Why Gun Violence is a

Feminist Issue

Mary Siskaninetz
DISCLAIMER
What I personally mean by gun control

Everyone is different and has

different views
 WARNING
Includes discussion around domestic
violence and intimate partner
violence, suicide, and gun violence
What is gun violence?

● Gun violence include:

○ Murder (lethal)
○ Assault (non-lethal)
○ Suicide
○ Suicide Attempts
○ Unintentional
shootings
○ Police intervention
● Mass shooting = 4 or
more deaths in one
incident
 Gun Violence Research

● Recent national data is typically limited to surveillance

data
● No federal funding for gun violence research since 1997
○ Dickey Amendment: no funding for research that could “advocate or promote
gun control”
○ Blocked federal funding for comprehensive research of the problem and
prevention strategies
■ *Clarification made after Parkland, FL shooting: can be used for
research, not advocacy
● Current research is either unfunded or funded through private
foundations
● 2014-2017: Obama asked for $10million in funding; congress
did not approve
● Research = better understanding = effective prevention
efforts
Surveillance Data

● Average ~30,000 firearm deaths/

year
● Approximately 306 people
shot/day in the US
● 90 deaths/day
● Two-thirds of all homicides were
committed with a firearm
Basic Statistics

● More people killed with firearms in Ohio than in

car crashes
● Women in US are 16x more likely to be murdered
with a gun than women in other high income
countries
● Gun in the home is 22x more likely to be used
to kill or injure in a domestic homicide, suicide,
or unintentional shooting than for self-defense
● Less than 1% of total gun deaths in the US are in
mass shooting incidents
● Black Americans are 10 times more likely than
white Americans to die by gun homicide.
US vs Everyone Else
Suicide & Gun Violence

● Suicide attempts with a gun are significantly more likely

to be lethal than attempts through other means
● 2016: 22,963 suicides as a result
of a firearm
○ 11,642 due to suffocation
○ 6,662 due to poisoning
Unintentional Shootings
● According to the CDC, 6 kids under age of 18 are injured in an unintentional
shooting every day
● Firearms are the second leading cause of death for children and teenagers
○ First leading cause of death for black children and teenagers
● American children are 16x more likely to be killed in an unintentional
shootings than children in other high income countries
● Most unintentional shooting deaths took place in late afternoon hours before
parents came home from work
● 65% of unintentional gun deaths took place in family’s home or vehicle with
guns that were legally owned, but not secured
○ 40% occurred in room where the gun was stored
Domestic Violence and Guns
● The presence of a gun in a domestic violence
situation makes it five times more likely that a
woman will be killed
● Women in the U.S. are 16 times more likely to be
killed with a gun than women in other high-income
countries
● In an average month, 50 American women are shot to
death by intimate partners, and many more are
injured
● 54 percent of mass shootings, the shooters kill
intimate partners and/or their family members.
 Background Checks

● Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993:

○ Licensed firearm dealers must conduct state or federal
background checks on potential purchasers
○ Non-Eligible in Ohio:
■ Wanted in a crime (fugitive) or have a restraining
order
■ History of drug & alcohol abuse (2+ crimes within last
3 years)
■ Convicted of juvenile offenses
■ Those who experience dangerous mental illness
(committed to a mental institution)
■ Dishonorably discharged from military
○ Most checks go through within minutes; if a further
investigation needs to be done, they only have 3 days to
complete it and notify the business owner. If the business
owner doesn’t hear anything, they can go through with the
sale
Background Checks Continued
● Current law does not include:
○ Private & online sales
○ Gun Shows
○ Violent or gun-related misdemeanors (in Ohio)
● Additional Issue: State & federal agencies fail to send reports
to national background check databases
○ Example: Virginia Tech shooter found to be severely/dangerously mentally by
state court, record was never sent to database system & he passed a background
check
● 19 states do require checks for private sales & gun shows
○ 46% fewer women killed by partners
○ 48% fewer on-duty police officers killed
○ 48% fewer suicides with guns
● 91% of Americans support universal background checks
○ Including 82% of gun owners
Video: The State of Gun Violence in the US

https://youtu.be/bX4qUsgHa4Y
What Exactly is a Feminist Issue?

● Feminism includes much more than

equality of the sexes
● Feminism has become more diverse
and inclusive in its ideas and
philosophy
● Care more about other issues that
are impacted by other systems of
oppression
Why is Gun Control a Feminist Issue?

1.BECAUSE IT IS
KILLING PEOPLE
2.DISPORTIONATELY
KILLS WOMEN,
CHILDREN, AND OTHER
MINORITY GROUPS.
What We Can Do To Help
● Talk to our representatives
○ More policy and research!
● Educate others and ourselves
● Join an awareness campaign
○ Examples:March for Our Lives and Everytown
Discussion!
Discussion Questions

Why do you think the United States has such a bigger

problem with gun violence compared to other countries?

Is our current background check system doing enough to curb

the gun violence issue in our country?

Do you think we should have more requirements for

purchasing a gun? Why or why not? What should those
requirements be?
Sources

1. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2003). Costs of Intimate Partner Violence
Against Women in the United States. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Supplementary Homicide Reports, 2009-13.
3. Everytown for Gun Safety. (2017). Mass Shootings in the United States: 2009-2016", available at
https://everytownresearch.org/reports/mass-shootings-analysis/
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Intimate Partner Violence: Consequences,
available at http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/consequences.html.