Ep057 - How do we stop school shootings?

This week saw another terrifying school shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia. After every tragic mass shooting, especially at a school, both sides go into a frenzy of emotional defending of their side and vilification of the other. Gun-control advocates demand we "DO SOMETHING" and accuse those not on their side of caring more about guns than kids' lives. Meanwhile, some on the right dismiss them as just an expected part of living in America. Both sides assign evil intent to the other, and we get nowhere. This kind of violence SHOULD anger us. It's understandable to be emotional. But I want to look at the nuance of the issue and the data to show that the typically proposed solutions like AR-15 bans, universal background checks, or other so called "common sense" gun control laws would be ineffective to prevent these kinds of tragedies. Don't worry, though, I do have some ideas of what could work. CHAPTERS: 00:02:21 Gun violence is an extremely nuanced problem 00:09:18 How many people die by firearms every year? 00:13:27 What type of firearms are used in homicides? 00:15:47 Let's talk about mass shootings/school shootings specifically 00:17:08 How do we define mass shootings and active shooter incidents? 00:22:08 The media over-exaggerates the problem 00:28:22 School shooters and suicide risk overlap 00:32:42 What "solutions" wouldn't work (IMO) 00:36:56 Do more guns equal more homicides? 00:37:54 What about mental illness? 00:39:14 Should parents be held legally responsible for their kid's violence? 00:41:02 A few more bad solutions 00:41:27 Would universal background checks work / The myth of the "gun show loophole" 00:45:30 Should we ban AR-15 rifles? 00:46:14 The common patterns in school shooters 00:49:19 Solutions that could make a difference at the margins 00:52:05 What about red flag laws or gun violence restraining orders? 00:54:38 We should enforce existing gun laws, first 00:56:08 Congress should allow more gun violence research 00:58:24 Are gun-free zones to blame? 00:59:54 Should we arm teachers? 01:01:44 The best solution to stopping school shootings, in my opinion 01:10:42 The media's responsibility Notes: Crime Data Explorer - https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/shr Guns: Safety Topics - https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/guns/ 2023 FBI Active Shooter Report - https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/2023-active-shooter-report-062124.pdf/view FBI 20-Year Active Shooter Review (2000-2019) - https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-20-year-review-2000-2019-060121.pdf/view PMC Gun Violence Study - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4211925/ Debunking the 355 Mass Shootings in 2015 - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/12/no-there-were-not-355-mass-shootings-this-year/ TRB Special Report 269 - https://trb.org/publications/sr/sr269.pdf CNN 2020 Census Data - https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/12/politics/us-census-2020-data/index.html#:~:text=The%20Hispanic%20or%20Latino%20community,identify%20their%20race%20and%20ethnicity. The Link Between Gun Ownership and Homicide - https://medium.com/handwaving-freakoutery/everybodys-lying-about-the-link-between-gun-ownership-and-homicide-1108ed400be5 The School Shooting Solution - https://hwfo.substack.com/p/the-school-shooting-solution Thresholds of Violence (The New Yorker) - https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/19/thresholds-of-violence