On Monday, David Hogg retweeted a post from The ReidOut featuring an interview with Ezri Tyler, a student organizer for the March For Our Lives movement. In the interview, Tyler identifies lawmakers as the main obstacle to implementing an assault weapons ban in the United States.
Tyler’s statement echoes a sentiment that has been expressed by gun control advocates for years. Despite repeated mass shootings and calls for stricter gun laws from survivors and family members of victims, Congress has failed to pass meaningful legislation on gun control.
One example of this is the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which expired in 2004. The law prohibited the manufacture and sale of certain semi-automatic firearms deemed “assault weapons,” as well as high-capacity magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition.
While some studies suggest that the ban had some positive effects on reducing gun violence during its ten-year run, it was largely seen as ineffective due to loopholes allowing guns manufactured before or after the ban to be sold legally.
Since then, there have been numerous attempts to reinstate or strengthen assault weapon bans at both state and federal levels. However, most have been met with resistance from pro-gun groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), who argue that any restrictions on firearm ownership violate Second Amendment rights.
In recent years, there have also been efforts by states such as Florida and California to implement Red Flag Laws – laws allowing authorities to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others – but these too have faced pushback from those who see them as an infringement upon their rights.
The issue of gun control has become increasingly politicized in recent years, with Democrats generally pushing for stricter regulations while Republicans favoring looser restrictions. This divide is evident in Congress; despite Democrats’ control of both chambers since January 2021 following wins in crucial Senate races in Georgia earlier this year they still lack enough votes (60) to overcome the Senate filibuster, a procedural tactic used by senators to prevent a bill from being voted on.
The issue has also taken on racial undertones, with Black Americans disproportionately affected by gun violence. In 2019, the Urban Institute found that while Black Americans made up only 13% of the population, they accounted for more than half of all gun homicide victims.
Despite this, many lawmakers have been hesitant to address gun control in relation to race. When President Biden announced executive actions aimed at reducing gun violence in April following mass shootings in Boulder and Atlanta he did so without mentioning any specific measures aimed at addressing systemic racism and inequality tied to gun violence.
As Tyler suggests in her interview – and as advocates have long argued – it seems that lawmakers’ resistance to implementing stricter laws is due largely to their fear of alienating pro-gun voters or facing backlash from groups like the NRA.
It remains unclear what steps will be taken next in terms of passing meaningful gun control legislation. However, one thing is clear: until lawmakers are willing to put aside political interests and prioritize public safety over campaign contributions from special interest groups such as those who fund lobbying efforts against regulation there will likely continue to be more tragic incidents involving firearms across America.