news.northwestern.edu Open in urlscan Pro
18.215.81.184  Public Scan

Form analysis
2 forms found in the DOM

GET https://search.northwestern.edu/

<form action="https://search.northwestern.edu/" method="get" role="search" aria-label="Sitewide">
  <label class="hide-label" for="q-mobile">Search this site</label>
  <input id="q-mobile" name="q" placeholder="Search this site" type="text">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_sitesearch" value="https://news.northwestern.edu">
  <input type="hidden" name="sitetitle" value="Northwestern Now">
  <button type="submit"><span class="hide-label">Search</span></button>
</form>

GET https://search.northwestern.edu/

<form action="https://search.northwestern.edu/" method="get" role="search" data-children-count="1">
  <label class="hide-label" for="q-desktop">Search this site</label>
  <input type="text" id="q-desktop" name="q" placeholder="Search this site">
  <input type="hidden" name="as_sitesearch" value="https://news.northwestern.edu">
  <input type="hidden" name="sitetitle" value="Northwestern Now">
  <button type="submit"><span class="hide-label">Search</span></button>
</form>

Text Content

Skip to main content
Northwestern University
 * For Journalists

Northwestern Now
 * Northwestern in the News
 * All Stories
 * Browse Topics

Menu
 * Research & Innovation
   * Science & Technology
     * Artificial Intelligence
     * Climate
     * Space
     * Wearable Technology
     * View all Science & Technology
   * Culture, Politics & Business
     * Business
     * Economics
     * Media
     * Politics
     * View all Culture, Politics & Business
   * Health & Medicine
     * Aging
     * Brain
     * Cancer
     * Global Health
     * View all Health & Medicine
   * View all Research & Innovation
 * Arts
   * Block Museum
   * Music
   * Theater
   * View all Arts
 * Social Impact
   * Global
   * Inequality
   * Social Justice
   * Sustainability
   * View all Social Impact
 * Campus & Community
   * Campus Life
     * Academics
     * Commencement
     * Student Experience
     * View all Campus Life
   * Voices
     * Books
     * Expert Viewpoint
     * Student Voices
     * View all Voices
   * Announcements & News
     * Appointments
     * Faculty Accolades
     * Gifts
     * University News
     * View all Announcements & News
   * View all Campus & Community

 * Northwestern in the News
 * All Stories
 * Browse Topics
 * For Journalists

Search
Search this site Search
 * Research & Innovation
   * Science & TechnologyView all
      * Artificial Intelligence
      * Climate
      * Space
      * Wearable Technology
     
     Culture, Politics & BusinessView all
      * Business
      * Economics
      * Media
      * Politics
     
     Health & MedicineView all
      * Aging
      * Brain
      * Cancer
      * Global Health
     
     All Research & Innovation
 * Arts
   *  * Block Museum
      * Music
      * Theater
     
     All Arts
 * Social Impact
   *  * Global
      * Inequality
      * Social Justice
      * Sustainability
     
     All Social Impact
 * Campus & Community
   * Campus LifeView all
      * Academics
      * Commencement
      * Student Experience
     
     VoicesView all
      * Books
      * Expert Viewpoint
      * Student Voices
     
     Announcements & NewsView all
      * Appointments
      * Faculty Accolades
      * Gifts
      * University News
     
     All Campus & Community
 * Click or hit Enter to open search menu

Search this site Search

Trending Topics: COVID-19 Student Awards


ASSAULT WEAPON BAN SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES MASS SHOOTING

A continuation of the federal ban could have prevented 30 public mass shootings
March 25, 2021 | By Marla Paul
Researchers estimate the weapons ban of 1994 prevented 10 mass shootings in 10
years.
 * Feinberg School of Medicine
 * Politics

A federal assault weapon ban was highly effective in reducing public mass
shootings, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study just published in a
pre-print. 

The study found the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (FAWB) — that included a ban on
large capacity magazines (limiting the number and caliber of bullets) — from
1994 to 2004 — resulted in a significant decrease in public mass shootings,
number of gun deaths and number of gun injuries.  

The study leveraged the passage and expiration of the FAWB to estimate the
number of mass shootings that were prevented during the ban, as well as the
number of shootings that would have been prevented had the ban remained in
place.

The study authors estimate the ban prevented 10 public mass shootings during the
decade it was in place, before it was allowed to expire. FAWB would have
prevented 30 public mass shootings that killed 339 people and injured an
additional 1,139 people, the authors said.

The political climate at the time the FAWB was passed required a sunset clause
in order to get the bill passed. 

The study was published in a pre-print and is considered preliminary until
accepted by a journal.  

“As society searches for effective policies to prevent the next mass shooting,
we must consider the overwhelming evidence that bans on assault weapons and/or
large capacity magazines work,” said lead author Lori Post, director of the
Buehler Center for Health Policy and Economics at Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine. 

Previous studies on FAWB only evaluated if it resulted in fewer gun deaths and
injuries.

The Northwestern study is the first to look at the impact of the gun control
policy on the number of mass shooting events, not number of people killed or
injured. It also is the first to measure how many mass shootings were prevented
when the FAWB was in place, as well as how many could have been prevented if the
legislation was never sun setted. 

“It does not result in fewer other types of gun deaths and injuries, such as
domestic homicides. You only need one bullet to commit suicide, kill your wife
or kill somebody else. But when you are just looking at mass shootings, it is
super effective,” Post said.

Access to assault weapons, which have rapid fire capacity and gun cartridges
that hold lots of bullets, are directly related to mass shootings. 

“The purchase of the assault weapon is often the final step in the preparation
and execution of a mass shooting,” Post said. “The shooter from Colorado bought
his assault weapon and ammunition one week before the mass shooting.”

Every year, 50,000 people die from a gun injury, however, less than 1% of the
cases are mass shootings, defined as four or more fatalities in a single setting
in a public space. But mass shootings have a tremendous toll on American mental
health. Other studies have found significant associations between mass shootings
and child anxiety, with particularly high anxiety levels close to the mass
shooting event. Other studies have found that nearly one-third of adults avoid
certain public places due to mass shootings. 

Now that the election and COVID-19 are receding from the news cycle, Post
expects more mass shootings to occur. 

“The previous news cycles sucked the oxygen out of mass shooters as they are
looking to be newsworthy, Post said. “Now there is room on the national agenda
for mass shooters.”

The study demonstrates the utility of public health surveillance on gun
violence. Surveillance informs policy on whether a ban on assault weapons and
high-capacity magazines reduces public mass shootings. 

Public mass shootings are a significant public health problem that require
ongoing systematic surveillance to test and inform policies that combat gun
injuries. While there is widespread agreement that something needs to be done to
stop public mass shootings, exactly which policies that entails varies, such as
the prohibition of assault weapons and large capacity magazines, are still being
debated. 

Next Post and colleagues plan to explore the mental health of shooters. Most
shooters are pegged as mentally ill when in reality mass shootings require lots
of planning, premeditation, forethought and fantasizing when we can clearly
identify antisocial behavior such as narcissism and psychopathy. These are
personality disorders, not mental illness, she said.

Maryann Mason, an associate professor of emergency medicine at Feinberg, is a
co-author of the paper.

For Journalists: view the news release for media contacts


EDITOR’S PICKS


SMART, DISSOLVING PACEMAKER COMMUNICATES WITH BODY-AREA SENSOR AND CONTROL
NETWORK

May 26, 2022


TINY ROBOTIC CRAB IS SMALLEST-EVER REMOTE-CONTROLLED WALKING ROBOT

May 25, 2022


PATRICIA M. LAMPKIN NAMED INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS

May 26, 2022


RELATED STORIES


LESSONS LEARNED FROM ‘ENCANTO’

March 28, 2022


LAW PROFESSOR APPOINTED TO PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION ON THE SUPREME COURT

March 1, 2022


DEI LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM KETANJI BROWN JACKSON’S NOMINATION

February 27, 2022
Never miss a story:
Get the latest stories from Northwestern Now sent directly to your inbox.
Subscribe
Back to Top
Northwestern University


MEDIA RELATIONS

Address

1603 Orrington Avenue
2nd Floor
Evanston, IL 60201

Phone number

(847) 491-5001

Email address

news@northwestern.edu


SUBSCRIBE

Get the latest news delivered to your inbox.

Sign Up Now


NORTHWESTERN RESOURCES

 * Campus Emergency Information
 * Careers
 * Contact Northwestern University
 * Report an Accessibility Issue
 * University Policies

© 2022 Northwestern University
 * Facebook @NorthwesternU
 * Twitter @northwesternU
 * Instagram @northwesternu
 * YouTube @NorthwesternU
 * Futurity Futurity
 * RSS RSS Feed

Disclaimer

AddThis Sharing Sidebar
Share to FacebookFacebook
, Number of shares
Share to TwitterTwitterShare to LinkedInLinkedInMore AddThis Share
optionsAddThis
, Number of shares40
Hide
Show
Close
AddThis