Thread by @J_Shackelford

Welcome to Night One of our legislative focus week on common sense gun laws here in Missouri. Tonight’s topic will focus on why we need common sense gun legislation here in Missouri.

Please join in and share your opinions as well. Let’s go!

Tonight I will be referencing the following article - cdn.americanprogress.org/content/upload…

In my opinion, common sense gun laws go towards making our communities, schools, and our state safer, all while respecting the 2nd Amendment and encouraging responsible gun ownership. We Missourians need these for many reasons.

According to the Center for American Progress, between 2008 and 2017, Missouri was one of the deadliest states for gun violence, having the 11th-highest rate of gun deaths across the country. Over that period, 9,590 were killed with guns in Missouri.

From 2008 to 2017, Missouri had the 4th-highest rate of gun murders in America, 61% higher than the national average.

Over that same period, a gun homicide happened every 23 hours.

In Missouri, the burden of gun violence falls disproportionately on our communities of color.

Approximately 69% of Missouri’s homicide victims are black, while only 12% of Missourians population is black.

We need common sense gun legislation to further protect victims of domestic violence.

From 2007 to 2016, 158 women were fatally shot by an intimate partner.

Also in MO, 50% of female murder victims are killed by an intimate partner. Out of those, 59% were killed by a gun.

We also need common sense gun legislation to protect our youth.

From 2008 to 2017, over 1,000 people under 21 years of age were shot to death. MO ranks 3rd in the nation for highest gun deaths of people under the age of 21 years old.

Also, in Missouri, shootings are the leading cause of death for young people.

My fellow Missourians, it’s time we came together to move our state forward, and to pass common sense gun laws that will make Missouri safer for all Missourians. That time is now. #JamesforMO