Mass Shootings in America: An Examination of Root Causes and Possible Solutions
The more guns in a country, the more gun homicides there are (Hepburn and Heminway), and according to a 2018 report by the Small Arms Survey, the US has more guns (393 million) than people (330 million). Likewise, there are higher rates of mass shootings in states with more gun owners and relaxed gun control laws (Reeping). Perhaps most astonishingly, Americans make up less than 5% of the global population but own 42% of the world's privately owned firearms.
When looking for the cause of mass shootings in this country, people often cite a mental health crisis. While I agree that lack of access to quality mental health care is a contributing factor, that doesn't explain why over 70% of mass shootings in developed countries happen in the US (Solis-Moreira). The deadly combination that makes mass shootings so prominent in the US is easy access to guns and a culture that encourages unbridled individualism.
Paul Hirschfield, associate professor of sociology and director of criminal justice at Rutgers, wrote:
"In no other part of the world do gun access and culture interact in the same way: Although many European countries share the same cultural forces that produce aggrieved social outcasts, they place far greater restrictions on guns. By contrast, in Latin America, guns are in wide circulation, but these cultural forces, because of different [collectivistic] traditions of social organization, are far less pronounced." (Hirschfield)
A common argument is that gun legislation won't deter criminals from obtaining guns illegally off the black market. However, the price of firearms on the black market is usually significantly higher than the retail price (Global Study on "Firearms Trafficking 2020", 13). There is typically a premium attached to black market guns because the purchasers generally don't have a legal option of obtaining a gun, and the rules of supply and demand still apply here. It's challenging to provide a specific estimate of how much more expensive guns are on the black market compared to legal markets, as prices vary widely depending on the type and condition of the gun, its rarity, and the demand for it. What's more, the statistics show that 77% of mass shooters legally acquired the guns they used in their crimes (TCR Staff).
The bottom line is that the issue of mass shootings in the US is an impossibly complex, multi-faceted problem that requires a multi-faceted solution. I see the answer to this problem as being five-fold, starting with legal friction, prevention measures, mental health reform, responsible media coverage, and putting pressure on the powers that be.
What Creates a Mass Shooter?
Experts agree that early childhood trauma is the foundation, whether it's violence at home, sexual assault, parental suicide, extreme bullying, or some combination. There's a buildup of despair, hopelessness, isolation, self-loathing, and rejection from peers. Eventually, these emotions come to a head, a crisis point. What many people don't realize is that these mass shootings are suicides. Nobody goes in planning to come out. They have to be caught to get the attention that they want. The only option is to be killed, kill themselves, or spend the rest of their lives in prison. It's a final act. What's different from traditional suicide is that the self-hate turns outward against a group.
They ask themselves who is at fault – whether it's women, a racial group, a religious group, or their classmates. Then they choose a location that's symbolic of their grievance with the world because they're looking for fame and notoriety in death that they didn't have in their life. Their goal is to kill as many people as possible to make the biggest headlines. School shootings, for example, typically occur at very large suburban or rural public high schools – where they're less likely to have felt seen or noticed. These are young men who are generally completely lacking human connection (Peterson).
Legal Friction
Universal Background Checks
Background checks are already a prerequisite for purchasing a gun at a gun dealership. However, universal background checks would address the loophole that allows prohibited purchasers to acquire firearms through private parties, including online and at gun shows. That being said, many studies have shown that making background checks universal currently doesn't have any effect on the gun crisis in America.
The issue with universal background checks is that the FBI database is outdated and missing millions of records, so bad guys can still legally purchase guns sometimes.
Isaac Saul, the founder of the non-partisan political newsletter Tangle, said, "Local police, the military, federal and state courts, hospitals, and treatment providers regularly fail to send criminal or mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System when they are supposed to ... these failures mean licensed gun dealers regularly run a clean background check on someone who should be caught by the system. We need better enforcement of our background checks and more incentives for accurate reporting."
Not only that – universal background checks are only part of the puzzle since they only catch people who have a record already, which is where would-be mass shooters purchasing guns fall through the cracks.
Red Flag Laws
Red flag laws, also known as extreme risk laws, allow people to petition for an extreme risk protection order from a court. Red flag laws are a civil (not criminal) mechanism that prevents an individual from legally purchasing or possessing a gun for up to one year.
The intention is to prevent people at risk of exhibiting violent behavior from owning guns who don't otherwise meet the threshold to be involuntarily committed or charged with a crime.
Red Flag laws are in place in 20 states but are often not implemented effectively. The solution to this starts with training and awareness. People need to know that the laws exist, how they work, and who has a duty to report an individual. Second, a safe mechanism for law enforcement to remove firearms must be in place.
Ban High-Capacity Magazines
According to Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates against gun violence, the research shows states can lessen gun violence by limiting access to high-capacity magazines and assault weapons. States that restrict magazine size experience less than half as many mass shootings as states with no restrictions. Furthermore, mass shooting deaths have been estimated to be 70 percent less likely to occur when a federal prohibition on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines was in effect. Restricting magazine size is by far the strongest predictor of a state's rate of mass shootings.
Buying a Gun Should Be Like Getting a Driver's License
While universal background checks would do little to address gun violence and mass shootings, a licensing system does both of those things well.
A licensing system works like this: before going to a gun store, you must take a firearm safety course. Then, you must go to the police department and submit an application, give references, and give your fingerprints for a background check. Lastly, the FBI database is checked, and all local law enforcement agencies wherever you've lived are directly contacted, along with the department of mental health.
According to Dr. Cassandra Kafasi, who researches health policy at Johns Hopkins, licensing works because it's designed to do both of the big things background checks often miss. It correctly identifies and screens out people, with or without records, who shouldn't have guns and creates a system to reduce impulsive gun purchases (Vox, 4:13).
For a person in crisis who wants to harm themselves or others, a license can delay or deter them from obtaining the firearm and pick up the slack that background checks don't.
Other legislation worth looking into is raising the minimum gun purchasing age to 21, implementing buyback programs with more incentives, and banning bump stocks, which allow gun owners to convert semi-automatic weapons to perform like machine guns.
Leakage & Prevention
Leakage is a term for the signs that would-be mass shooters leave of their deadly plans online or to people they know before committing violent acts. Leakage is a critical moment for mental health intervention to prevent mass shootings. Leakage is one of several types of warning behaviors that, when responded to, could prevent a mass shooting before it occurs. In a study by the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, of the 15 deadliest shootings from 1998 to 2018, researchers found that 87% of perpetrators leaked violent thoughts or intent, and 80% leaked their interest in mass killing specifically (Lankford et al.). In addition, the US Secret Service examined 37 school shootings and found that 81% of the time, at least one other person knew about the shooting in advance. (Peterson et al.)
Leakage is associated with a history of counseling and suicidality, suggesting that it's a cry for help from perpetrators before they act. The institutional response to leakage often punishes the leaker with exclusionary practices like suspension, expulsion, or criminal charges. However, if perpetrators who leak tend to be young and experiencing suicidal ideation, punitive measures could exacerbate their grievance and suicidality. Instead, crisis response teams that respond to leakage with appropriate and holistic interventions, such as suicide prevention services, crisis intervention strategies, mental health services, or peer support, may more effectively prevent future violence.
Safe Storage Campaigns
Public health messaging campaigns on safe gun storage are needed to prevent young people in crisis from accessing their caretaker's weapons. Keeping all firearms appropriately stored and locked must become the only socially acceptable norm.
Mental Health Reform
Many people believe the mental health reform angle is a smokescreen put up by the right-wing gun lobby. I agree that mental health care reform is essential, but it shouldn't be a substitute for more restrictive gun legislation. People who want to kill themselves and kill as many others with them will find a way to do it – whether it's bombs, knives, vehicle ramming, or something else. That's why legislation, while important, is not enough.
We as a society need to start looking at mental illness, including severe mental illness, like any other illness, with empathy. We must destigmatize and encourage men, especially young men, to go to therapy. There is ample research on suicide prevention and strategies that aren't being used because people aren't thinking of mass shootings that way. Giving schools and organizations more suicide prevention resources and training could be very effective.
There should be government-paid mental health institutions that allow people to go to therapy for free and have access to school therapists. There are many social work graduates in need of a job and many kids who need assistance navigating the turbulence of adolescence.
Media Coverage
Mass shooters study other mass shooters. They often find representation in them and feel that there are other people who feel like them. So, if you have an 18-year-old boy on the edge and watching these events unfold, that can embolden him to follow.
We need to stop giving mass shooters screen time or publicity and place stricter standards on news coverage to discourage copycat events and fame-hunting by the perpetrators. Streamlining laws that dramatically reduce the defendants' time in front of cameras and in the courtroom should be implemented.
There's an organization called No Notoriety, founded by Tom and Caren Teves, who lost their son in the Aurora, Colorado, shooting. The No Notoriety protocol is similar to the way that media covers suicides. Because there's a contagion aspect to suicides, journalists are trained not to give details about how the suicide was committed to avoid amplifying that contagion. It's similar to mass shootings, which are often a form of suicide. We can talk about the victims and the first responders without giving the perpetrator the notoriety they're looking for so as not to embolden another potential mass shooter.
What Should Congress Do?
The 2022 Midterm Voter Election Poll clarified that voters want Congress to support public policies addressing gun violence. Some ways in which Congress can reduce gun violence and mass shootings include:
Pass common-sense gun control laws
Increase funding for mental health care
Implement suicide prevention measures in schools
Support community-based programs
Strengthen school safety measures
What Should President Biden Do?
Biden has been a long-standing advocate for common sense gun control laws, as seen in the statement he released on February 17th, 2023, after the mass shooting in Tate County, Mississippi:
"We need—need—common sense gun law reforms. That includes requiring background checks on all gun sales, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, fully closing the boyfriend loophole to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, requiring safe storage of guns, and eliminating immunity for gun manufacturers who knowingly put weapons of war on our streets.
These are common sense steps that Congress could take right now and save lives. We owe action to American communities being torn apart by gun violence." (Statement from President Joe Biden on the Mass Shooting in Tate County, Mississippi)
Biden should use executive authority where he can to strengthen gun control measures. However, executive orders are limited and only allow directing existing infrastructure to operate differently.
What Can You and I Do?
Unfortunately, politicians continue to choose funding from the NRA over innocent lives, making it difficult to get anything done. Still, we must advocate for the change we wish to see. We can start by following these steps:
If you notice someone exhibiting warning signs, voice your concerns to the authorities.
Call, write, or email your representatives and advocate for common-sense gun control measures, such as universal background checks, responsible media coverage, limits on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons, and responsible gun ownership laws.
Get involved in community-based programs that support violence prevention and mental health services.
Always be kind. You never know what someone else's internal landscape is like. Your smile or genuine acknowledgment could change the course of their life for the better.
Addressing the issue of mass shootings in the US requires a multi-faceted approach, including legal friction, responding immediately to leakage, implementing crisis prevention strategies, mental health reform, responsible media coverage, putting pressure on politicians, and advocating for the reform that we seek. We must cultivate a culture of kindness and compassion in our communities. Volunteer, pay someone a genuine compliment, make small talk when you usually wouldn't, and cultivate a mindset of giving. Your seemingly small gesture could be the catalyst that steers someone towards a completely different life and, ultimately, a safer society.
References:
“Global Study on Firearms Trafficking 2020.” Unodc.org, Mar. 2020, https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Firearms/2020_REPORT_Global_Study_on_Firearms_Trafficking_2020_web.pdf.
“The Gun Solution We're Not Talking About.” YouTube, Vox , 11 Sept. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENw2y0ek1Jg. Accessed 21 Feb. 2023.
Hepburn, Lisa M., and David Hemenway, “Firearm availability and homicide: A review of the literature,” Aggression and Violent Behavior 9, no. 4 (2004): 417-440.
Hirschfield, Paul. “Why Are There so Many Mass Shootings in the United States?” Foreign Affairs, 2 Nov. 2022, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/why-are-there-so-many-mass-shootings-united-states.
Lankford, Adam, et al. “Are the Deadliest Mass Shootings Preventable? an Assessment of Leakage, Information Reported to Law Enforcement, and Firearms Acquisition Prior to Attacks in the United States.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, vol. 35, no. 3, 2019, pp. 315–341., https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986219840231.
Peterson, Jillian, et al. “Communication of Intent to Do Harm Preceding Mass Public Shootings in the United States.” JAMA Network Open, JAMA Network, 4 Nov. 2021, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2785799.
Peterson, Jillian. “How to Stop Mass Shootings, with Jillian Peterson, Phd.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, Oct. 2022, https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/mass-shootings.
“Prohibit High-Capacity Magazines.” Everytown, 9 Jan. 2022, https://www.everytown.org/solutions/prohibit-high-capacity-magazines/.
Reeping PM;Cerdá M;Kalesan B;Wiebe DJ;Galea S;Branas CC;, Paul M. “State Gun Laws, Gun Ownership, and Mass Shootings in the US: Cross Sectional Time Series.” BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.), U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30842105/.
Saul, Isaac. “We Are Broken.” Tangle, Tangle, 25 May 2022, https://www.readtangle.com/texas-school-shooting-robb-elementary/.
Solis-Moreira, Jocelyn. “Mass Shootings a 'Uniquely American Problem' -- over 70% Take Place in United States.” Study Finds, 7 June 2022, https://studyfinds.org/mass-shootings-american-problem/.
“Statement from President Joe Biden on the Mass Shooting in Tate County, Mississippi.” The White House, The United States Government, 17 Feb. 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/02/17/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-mass-shooting-in-tate-county-mississippi/.
TCR Staff. “200 Mass Shootings so Far This Year; Most with Legal Guns.” The Crime Report, 3 Feb. 2023, https://thecrimereport.org/2022/05/17/majority-of-mass-shooters-purchased-their-guns-legally/.
