Seventeen people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; 12 shot to death at a bar hosting a student line-dancing night in Thousand Oaks, California; 11 killed when a man opened fire in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; four deaths at a Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago; three dead at a Madden 鈥19 video game competition in Jacksonville, Florida 鈥 and those are just a few of the shooting incidents from 2018. Hearing such news and participating in active shooter trainings in schools, workplaces and public venues have become part of everyday American life. But, rather than getting used to mass shootings, what can we do to stop them?
Garen Wintemute, M.D. 鈥77, a professor of emergency medicine and director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis, is championing the creation of the Center for Violence Prevention Research. Wintemute has devoted his life to studying the effects of violence after seeing countless patients in the emergency room 鈥 many of whom suffered firearm wounds.
鈥淢ass shootings really hit home for people,鈥 said Wintemute. 鈥淵ou can put distance between yourself and other forms of violence by proximity or demographics. You can pawn it off as something that鈥檚 not your problem. Mass shootings are different; you recognize that this could actually happen to you, and it could happen at any of the normal places you go, like the mall, movie theater or place of worship.鈥
One of the primary ways mass shootings and acts of violence can be prevented is through enhanced background checks for gun ownership 鈥 but many states don鈥檛 have strict background-check policies.
Wintemute noted he has seen a gun sale or transaction at gun shows occur in less than a minute 鈥 without any sort of background check. He added that 22 percent of all firearm transfers nationwide proceed without checks. And some states that have regulations in place don鈥檛 enforce them.
With comprehensive background-check policies, most private-party transfers would be required to be routed through a licensed retailer so that a check may be conducted and records kept.
Applying the science of violence prevention
Many advocates say they see a parallel to the 1950s, when automobile crashes and related deaths were at an all-time high. As a result of research-driven regulations and social change, motor vehicle-related mortality significantly declined.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clear science has a role to play here,鈥 Wintemute said. 鈥淲e can use scientific data to inform public policy, which can reduce rates of violence. I鈥檓 positive we can accomplish this; we just need the opportunity to do it.鈥
VPRP鈥檚 work has been aided by 新澳门六合彩内幕信息 Davis鈥 proximity to Sacramento, along with the willingness of the state legislature to invest in violence research, implement policy and follow up on results.
鈥淭he legislature and policymakers ask us to inform them on what the science says we should do, and when we make recommendations, they often act on them,鈥 Wintemute said. 鈥淭hey even follow up to be sure that the effects of what we did are what we think they鈥檙e going to be. There鈥檚 no other place where this level of collaboration exists.鈥
Proven effective interventions
An added layer of legislation, which has already proven to be effective, is the gun violence restraining order, also called an extreme risk protection order, said Wintemute. These court orders allow firearms to be temporarily seized from individuals in crisis, or can even be used to prevent firearm purchases. California was the one of the first states in the country to adopt this particular legislation, and 14 states have implemented this measure.
鈥淚 am aware of a series of potential mass shootings in California that were thwarted because of a gun violence restraining order,鈥 Wintemute said. 鈥淗ad one been available in Parkland, Florida, the woman Nicolas Cruz lived with, or local law enforcement, could have gone to a judge to request it and potentially saved many lives.鈥
Multiple polls suggest the vast majority of Americans support new firearms policies. According to the third National Survey of Gun Policy conducted in 2017 by the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, about 87 percent of gun owners and nonowners support universal background checks. About 77 percent support gun violence restraining orders. In an article he wrote for the New England Journal of Medicine, Wintemute said these systems aren鈥檛 geared toward 鈥済un control,鈥 but are viewed as part of the response to a public health crisis.
鈥淭he policies discussed aim to uncouple harmful behavior from its consequences and help preserve our fundamental right to live safely in a free society,鈥 Wintemute said. 鈥淢ass shootings are changing the character of public life in the United States and creating unprecedented demand for action 鈥 and there are scientifically proven steps we can take to stop them.鈥
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