How can we reduce gun violence in America?

Here are six steps that we can take to reduce America’s shameful gun-violence problem. 1. Buying a gun should be like buying a car The reduction in U.S. motor-vehicle deaths over the past 50 years is one of the great triumphs of public-health intervention.

What is a public health approach to preventing gun violence?

A public health approach to preventing gun violence expands solutions beyond gun access to reduce additional risk factors associated with gun violence and bolster resilience in individuals, families, and communities. Public health solutions: Recognize gun violence as a critical and preventable public health problem.

How can we stop thinking about gun control as a political issue?

While legislators in statehouses and Washington can pass laws that may–or may not–help, the most effective way to tackle our national problem is to stop thinking of gun control as a political battle and instead see gun violence as a public-health issue.

What protections does federal law offer the gun industry?

Federal law offers the gun industry extraordinary protections. In 2005, Congress passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which shields gun manufacturers and sellers from civil claims brought by victims of gun violence.

Do Gun laws reduce homicide rates?

What surprised us the most was that in states that enacted a combination of universal background-check laws, laws prohibiting the sale of guns to people with violent misdemeanors, and concealed carry permit laws, the homicide rates were 35 percent lower than in states with none of those three kinds of laws.

How do gun laws affect gun violence?

The practice of keeping guns out of the hands of people who are at the greatest risk for violence—based on a history of violence—appears to be the most closely associated with decreased rates of firearm homicide. We also found that certain laws appear to be more effective depending on location.

How can I prevent the import of military-style firearms?

Apply the “sporting test” standards of the 1968 Gun Control Act. This provision prohibits the import of weapons not “suitable or readily adaptable for sporting purposes,” including but not limited to military-style firearms.

How can we reduce car accidents and gun deaths?

Safer cars, stronger seat-belt laws and fewer teenage drivers have helped reduce car fatalities, which dropped from 33.5 deaths per billion miles traveled in 1975 to 11.8 in 2016. Gun deaths have increased steadily since 2009 and are now nearly as lethal as traffic accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).