The US passed a landmark gun deal one year ago. Is it working?
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Gun violence survivors, activists and elected officials gathered in Connecticut on Friday to mark nearly one year since Congress passed the most significant gun safety package in three decades.
President Joe Biden gave the keynote address at the summit at the University of Hartford. The gathering was organized by proponents of the deal, including gun safety advocacy groups Giffords and Everytown for Gun Safety and U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last summer in the wake of mass killings in Buffalo, New York; Uvalde, Texas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma; and days before the mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Illinois.
"One year ago we did come together. We did hear the call from too many families ... 'Do something, do something,'" Biden said in his speech. "The response usually was, 'My prayers are with you.' Prayers are fine … but it is not going to stop it. You have to take action, you have to move, you have to do something.
"We did pass the most meaningful gun safety law in 30 years," Biden said.
Summit attendees evaluated the direct impact of the legislation thus far and identified the next steps. Biden called for Congress and states to pass even more gun safety legislation: "We are not finished."
The event comes as available data suggests the U.S. is seeing a year-over-year decline in murders nationwide. At the same time, mass shootings appear to be accelerating.
What is the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act?
The landmark deal – the culmination of decades of gun safety advocacy work – focuses on keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people and investing in school safety and mental health resources.
It created a $750 million funding pot to incentivize states to create "red flag laws," closed the "boyfriend loophole" by adding convicted domestic violence abusers in dating relationships to the national criminal background check system, clarified the definition of a "federally licensed firearm dealer," made it a federal crime to traffic in firearms, stiffened penalties for "straw purchases" made on behalf of people who aren’t allowed to own guns and enhanced background checks for buyers under 21.
The law also appropriated billions in funding for schools and mental health services. That includes $150 million for a national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, $250 million for states and territories to enhance community mental health services, $500 million to increase the number of school-based mental health providers and $500 million to train school counselors, social workers and psychologists. It also set aside $250 million for community-based violence prevention initiatives.
But proponents of gun safety didn't get everything they wanted in the package, such as a federal red flag law and reinstating the nation’s ban on "assault weapons."
Which states prohibit 'assault weapons'? With ban on AR-15s, Washington joins these states
What's happened since?
The legislation has resulted in dozens of federal charges and blocked the purchase of more than 100 firearm purchases, early information suggests.
At least 31 people have been charged in 17 cases under new federal straw purchasing and trafficking criminal offenses, data from federal prosecutors through April shows.
Investigations: DOJ's gun control effort showing progress on straw purchases, gun trafficking
The laws are "powerful new tools" that are designed to enhance ATF’s ability to identify, deter, and investigate those who illegally divert firearms from lawful commerce, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokeswoman Carolyn Collins said in an email to USA TODAY at the time.
Denials stemming from enhanced background checks for people under 21 blocked more than 130 firearm purchases between November and April, Peter Carr, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, previously told USA TODAY.
And, in September, the Justice Department awarded an initial $100 million to community violence prevention and intervention programs that focus on addressing gun violence. The first batch of 47 grants went to community-based nonprofits and city-led collaboratives across the country.
What's community violence intervention? DOJ pitches plan after awarding $100M in grants.
What's happening with crime in the US?
The U.S. doesn't have reliable federal data on crime, so the task of tracking national crime trends has long fallen to a handful of independent researchers and coalitions.
According to research by Jeff Asher, co-founder of AH Datalytics, murder has declined about 12% so far this year from the year before, but the murder rate remains the highest since the 1990s. Asher, who has been tracking murder trends since 2015, based his analysis on police department data from nearly 100 U.S. cities.
Another analysis suggests the U.S. is seeing a decline in homicides and gun assaults as robberies and property crimes rise and motor vehicle thefts and carjackings increase. The report from the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank with hundreds of members, tracked data from dozens of U.S. cities in 2022.
"It’s already saving lives. There are fewer deaths occurring," Biden said of the law on Friday.
Families of mass shooting victims spoke at the summit Friday, with scheduled appearances from Nelba Márquez-Greene, whose 6-year-old daughter, Ana Grace, was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, and Nicole Hockley, whose 6-year-old son, Dylan, was killed in the same massacre. The group was expected to hold a moment of silence for victims of gun violence.
Aalayah Eastmond, who survived the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, and other survivors described what they went through in that attack when a gunman killed 17 people.
"No 16-year-old should have to hide beneath the body of their classmate to survive, but I did," Eastmond said. "School should not be a war zone."
Contributing: Nick Penzenstadler
Is crime really on the rise? Data suggests most violent crime fell last year. But it's not the full picture.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gun violence deal: One year on, is the legislation working?
