Ep015 - How can we stop mass shootings?

The most recent active shooter attack in Maine brought out the calls for so-called “common sense gun control laws”, which is understandable in the aftermath of a tragedy. The Left typically demands the usual list - ban AR-15s, require universal background checks, repeal the 2nd amendment, etc. and accuse conservatives of not caring about innocent civilians dying. I thought it would be a good idea to go over some of the data about mass shootings and talk about the proposed solutions for this very specific type of violence. Do we have any proof they’d prevent future active shooter incidents? And then I talk about the things I think would potentially help (even though the Left would scoff at the ideas, I’d assume). I rattle off a lot of numbers and statistics in this episode, and below are links to many of the original data sources. I think it’s important for us to move past the same talking points repeated after every one of these evil attacks and actually look at which policies implemented in different states that have either succeeded or failed to make a difference and learn from the data. I’m know I didn’t talk about every proposed solution in this episode, so what did I leave out that you think would make a difference? 00:00:00 - Start 00:02:41 - What's the definition of a mass shooting? 00:05:27 - How many mass shootings have there been? 00:17:54 - Who are mass shooters? 00:22:48 - How can we prevent mass shootings? 00:25:07 - Should we ban so-called "assault rifles"? 00:30:54 - What is the definition of an "assault rifle"? 00:32:03 - Did the 1994 Assault Weapons ban work? 00:36:33 - Why don't we have universal background checks? 00:41:29 - Should we ban magazines that hold more than 10 rounds? 00:43:38 - What are red flag laws? 00:48:09 - An interesting idea for preventing mass shootings 00:50:35 - Should there be fewer gun free zones? 00:57:09 - Should gun control be a federal or state issue? 01:00:14 - What responsiblity does the media have to prevent mass shootings? Notes: FBI Active Shooter Incidents, 2000-2019 The Mother Jones Mass Shootings Database Mass Shootings and Background Checks Cases Where Armed Citizens Have Stopped Active Shooter Incidents Massive Errors in the FBI's Active Shooting Reports Regarding Cases Where Civilians Stop Attacks Which Weapons Are Most Commonly Used for Homicides? Red Flag Laws Are Useless If No One Uses Them Red Flag Laws: Yes, We Limit Liberty When There's Evidence of a Threat The Second Amendment's Assault Rifle Compromise Thresholds of Violence