New York is one of six states that require background checks at gun shows. The so-called “gun show loophole,” which allows private sellers on the Internet and at gun shows in states without such laws to make sales without requiring background checks, has become a focus of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s announced plan for gun control.

While the petition appears unlikely to influence Astorino, it has gained the support of other Westchester officials. Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feinberg sent his own letter to Astorino this Monday, to call for a ban on gun shows in governmental buildings, including the County Center. 

Westchester residents pushing to ban gun shows from County Center (Verizon Fios1 News)

Westchester residents pushing to ban gun shows from County Center 

Over 1,700 residents have signed a petition to ban the gun show at the venue

Westchester Co. Executive: Gun shows will proceed despite calls to reinstate ban 

Many residents, officials want Rob Astorino to prohibit firearm demonstrations in wake of Oregon college shooting

Greenburgh supervisor renews his call to ban gun shows at county-owned buildings in Westchester

In the wake of the Oregon shooting, Paul Feiner is asking to have gun shows banned from the County Center

Rob Astorino: No ban on gun shows at Westchester County Center

Rob Astorino: No ban on gun shows at Westchester County Center
by Mark Lungariello, The Journal News, 10/5/15
Cross-posted from Lohud.com

A resident-created petition asks to reinstate the ban, which lasted 10 years under former County Executive Andy Spano.

A petition calling to ban gun shows at the Westchester County Center isn’t likely to go far, with the county executive saying he has no plans to put limits on firearm shows there.

A spokesman for County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, said there hasn't been a gun show at the center since 2012, but said Westchester would consider a request made by a licensed operator in the future.

"Banning sportsman shows ... where the sales of firearms to law abiding citizens are fully monitored and include background checks, does not address the fundamental causes behind horrific killings," Ned McCormack, an Astorino spokesman, said. "Our best defense for preventing anti-social, violent behavior is to look at root causes in a comprehensive way that encourages collaboration from all quarters, including supporters of the Second Amendment."

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, a Democrat, called to reinstate a ban on firearm and gun shows at the center and other government buildings after a shooter opened fire at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, killing nine people before fatally shooting himself.

A local resident started an online petition this weekend after Feiner called for the ban. Almost 900 people had signed the petition by Monday afternoon.

“A lot of people have been asking what they can do,” Feiner said. “I just hope the county executive will realize that a lot of people are against it, and don’t think government should be encouraging the sale of guns.”

Former County Executive Andy Spano, a Democrat, had imposed a ban on gun shows after 12 students and a teacher were killed in a mass shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Astorino lifted the ban when he came into office in 2010.

When a mass shooter in 2012 murdered 20 children and six school teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Astorino canceled a scheduled gun show at the County Center.

Since then, McCormack said, the county has undertaken initiatives that include the "Safer Communities" program. The county has increased crisis intervention training for police and first responders and has launched a program that aims to identify and counsel children at risk before tragedies strike.

Astorino ran unsuccessfully for governor last year with Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Moss was an outspoken critic of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s SAFE Act, which banned certain weapons and required registration for existing ones.

During the campaign, Astorino, who doesn't own a gun, said he'd repeal the law and appeared at several gun shows and rifle clubs across the state.

Staff writer Richard Liebson contributed to this report.

County Executive Astorino: Please Ban Gun Shows at Westchester County Center

County Executive Astorino: Please Ban Gun Shows at Westchester County Center



Sign the Petition!!

Greenburgh Supervisor Calls For Ban On County Center Gun Shows

Greenburgh Supervisor Calls For Ban On County Center Gun Shows

By Carol Reif, 10/3/2015

Cross-posted from Greenburgh Daily Voice

.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner is once again pushing for a ban on gun shows in government-owned buildings.

Feiner, in a recent letter to Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, reiterated his long-held belief that it is inappropriate to sell firearms at places like the County Center in White Plains – especially, he said, in light of this week’s massacre at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore.

According to media reports, a gunman there killed nine people and wounded nine others before being killed himself in a firefight with police.
Feiner said he felt that “the easy availability of guns could be a factor in the recent Oregon tragedy and in gun violence incidents around the nation.”
In his letter, Feiner said that Astorino “courageously” cancelled the gun show at the County Center in the wake of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn., where 20 children and six educators were gunned down.

But the county allowed gun shows to resume there the following year, Feiner said. In his letter to Astorino, Feiner also noted that the gun shows were banned by former County Executive Andrew Spano in 1999 after 12 students and one teacher were slain at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Feiner said that while he believes people have the right to purchase and own guns, he also believes that “government should not be encouraging gun ownership.”

In his letter to Astorino, Feiner noted that he wasn’t aware of any gun shows scheduled for the County Center for 2016. However, he told the county executive, “the gunshowtrader.com site leads one to believe that a gun show will be scheduled at the center next year.”   Feiner said in the letter that since no gun show appears to be currently scheduled, it would not “inconvenience” anyone if future gun shows were banned.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand demands federal gun trafficking law

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand demands federal gun trafficking law
By Elizabeth Potter • 7/16/15 9:56 AM
Cross posted from the Washington Examiner

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand introduced legislation this week that aims to make trafficking in illegal firearms a federal crime.  Her bill, the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear­-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act, would also support law enforcement as it works to remove these illegal weapons from the street, and help prosecute those who engage in firearm trafficking, according to a statement from Gillibrand's office.

Nearly 70 percent of the 8,539 firearms "recovered and traced" in New York originated from outside the state in 2013, according to the most recent report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. But Gillibrand says there is no current federal law identifying firearm trafficking as a crime.

"Month after month, year after year, illegal guns tear apart communities across New York and our country and yet there is not a single federal law defining gun trafficking as a crime – enough is enough, " Gillibrand said in a statement. "Senator Kirk and I are introducing this bipartisan legislation to crack down on the flow of illegal guns and to give law enforcement the tools to prosecute gun traffickers and their vast criminal networks."

The legislation would make it illegal to sell or provide two or more guns to someone who is not allowed to own a gun, such as a felon or convicted domestic abuser. It would be illegal to knowingly buy guns in violation of any law that identifies the recipient as ineligible to attain such weapons. The bill also would punish those who provide misleading information to the ATF, and punish those who facilitate any of the previous three actions, according to the press release.

The bill would establish harsher penalties such as a 20­ year maximum prison sentence for those engaging in or conspiring to traffic firearms. Five additional years would be established for leaders of a gun trafficking ring. Gang members and other "criminal enterprises" would receive even harsher sentences if convicted, according to the statement. Kirk said that gun trafficking has resulted in more than 1,300 shootings in Chicago this year.

The bill is named for two victims of gun violence: Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-­year-­old student, who was shot and killed in Chicago in 2013, and Nyasia Pryear-­Yard, a 17-­year-­old honor student who was killed with an illegal gun in Brooklyn, according to the press release.

"In honor of Hadiya Pendleton, we owe it to future generations to put an end to the gun trafficking that plays a huge role in the senseless violence that is taking lives in Chicago and throughout the country every day, " said Sen. Mark Kirk, R-­Ill.,

Leah Gunn Barrett, executive director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, said current federal laws against gun trafficking are lacking and do little to "deter or punish illegal trafficking."

"In fact, someone who traffics gun receives the same punishment as someone who traffics chickens or other livestock, " Barrett said, according to Gillibrand's statement.

Ted Alcorn, research director of Everytown for Gun Safety, said these loose gun trafficking laws "endanger communities everywhere" as the weapons are moved to harm "our fellow citizens and law enforcement officers."

"We can stop the flow of illegal guns and save innocent lives, " Gillibrand said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Introduces Federal Bill to Curb Illegal Gun Trafficking (S. 1760)

Senator Gillibrand Introduces Bipartisan Bill To Crack Down On The Flow Of Illegal Guns To New York State Through The “Iron Pipeline” And Prevent Gun Violence

According to Latest Federal Data, of the 8,539 Total Firearms Recovered and Traced in New York State in 2013, Nearly 70 Percent Came from Out of State – Yet There is Not a Single Federal Law Defining Gun Trafficking as a Crime Similar Measure Came Two Votes Short of Defeating Senate Filibuster in 2013

July 14, 2015

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today introduced bipartisan gun trafficking legislation aimed at cracking down on the daily flow of illegal guns on our nation’s streets. Authored along with Republican Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL), the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015 (S. 1760) would make gun trafficking a federal crime and provide tools to law enforcement to get illegal guns off the streets, away from criminal networks and street gangs, and to prosecute those who traffic firearms. According to the most recent data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), 8,539 firearms were recovered and traced in New York State in 2013. Of those, nearly 70 percent came from out of state. In 2013, 331 weapons recovered in New York State came from Georgia alone. However, there is no federal law that defines gun trafficking as a crime.

The Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015 establishes gun trafficking as a federal crime and also cracks down on bad gun dealers. Senator Gillibrand has been working on gun trafficking legislation since 2009, and similar bipartisan legislation she introduced received 58 votes in the United States Senate in 2013 – just two votes shy of breaking a filibuster.

“Month after month, year after year, illegal guns tear apart communities across New York and our country and yet there is not a single federal law defining gun trafficking as a crime – enough is enough,” said Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “Senator Kirk and I are introducing this bipartisan legislation to crack down on the flow of illegal guns and to give law enforcement the tools to prosecute gun traffickers and their vast criminal networks. We can stop the flow of illegal guns and save innocent lives.”

“The trafficking of guns have led to more than 1,300 shootings in Chicago this year,” said Senator Kirk. “In honor of Hadiya Pendleton, we owe it to future generations to put an end to the gun trafficking that plays a huge role in the senseless violence that is taking lives in Chicago and throughout the country every day.”

“The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that states like New York, which has some of the strongest gun laws in the nation, remain vulnerable to illegal guns imported from other states with weaker laws,” said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. “We need stronger federal penalties for gun trafficking that will empower our law enforcement officials to bring more criminals to justice. I applaud Senators Gillibrand and Kirk for introducing the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2015, which will keep New Yorkers—and all Americans—safer from the scourge of illegal guns.”

“Weak gun laws in any state endanger communities everywhere,” said Ted Alcorn, Research Director of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Again and again, we see traffickers move guns across state lines that are used to injure or kill our fellow citizens and law enforcement officers. Senator Gillibrand's legislation gives prosecutors more tools to go after these traffickers — and prevent violent gun crimes from occurring at all. It's high time for Congress to strengthen the lax gun laws that make it easy for dangerous people to get guns in one state and use them to commit crimes elsewhere.”

“Once again, leaders from both parties in Congress have come together behind a commonsense proposal that would help keep guns out of the wrong hands and make our communities safer places to live," said former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Captain Mark Kelly, the Co-Founders of Americans for Responsible Solutions. "Senators Gillibrand and Kirk should be applauded for standing up for common sense, and leading the fight to crack down on the illegal gun trade. One of the biggest, most dangerous problems with our nation’s gun laws is that we have have no strong, clear federal statute against gun trafficking. This bipartisan bill will help fix that by making it harder for straw purchasers and shady gun dealers to traffic illegal guns to dangerous people - while protecting the Second Amendment rights of responsible, law-abiding gun owners.”

“Without strong federal gun laws, New York will remain vulnerable to the incessant flow of illegal guns that end up killing and maiming our citizens,” said Leah Gunn Barrett, Executive Director of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. “Current federal gun trafficking laws are weak and don’t deter or punish illegal trafficking. In fact, someone who traffics guns receives the same punishment as someone who traffics chickens or other livestock.  Senator Gillibrand’s bill would tackle firearms trafficking by going after straw purchasers, rogue gun dealers who knowingly sell firearms to traffickers and those who run trafficking rings.”

The Problem and Inadequacy of Current Law

Firearms trafficking is a major problem that results in the proliferation of illegal firearms in our communities. In 2013, the ATF recovered:

• 121 guns in Albany
• 317 guns in Syracuse
• 579 guns in Buffalo
• 624 guns in Rochester

Under current law, there is no criminal statute specifically prohibiting trafficking in firearms. Instead, prosecutors rely primarily on laws that prohibit making false statements in connection with the purchase of a firearm. These are “paperwork” violations with penalties too low to be effective law enforcement tools. The result is that none of our laws are directly focused on preventing someone from one state from driving to another state with stricter gun laws, parking their car in a parking lot, and selling hundreds of firearms out of their trunk.

In 2013, just 10 states supplied nearly half – 48 percent – of the guns that crossed state lines before being recovered in crimes. Together, these states accounted for nearly 23,000 interstate crime guns recovered.

According to a 2013 report by Third Way, there are roughly 500,000 gun crimes every year in the United States. In 9 of 10 gun crimes where the gun was successfully traced, the person who bought it was not the person who used it in the crime. The report also said that 1 in 3 crime guns has crossed state lines, with crime guns traced in New York, New Jersey and Maryland often coming from Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The report concluded that guns are purchased in the legal market and then move into the illegal market, and gun trafficking serves as a pipeline that delivers guns into the hands of criminals.

The Gillibrand-Kirk bill is named for two gun violence victims. In January 2013, Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old student at King College Prep in Chicago, was killed when shots were fired into a crowd with the intention of hitting a rival gang member. Two young men, Michael Ward, 19, and Kenneth Williams, 21, were charged in her slaying. Ward was arrested in January 2011 on a gun charge but received probation after pleading guilty to unlawful use of a weapon. Pendleton had no arrest record and was considered an unintended target. In 2009, 17-year-old honor student Nyasia Pryear-Yard was shot and killed by an illegal gun while with friends in Brooklyn. Witnesses said that the shooting appeared to be a response to a man shouting gang epithets from the stage.

Key Provisions of the Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015

The Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking & Crime Prevention Act of 2015 would empower local, state, and federal law enforcement to investigate and prosecute gun traffickers and their entire criminal networks, including gangs, cartels and organized crime rings.

Specifically, the bill will make it illegal to do the following:

• Sell or otherwise transfer two or more firearms to someone whom the seller knows, or has reasonable cause to know, is prohibited by Federal, State or local laws from owning a firearm (e.g. felon, convicted domestic abuser).
• Purchase or otherwise acquire two or more firearms if the recipient knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that such receipt would be in violation of any Federal, State, or local law (e.g. if the recipient is a prohibited owner).
• Provide false information on a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives firearms transaction record form.
• Knowingly facilitate the above actions.
  

The bill establishes harsh penalties, including a maximum prison penalty of 20 years for the above infractions. The penalty is further increased by five years for the organizer(s) of the trafficking ring, and conspirators face a maximum penalty of 20 years. The legislation also calls upon the Sentencing Commission to substantially increase the penalties for trafficking when committed by, or in concert with, members of gangs, cartels, organized crime rings or other criminal enterprises.

The following groups have endorsed the Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act of 2015: Everytown for Gun Safety, Third Way, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence united with the Million Mom March, Americans for Responsible Solutions, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence and Harlem Mothers Save.

For more info on the status of this bill, click here