Thread by @Klarevas

A new federal Assault Weapons Ban #HR1296 has been introduced in the House by @davidcicilline (with 190 co-sponsors). As a good deal of evidence in support of such a ban is drawn from my research on the 1994 #AWB, it's worthwhile to review some of my findings. 1/

THREAD FOLLOWS

The 1994 #AWB took effect on Sept. 13, 1994, and it remained in force for exactly 10 years, expiring on Sept. 13, 2004. The primary goal of the 1994 #AWB was to reduce mass shooting violence. The 1994 ban was a direct response to five mass shootings from 1989-1993. 2/

The 5 mass shootings: 1989—Cleveland Street Elem. School in Stockton (5 dead); 1989—Standard Gravure in Louisville (8 dead); 1991—Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen (23 dead); 1993—101 California St. in San Francisco (8 dead); and 1993—Long Island Rail Road near Garden City (6 dead). 3/

The main provisions of the 1994 #AWB were aimed at prohibiting the possession of NEW assault weapons and large-capacity magazines (holding more than 10 bullets). AWs and LCMs in circulation prior to the law's enactment were exempted ("grandfathered"). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_A… 4/

As has been widely reported, especially by @_cingraham, my research found that gun massacres—defined as high-fatality mass shootings resulting in 6 or more victims shot to death—fell after the 1994 #AWB went into effect and rose after the ban expired. washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2… 5/

Compared to the prior decade, gun massacre incidents fell by 37% and gun massacre deaths fell by 43% during the decade the #AWB was in effect. In the decade following the ban's expiration, incidents and deaths skyrocketed by 183% and 239%, respectively. 6/

Here is a lesser known statistic re: use of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines in gun massacres. When mass shooters employ modern-day, polymer-based AWs armed with LCMs, they produce the highest average death tolls in massacres. (See the attached Table from my book.) 7/

The attached graphic from my book compares the mean average death tolls for gun massacres, by weapons employed. Whether for the 50-year period of 1966-2015 or the most recent decade of 2006-2015, polymer AWs with LCMs accounted for the highest average death tolls per incident. 8/

Basically, when it comes to gun massacres, modern-day, polymer-based assault weapons armed with large-capacity magazines combine to produce the most lethal weaponry available to mass shooters. 9/

It is important to note that my statistics do not include the #Orlando, #LasVegas, #SutherlandSprings, and #Parkland massacres, which occurred after my book was sent out for printing. If fatalities from those rampages were added, the average death tolls would be even higher. 10/

THE BOTTOM LINE: When it comes to deadly mass shootings in the U.S., the evidence indicates that the 1994 federal Assault Weapons Ban saved lives. For more on this topic (or rampage violence in general), I would point you to my book Rampage Nation: amazon.com/Rampage-Nation… 11/END