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10 Years of Gun Laws: The Progress of the Gun Violence Prevention Movement Since the Tragedy at Sandy Hook

States have passed more than 525 gun safety laws in the last decade

Washington DC — Today, Giffords Law Center, the gun violence prevention organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released a report on the progress of gun laws over the past 10 years since the tragedy at Sandy Hook. 

The report found that states have passed more than 525 significant gun safety laws in the decade since Sandy Hook, and that these laws had a strong protective effect over the residents of states that passed them. Gun deaths rose 46% in the five states with the weakest gun laws, and only seven percent in the five states with the strongest gun laws.

Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords:

“Ten years ago this month, 26 precious lives were taken too soon in one of the most horrific mass shootings in US history. In the years since, too many Americans have lost their lives or have had their lives altered by gun violence—but we’ve also made tremendous progress in the fight for gun safety. 

“When the tragedy at Sandy Hook occurred, the gun lobby controlled the politics of guns. Since then, we’ve built a movement to take on the gun lobby and fight for a future where fewer Americans must experience the pain and loss of gun violence. We passed more than 525 gun safety laws—and for the first time in nearly 30 years, we passed bipartisan gun safety legislation in Congress. In the next decade, we will continue the fight against gun violence and work tirelessly to end this tragic epidemic.”

The full report can be found here

Key Findings:

  • 29 states have passed laws that either enacted or strengthened background check laws.
  • 21 states have passed 86 significant laws to address community violence. 
  • 37 states have passed 87 significant laws to make it harder for people who commit domestic abuse to access firearms.
  • 18 states and Washington DC have passed laws that either created or strengthened extreme risk protection order laws. 
  • 18 states have passed laws to make it harder for kids, teens, and young adults to access guns or prohibited guns on K–12 or higher education campuses.