Ceasefire Oregon and the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation Release Recommendations to Reduce Gun Violence by 30-50% in Five Years

http://www.ceasefireoregon.org/advocacy

Ceasefire Oregon and the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation have drafted a plan of action, both legislative and educational, that could reduce gun violence by 30 to 50 percent in five years.

The plan has three overarching goals:

• Require higher standards for firearm ownership.
• Enhance accountability of federally licensed firearm dealers (FFLs).
• Improve safety standards for firearms and firearm ownership.

Ceasefire Oregon and the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation are greatly indebted to Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer for his plan “Enough is Enough”1 and to Dr. Daniel Webster, Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.2

The plan respects the values and ideals held by responsible gun owners while remaining within the scope of the Second Amendment.

Recommendations for requiring higher standards for gun ownership include (1) national universal background checks for all firearm sales3,4,9; (2) prohibition of gun ownership for 10 years if a person has multiple offenses involving misdemeanor violence, alcohol or drug abuse, domestic violence, a domestic violence restraining order or serious juvenile offense.5,6,7 (3) secure weapons storage;8,9,10,11,12 and (4) standardized training for concealed handgun license applicants that includes marksmanship proficiency, active shooter training, and conflict resolution.13,14

Ceasefire Oregon supports Dr. Webster’s recommendations to reduce gun violence by enhancing accountability of federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs).20, 21 The pipeline of crime guns can be stopped by (1) requiring security cameras, computerized sales inventory, and other anti-theft measures as are required by other purveyors of dangerous substances such as pharmacies;2,15 (2) limiting gun purchases to one gun per month to reduce trafficking and straw purchases;16, 17 (3) repealing the Gekas amendment of the 1994 Brady Bill that allows FFLs to sell a gun without a background check if the check is not complete in three business days;18, 19 and (4) imposing a waiting period of two weeks between time of sale and possession to deter suicide and impulse shootings.9

Affordable and effective technology exists today that would improve safety standards for guns and gun ownership. This includes (1) a microstamped code on each bullet that links it to a specific gun;22 (2) magazine disconnect mechanisms (MDM) that prevent a gun from loading a bullet in the chamber;23 (3) loaded chamber indicator (LCI or CLI) to show that bullets are still in the gun;23 and (4) “smart guns” with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or biometric recognition (fingerprint) capability.24

While only 4% of violent crime is attributable to mental illness,25 we call for more funding to provide competent assessment and care of our mentally ill citizens and those who are considering suicide. The funding would be generated by a tax on each gun sale and on every box of bullets purchased. This tax would be collected by the states and used to augment direct services for those suffering from mental illness.

To reduce the high number of people killed in mass shootings, the sale and possession of military-style rifles and high-capacity magazines should be banned.26

Finally, Ceasefire Oregon and the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation call on President Obama to appoint a National Director of Gun Violence Prevention Policy. Over 30,000 Americans die every year from gunfire. Appointing a National Director to focus solely on gun violence prevention would give the necessary attention needed to reduce these largely preventable deaths.

Ceasefire Oregon, the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation, and the Central Coast Ceasefire Oregon Chapter have been at the forefront of the gun violence prevention movement in Oregon since 1999. After the Sandy Hook, Connecticut massacre, we helped establish the Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety (http://www.oregonallianceforgunsafety.org/coalition) that has grown to over 50 organizations.

Ceasefire Oregon collaborated with the Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety, Everytown in Oregon, Moms Demand Action Oregon and Gun Owners for Responsible Ownership to pass the 2015 Oregon Firearms Safety Act that closed the private gun sale loophole in Oregon. The Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation (http://coef.ceasefireoregon.org/) has worked since 1994 to reduce gun violence through education programs including ASK: Asking Saves Kids and gun turn-ins.

Information about current state laws are on the Ceasefire Oregon website.

1. Enough is Enough: A Comprehensive Plan to Improve Gun Safety. 2015. Retrieved fromhttp://blumenauer.house.gov/images/pdf/enough_is_enough.pdf.

2. Webster DW. “America’s Path to Fewer Gun Deaths.” Retrieved fromhttp://www.tedmed.com/speakers/show?id=309062.

3. Quinnpac University Poll, Sept. 17-21, 2015  http://www.pollingreport.com/guns.htm.

4. State Background Check Requirements and Rates of Domestic Violence Homicide.http://everytownresearch.org/state-background-check-requirements-and-rat....

5. Sorenson SB and Webster DW. “What Works, Policies to Reduce Gun Violence. Gun Violence: Prediction, Prevention and Policy," APA Panel Of Experts Report. American Psychological Association, 2013, pg. 30.  Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/info/ reports/gun-violence-prevention.aspx.

6. Wintemute G. “Broadening Denial Criteria. Updated Evidence and Policy Developments on Reducing Gun Violence in America."  Editors Webster DW, Vernick JS. Baltimore, 2014. pp. 13-17. Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-cente....

7. Seventy percent of gun owners and 76.1% of non-gun owners support a gun policy prohibiting a person convicted of two or more crimes involving alcohol or drugs within a three-year period from having a gun for 10 years. Barry CL, McGinty EE, Vernick JS, Webster DW. “After Newtown — Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness." N Engl J Med. 2013;368:1077-1081. March 21, 2013. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1300512. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300512#t=article.

8. Safe Storage & Gun Locks Policy Summary. Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Retrieved from http://smartgunlaws.org/safe-storage-gun-locks-policy-summary/.

9. Anestis MD, Anestis JC. “Suicide Rates and State Laws Regulating Access and Exposure to Handguns.” American Journal of Public Health. 2015;105:10, 2049-2058. doi:

10.2105/AJPH.2015.302753 Retrieved fromhttp://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302753.

10. Forty-four percent of gun owners and 75.3% of non-gun owners support a gun policy requiring by law that a person lock up guns in the home when not in use to prevent handling by children or teenagers without adult supervision.  Barry CL, McGinty EE, Vernick JS, Webster DW. “After Newtown — Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness.  N Engl J Med. 2013; 368:1077-1081. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1300512. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300512#t=article.

11. Policy Statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Firearm-Related Injuries Affecting the Pediatric Population.” Council on Injury, Violence, and Poison Prevention Executive Committee. Pediatrics. 2012;130:5. e1416 -e1423. (doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2481). Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/130/5/e1416.full.

12. In Oregon, 82% percent of voters support child access prevention laws requiring safe storage of guns in a locked container for homes where a child is present. Additionally, 71% of gun owners support this law. Benenson Strategy Group, Polling Results, April 2015. Retrieved fromhttp://americansforresponsiblesolutions.org/files/2015/04/ARS-
Oregon-Child-Access-Prevention-Memo.pdf.

13. “Overall, the most consistent, albeit not uniform, finding to emerge from the array of models is that aggravated assault rises when RTC laws are adopted.” Donohue JJ III, Aneja A, Zhang A. "The Impact of Right to Carry Laws and the NRC Report: Lessons for the Empirical Evaluation of Law and Policy." May 20, 2010. Retrieved fromhttp://media.law.stanford.edu/publications/archive/pdf/ssrn-id1632599.pdf.

14. Delaware Weapons Instructions and Forms. Retrieved fromhttp://www.delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc07/index.shtml#1441.

15. Almost seventy-nine percent of gun owners and 86.4% of non-gun owners support a gun policy allowing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to temporarily take away a gun dealer’s license if an audit reveals record-keeping violations and the dealer cannot account for 20 or more guns.  Barry CL, McGinty EE, Vernick JS, Webster DW. “After Newtown — Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness,  N Engl J Med. 2013; 368:1077-1081. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1300512. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300512#t=article.

16. “This study provides evidence that restricting handgun purchases to 1 per month is an effective means of disrupting the illegal interstate transfer of firearms.” Weil DS, Knox RC. “Effects of Limiting Handgun Purchases on Interstate Transfer of Firearms.” JAMA. 1996;275(22):1759-1761. doi:10.1001/jama.1996.03530460063033. Retrieved fromhttp://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=403492.

17. An April 13, 2012, Ipsos/Reuters poll found that 69 percent of Americans support limiting the number of guns a person could purchase in a given time frame. Retrieved from http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5586.

18. “Blumenthal, Murphy Move to Keep Guns Out of the Hands of Criminals.” Retrieved fromhttp://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-murph....

19. Sixty-seven percent of gun owners and almost 80% of non-gun owners support a gun policy allowing law enforcement up to five business days to complete a background check for gun buyers. (Note: This survey was conducted in January 2013, two and one-half years before the Charleston massacre in which Dylan Roof allegedly shot nine people to death. Reportedly, Roof obtained his firearm because of the Gekas amendment.http://everytownresearch.org/nics-charleston/)  Barry CL, McGinty EE, Vernick JS, Webster DW. “After Newtown — Public Opinion on Gun Policy and Mental Illness, N Engl J Med 2013;368:1077-1081. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1300512. Retrieved fromhttp://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1300512#t=article.

20. “Congress should repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the sharing of gun trace data.”  Taking a Stand: Reducing Gun Violence in Our Communities: A report from the International Association of Chiefs of Police 2007 Great Lakes Summit on Gun Violence, pg. 21. Retrieved fromhttp://www.theiacp.org/portals/0/pdfs/ACF1875.pdf.

21. H.R.1449 - Tiahrt Restrictions Repeal Act 114th Congress (2015-2016) Rep. Lee, Barbara [D-CA-13] (Introduced 03/18/2015) Retrieved from https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1449/text.

22. Lizotte TE, Ohar O. Forensic firearm identification of semiautomatic handguns using laser formed microstamping elements. SPIE Proceedings. 2008;7070:1-15.

23. “From a nationally projectable sample, GAO estimates that 31 percent of accidental deaths caused by firearms might be prevented by the addition of two safety devices.” Eleanor Chelimsky, Assistant Comptroller General. United States General Accounting Office, Report to Chairman, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Monopolies and Business Rights, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate. Accidental shootings : many deaths and injuries caused by firearms could be prevented: report to the chairman, Subcommittee on Antitrust, Monopolies, and Business Rights, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Senate. 1991. pg. 2. Retrieved fromhttps://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/2090194.

24. Webster DW, Vernick JS, Teret SP. “How Cities Can Combat Illegal Guns and Gun Violence.” Center for Gun Policy and Research. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Baltimore, MD. Updated October 23, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/johns-hopkins-center-for-gun-policy-and-research/publications/How_Cities_Can_Combat_Illegal_Guns.pdf

25. Appelbaum PS. Violence and mental disorders: data and public policy. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163(8):1319–1321.http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.8.1319.

26. According to a December 2014 poll by Pew Research Center, 58 percent of Americans support a ban on semi-automatic weapons. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/09/a-public-opinion-trend-t....

Who Does The NRA Really Represent? Follow The Money.

The NRA, as with other gun lobby groups, likes to promote itself as a membership-based organization that is fighting for the gun rights of the average gun owner, supported by their memberships, to promote gun safety and Second Amendment rights (but only the second half of the Second Amendment, mind you).

The NRA claims to have almost 5 million dues-paying members, a number that the organization likes to promote.  But this number is almost certainly greatly-inflated, with a real number down around 3 million.  That sounds like a lot of people still, until you consider that there are around 70 million gun owners in the United States, around a declining 22% of Americans, which means that the NRA only represents around 4% of gun owners, and this a tiny percentage of the total U.S. population of 320 million people.

Nonetheless, the NRA is a political powerhouse, pushing politicians to vote against their conscience to oppose any and all reasonable regulation to keep guns out of the hands of those who would misuse them.  Why?  Follow the money.  Many tens of millions of dollars come from gun makers to the NRA.  From an article:

Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the NRA Ring of Freedom sponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala's, Sturm Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson. 

The NRA also made $20.9 million — about 10 percent of its revenue — from selling advertising to industry companies marketing products in its many publications in 2010, according to the IRS Form 990.  

Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights, donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA. Taurus buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their guns. Sturm Rugar gives $1 to the NRA for each gun sold, which amounts to millions. The NRA's revenues are intrinsically linked to the success of the gun business.

And why do the gun manufacturers give the NRA so much money?  Is it to promote gun safety?  Hardly.  In the last election cycle, the NRA spent over $28 million on campaign contributions -- paying off our elected officials to make it easier for guns to get in to any and all hands.  More from the previous article:

"Today's NRA is a virtual subsidiary of the gun industry," said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center. "While the NRA portrays itself as protecting the 'freedom' of individual gun owners, it's actually working to protect the freedom of the gun industry to manufacture and sell virtually any weapon or accessory."

You can read more details from a Violence Policy Center report about the close ties between the NRA and gun manufacturers, as well as in this Forbes article.

What does this mean for gun owners?  It means the NRA does not really speak for them.  For instance, a study out of Johns Hopkins found that 85% of gun owners supported background checks for all gun sales, including private sales.  63% support banning semi-auto assault weapons.  And 60% support banning high capacity ammo magazines.  And it doesn't stop there:

In the 2015 survey, the majority of gun owners surveyed support prohibiting a person convicted of a serious crime as a juvenile from having a gun for 10 years (73 percent), prohibiting people who have been convicted of public display of gun in a threatening manner excluding self-defense from having a gun for 10 years (75 percent), and prohibiting people convicted of domestic violence from having a gun for 10 years (76 percent). 

Similarly, the majority of gun owners (67 percent) also support allowing cities to sue licensed gun dealers when the gun dealer's sales practices allow criminals to obtain guns and requiring a mandatory minimum sentence of two years in prison for a person convicted of knowingly selling a gun to someone who cannot legally have one (71 percent).

See more on these disagreements with the NRA HERE and HERE.

But don't tell all that to the NRA leadership.  They oppose such bills at both the state and federal levels.

The bottom line is that NRA doesn't care if a gun winds up in the hands of a felon, a child, or the mentally ill.  Every gun that is sold is another dollar in their pocket and the pockets of the gun manufacturers.  Follow the money!

A Town Hall Forum On Gun Violence In Eugene

On October 29th, I was honored to take part in an excellent Town Hall forum on the issue of Gun Violence.  It was hosted at the First Christian Church in Eugene, Oregon, and was organized by Tony McCown, who is a candidate for Lane County commissioner.

Around 100 people took part.  Concerned citizens from many different walks of life, including a number of gun owners and hunters.  This was the second time the church has hosted such an event.  The first time, a couple years ago, I was one of the speakers.

I set up a table for Ceasefire Oregon, and there were three other representatives from my organization, too, including one of the speakers, Executive Director Penny Okamoto.  Moms Demand Action was also represented with a table and a speaker, Charlie McKenna.  Also on the panel was state senator Floyd Prozanski, Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy, and current Lane County Commissioner Pete Sorenson.

The Town Hall began with the speakers.  See video, below.  After a quick introduction by Penny Okamoto, Senator Prozanski discussed in detail issues around the recently-enacted Senate Bill 941, which requires a background check for every gun purchase, including private transfers, in the state of Oregon.  Mayor Piercy talked about the recent visit by President Obama to meet with the families of victims from the Umpqua Community College shooting, and about Mayors Against Illegal Guns (she is a member).  Commissioner Sorenson talked about the resolution by the Lane County Commissioners (he was the only vote against it) which declared that the background check bill was "unconstitutional" and that no funds would allocated to enforce it (against the oath that they took to do so).  Finally, Charlie McKenna talked about Moms Demand Action and what had to change in the Oregon Legislature in order to pass the universal background check bill after three years of trying.

The introduction of the speakers from the forum:



After this, the audience broke up into smaller groups to explore the issue of gun violence, its causes, and possible solutions.  I was impressed by how seriously everyone took the issue and the level of positive debate that occurred.  We all then re-convened and each group did a little presentation for each part of the questions.

Again, I was impressed with the solutions that people suggested, such as smart gun technologies, suicide prevention strategies, mandatory proficiency training for gun owners, and mandatory safe storage of guns, among other suggestions.  The level of awareness was most striking.  In similar forums, in the past, it didn't seem to me that there was the same level.

And, with each suggestion, comments were made by the speakers.  See below for Penny Okamoto's response regarding mental illness, and how the NRA and other pro-gun supporters scapegoat the mentally ill (who are statistically more likely to be gun violence victims than to be gun violence suspects):


I want to thank First Christian Church for hosting the event, the speakers, and most of all the other attendees, for taking part.  It is my hope that there can be more public forums like this one.