Gun Safety and America’s Cities

Across government bodies, from local to federal, legislative responses to mass gun violence in the new millennium have varied greatly. Lack of communication or collaboration between government officials forestalls the implementation of practiced strategy. In an effort to encourage widespread solutions, this collection of resources outlines the state of gun legislation in the 21st century and provides strategies that have been implemented across the U.S.
Combining a wide range of perspectives, this book is divided into three parts that each tackle a unique but essential facet of gun legislation in the U.S. The first section features essays from field experts that detail the facts and culture of modern gun ownership. The second section features critical essays that outline the challenges and solutions surrounding guns and public safety. This section also includes, in their entirety, relevant documents from the U.S. Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Lastly, the third section provides multiple forecasts for the future of gun culture and politics. With the goal of connecting government workers of all ranks, this volume extensively details the many new gun safety regulations that have been enacted across the United States.

Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, Ph.D., is vice provost for global affairs as well as chair and Mayor George Christopher Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University. He founded GGU’s law enforcement and security program and is a San Francisco advocate for the safety and security of Filipino American kids and their families.

Roger L. Kemp, Ph.D., ICMA-CM, has been a city manager on both the East and West coasts for more than 25 years. He is presently Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University and a Fellow of The Academy of Political Science.

Edited by Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III and Roger L. Kemp
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 303
Bibliographic Info: appendices, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8285-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4892-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vii
Preface 1
Part I: Introduction
1. Second Amendment
Emily Costa 5
2. Most Americans Believe We Should Have Gun Regulation
Ann Christiano and Annie Neimand 7
3. History of the National Firearms Act
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 10
4. What Are “Firearms” Under the National Firearms Act?
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 14
5. Quantifying the Social Cost of Firearms: A New Approach to Gun Control
Timothy M. Smith 24
6. Analysis: I Was a Teenage Rifle Owner, Then an ER Doctor: Assault Weapons Shouldn’t Count as “Guns”
Elisabeth Rosenthal 28
Part II: Challenges and Solutions
• A. Federal Safety Regulations •
7. Project Guardian and Project Safe Neighborhoods
U.S. Department of Justice 33
8. The Bureau and Law Enforcement
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 37
9. NIBIN, CGICs, and eTrace
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 41
10. Five Federal Policies on Guns You’ve Never Heard Of
Suevon Lee 45
11. Extreme Risk Protection Order Model Legislation
U.S. Department of Justice 49
12. Definition of “Frame or Receiver” and Identification of Firearms
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 55
13. Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing Braces”
U.S. Department of Justice 60
14. Republicans Say No to CDC Gun Violence Research
Lois Beckett 67
• B. State Safety Regulations •
15. More States Are Allowing Guns on College Campuses
Neal H. Hutchens and Kerry B. Melear 70
16. Mass Shootings Do Little to Change State Gun Laws
Joaquin Sapien 73
17. New Public Database Reveals Striking Differences in How Guns Are Regulated from State to State
Michael Siegel and Molly Pahn 76
18. California Firearms Laws Summary
California Office of the Attorney General 79
19. Becoming a DOJ Certified Instructor
California Department of Justice 94
20. Firearms and Toolmarks
Utah Department of Public Safety 98
21. Weapons and Schools
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction 102
22. Clashes in the Capital: Public Opinion on Virginia’s New Gun Legislation
Center for Public Policy at VCU’s Wilder School 105
23. “Red Flag” Gun Laws Get Another Look After Indiana, Colorado Shootings
Christie Aschwanden 107
24. Summary of State and Federal Machine Gun Laws
Veronica Rose and Meghan Reilly 110
• C. Cities and Communities •
25. Gun Violence: It Can Happen Anywhere
Ron Carlee 116
26. Firearm Regulation and Cities
League of Minnesota Cities 120
27. Forget Lanes—We All Need to Head Together Toward Preventing Firearm Injury
Michael Hirsh 132
28. Battling the Bullets from the Operating Room to the Community
Laura Ungar 135
29. DC’s Harllee Harper Is Using Public Health Tools to Prevent Gun Violence: Will It Work?
Amanda Michelle Gomez 139
30. Civic Engagement, Guns, Constitutional Rights and ASPA
Don Klingner 142
31. How the Gun Control Debate Ignores Black Lives
Lois Beckett 144
32. The Final Cut
Chaseedaw Giles 154
• D. Firearms Industry and Associations •
33. The Road to Responsible Gun Ownership
National Shooting Sports Foundation 156
34. The American Public Has Power Over the Gun Business—Why Doesn’t It Use It?
Brian DeLay 159
35. How the U.S. Government Created and Coddled the Gun Industry
Brian DeLay 163
36. Is the NRA an Educational Organization? A Lobby Group? A Nonprofit? A Media Outlet? Yes
Samuel Brunson 166
37. The NRA’s Video Channel Is a Hotbed of Online Hostility
Adam G. Klein 169
• E. Schools and Children •
38. Arming ­­Non-Teaching Staff
Ian Smith 172
39. Searching for Safety: Where Children Hide When Gunfire Is All Too Common
Cara Anthony 178
40. Why Trump’s Idea to Arm Teachers May Miss the Mark
Aimee Huff and Michelle Barnhart 182
41. Books, Binders, ­­Bleed-Control Kits: How School Shootings Are Changing Classroom Basics
Sandy West 185
• F. Active Shooters, Mass Shootings, and Homicides •
42. Fired! Is Your Community Ready for an Active Shooter?
Rod Gould and Jack Brown 188
43. Most Mass Killers Are Men Who Have Also Attacked Family
Lisa Aronson Fontes 192
44. Dealing with Terrorist Threats
Sean Britton 195
45. Orlando Paramedics Didn’t Go in to Save Victims of the Pulse Shooting
Abe Aboraya 199
• G. Mental Health and Suicide •
46. Myth vs. Fact: Violence and Mental Health
Lois Beckett 208
47. More Mental Health Care Won’t Stop the Gun Epidemic, New Study Suggests
Tom Wickizer, Evan V. Goldstein, and Laura Prater 214
48. Among U.S. States, New York’s Suicide Rate Is the Lowest. How’s That?
Michelle Andrews 217
49. What Happens After a Campus Suicide Is a Form of Prevention, Too
Aneri Pattani 220
50. Five First Responders to the Pulse Massacre. One Diagnosis: PTSD
Abe Aboraya 224
• H. Covid Pandemic •
51. As Anxieties Rise, Californians Buy Hundreds of Thousands More Guns
Phillip Reese 235
52. Homicides Surge in California Amid Covid Shutdowns of Schools, Youth Programs
Phillip Reese 238
52. Despite Pandemic, Trauma Centers See No End to “The Visible Virus of Violence”
Giles Bruce 241
54. Federalism and Its DisTable of Contents
: Guns, Germs and Insurrection
Alan H. Kennedy 244
55. Keeping Our Neighbors Safe
Sarah Sweeney 247
Part III: The Future
56. What Makes a “Smart Gun” Smart
Donald Sebastian 251
57. Do Americans Want to Buy “Smart” Guns?
Lacey Wallace 255
58. License and Registration, Please: How Regulating Guns Like Cars Could Improve Safety
Keith Guzik and Gary T. Marx 258
59. People Who Shoot Risk Unhealthy Levels of Lead Exposure
Mark A.S. Laidlaw, Andrew Ball, Brian Gulson, Gabriel Filippelli, and Howard Walter Mielke 261
60. Gunning for Understanding: Facebook and the Gun Control Debate in America
Maggie Callahan 264
Appendices
Appendix A: Glossary of Gun Safety Terms and Acronyms
Alan R. Roper 269
Appendix B: Proclamation Declaring June 4, 2021, National Gun Violence Awareness Day
City of Lafayette, Colorado 277
Appendix C: Expressing Support for the Designation of June 4, 2021, as “National Gun Violence Awareness Day” and June 2021 as “National Gun Violence Awareness Month”
U.S. Congress 279
Appendix D: Prohibiting Firearms at Work, LMC Model Policy
League of Minnesota Cities 281
About the Contributors 283
Index 287