An elementary school in Texas. A nightclub in Florida. A concert in Las Vegas. A grocery store in New York. In this time in the United States, there is truly no corner of the country that a notable mass shooting has not touched. 

What’s more, gun violence in the U.S. is not just limited to mass shootings. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 200,083 documented gun violence related deaths since 2014. In 2022 alone, there have been 35,697 gun violence related deaths.  

The staggering statistics pose an important question — what is Congress doing to alleviate gun violence in the U.S.?  

CURRENT GUN LAWS

An article published by Council on Foreign Relations addresses current U.S. gun policy. 

“The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits individuals under eighteen years of age, convicted criminals, the mentally disabled, dishonorably discharged military personnel, and others from purchasing firearms.” the article says. “In 1993, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act mandated background checks for all unlicensed individuals purchasing a firearm from a federally authorized dealer.”  

Whether or not stricter gun control policies are to be put in place is, as of now, up to the states. California enacted laws that limit concealed carry and require gun safety devices for gun owners. These policies appear to have lowered gun violence related deaths in California. 

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE 

Despite the efforts to change gun control laws on a federal level, all legislation has not been passed. According to CFR, “As of mid-2022, there were no federal laws banning semi-automatic assault weapons, military-style .50 caliber rifles, handguns, or large-capacity magazines. There was also no federal requirement for those purchasing a gun to have any firearm safety training.” 

Because gun policy is so widely misunderstood, Congress has struggled to pass successful policies. A piece published in Science emphasized that further research into how stricter gun control laws impact gun violence could encourage policymakers to take action on the matter. 

On Biola’s podcast Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture, Talbot graduate Mike Austin highlighted both the danger guns pose and the urgent need for a solution. 

“Guns enable people who are sinful to kill larger numbers of people more efficiently,” Austin said. “If we can reduce gun violence, if we can make it more difficult for people with a fallen sinful heart to express that sinful heart through the barrel of a gun…we should do that.”

DOUBTS REGARDING GUN CONTROL 

Of course, some doubt that gun control will be successful should more policies be put in place. According to Fee.org, the common thread embedded in America’s gun violence epidemic is poor mental health as well as poverty. These could be seen as the source of the problem rather than the guns themselves.   

 Still, stricter gun control policies in states such as California have so far proven to be successful. Brady California states that “From 1993 to 2017, California’s firearm mortality rate declined by 55 percent—almost four times the decrease in the rest of the nation.” Data such as this makes it evident that policymakers need to consider passing federal gun control measures.  Hopefully, further research on the benefits of stricter gun control will produce data that will allow the United States federal government to make progress when it comes to gun control laws and legislation. Steps need to be taken sooner rather than later.