The Second Amendment is one of the most fundamental rights afforded to Americans. The challenge lies in preserving the essence of the amendment while ensuring safety and reducing incidents of gun violence. The rule of law sets out that all citizens and institutions in a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws. While the Supreme Court has a stricter interpretation of the application of gun laws as reflected in recent decisions, this does not diminish the number of incidents of gun violence that are on the rise. We must continue to marshal resources in pursuit of a multidisciplinary approach to the issue. The impact of gun violence on taxpayers, survivors, families, and employers is too high. The cost is not only associated with the undefinable cost of losing a loved one but also upfront costs associated with police investigations, medical treatment, and consequent costs—mental health care, long-term medical treatment, lost wages or earning potential due to death or disability, and a diminished standard of living because of ongoing pain and suffering for victims and families.
An Interdisciplinary Approach
There is not one solution to quell gun violence in America. We must use every strategy and tactic available to stop what many call an epidemic of gun violence. An interdisciplinary approach focuses on harnessing various tactics to attack the issue. According to recent data, our federal, state, and local governments spend a combined average of nearly $35 million each day to deal with the impact of gun violence.
Public Health
The American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association both describe gun violence as a public health issue. Reflected in the societal costs of firearm assault injury include work loss, medical/mental health care, emergency transportation, police or criminal justice activities, insurance claims processing, employer costs, and decreased quality of life. By designating gun violence as a public health issue, there may be opportunities for increased funding and policy changes.
Suicide accounts for between 60 and 65 percent of all gun deaths annually in the United States. Three states have passed legislation allowing people who fear they may become suicidal to place themselves on a “do not sell” list to block their purchase of a gun. The voluntary participants would have the option to suspend their ability to purchase a gun by voluntarily entering their name confidentially into a background check system that is already in place. While those navigating a current crisis would most likely not participate, for those who suffer from mental health episodes, the do not sell registry could serve as a protective barrier between someone suffering a mental health issue and the purchase of a gun. Advocates of the law say that there is a link between guns and suicide, which cannot be denied, and there is a link between stricter gun laws and lower suicide rates.
However, advocates of the do not sell list and the National Institutes of Health are quick to note that mental illness is not a predictor of violence toward others. After shooting events, mental illness is often blamed as the cause. However, research finds that mental illness is not a significant risk factor for gun violence. Only a small number of mass shooters, 20 percent, have experienced serious mental illness. People with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence rather than perpetrators. It is clear that gun violence may cause mental health issues for survivors—we have only to look at the recent mass shooting at Michigan State where we later learned that some of the students impacted were also survivors of the Oxford Hills High School shooting one year before. How those who were still processing one tragedy will deal with another is yet to be seen.
Strengthening Gun Laws
On June 25, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan gun safety bill. Touted as the most significant federal legislation to address gun violence to pass since 1994, this new legislation aimed to improve mental health support and school safety, restrict firearm access for domestic violence offenders, enable states to put in place laws that will allow authorities to take weapons from those deemed “dangerous,” and toughen background checks for young gun buyers. The bill includes expanded background checks, closing the boyfriend loophole, red flag laws, illegal gun purchases, mental health expansion, gun dealer checks, and school safety.
With expanded background checks, for the first time, juvenile records, including those regarding mental health, will be required in federal background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21. The maximum time for gathering criminal background records has now been extended to 10 days. Red flag laws provide federal aid to states that create red flag laws to aid authorities in obtaining court orders to temporality remove guns from those deemed dangerous by a judge. The aid is meant to incentivize states and can be used to create crisis intervention programs. With illegal gun purchases, the bill focuses on gun trafficking and straw purchasers, people who purchase guns for other individuals who would not pass necessary background checks, and the expansion of mental health programs and community behavioral health clinics. Provisions include support for pediatric mental health training and care, school-based mental health programs, the suicide crisis hotline, and community mental health. The section focused on federally licensed gun dealers is meant to close the gun show loophole in which unlicensed private sellers have been able to sell guns without performing required checks.
