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.
By closing the boyfriend loophole, the legislation expands on current laws barring those convicted of domestic violence or subject to a domestic violence restraining order from purchasing a firearm. This legislation also includes other intimate partners, in addition to people who are married to, living with, or had a child with the victim. During the pandemic, there was an increase in incidents of domestic violence. Victims were locked down with abusers, and many shelters struggled to safely provide services. There was also a steady increase in gun purchases. Domestic violence incidents rose in the United States by about 8.1 percent after the imposition of pandemic-related lockdowns, according to an analysis by the National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice.
Firearms contribute significantly to domestic violence. Around 4.5 million women in the United States have been threatened with a gun, and nearly 1 million women have been shot by an intimate partner. Abusers use guns to threaten and control victims. These threats often escalate to murder. Every month, an average of 70 women in the United States are shot and killed by an intimate partner. Research shows that access to a gun in domestic violence situations makes it five times more likely that the woman will be killed. Like many other forms of gun violence, the deadly intersection of guns and domestic violence has a disproportionate impact on communities of color, particularly Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Latinx women.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning Studies show that an education that promotes social and emotional learning finds beneficial outcomes related to attitudes about self, school, civil engagement, social behaviors, conduct problems, emotional distress, and academic performance. It is unknown if the significant changes addressed in the bipartisan gun safety bill will withstand the challenges raised in cases making their way to the Supreme Court.
Police Interactions and Training
According to data compiled by the Washington Post, 1,098 people have been shot and killed by police in the past 12 months. The fallout from the Breonna Taylor case where Taylor was fatally shot while sleeping in her bed as police executed a no-knock warrant led to an examination of police interaction and training. The U.S. Department of Justice investigated the Louisville (Kentucky) Metro Police Department and identified 36 recommended remedial measures and outcomes in order to address violations and a framework for change. The resulting consent decree requires that the Louisville Metro Police Department will be monitored by an independent regulatory agency while changes are made to improve community relations and public safety and to comply with federal and state laws.
Many of the measures center on training related to the use of force, search warrants, street enforcement, and the need for clear policies and processes related to interactions with domestic violence or sexual assault victims and those facing behavioral health (mental health) episodes and the lack of support for officers. The consent decree identifies areas of unconstitutional policing and ensures that the agency will shift to constitutional policing. Police agencies are called to protect communities and to deal with situations we could never imagine. However, with the call is a duty to provide public safety for all. Other law enforcement agencies should engage in similar examinations of their policies and training to improve public safety and to provide officers with the tools they need to succeed and effectively serve their community.
Conclusion
We must continue to engage in an interdisciplinary approach as gun violence continues to rise. Focusing on public health, strengthening gun laws, and examining police interactions and training are just some of the ways to reduce gun violence. As gun violence continues to be a reality on school and university campuses, we must also look at policies to protect our students, like campus carry. We must also determine if conflict resolution measures like social-emotional learning techniques, mediation, and the implementation of pre-mediation programs are appropriate mechanisms to assist. It is only when we apply varying tactics that we can reduce the gun violence crisis and ensure that the rule of law is upheld.