Advocate for gun control laws.

Tracey Onyenacho
Written By Nicole Cardoza

Happy Thursday and welcome back. Over the past ten days, there's been at least seven mass shootings in the U.S. Tracey started this piece before the most recent shooting in Boulder, which only emphasizes the point: we have to take gun control more seriously. Although background checks and extending the waiting period won't solve every mass shooting, they can certainly reduce violence and harm.

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By Tracey Onyenacho (she/they)

Many violent acts done by white supremacists are carried out with guns that are easily accessible to them. After many shootings by white supremacists, legislators often draft up bills that they determine will reduce these deadly attacks, ranging from giving more money to police to closing loopholes on background checks. Yet, mass shootings by white supremacists still happen.

According to the Pew Research Center, white men are the largest demographic to own guns at 48 percent, while 24 percent of white women are gun owners (Pew Research Center). Twenty-four percent of non-white men and 16 percent of non-white women own guns. Although many people use guns for safety, white supremacists have increasingly used guns as their new weapon of choice against people of color (The Trace). And these white supremacists are able to get guns easily and legally.

Current gun control laws vary from state to state. However, many gun control laws have federal requirements to prevent everyone from purchasing a gun. One of the most important federal gun control laws is the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Congress.gov). This act prohibits certain folks from purchasing guns, such as those with felony convictions, those who are considered to have a mental health condition, those under 18 years old (with exceptions for a job), and more. 

This Brady Act also requires a background check to be run by the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) if a gun buyer’s basic background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System has been flagged. A basic background check through the system can take a few minutes to approve instantly. But for the FBI, a background check may not be conducted in enough time. The legislation allows that if there has been no objection within three days of the FBI background check request, the person can purchase a gun. This does not mean that the background check was completed, only that there was no contest reported by the FBI in that time period. 

More people bought guns last year than ever before, with over 23 million guns sold (CNN). This led to the FBI conducting more background checks than in previous years. This January alone, the FBI conducted over 4.3 million background check requests after many people bought guns in response to the January 6 Capitol riot. Yet, shootings by white supremacists still happen. 

For example, last week, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long shot up three massage parlors and killed eight people, including six Asian American women in Atlanta, after he was able to purchase a gun on the same day (VICE). This was possible due to Georgia’s lack of a waiting period between purchasing a gun and receiving the gun. Waiting periods are meant to prevent a potential gun owner from purchasing a gun to commit shootings out of rash and violent intentions. Waiting periods also give the FBI more time to complete a background check if the federal deadline of three days is not enough.

Now, politicians are trying to pass new legislation through the Senate that will close some loopholes that grant easier access to firearms. Earlier this month, the House passed two bills that will tighten the gun buying process by implementing stricter background checks (New York Times). If passed through the Senate, one law will allow the FBI to have up to 10 days to conduct a proper background check. Another legislation will require private gun sellers to conduct background checks. Private gun sellers are currently not federally required to conduct background checks unless their state requires it. Data from Everytown for Gun Safety found that 1 in 9 potential buyers on Armslist, the largest online gun listing site for private sellers (similar to Craigslist), wouldn’t pass a background check (Everytown for Gun Safety). But loopholes allow them to purchase guns from private sellers without one. These new federal legislations could bring greater restrictions but face significant opposition in the Senate from politicians seeking to strike them out. 


Politicians are also trying to move forward state legislation to prevent impulsive gun purchases by enacting their own waiting periods. Currently, only ten states and the District of Columbia have legally mandated waiting periods before purchasing a gun (Giffords Law Center). Legislators in Georgia are now planning to bring forth legislation that will require a waiting period of five days. Other states are following suit in issuing legislation that will create or extend waiting periods (Associated Press). Although gun control laws may not fully stop mass shootings by white supremacists, politicians hope to bring more restrictions for impulse purchases of guns if passed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • White men are the largest demographic of gun owners.

  • Federal law requires licensed gun owners to conduct background checks but not private sellers.

  • Only ten states and the District of Columbia have laws that require a waiting period before receiving a gun after its purchase.

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