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'We Don't Have to Live This Way': Deadly Brown Shooting Spurs Calls for Action on Guns
"Our lawmakers fail us every day that they refuse to take action on gun violence," said Students Demand Action.
Dec 13, 2025
With at least two people dead, several others in critical but stable condition at Rhode Island Hospital, and a suspect at large after a Saturday shooting at Brown University in Providence, gun violence prevention advocates and some US lawmakers renewed calls for swift action to take on what the nonprofit Brady called "a uniquely American problem" that "is completely preventable."
"Our hearts are with the victims, survivors, their families, and the entire community of Brown University and the surrounding Providence area in this horrific time," said Brady president Kris Brown in a statement. "As students prepare for finals and then head home to loved ones for the holidays, our all-too-American gun violence crisis has shattered their safety."
"Guns are the leading cause of death for youth in this nation. Only in America do we live in fear of being shot and killed in our schools, places of worship, and grocery stores," she continued. "Now, as students, faculty, and staff hide and barricade themselves in immense fear, we once again call on lawmakers in Congress and around the country to take action against this uniquely American public health crisis. We cannot continue to allow politics and special interests to take priority over our lives and safety."
Despite some early misinformation, no suspects are in custody, and authorities are searching for a man in dark clothing. The law enforcement response is ongoing and Brown remains in lockdown, according to a 9:29 pm Eastern update on the university's website. Everyone is urged to shelter in place, which "means keeping all doors locked and ensuring no movement across campus."
The Ivy League university's president, Christina H. Paxson, said in a public message that "this is a deeply tragic day for Brown, our families, and our local community. There are truly no words that can express the deep sorrow we are feeling for the victims of the shooting that took place today at the Barus & Holley engineering and physics building."
US Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said on social media that he was "praying for the victims and their families," and thanked the first responders who "put themselves in harm’s way to protect all of us." He also echoed the city's mayor, Brett Smiley, "in urging Rhode Islanders to heed only official updates from Brown University and the Providence Police."
In a statement, US Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) also acknowledged everyone impacted by "this horrific, active, and unfolding tragedy," and stressed the importance of everyone listening to law enforcement "as they continue working to ensure the entire campus and surrounding community is safe, and the threat is neutralized."
The state's two Democratic congressmen, Brown alumnus Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, released similar statements. Amo also said that "the scourge of mass shootings is a horrific stain on our nation. We must seek policies to ensure that these tragedies do not strike yet another community and no more lives are needlessly taken from us."
Elected officials at various levels of government across the country sent their condolences to the Brown community. Some also used the 389th US mass shooting this year and the 230th gun incident on school grounds—according to Brady's president—to argue that, as US House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (Mass.) put it, "it's past time for us to act and stop senseless gun violence from happening again."
Both Democratic US senators from Massachusetts also emphasized on Saturday that, in Sen. Elizabeth Warren's words, "students should be able to learn in peace, not fear gun violence." Her colleague Sen. Ed Markey said that "we must act now to end this painful epidemic of gun violence. Our children should be safe at school."
New York City's democratic socialist mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, noted that this shooting occurred just before the anniversary of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut:
This senseless violence—once considered unfathomable—has become nauseatingly normal to all of us across our nation. Tonight, on the eve of the anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting, we find ourselves in mourning once again.
The epidemic of gun violence stretches across America. We reckon with it when we step into our houses of worship and out onto our streets, when we drop our children off at kindergarten and when we fear if those children, now grown, will be safe on campus. But unlike so many other epidemics, we possess the cure. We have the power to eradicate this suffering from our lives if we so choose.
I send my deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and to the Brown and Providence communities, who are wrestling with a grief that will feel familiar to far too many others. May we never allow ourselves to grow numb to this pain, and let us rededicate ourselves to the enduring work of ending the scourge of gun violence in our nation.
Fred Guttenberg has been advocating against gun violence since his 14-year-old daughter was among those murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida nearly eight years ago. He said on social media that he knows two current students at Brown and asserted that "IT DOESN'T NEED TO BE THIS WAY!!!"
Students Demand Action similarly declared: "Make no mistake: We DO NOT have to live and die like this. Our lawmakers fail us every day that they refuse to take action on gun violence."
Gabby Giffords, a former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona who became an activist after surviving a 2011 assassination attempt, said that "my heart breaks for Brown University. Students should only have to worry about studying for finals right now, not hiding from gunfire. Guns are the leading cause of death for young people in America—this is a five-alarm fire and our leaders in Washington have ignored it for too long. Americans are tired of waiting around for Congress to decide that protecting kids matters."
John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, warned that "we either take action, or we bury more of our kids."
The Associated Press noted that "Rhode Island has some of the strictest gun laws in the US. Last spring the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed an assault weapon ban that will prohibit the sale and manufacturing of certain high-powered firearms, but not their possession, starting next July."
Gun violence prevention advocates often argue for federal restrictions, given that, as Everytown's latest analysis of state-level policies points out, "even the strongest system can't protect a state from its neighbors' weak laws."
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Gun Reform Groups Warn Trump Admin Settlement on Trigger Device 'Paves the Way for Mass Violence'
Gun violence prevention groups say that the "forced-reset triggers," which allow semiautomatic rifles to fire more quickly, effectively turn rifles into machine guns.
May 18, 2025
The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced that it settled litigation centering on "forced-reset triggers," devices that allow semiautomatic rifles to fire faster, and which gun violence prevention groups warn effectively turn semiautomatic rifles into machine guns.
Some gun reform groups said on Friday that the move effectively legalizes machine guns.
The settlement allows the sale of forced-reset triggers. Under the terms of the settlement, a manufacturer of the device, Rare Breed Triggers, will be allowed to sell the devices but will not be allowed to design them for use in a pistol, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The company also agreed to enforce its patent to ward off infringement.
Under former President Joe Biden, some of the devices were classified by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in 2022 as machine guns, which are illegal under federal law.
In 2023, the DOJ sued Rare Breed Triggers, leading to a ruling that blocked the company from selling the devices. Separately, the National Association for Gun Rights sued over the DOJ's classification of the devices as machine guns. Last year, a federal judge ruled in favor of the National Association for Gun Rights and struck down the ban.
According to the Friday announcement from the DOJ, the settlement resolves both of those cases, which were on appeal.
Brady, a gun violence prevention group, condemned the settlement and said in a statement on Friday that it "benefits the gun industry, circumvents gun laws, and paves the way for mass violence."
"The Trump Administration's secret settlement with the gun lobby to permit the sale of Forced Reset Triggers will turn already deadly firearms into weapons of mass destruction," said Kris Brown, the president of Brady. "This dangerous backroom deal is not only an astonishing abuse of power, but undermines decades of sensible government gun safety policy and puts whole communities at immediate serious risk."
"The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions," said Vanessa Gonzalez, vice president of government and political affairs at Giffords, another gun violence prevention group.
"This move puts our communities in danger. Machine guns have no place on our streets," wrote the group Everytown for Gun Safety on Friday.
The settlement aligns with an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump in February, which directed the attorney general to look at orders, guidance, and other actions by entities in the executive branch to "assess any ongoing infringements" of rights under the Second Amendment.
"This Department of Justice believes that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right," said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a statement on Friday.
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Trump's Vision for US Now Includes Allowing Gun Sellers to Skip Background Checks
"These aren't just policy changes—they're deliberate choices that prioritize gun industry profits over American lives," said one gun violence prevention advocate.
Apr 08, 2025
A reported Trump administration plan to eliminate a "zero tolerance" policy for firearm sellers who violate gun safety regulations is aimed at benefiting two groups, said one gun violence prevention advocate: "The gun sellers knowingly endangering communities, and the gun CEOs getting rich off of weapons sales to criminals."
"It absolutely does not benefit the American people," said Emma Brown, executive director of Giffords.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is expected this week to announce the reversal of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) policy, which was implemented by the Biden administration to hold gun sellers accountable for falsifying records, skipping background checks, and otherwise disobeying regulations meant to keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a danger to others or themselves.
As The New York Times reported Monday, President Donald Trump plans to order FBI Director Kash Patel, the interim leader of ATF, to move toward eliminating a ban on pistol braces, which can convert handguns to weapons that resemble rifles, and a rule requiring background checks for private gun sales.
Enforcement of the rules has been down since Trump took office in January, with federal courts moving to freeze and weaken the two ATF rules.
"This administration is systematically dismantling the safeguards designed to keep weapons out of dangerous hands."
But Brown said the official repeal of the regulations would embolden "reckless" gun sellers.
"The impact here is simple: Putting gun dealers who break the law back in business will increase crime," said Brown. "Dealers who are willing to sell guns to traffickers and criminals have been given our president's seal of approval at the cost of Americans' safety."
Under the Biden administration, the rules helped empower the ATF to revoke 170 gun seller licenses—more than the agency revoked in the previous three years combined, said Giffords.
"With the reversal of the 'zero tolerance' policy federal firearms licensees who are violating the law will stay in business, allowing more illegal firearms to flow into communities," warned the group.
The gun violence prevention group Brady called the planned repeal "a gift to the gun industry," noting that homicide rates soared during Trump's first term and projecting that gun crimes will once again "skyrocket" after Bondi ends the zero tolerance policy.
"The data is clear and compelling—90% of crime guns come from just 5% of dealers," said Kris Brown, president of Brady. "By dismantling this policy, the Trump administration is deliberately empowering these irresponsible gun dealers to operate without accountability, effectively arming criminals who will use these weapons to terrorize our communities."
"This administration is systematically dismantling the safeguards designed to keep weapons out of dangerous hands," she added. "These aren't just policy changes—they're deliberate choices that prioritize gun industry profits over American lives."
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Tennessee GOP Shuts Down Debate, Passes Bill Allowing Handguns for Teachers
"Instead of protecting kids," said one Democratic lawmaker, "they've protected guns again."
Apr 24, 2024
A Democratic leader in the Tennessee House on Tuesday warned that a bill pushed through by Republicans to permit teachers to carry concealed handguns was "nothing but a bad disaster and tragedy waiting to happen," after the GOP cut off a debate and refused to include amendments that aimed to add safety measures to the legislation.
House Bill 1202 passed in a 68-28 vote, and Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has never vetoed legislation, is expected to sign it, clearing the way for the state to require school districts to allow teachers to carry firearms without notifying students' parents.
According to The Tennessean, the legislation does not allow schools or school districts to opt out of the program and requires administrators "to consider every individual who wants to carry."
The legislation was passed just over a year after a shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville killed six people, including three children.
"Our children's lives are at stake," said House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons (D-55).
After last year's shooting, the Tennessee Legislature garnered national attention when Republicans voted to expel expel state Reps. Justin Jones (D-52) and Justin Pearson (D-86) for joining outraged students in a chant for gun control during a protest. Jones and Pearson were soon reinstated.
Following Tuesday's vote on arming teachers, Republicans voted to bar Jones from speaking in House proceedings for two days after he was accused of committing three rules violations, including recording on the chamber's floor—something a GOP member was also accused of doing.
Jones applauded Tennessee residents for speaking out against H.B. 1202 in the House chamber.
"Despite my Republican colleagues' best effort, the power of the people cannot and will not be stopped," said the lawmaker.
The GOP ended the debate over the legislation after one teacher, Lauren Shipman-Dorrance, cried out from the viewing section. Shipman-Dorrance was removed by state troopers on orders from House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-25).
After the bill passed overwhelmingly—despite four Republicans who joined the Democrats and three who abstained—the remaining protesters chanted, "Blood on your hands!" before the GOP ordered state troopers to remove them.
Sarah Shoop Neumann, whose children attend Covenant Day School, delivered a letter with more than 5,300 signatures to the House on Monday demanding that lawmakers defeat the bill and warning that the legislation "ignores research that shows the presence of a gun increases the risks posed to children."
Shoop Neumann told The Tennessean that the bill's passage was "disgraceful."
"We worked with the Senate and representative sponsors of this bill to make it even a little bit safer—anything, really—and I'm utterly disappointed that that was not taken into consideration," she told the outlet.
Kris Brown, president of gun violence prevention group Brady, pointed out that "multiple teachers were armed at [the Covenant School], yet that was not enough to stop six children and school employees from being murdered."
"The Tennessee Legislature has just dishonored all who were killed at the Covenant School shooting last year by choosing to promote the proliferation of firearms in classrooms," said Brown. "H.B. 1202 is especially egregious as it has no safe storage requirements, meaning firearms could potentially fall into a child's hands."
"If we want to be free of this uniquely American crisis, we cannot continue to perpetuate the deadly norms that got us here by adding more unsecured firearms in spaces where children should be safe to learn and grow," she added. "We urge Gov. Lee to veto this bill and ask him to work alongside us, teachers, and gun safety advocates to craft meaningful reforms across the Volunteer State."
Democrats proposed amendments to require that teachers lock up their handguns and only remove them during a security breach, that teachers be held civilly liable for using their guns, and that schools inform parents if guns are on campus, but the GOP rejected all of the proposals.
"I can assure you these people have never experienced an actual working high school classroom or they wouldn't be passing this nonsense," said one Tennessee teacher. "A child will die because of this."
Pearson said the passage of the bill marked "an awful day for Tennessee, our kids, our teachers, and communities."
"Instead of protecting kids," said the lawmaker, "they've protected guns again."
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US Appeals Court Upholds Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Amid Calls for Federal Law
One lawyer said it is "proof that these laws are consistent with the Second Amendment and can—and should—be upheld by courts across the country."
Nov 04, 2023
Illinois Democrats and gun control advocates on Friday welcomed a federal appeals court decision upholding the state's ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines amid renewed demands for a similar restrictions nationwide in the wake of a mass shooting in Maine.
"The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed what gun safety advocates have said from day one—the Protect Illinois Communities Act is a commonsense law that will keep Illinoisans safe," said Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who signed the law that state legislators passed after a July 4, 2022 massacre at a parade in Highland Park, a Chicago suburb.
"Despite constant attacks by the gun lobby that puts ideology over people's lives, here in Illinois we have stood up and said 'no more' to weapons of war on our streets," added Pritzker. "This is a victory for the members of the General Assembly who stood alongside families, students, and survivors who worked so hard to make this day a reality. Now Congress must act so Illinois is not an island surrounded by states with weak protections."
Illinois state Rep. Bob Morgan (D-58)—who represents Highland Park, was at the parade with his young children, and spearheaded the legislative fight for the law—similarly celebrated the new ruling "a huge win" while also calling for federal legislation.
Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also welcomed the decision, saying: "This landmark legislation is an important step for our communities, providing commonsense gun control measures that have been so desperately needed in our city and throughout the state. This decisive measure will aid in keeping weapons of war out of our neighborhoods and off our streets, creating safer communities for all."
The three-judge appellate panel collectively considered six cases challenging state and local bans: four out of the Southern District of Illinois; one against the state, Chicago, and Cook County; and another involving a firearm shop owner from suburban Naperville and the National Association for Gun Rights—who unsuccessfully sought an intervention from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The gun violence prevention group Brady served as counsel for the city of Naperville in the case. In response to the "important victory," Douglas Letter, the organization's chief legal officer, declared that "states and cities should have the right to stop these weapons of war from decimating our communities, and this ruling demonstrates that assault weapon and large-capacity magazine bans are indeed constitutional."
"When the victims of the Highland Park shooting were gunned down by an assault weapon, their local and state leaders took a stand to say enough is enough," he said. "The gun industry feels threatened by the groundswell of voices trying to hold them accountable, and after today, they should feel even more unsteady."
Everytown Law executive director Eric Tirschwell highlighted that the the Chicago-based court's ruling notably came after right-wing U.S. Supreme Court determined last year in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen that gun restrictions must be "consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."
The 2-1 decision Friday "to uphold this lifesaving law is not only a victory for gun safety," Tirschwell said, "it also marks the first significant appeals court decision on this issue since the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen and is proof that these laws are consistent with the Second Amendment and can—and should—be upheld by courts across the country."
U.S. Judges Diane Wood and Frank Easterbrook—respectively appointed by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan—supported upholding the state and local laws, while Judge Michael Brennan, an appointee of President Donald Trump, dissented.
"The Second Amendment to the Constitution recognizes an individual right to 'keep and bear arms. Of that there can be no doubt, in the wake of the Supreme Court's decisions," Wood wrote, citing cases including Bruen. "But as we know from long experience with other fundamental rights, such as the right to free speech, the right peaceably to assemble, the right to vote, and the right to free exercise of religion, even the most important personal freedoms have their limits."
"Government may punish a deliberately false fire alarm; it may condition free assembly on the issuance of a permit; it may require voters to present a valid identification card; and it may punish child abuse even if it is done in the name of religion," she continued. "The right enshrined in the Second Amendment is no different."
Wood also pointed out that the ruling pertains to preliminary injunctive relief, so the panel did not "rule definitively on the constitutionality of the act or any of the municipal ordinances," meaning that the policies could face future challenges.
The decision in Illinois coincided with President Joe Biden's trip to Lewiston, Maine, where a mass shooter last month killed a total of 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar before being found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Biden—who is seeking reelection next year—and others in his administration have called for reinstating a federal assault weapons ban. After the Maine shooting, Vice President Kamala Harris said that "it is a false choice to suggest we must choose between either upholding the Second Amendment or passing reasonable gun safety laws to save lives. Congress can and must make background checks universal. Pass red flag laws. Ban high-capacity magazines. And renew the assault weapons ban."
Such policies are unlikely to pass during the current session, considering the makeup of Congress—though after the carnage in his hometown of Lewiston, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) last month endorsed an assault weapons ban and sought forgiveness for his past opposition to it.
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'Congress, Do Your Job': Gun Control Demands Grow After Dozens Shot in Florida, Illinois, and Indiana
"How many more times do we have to wipe the blood off our streets before action is taken?" asked the Florida Democratic Party chair.
Oct 29, 2023
On the heels of Maine officials confirming that the shooter who killed 18 people in Lewiston earlier this week was found dead, shootings in Florida, Illinois, and Indianapolis early Sunday fueled further calls for action by U.S. lawmakers to reduce gun violence.
Around midnight, one person was killed and at least nine others were wounded at a Halloween party in Indianapolis, Indiana, local police said. The victims are ages 16-22 and it's not yet known who or how many people were shooting.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that police said a suspected gunman is in custody after 15 people ages 26-53 were wounded near 1:00 am CT during a Halloween party in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Illinois' largest city.
Just before 3:00 am ET, "a fight between two groups turned deadly in Florida when a shooting in a Tampa street during Halloween festivities resulted in two deaths and 18 people hospitalized," according to The Associated Press.
As the AP detailed:
Police have not released the names of those killed, but Emmitt Wilson said his 14-year-old son, Elijah, was one of the fatalities. Wilson came to the scene Sunday after getting a call that his son was a victim.
"It's madness to me. I don't even feel like I'm here right now," Wilson said. "I hope the investigators do their job and find out who killed my son."
The Tampa Bay Times noted that "police said they have detained at least one person who surrendered into custody" and some injuries "might have been a result of the stampeding crowd and not necessarily gunshots."
Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement: "This morning, we are waking up to news of another deadly shooting. Our communities are exhausted... My heart breaks for the victims' families whose children did not make it home, for the people who were injured in the gunfire, and hundreds of others who ran for their lives in Ybor City last night."
"Guns turned this night out into a nightmare," she added. "How many more times do we have to wipe the blood off our streets before action is taken? Once again, we urge Congress to do their jobs and pass responsible gun laws to protect all Americans from gun violence."
Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts called the incident "the logical outcome of Florida's permitless carry law, which went into effect in July" and means that "civilians no longer have to have background checks or training to carry hidden, loaded handguns in public."
Kris Brown, president of the gun violence prevention group Brady, declared in response to the violence in Tampa that "this isn't normal and we don't have to live this way," highlighting that the U.S. gun homicide rate is 26 times that of peer nations.
Since the massacre in Maine Wednesday night, the Illinois chapter of Moms Demand Action has also stressed in multiple social media posts that "we don't have to live like this."
After the mass shooting on Chicago's West Side early Sunday, the advocacy group said that "our thoughts are with all of those impacted by yet another senseless act of gun violence."
Moms Demand Action is among the organizations, gun violence survivors, and others who have urged Congress to reinstate the federal assault weapons ban that was in effect 1994-2004.
"By design, assault weapons kill as many people as quickly as possible," Everytown for Gun Safety said Sunday. "They don't belong in our communities. Congress enacted a lifesaving federal assault weapons ban before and they can do it again."
While U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) this week endorsed an assault weapons ban and sought forgiveness for his past opposition to the policy following the shootings in his hometown of Lewiston, any gun violence prevention legislation is unlikely to pass either chamber of Congress during this session.
Just hours before the violence in Lewiston, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives elected Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson as speaker. The next day, in his first post-election interview, Johnson told Fox News' Sean Hannity that "the problem is the human heart. It's not guns. It's not the weapons."
"At the end of the day, we have to protect the right of the citizens to protect themselves and that's the Second Amendment, and that's why our party stands so strongly for that," the GOP leader continued, as the manhunt for the shooter was underway. "This is not the time to be talking legislation."
Responding Friday on social media, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) said: "America is not the only nation where evil exists. But we are the only nation on Earth that has more mass shootings than days on a calendar. It's the guns."
This post has been updated with reporting from the Tampa Bay Times.
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Ahead of Pivotal Supreme Court Gun Case, Domestic Violence Murders by Firearm Surge
"Intimate partner firearm homicide is increasing as the Supreme Court debates whether people subject to domestic violence restraining orders should be allowed to possess firearms," said the president of national gun control group Brady.
Oct 19, 2023
As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a case centered on a law that restricts access to firearms for domestic abusers, an analysis out Thursday shows how "the safety of domestic violence survivors, their families, and the American public" will be placed at risk if the court loosens those restrictions.
The group behind the report—Brady: United Against Gun Violence, whose founders fought to require background checks for firearm sales—determined that firearm homicides committed by an intimate partner went up by 22% from 2018-22, with states that have weak gun regulations seeing the most domestic abuse-related murders.
The group found that 782 people were killed by a current or former intimate partner with a gun in 2022, up from 642 in 2018. As the coronavirus pandemic was linked to an overall rise in domestic violence, a high of 856 firearm homicides by domestic abusers were recorded in 2021.
As firearms prove increasingly deadly for people facing intimate partner violence and abuse, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Rahimi on November 7. The respondent in the case, Zackey Rahimi, argues that his Second Amendment rights are violated by federal laws prohibiting him from possessing a firearm due to a domestic violence restraining order filed against him.
The federal government has prohibited people subject to such restraining orders from purchasing guns since 1994, and the law was expanded to include people convicted of domestic violence two years later. In 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act closed the so-called "boyfriend loophole" in the earlier law, which had only pertained to abusers who were married to, had a child with, or were the parent or guardian of the person who filed an order against them.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sided with Rahimi earlier this year—a decision that will carry "horrific ramifications, particularly for women and children," said Brady president Kris Brown, if it is allowed to stand.
"This analysis shows that intimate partner firearm homicide is increasing as the Supreme Court debates whether people subject to domestic violence restraining orders should be allowed to possess firearms," said Brown. "We know that firearms are the most common weapons used in domestic violence homicides, with female intimate partners more likely to be murdered with a gun than by all other means combined. Prohibiting domestic violence abusers from accessing firearms is common-sense, life-saving, and constitutional."
Brady noted in its analysis that even in rulings that weakened gun control regulations, such as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen and District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court has "repeatedly stated... that the Second Amendment provides 'law-abiding, responsible' citizens the right to possess firearms, but also allows for reasonable restrictions in service of public safety."
"Domestic abusers who are subject to a court ordered domestic violence restraining order—including Zackey Rahimi—are not 'law-abiding, responsible' citizens," reads the analysis. "If the Supreme Court allows the Fifth Circuit's decision to stand, the lives of countless individuals who are protected under domestic violence restraining orders will be put at risk."
The group noted that weaker state-level gun regulations are linked to deadly outcomes for people who face domestic abuse, with Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee ranking as the top five states with the highest average number of intimate partner firearm homicides per year.
All five of the states have loopholes in their gun laws allowing people to buy guns online, at gun shows, or in other private transactions without a background check.
"This gap in the law creates a path for domestic abusers to avoid the Brady Background Check system and purchase firearms despite being prohibited," said Brady.
Twenty-two states and Washington, D.C. have laws requiring people subjected to domestic violence restraining orders to surrender their firearms, and on average, the group said, states that do not have such requirements see nearly twice as many firearm homicides by intimate partners.
Along with increasing the risk of homicide by 500% for the estimated 10 million people who face domestic violence in the U.S. each year, domestic abusers' access to firearms puts the greater public at risk, according to the analysis.
"In the United States," the report reads, "60% of mass shooting events between 2014-19 were either domestic violence attacks or perpetrated by those with a history of domestic violence. Several perpetrators of high-profile school shootings—including in the Parkland shooting, the Santa Fe High School shooting, and the Great Mills High School shooting—have histories of adolescent dating violence."
With the support of leading anti-domestic violence advocacy groups, Brady filed an amicus brief with the court in August in opposition of the Fifth Circuit's ruling, noting that 25 million adults in the U.S. have been threatened or injured by an intimate partner with a gun—and there is a 16% in homicides when guns are taken from the abuser by law enforcement in these cases.
"The Supreme Court must prioritize survivor safety over a dangerous abuser's access to firearms," said Brown, "and overturn this deadly ruling."
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