Tough Gun Laws Do Work: Look At California

 In ways that have tended to be underreported, California has significantly lowered gun deaths in the past 25 years.  People look at our state and say we have so many deaths from guns, but what they don't mention is that we have more than 40 million people living here.  Of course we are going to have more deaths than Nevada or Ohio.  

Over the past 25 years (except for the pandemic years) our rate of firearm violence has trended downward, while rates in the rest of the country have gone up.  California's rate of firearm mortality is among the nation's lowest, with 8.5 gun deaths per 100,000 population, compared with 13.7 per 100,000 nationally and 14.2 per 100,000 in Texas.  Californians are about 25% less likely to die in mass shootings compared with residents in other states.

Why?  We have stricter gun laws.  Over time, California has evaluated policies one at a time, and added laws a little at a time.  California has done a lot to prevent high risk people from purchasing firearms.  We've broadened the criteria for keeping guns out of the hands of people who pose a danger to themselves or others.  If you're convicted of a violent misdemeanor in California, you can't have a gun for the next 10 years.  In most states, it must be a felony to prevent someone from owning a gun.

California requires background checks, and we enforce the policies.  In the early 1990's, Saturday night specials were almost entirely manufactured around Los Angeles.  The state imposed standards for design and safety, which drove most of the companies out of town or out of business.  The state is constantly trying to keep up with the gun industry, which is always trying to get around laws.  Right now trained agents are trying to deal with unregulated ghost guns.

Don't tell me that stricter laws don't work.  They do, and statistics prove it.  Lower prevalence of gun ownership also leads to less deaths.  Rates of gun ownership are lower in California.  About 15-18% of people own guns.  Nationwide it is 25-30% of people who own guns.  Let's get something passed!!!