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Young Activists Fighting to Stop Gun Violence 

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Young Activists Fighting to Stop Gun Violence 

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Meet the Young Activists Fighting to End Gun Violence

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From Parkland, Ferguson, Newtown, and beyond.

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10 Most Powerful Stories on Gun Violence

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10 Most Powerful Stories on Gun Violence

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Teen Vogue

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There are too many ways to tell stories of gun violence in America. There are the experiences of survivors, whose voices most deserve to be heard. There is the research into the laws that propagate this violence, allowing domestic abusers to possess firearms and 18-year-olds to purchase weapons of war. There is the profound mental and emotional burden for those who have been through a school shooting, or are waiting for the day that it happens to them, too. There are the rallying cries of the Parkland activists, and of the activists in minority communities who were fighting for an end to the scourge of gun violence long before anyone had heard of the March for Our Lives.

Teen Vogue has tried to tell all of those stories. Our coverage has centered the lived experiences of the mass shooting generation - what they have been through over the 2010s, and how they're pushing for change.

Here are our editors' picks of our most powerful stories about gun violence from a generation that has had and said enough.

Just weeks after 17 students and faculty were shot dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school, a group of Parkland students and other teen gun violence activists from all across the country convened at Teen Vogue 's offices in New York. They insisted on appearing together in cover photos and in sharing one, unified message: that the aftermath of the traumatic mass shooting would be different this time.

As González put it in her cover story: "After all of this pain and all of this death caused by gun violence, it seems as if the kids are the only ones who still have the energy to make change."

While it was important to see that people were paying attention to the Parkland tragedy and the survivors calling for gun reform, this piece put a much-needed spotlight on the youth who have long been attached to the cause. -Gabe Bergado, Entertainment Features Editor

Attending the March for our Lives in D.C. in March 2018 was a poignant moment for our staff to stand alongside students from all around the country in support and awareness of gun legislation and mental health access that we are having to senselessly fight for to this day. The deafening moment of silence during Emma González's speech and the tears running down our faces together is a moment in my life that will stay with me and my colleagues alike. We were and remain in awe of the bravery of our future generation. #neveragain -Emily Shippee, Managing Editor

In this wrenching piece, De Elizabeth spoke to teachers and students who were preparing for their return to school by writing wills. After a summer that saw back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, they feared that they could face a similar fate within the walls of their own institutions of learning. They wanted to make it easier for those they'd leave behind. As one California teacher said, "It felt like I should think about what should happen to my own family if something were to happen to me."

So much mass shooting coverage follows a script: the initial reports of the wounded and dead; the release of the gunman's identity; the questions about why the person did what they did. But teen journalists wanted to change that script. As Malavika Kannan, then a student journalist at Orlando's Seminole High School, explained in a Teen Vogue op-ed, her peers wanted to cover how these tragedies felt to them - capturing details and nuances that major outlets might gloss over. Talking to each other and covering their experiences helped young people work through their grief and anxiety together.

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Teen Vogue's 10 Most Powerful Stories About the Mass Shooting Generation

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There are too many ways to tell stories of gun violence in America. There are the experiences of survivors, whose voices most deserve to be heard. There is the research into the laws that propagate this violence, allowing domestic abusers to possess firearms and 18-year-olds to purchase weapons of war.

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March for Our Lives

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Emma Gonzalez's powerful March for Our Lives speech in full

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Parkland Survivor

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Gun violence in schools and in urban communities | Brandon Dasent | TEDxSistrunk

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Black Teens Have Been Calling for Gun Reform for Years

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Black Teens Have Been Calling for Gun Reform for Years

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Teen Vogue

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Black Teens Have Been Calling for Gun Reform for Years

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They’ve been demonized, obfuscated, and overlooked.

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Parkland Student Activists Talk Gun Control

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President Obama's statement on Newtown, Ct

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President Obama's statement on Newtown, Ct

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President Obama Makes a Statement on the Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut

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In-depth coverage about gun violence from The New York Times.

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"Guns have become the voice of America and the government is becoming more negligent." (4:01)

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"Guns have become the voice of America and the government is becoming more negligent." (4:01)

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Mya Middleton: "Guns have become the voice of America & the government is becoming more negligent"

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"Students across the country walk out of class in an effort to demand stricter gun laws."

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History of Gun Control Laws
Gun control laws are just as old or older than the Second Amendment (ratified in 1791). Some examples of gun control throughout colonial America included criminalizing the transfer of guns to Catholics, enslaved people, indentured servants, and Native Americans; regulating the storage of gun powder in homes; banning loaded guns in Boston houses; and mandating participation in formal gathering of troops and door-to-door surveys about guns owned.

Guns were common in the American Colonies, first for hunting and general self-protection and later as weapons in the American Revolutionary War. Several colonies' gun laws required that heads of households (including women) own guns and that all able-bodied men enroll in the militia and carry personal firearms. Read more history...

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

The Second Amendment is not an unlimited or individual right to own guns.

Further, the Second Amendment was intended to protect the right of militias to own guns, not the right of individuals to own guns. Former Justice John Paul Stevens, in his dissenting opinion for District of Columbia et al. v. Heller, wrote, "the Framer's single-minded focus in crafting the constitutional guarantee 'to keep and bear arms' was on military use of firearms, which they viewed in the context of service in state militias," hence the inclusion of the phrase "well regulated militia."

Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, stated there is nothing about an individual right to bear arms in the notes about the Second Amendment when it was being drafted, discussed, or ratified; the US Supreme Court declined to rule in favor of the individual right four times between 1876 and 1939; and all law articles on the Second Amendment from 1888 to 1959 stated that an individual right was not guaranteed.
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Pro 2

More gun control laws would reduce gun deaths.

Approximately 50% of unintentional fatal shootings were self-inflicted; and most unintentional firearm deaths were caused by friends or family members.

Five women are murdered with guns every day in the United States. A woman's risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute. During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 5,364 US soldiers were killed in action between Oct. 7, 2001 and Jan. 28, 2015; between 2001 and 2012 6,410 women were killed with a gun by an intimate partner in the United States.

Researchers found that a "general barrier to firearm access created through state regulation can have a significant deterrent effect on male suicide rates in the United States. Permit requirements and bans on sales to minors were the most effective of the regulations analyzed."

Gun licensing laws were associated with a 14% decrease in firearm homicides, while increases in firearm homicides were seen in places with right-to-carry and stand-your ground-laws.

More gun control leads to fewer suicides. When US gun ownership goes down, overall suicide rates drop; meanwhile, each 10 percentage-point increase in gun ownership is linked to a 26.9% increase in the youth suicide rate. In Indiana and Connecticut, after "red flag" laws to remove guns from people who may pose a threat were enacted, gun suicides decreased by 7.5% and 13.7% respectively, while suicides by other means did not decrease during the same time. A person who wants to kill him/herself is unlikely to commit suicide with poison or a knife when a gun is unavailable.

The US General Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that 31% of total accidental shooting deaths could have been prevented by installing safety devices on guns: 100% of deaths per year in which a child under 6 years old shoots and kills him/herself or another child could be prevented by automatic child-proof safety locks; and 23% of accidental shooting deaths by adolescents and adults per year could be prevented by loading indicators showing when a bullet was in the chamber ready to be fired.

Marjorie Sanfilippo, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Eckerd College who has researched children's behavior around guns, stated, "We put gates around swimming pools to keep children from drowning. We put safety caps on medications to keep children from poisoning themselves.... [B]ecause children are naturally curious and impulsive, and because we have shown time and again that we cannot 'gun-proof' them with education, we have a responsibility to keep guns out of the hands of children."
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Pro 3

The presence of a gun makes a conflict more likely to become violent.

The FBI found that arguments (such as romantic triangles, brawls fueled by alcohol or drugs, and arguments over money) resulted in 1,962 gun deaths (59.9% of the total).

An editorial published in the American Journal of Public Health noted, "gun-inflicted deaths [often] ensue from impromptu arguments and fights; in the US, two-thirds of the 7,900 deaths in 1981 involving arguments and brawls were caused by guns." A study published in the same journal found that "the weapons used [in altercations]... were those closest at hand." And thus, according to another study, "[r]ather than confer protection, guns kept in the home are associated with an increase in the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance."

Common sense gun control laws can decrease the likelihood of a violent situation turning deadly. President Ronald Reagan and others did not think the AR-15 military rifle (also called M16s by the Air Force) should be owned by civilians and, when the AR-15 was included in the assault weapons ban of 1994 (which expired on Sep. 13, 2004), the NRA supported the legislation. A Mother Jones investigation found that high-capacity magazines were used in at least 50% of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012.When high-capacity magazines were used in mass shootings, the death rate rose 63% and the injury rate rose 156%.
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Pro 4

A majority of adults, including gun owners, support common sense gun control such as background checks, bans on assault weapons, and bans on high-capacity magazines.

According to a Feb. 20, 2018 Quinnipiac Poll, 97% of American voters and 97% of gun owners support universal background checks. 67% support a nationwide ban on assault weapons, and 83% support mandatory waiting periods for gun purchases.

As much as 40% of all gun sales are undocumented private party gun sales that do not require a background check (aka the "gun show loophole").

53% of all adults surveyed approve of high-capacity magazine bans. 89% of adults with a gun in the home approve of laws to prevent the purchase of guns by the mentally ill, and 82% approve of banning gun sales to people on no-fly lists.

77% of Americans support requiring a license to purchase a gun.

Don Macalady, member of Hunters against Gun Violence, stated, "As a hunter and someone who has owned guns since I was a young boy, I believe that commonsense gun legislation makes us all safer. Background checks prevent criminals and other dangerous people from getting guns."

Many would like to see the U.S. enact more laws like other countries, citing the fact that countries with restrictive gun control laws have lower gun homicide and suicide rates than the United States. Both Switzerland and Finland require gun owners to acquire licenses and pass background checks that include mental and criminal records, among other restrictions and requirements. In 2007 Switzerland ranked number 3 in international gun ownership rates with 45.7 guns per 100 people (about 3,400,000 guns total). In 2009 Switzerland had 24 gun homicides (0.31 deaths per 100,000 people) and 253 gun suicides (3.29 deaths per 100,000 people). Finland ranked fourth in international gun ownership rates with 45.3 guns per 100 people (about 2,400,000 guns total). In 2007 Finland had 23 (0.43 deaths per 100,000 people) gun homicides and 172 gun suicides (4.19 deaths per 100,000 people).
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Con 1

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution protects individual gun ownership.

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution reads, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

Lawrence Hunter, Chairman of Revolution PAC, stated, "The Founders understood that the right to own and bear laws is as fundamental and as essential to maintaining liberty as are the rights of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion and the other protections against government encroachments on liberty delineated in the Bill of Rights."
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Con 2

Gun control laws are discriminatory and infringe on citizens' rights

Current gun control laws are frequently aimed at inner city, poor, black communities who are perceived as more dangerous than white gun owners. Charles Gallagher, Chair of Sociology at LaSalle University, stated that some gun control laws are still founded on racial fears: "Whites walking down Main Street with an AK-47 are defenders of American values; a black man doing the same thing is Public Enemy No. 1."

Background checks and micro-stamping are an invasion of privacy. Background checks require government databases that keep personal individual information on gun owners, including name, addresses, mental health history, criminal records, and more. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) worried that Senator Harry Reid's 2013 proposed background check legislation (the bill failed 54-46) would have allowed the government to keep databases of gun purchases indefinitely, creating a "worry that you're going to see searches of the databases and an expansion for purposes that were not intended when the information was collected." Micro-stamping similarly requires a database of gun owners and the codes their personal guns would stamp on cartridge cases. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote that they would oppose any legislation that infringes "on the American people's constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance."

Gun control laws infringe upon the right to self-defense and deny people a sense of safety. The police cannot protect everyone all of the time. 61% of men and 56% of women surveyed by Pew Research said that stricter gun laws would "make it more difficult for people to protect their homes and families." Nelson Lund, Professor at George Mason University School of Law, stated, "The right to self-defense and to the means of defending oneself is a basic natural right that grows out of the right to life" and "many [gun control laws] interfere with the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against violent criminals." A Pew Foundation report found that 79% of male gun owners and 80% of female gun owners said owning a gun made them feel safer and 64% of people living in a home in which someone else owns a gun felt safer. Even Senator Dianne Feinstein, a gun control advocate, carried a concealed gun when her life was threatened and her home attacked by the New World Liberation Front in the 1970s.

Gun control laws, especially those that try to ban "assault weapons," infringe upon the right to own guns for hunting and sport. In 2011, there were 13.7 million hunters 16 years old or older in the United States, High-powered semiautomatic rifles and shotguns are used to hunt and in target shooting tournaments each year. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, "So-called 'Assault weapons' are more often than not less powerful than other hunting rifles. The term 'assault weapon' was conjured up by anti-gun legislators to scare voters into thinking these firearms are something out of a horror movie... [T]he Colt AR-15 and Springfield M1A, both labeled 'assault weapons,' are the rifles most used for marksmanship competitions in the United States. And their cartridges are standard hunting calibers, useful for game up to and including deer." According to a Feb. 2013 Pew Research report, 32% of gun owners owned guns for hunting and 7% owned guns for target or sport shooting.
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Con 3

Gun control laws simply do not work.

Gun control efforts have proved ineffective. According to David Lampo, Publications Director of the Cato Institute, "there is no correlation between waiting periods and murder or robbery rates." Banning high-capacity magazines will not necessarily deter crime because even small gun magazines can be changed in seconds.The "gun show loophole" is virtually nonexistent because commercial dealers, who sell the majority of guns at shows and elsewhere, are bound by strict federal laws. According to a Mar. 10, 2016 Lancet study, most state-level gun control laws do not reduce firearm death rates, and, of 25 state laws, nine were associated with higher gun death rates.

Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders (9.97 gun homicides per 100,000 people) compared to the United States that had 9,146 gun homicides (2.97 per 100,000 people). The country has only one legal gun store (the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales), compared to at least 63,709 legal gun stores and pawn shops in the United States as of Feb. 10, 2014. Mexico's gun store is on a secure military base and customers must present a valid ID, go through a metal detector, and turn over cellphones and cameras to guards. To actually buy a gun, customers have to show proof of honest income, provide references, pass a criminal background check, prove any military duties were completed with honor, and be fingerprinted and photographed. If allowed to purchase a gun, the customer may buy only one gun (choosing from only .38 caliber pistols or lower) and one box of bullets. Between 2006 and 2010, Mexico's one gun shop sold 6,490 guns, yet as of 2012, Mexicans own about 15,000,000 guns, or about 13.5 guns per 100 people.

The main reason gun control doesn't work is because laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns or breaking laws. Of 62 mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and 2012, 49 of the shooters used legally obtained guns. Collectively, 143 guns were possessed by the killers with about 75% obtained legally. A Secret Service analysis found that of 24 mass shootings in 2019 at least 10 (42%) involved illegally possessed guns.

The logical conclusion is that gun control laws do not deter crime; gun ownership deters crime. A study in Applied Economics Letters found that "assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level" and "states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murders." While gun ownership doubled in the twentieth century, the murder rate decreased. Journalist John Stossel explained, "Criminals don't obey the law... Without the fear of retaliation from victims who might be packing heat, criminals in possession of these [illegal] weapons now have a much easier job... As the saying goes, 'If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.'"

More gun control is not needed; education about guns and gun safety is needed to prevent accidental gun deaths. 95% of all US gun owners believe that children should learn about gun safety. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute, Inc (SAAMI), stated, "Whether in the field, at the range or in the home, a responsible and knowledgeable gun owner is rarely involved in a firearms accident of any kind." According to Kyle Wintersteen, Managing Editor of Guns and Ammo, studies show that "children taught about firearms and their legitimate uses by family members have much lower rates of delinquency than children in households without guns" and "children introduced to guns associate them with freedom, security, and recreation-not violence." [82] [85] [154]
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Con 4

Gun control laws give too much power to the government and may result in government tyranny and the government taking away all guns from citizens.

57% of people surveyed by Pew Research in Feb. 2013 said that gun control laws would "give too much power to the government over the people."

The NRA's Wayne LaPierre stated, "if you look at why our Founding Fathers put it [the Second Amendment] there, they had lived under the tyranny of King George and they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny."

Concurring, Alex Jones, radio host, stated, "The Second Amendment isn't there for duck hunting, it's there to protect us from tyrannical government and street thugs... 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms!"

Marco Rubio (R-FL), US Senator, speaking about gun control laws during his 2016 presidential campaign, stated, "If God forbid, ISIS visits our life, our neighborhood, our school, any part of us, the last thing standing, the last line of defense could very well be our ability to protect ourselves."
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Did You Know?

1. A Pew Foundation report found that 79% of male gun owners and 80% of female gun owners said owning a gun made them feel safer, and 64% of people living in a home in which someone else owns a gun felt safer.

2. The US General Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that 100% of deaths per year in which a child under 6 years old shoots and kills him/herself or another child could be prevented by automatic child-proof safety locks.

3. The Centers for Disease Control listed firearms as the #12 cause of all deaths between 1999 and 2015, representing 1.3% of total deaths. They were also the #1 method of death by homicide (67.3% of all homicides) and by suicide (51.9% of all suicides).

4. Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders (9.97 gun homicides per 100,000 people) compared to the United States that had 9,146 gun homicides (2.97 per 100,000 people).

5. Carrying a concealed handgun in public has been permitted in all 50 states since 2013, when Illinois became the last state to enact concealed carry legislation.

6. Five women a day are killed by guns in America. A woman's risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute.

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Proponents say the Second Amendment is not an unlimited right to own guns. Opponents say the amendment protects individual gun ownership.

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Gun control in heavily-armed Switzerland faces May 19 vote, and the Swiss are grumbling

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Gun control in heavily-armed Switzerland faces May 19 vote, and the Swiss are grumbling

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GENEVA - As the push for gun reform continues to trigger heated debates in the United States and elsewhere, Switzerland's popular civilian-owned weapons have also come under fire.

In the world's first referendum of its kind, citizens of this heavily-armed Alpine nation will head to the polls on May 19 to decide whether to accept stricter gun control measures mandated by the European Union.

Europe has long banned automatic weapons, as well as some semi-automatic ones available in the U.S.

But after the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks, which claimed 130 lives, the EU has made it more difficult to legally buy certain weapons throughout its 27 member states. It also created tougher rules for licensing and registration of guns.
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Many in Switzerland are up in arms about these measures, arguing that stricter rules would not stop terrorism.

"It's a useless regulation because none of the terrorist attacks that the EU has used to legitimize the tightening of laws has been carried out with a legal weapon," said Luca Filippini, president of the Swiss Shooting Sport Federation.

Restrictions were also adopted in New Zealand after the Christchurch terrorist attack in March, where 51 people died. The country banned semiautomatic assault rifles and military-style weapons.

And in Australia, a 1997 law banned certain semi-automatic and pump-action weapons, forcing owners to sell them back to the government. That measure was passed after a killer opened fire with a semi-automatic firearm, shooting dead 35 people.

But Switzerland has not had a mass shooting since 2001, although weapons are as ubiquitous here as cheese and chocolate.

According to the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey, there are nearly 28 guns per 100 residents. But other official sources indicate the number is much higher, as firearms purchased before 2008 need not be registered and don't show up in statistics.

By comparison, the US has the world's highest number of weapons, with more than 120 firearms for each 100 residents.

While recent attacks on a synagogue in Poway, Calif., the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a slew of school shootings across the nation drive much of the gun-control debate in the United States, in Switzerland gun ownership has not been a contentious issue.

That's because mass murders are rare and school shootings non-existent in this peaceful nation of 8.5 million people, where weapons are deeply rooted in a sense of patriotic duty and national identity.

Every male is required to serve in the military, and their weapons, but not ammunition, are kept at home. People who own private guns can purchase ammunition freely, provided their weapon is registered.

"Responsible gun culture" - as the Swiss commonly refer to their sensible attitude toward weapons - also means learning to shoot and handle firearms safely from an early age.

Many youngsters belong to gun groups in their local communities, where they learn sharpshooting. They can test their skills at an annual shooting contest organized for kids aged 13 to 17 who compete using army service rifles.

And it's not unusual to see entire families heading for the shooting range, with rifles slung across their shoulders or carried in backpacks.

Yet despite the prevalence of firearms, gun homicide rate here is very low - 0.5 per 100,000 people, as compared to about 5 in the U.S., according to United Nations data.

But with the upcoming referendum, Swiss guns may be facing an uphill battle.

Although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it is part of the bloc's Schengen agreement, which allows people from 26 European nations to enter any of the countries without passport control. This means the Swiss must comply with EU's new firearm restrictions if they want to remain in the borderless zone.

"Switzerland has committed itself to these guidelines and is obliged to adopt the regulations into national law," said Nicolas Haesler, spokesperson for the Social Democratic Party which, along with most of the country's political groups supports the move.

He added that "a 'no' vote would lead to the automatic exclusion of Switzerland from the Schengen area, with all the negative consequences for our security, economy and travel."

But Filippini said that if the EU has its way, certain rifles used by most of the Shooting Federation's 130,000 members would be forbidden, making it more difficult to practice target shooting, one of the favorite sports here.

"We don't have a problem with weapons in Switzerland, so we don't need a new law," he said.

Opponents also argue that the country's existing legislation regulating the sale, ownership and licensing of private guns, which includes a ban on carrying concealed weapons, is strict enough. It allows citizens or legal residents over the age of 18, who have obtained a permit from the government and who have no criminal record or history of mental illness, to buy weapons from an authorized dealer, except automatic firearms, which are banned.

And people who want to purchase a gun must first prove they know how to use it safely before being issued a license.
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Similar licensing procedures also exist in other parts of Europe, but Switzerland is the first to let the people, rather than politicians, decide the future of its guns.

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Gun control in heavily-armed Switzerland faces May 19 vote, and the Swiss are grumbling

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GENEVA - As the push for gun reform continues to trigger heated debates in the United States and elsewhere, Switzerland's popular civilian-owned weapons have also come under fire. In the world's first referendum of its kind, citizens of this heavily-armed Alpine nation will head to the polls on May 19 to decide whether to accept stricter gun control measures mandated by the European Union.

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This collection features research reports and other publications on a wide range of legal topics prepared by the Law Library of Congress in response to requests or recurring interest from Congress and other federal government entities on issues concerning foreign, comparative, and international law (FCIL).

In addition to current research products on FCIL topics, this collection includes historical legal reports that have been previously unavailable to the public. The reports contain comparative analysis of foreign and international law from the period of the 1940s to the present. These digitized and born-digital historical reports will be released in phases. The information provided reflects research undertaken as of the date of writing, which has not been updated unless specifically noted, but will nonetheless be of historical interest. In processing historical reports for publication, the Law Library has made a good-faith effort to ensure that only final versions of those reports are included in this collection.

Browse reports by topic, region, year of publication, or simply browse all the reports

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About this Collection | Publications of the Law Library of Congress | Digital Collections | Library of Congress

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This collection features research reports and other publications on a wide range of legal topics prepared by the Law Library of Congress in response to requests or recurring interest from Congress and other federal government entities on issues concerning foreign, comparative, and international law (FCIL).

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Applying Successful Public Health Approaches to Gun Violence

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Applying Successful Public Health Approaches to Gun Violence

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Near real-time tweets of American gun violence incidents. Non-profit. Non-advocacy. Just the facts.

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Switzerland - High Gun Access, Low Gun Violence

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Switzerland - High Gun Access, Low Gun Violence

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Switzerland hasn't had a mass shooting since 2001, when a man stormed the local parliament in Zug, killing 14 people and then himself.

The country has about 2 million privately owned guns in a nation of 8.3 million people. In 2016, the country had 47 attempted homicides with firearms. The country's overall murder rate is near zero.

The National Rifle Association often points to Switzerland to argue that more rules on gun ownership aren't necessary. In 2016, the NRA said on its blog that the European country had one of the lowest murder rates in the world while still having millions of privately owned guns and a few hunting weapons that don't even require a permit.

But the Swiss have some specific rules and regulations for gun use.

Insider took a look at the country's past with guns to see why it has lower rates of gun violence than the US, where gun-death rates are now at their highest in more than 20 years, and the leading cause of death for children and adolescents.

Wikimedia Creative Commons

Health Gun Control Switzerland

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Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership - here's why it doesn't have mass shootings

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Switzerland hasn't had a mass shooting since 2001, when a man stormed the local parliament in Zug, killing 14 people and then himself. The country has about 2 million privately owned guns in a nation of 8.3 million people. In 2016, the country had 47 attempted homicides with firearms. The country's overall murder rate is near zero.

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Gun Control Really Works - Here's the Science to Prove It

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Gun Control Really Works - Here's the Science to Prove It

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AP

There are more than 38,000 gun deaths in the US every year, and approximately 85,000 non-fatal injuries.

Despite some restrictions on gun research, scientists have sought to evaluate how certain policies affect gun deaths.

Policies that seem to reduce rates of gun violence include stricter background checks, limiting access to dangerous weapons, and prohibiting domestic abusers from owning weapons.

On Sunday, a gunman opened fire at a Madden NFL video game tournament in Jacksonville, Florida. The shooter killed at least two victims and himself, and shot at least nine others.

As the country tries to figure out what - if anything - can be done in the wake of yet another mass shooting, it's worth taking a look at the evidence we have on the effects of gun regulations.

There are close to as many guns in the US as there are people. There may be more, or there may be fewer, depending on which study you look at - there's no exact count, since there isn't a national database of gun purchases or firearm owners, and federal law does not require a prospective gun owner to get a license or permit.

That's one of the many obstacles researchers come up against when trying to evaluate why so many people die from guns in the US.

But what they do know is that the number of gun deaths in the US is incredibly high. Most of these deaths are not from mass shootings, but from firearm suicides and murders. According to the American Public Health Association, guns kill more than 38,000 people per year and cause approximately 85,000 non-fatal injuries.

There's still a lot we don't know about this recent recent shooting, including whether the shooter purchased his weapon legally or if any common policy recommendations would have stopped him from obtaining a weapon.

Yet we do have evidence on effective policies that could have helped prevent some incidents. Despite some congressional limitations on gun research, scientists have sought to evaluate the effects of gun-control legislation in the US and in other places around the world.

Here's what the data shows.

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David Gray/Reuters

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Features Gun Control Parkland

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Gun control really works - here's the science to prove it

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There are more than 38,000 gun deaths in the US every year, and approximately 85,000 non-fatal injuries. Despite some restrictions on gun research, scientists have sought to evaluate how certain policies affect gun deaths. Policies that seem to reduce rates of gun violence include stricter background checks, limiting access to dangerous weapons, and prohibiting domestic abusers from owning weapons.

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Legislation May Not Work, But Trends Are Clear: Accessibility Is a Factor

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Legislation May Not Work, But Trends Are Clear: Accessibility Is a Factor

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How Accurately Do We Understand Crime in the USA?

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How Accurately Do We Understand Crime in the USA?

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from CNN Money

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From a small-town pharmacist to a commercial pilot, it's not just gunmakers that are funding the National Rifle Association's political battles.

The organization's overall revenue, which includes membership dues, program fees and other contributions, has boomed in recent years - rising to nearly $350 million in 2013. The majority of this money funds NRA initiatives like member newsletters, sporting events and gun safety education and training programs.

These help the NRA recruit new members and spread its pro-gun message. But to influence laws and keep its chosen leaders in power, it has a separate pool of money to use.

A CNNMoney analysis of federal campaign finance records shows that much of this money comes from everyday Americans. And these contributions, which the NRA uses to keep pro-gun lawmakers in office, are on the rise.

Some political funding comes from big corporations, many within the gun industry, which donate millions to the NRA. But companies are barred from donating to the NRA's political action committee, which the agency uses to fill campaign coffers, run ads and send out mailers for and against candidates.

That's where individual donations come in.

Since 2005, the NRA Political Victory Fund has received nearly $85 million in contributions from individual donors. After the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, donations to this political action committee surged as gun owners worried that their rights to buy and own guns were at risk.

The call for stricter gun control laws from leaders like President Obama in the wake of this tragedy fueled these fears and prompted the NRA to rally its members to fight against new regulations.

As a result, gun sales soared, and so did donations.

Donations in the 2014 election cycle were up by more than 50% compared to the prior two years, and nearly doubled from a decade ago.

"Americans look to the NRA to defend their constitutional right to self protection," NRA spokesperson Jennifer Baker told CNNMoney. "When gun control advocates ramp up their efforts to pass gun control people voice their opposition by donating to the NRA."

Contributions came from nearly 30,000 donors, with around 90% of donations made by people who gave less than $200 in a single year. According to the NRA, the average donation is around $35.

The NRA's ability to raise so much money from small donations is highly unusual for a special interest group, demonstrating its wide reaching support, said Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics.

Only one person has donated even close to the maximum amount allowed by federal law, which is $5,000 per year: a computer programmer from Houston. Since 2005, he has donated $50,050 -- just shy of the $55,000 allowed for the 11-year period (including this year).

"It is a good percentage of my income [5% to 10%], but I want to do everything I can easily do to preserve my freedoms," said the donor, who requested to remain anonymous. "I hope the money will be used to help conservative or libertarian minded candidates win elections."

He said he worries that gun control advocates are trying to prevent the average citizen from owning guns at all. He had previously donated to Republican candidates directly, but since he also wanted to support pro-gun Democrats, he has switched to donating almost exclusively to the NRA -- trusting it to distribute the money effectively.

"It is much easier to fight these bans now with money than to fight laws later with lawyers and evasion," he said. "I think having the average citizen armed is a powerful deterrent to would be abusers."

Another top donor is an Air Force veteran from Texas who ranked as an expert with both the .38 revolver and the 9 millimeter pistol while he was on active duty.

Currently he works as a commercial airline pilot, and he says he supports the NRA's mission to stand up for the right of self defense. He says he has a concealed weapon permit and regularly carries a handgun.

"I'd like to see my contributions used to help elect solid gun rights supporters where possible, the most electable gun rights supporters where necessary, and the least objectionable candidate if that's the best we can do," he said.

And they're joined by an eclectic group of other top donors.

These 10 donors all gave more than the former CEO of the oldest family-owned gunmaker in the country. Alan Mossberg, the now-retired CEO of O.F. Mossberg & Sons, donated $12,000 during this same time period. The company claims to be the largest manufacturer of pump-action shotguns in the world.

In addition to its PAC, the NRA also has a powerful lobbying arm, the nonprofit NRA Institute for Legislative Action, which lobbies for new laws and runs issue-based campaign ads of its own.

Unlike the PAC, it isn't able to donate directly to candidates. But it is able to receive millions of dollars in donations from corporations. The group is not required to disclose the names of its contributors or the details of these contributions, though some major gunmakers like Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Company have announced large donations in the past (though the NRA says that the vast majority of money comes from individual donors just like the PAC).

The NRA says that both lobbying and campaign funds represent a relatively small chunk of its overall budget and disputes criticism that it speaks only for the gun industry. Instead, it says that it's the money and support from Americans all over country that make its political efforts so effective.

"Congress isn't necessarily listening to the NRA, they're listening to our members," said Baker. "They know our members support the Second Amendment and vote and give money."

With the money its PAC receives, the NRA spends the majority on supporting Republican candidates. But there are a few Democrats in the mix as well, including The Blue Dog PAC for conservative Democrats. Here are some of the top recipients of campaign donations in past years:

CNNMoney (New York) October 15, 2015

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From a small-town pharmacist to a commercial pilot, it's not just gunmakers that are funding the National Rifle Association's political battles. The organization's overall revenue, which includes membership dues, program fees and other contributions, has boomed in recent years - rising to nearly $350 million in 2013.

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Joe Quint, Photographer

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Checkhov's Assault Rifle: Best Teen Writing of 2016

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Checkhov's Assault Rifle: Best Teen Writing of 2016

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'We're not asking for a ban; we're asking for a compromise." (5:29)

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"We're Not Asking For A Ban, We're Asking For A Compromise"

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"Every mass shooting in the United States starts a new debate over the right to own guns. Americans own more guns than anybody on Earth"

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Understanding Key Terms in the Gun Control Debate

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Understanding Key Terms in the Gun Control Debate

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"In this article, we will go over some of the key terms that come up in debates about gun control laws. Understanding these definitions is essential in order to follow the arguments that have been raised for or against tighter regulations. They might help you come up with arguments of your own."

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Does the U.S. Need Tougher Gun Control Laws?

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Does the U.S. Need Tougher Gun Control Laws?

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"As firearms have become more powerful and mass shootings fill the news, arguments over gun laws have grown more heated."

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A Parkland Teacher's Homework For Us All

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A Parkland Teacher's Homework For Us All

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"In a stirring talk, Wolk-Rogers offers three ways Americans can move forward to create more safety and responsibility around guns -- and invites people to come up with their own answers, too." (15:47)

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A Parkland teacher’s homework for us all

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Diane Wolk-Rogers teaches history at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, site of a horrific school shooting on Valentine’s Day 2018. How can we end this senseless violence? In a stirring talk, Wolk-Rogers offers three ways Americans can move forward to create more safety and responsibility around guns -- and invites people to come up with their own answers, too. Above all, she asks us to take a cue from the student activists at her school, survivors whose work for change has moved millions to action. “They shouldn’t have to do this on their own,” Wolk-Rogers says. “They’re asking you to get involved.”