It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your Inbox.
A LOOK AT THE DEADLIEST GUNS IN MASS SHOOTINGS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
One week ago, with the nation still reeling from a shooting rampage in Atlanta that left eight Georgians dead, 10 people were killed in another mass shooting, in Boulder, Colorado.
A 21-year-old is in custody, charged with the slayings at the King Soopers grocery store. No motive is known yet. What is known -- the weapon police say was used: a Rugar AR-556 pistol, which is a gun in the style of an AR-15.
Both the Rugar AR-556 and the AR-15 are semi-automatic, meaning they automatically reload bullets to allow for faster shooting, but only fire one round with each pull of the trigger.
And both are sometimes referred to as assault weapons, a nomenclature that sparks debate between gun control advocates and gun rights supporters. The former stress these semi-automatic firearms to be military-style weapons, while the latter believe only fully automatic firearms should be called assault weapons. They instead call the AR-15, AK-47 and other weapons like them “modern sporting rifles.”
Regardless of what they’re called, both weapons are among the most popular gun models currently legal in the U.S. And this category of weapon is the most lethal in mass shootings. We thought we’d take a closer look.
The AR-15 and AK-47
Two guns in particular dominate this world of semi-automatic military-style fire power as well as the weapons sheet in mass killings around the globe: The AK-47 and the AR-15. The AK-47 is the older of the two, the shorthand name for the Russian-designed Kalashnikov rifle, perfected in 1947 and mass produced after World War II by the Soviets. . The AR-15 came in the next decade as an American response. It is named for the company that created it, “ArmaLite.”
The
New York Times took an extensive look at the rise of both weapons, citing their adaptability as well as the Cold War arms race for their ubiquity.
In 1994, a federal assault weapons ban blocked the manufacturing of variations of both guns in the United States. That ban expired in 2004, though some states kept their own versions, and the weapons have been widely available since. Purchasers generally must pass background checks, though there is significant debate over potential loopholes in that system.
Critics and defenders
Critics correctly point out that these weapons have either been used in warfare or are the civilian version of weapons of war -- that they are intended for mass casualties. (The AR-15 is the civilian version of the military’s M16.)
“If you give people the ability to easily purchase a weapon that can be devastating to large numbers of people, some of them will use that, under stress or for whatever reason,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said last week at a hearing on potential gun reform.
Gun rights supporters counter that while these guns have been used in mass shootings, those incidents represent a minute fraction of the number of these firearms in American households.
And they make one other argument. “The AR-15 is one of the most popular guns in America,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told the NewsHour last week.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, in 2020 there were an estimated 19.8 million AR-15 and similar-style guns in the U.S.
Their role in mass shootings
According to the
Washington Post, the single most frequently used weapon in mass shootings since 1966 is a 9mm handgun. That database looks at shootings in which four or more people were killed.
But, that does not tell the full story. It does not speak to the higher death toll from semi-automatic pistols and rifles or to their growing popularity in recent years.
Let’s look at more modern data, since 2016. We combed through websites that collect data on gun violence, as well as reports over the past five years. And at slightly more lethal shootings, in which five or more people were killed.
We broke down these 16 shootings by the type of weapon used. If multiple firearms were involved, we pointed to the gun that was used the most.
Death counts do not include the shooter.
AR-15, AK-47 or similar weapons
9 shootings. Average of 23 deaths per shooting.
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King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. 2021. 10 killed.
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Nightlife district in Dayton, Ohio. 2019. 9 killed.
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Walmart in El Paso, Texas. 2019. 23 killed.
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Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 2018. 11 killed. Also used: two handguns.
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Stoneman-Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 2018. 17 killed.
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First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. 2017. 26 killed.
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Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. 2017. 58 killed.
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Attack on police in Dallas. 2016. 5 killed.
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Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. 2016. 49 killed.
Pump-action shotgun
Two shootings. Average of more than 7 deaths.
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Capitol Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland. 2018. 5 killed.
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Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. 2018. 10 killed. Also used: .38 revolver.
Handguns only
Five shootings. Average of 9 deaths.
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Asian spas in Atlanta, Georgia. 2021. 8 killed.
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Government offices in Virginia Beach. 2019. 12 killed.
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Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. 12 killed, 2018. Also used: extended magazine.
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Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida. 2017. 5 killed.
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“Mother Emanuel” Church in Charleston, S.C. 2015. 9 killed.
As you can see, weapons like the AR-15 were used nine times out of 16 in recent mass shootings -- more than any other category of weapon, but not that much more than the seven shootings involving other guns.
What stands out is the death toll. When an AR-15 or similar gun was used, the death toll was profoundly worse, on average killing 23 people. The average death toll in shootings with other types of weapons was less than half that.
What now?
President Joe Biden has called for a new assault weapons ban.
Republicans have long blocked such an idea, and it has what may be an insurmountable opponent in Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. The pivotal moderate rejected an assault weapons ban in the past. And, we should mention his multiple campaign ads touting his support for gun rights -- and his own interest in shooting sports.
Currently, those pushing for gun reform are talking about other ideas, including red-flag laws and background checks, which they think have a chance -- even if a thin one -- of getting through the Senate.
FOOD AND WATER AND VOTERS
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
The fiery debate over voting rights and elections law grew hotter last week after Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a new, nearly 100-page state law.
The law triggers a barrage of changes: adding another weekend day of early voting but shortening the window and changing what voters must do to get absentee ballots. It makes it easier for state officials to remove local elections officials and also takes some power away from the state officer overseeing elections, the secretary of state.
Perhaps its most controversial provision makes it a crime to hand out food and water to voters waiting in line at the polls. Defenders of the law have argued that it is meant to prevent activists from using such handouts as an excuse to talk with voters and illegally campaign near polling locations. Critics have railed against it as a draconian measure that discourages voters in areas with longer lines, including high-density counties and those with fewer voting locations.
Speaking on PBS NewsHour Friday, Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer of the Georgia secretary of state’s office, raised a new claim. Asked about the food and water ban, he said, “This is actually in the law in the president’s home state of Delaware now.”
“People sort of abused it,” Sterling said. “It’s hard to enforce for election officials and sheriffs. Like I said, it’s the law in the president’s home state of Delaware.”
After searching Delaware law and not finding such a provision, the NewsHour asked for more specifics. Sterling’s spokesman, Walter Jones, said the claim was based on Section 3167 of Delaware’s state election code.
But that is a broad ban on bribery at the polls in general, and narrowly tailored to voting in presidential primaries specifically. It does not specifically ban people from handing out food and water at the polls. There is no such provision in Delaware law.
Jones did not respond directly to NewsHour’s questions about there not being a food and water ban in Delaware, but stressed that both states’ laws shared an anti-bribery thrust.
FIVE OVERLOOKED POLITICAL STORIES FROM THE PAST WEEK
By Ian Couzens, @iancouzenz
Politics production assistant
Partisan lines blur as Congress tries to curb Biden’s war powers - March 25. Despite bipartisan support in the House for eliminating the post-9/11 authorization for the use of military force, the measure’s Senate prospects are in question because the filibuster could allow chamber hawks to block it. Why it matters: While talks between the White House and Congress are still in the early stages, this could potentially be the year Congress regains its power to declare war and approve military operations abroad after nearly two decades of expanded presidential war powers. -- Politico
Democrats ask watchdog to tackle racial bias in home appraisals - March 26. Citing a 2018 report that found homes in majority-Black neighborhoods are valued 23 percent less than they would be in neighborhoods with few Black residents, 30 Democratic lawmakers signed a letter asking the FFIEC to work with the appraising industry to reduce this disparity. Why it matters: Racial discrimination has suppressed homeownership for people of color for decades, severely limiting their ability to accumulate wealth through property ownership. -- The Hill
Former Trump adviser takes prominent role in voting battle - March 28. Cleta Mitchell, a longtime Republican lawyer who advised former President Donald Trump on his campaign to overturn the 2020 election results, has taken a central role in organizing the efforts to tighten voting laws around the country. Why it matters: Mitchell’s new prominence further tightens ties between the former president, with whom she claims to speak “fairly frequently,” and the efforts by GOP legislators to overhaul state voting rights in ways that would limit voter access, despite repeated audits finding no evidence of significant problems in last year’s election. -- The Associated Press
America’s Rural-Jail-Death Problem March 29. In 2016, an average of roughly three people died each day in local jails of all sizes in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and a disproportionate number happened in America’s smallest jails. Why it matters: While nationwide incarceration rates have declined in recent years, local jail populations, which consist largely of people who are awaiting trial or serving short sentences, increased 27 percent from 2013 to 2019. Local jails tend to have fewer resources to care for and protect the safety of their prisoners, are often overcrowded and lack the oversight of larger state and federal prisons. -- The Atlantic
New Michigan law: J&J recipients must be notified of stem cell use in vaccine development - March 29. The requirement was part of a broader state bill that distributed federal COVID-19 funds, but the legislation doesn’t say how this notification process should work or who will enforce it. Why it matters: Anti-abortion groups and some religious institutions consider the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to morally problematic, prompting the notification rule, which could discourage people from getting vaccinated. -- Detroit Free Press
#POLITICSTRIVIA
By Kate Grumke, @KGrumke
Politics producer
On this day in 1867, the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia. The treaty was negotiated by Secretary of State William Seward and critics called the deal “Seward’s Folly.”
Our question: Rounding to the nearest million, how much did the U.S. pay to purchase Alaska?
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
Last week, we asked: Which founding father is famously credited with the quote, “give me liberty, or give me death!”?
The answer: Patrick Henry
Henry was a founding father, the first governor of Virginia and was reportedly a gifted public speaker. This quote is attributed to Henry from a speech in 1775 addressing a Virginia convention, but it was attributed to him by a biographer reconstructing the speech through interviews many years later, so it’s unclear if Henry actually said it as quoted.
Congratulations to our winners: Bob Schmid and Sarah Bornstein!
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
Editor’s shout-out: Congratulations to the unsung hero of Here’s The Deal, our editor Emily Knapp (
@EmilyRoseKnapp), who celebrates her anniversary with this newsletter today.
