Trump and McConnell have given us four years of zero movement on gun control
More people die, per capita, from gun violence in the United States than in any other country in the world, even more than in countries at war, like the Philippines, or in so-called “failed states” like Venezuela. The US faces an epidemic of gun violence, mass shootings and specifically, school shootings. And yet the response from the Trump White House and Mitch McConnell’s Senate has been to offer nothing other than their “hopes and prayers” for the victims.
- An average of 100 Americans die of gun violence every day, and this number has been increasing in 2020. https://giffords.org/gun-violence-statistics/
- There were 417 mass shootings in the US in 2019, averaging more than one per day. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-than-days-365/
- In the first 46 weeks of last year, there were 45 school shootings. https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/15/us/2019-us-school-shootings-trnd/index.html
- An estimated 3 million American children are exposed to shootings per year.
- Active shooter drills are implemented in over 95 percent of American K–12 schools today, and these are associated with increases in depression (39%), stress and anxiety (42%), and physiological health problems (23%) overall, including children from as young as five years old up to high schoolers, their parents, and teachers.. https://everytownresearch.org/report/the-impact-of-active-shooter-drills-in-schools/
- More than 100 gun control bills were introduced in the US Congress since 2018. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/congress-has-110-gun-bills-on-the-table-heres-where-they-stand
- The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill in 2019 requiring background checks before buying a gun. Mitch McConnell has refused to bring this to a vote in the Senate. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/8/text
- The House of Representatives passed a bill in 2020 to strengthen federal firearm laws and to promote research into gun violence. That has also been blocked by Mitch McConnell in the Senate. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5717/all-info
- President Trump has failed to come forward with any proposal on gun control. https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/washington-waits-for-a-trump-decision-on-gun-violence-legislation/