Gun control is an ever debated issue in the United States. The trend of overall public opinion, though, reveals that 67% of people desire more strict gun control legislation, despite 42% of those surveyed saying they have a gun at home.
So, what are some of the reasons public opinion has swung in favor of further regulation?
According to FBI data, 66 law enforcement officers were killed in 2016 while on duty by someone with a firearm. The total number of police officer deaths was 135 in 2016.
A significantly larger number of civilians die in the United States due to gun violence than the men and women who sacrificed their lives in service of the law. In fact, 13,286 people in total died as the result of a gunshot in 2015. Not all of these deaths were intentional either.
One example of this is found when looking at hunting accidents. Roughly 100 hunters per year are killed from a bullet fired by a fellow hunter. Out of the approximately 15.5 million people that hunt in the U.S., though, this number is quite small.
Perhaps the precipitating factor here is the heavy media coverage of school shootings over the past few years. These incidents are heavily reported on, and possibly acted as a source of influence for those polled.
In reality, school shootings are no more common than in the past. This, of course, doesn’t make it easier for the friends and families of those who have suffered a loss at the hand of a school shooter.
Regardless of the reason, or a number of reasons, for the shifting public opinion, it is certainly no secret. The protests in support of gun regulation have swelled. Hundreds of thousands of people marched nationwide in hopes of ending gun violence one step at a time.
The ‘March for Our Lives’ protest was indeed a response to a school shooting. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla saw the death of 17 people in February of this year.