Thread by @RegularResister

Bill Clinton banned assault weapons in 1994, & mass shooting deaths declined by 43%. Republican’s purposely let the bill expire in 2004, and as a result mass shootings increased 239%.

I didn't know this until just 10 minutes ago. A little ashamed, a little more angry as well!

Efforts to create the federal assault weapons ban intensified in 1989 after a gunman shot 34 children, & killed 5 in Stockton California, using a semi-automatic Kalashnikov pattern rifle. The "Luby's" shooting on Oct. 1991, left 23 people dead & 27 wounded, was another factor.

In May 1994, presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, & Ronald Reagan, wrote to the U.S. Congress in support of banning "semi-automatic assault guns." They cited several 1993 Polls that found 77% of Americans supported a ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of such weapons.

Assault weapons are a class of semi-automatic firearm specifically designed to kill humans quickly. During the 1980s, the gun industry sought to reverse a decline in consumer demand for guns by developing and marketing new types of weapons based on high-powered military designs.

The toll of gun violence is horrific, & it's on the rise. Over 1.2 million Americans have been shot in the past decade. 1 million more have witnessed gun violence firsthand, & hundreds of millions—nearly every American—will know at least 1 victim of gun violence in their lifetime

Guns kill nearly 1,500 minors yearly
Guns are used in more than half of all U.S. suicides
Guns used in Domestic Violence kill 600 women yearly

Guns Homicide: Black Americans are 10 times more likely than White Americans to die by gun homicide

Gun Control is opposed by the GOP

Only a small percentage of interpersonal violence in America is attributable to mental illness. In fact, people with mental illness are more likely to be the victims of violence than its perpetrators.