• No results found

Master thesis 30 credits Crisis management and peacebuilding 120 credits Spring semester 2020

N/A
N/A
Protected

Academic year: 2021

Share "Master thesis 30 credits Crisis management and peacebuilding 120 credits Spring semester 2020"

Copied!
65
0
0

Loading.... (view fulltext now)

Full text

(1)

Master thesis 30 credits

Crisis management and peacebuilding 120 credits Spring semester 2020

(2)

Abstract

The matter of mass shootings is a widely discussed topic all over the USA, and what is frequently given as a reason to the high number of mass shootings is the lack of background checks and the generally lax gun policies in the USA. But can mass shootings in the USA be impeded by control laws and if so, how? What other possible ways of impeding mass shootings are there? What other possible ways to impede mass shootings are there? How does public opinion affect the possibility to adopt new gun restrictions in the USA? This thesis examines, using a path-dependent perspective, what role the American gun policy has in creating mass shootings, and whether creating stricter gun laws could make a desired difference in decreasing the number of fatal mass shootings.

Furthermore, this thesis examines the role of public debate in adopting new gun regulations. The study is a scoping review, with the intent of creating a summary of the various contributions to the discussion about the issue. Materials for the scoping review has been gathered using Google and the Umeå university library search engine. The theoretical framework used is the so-called path

dependence theory, which claims that current decisions are largely dependent on decisions made in the past, and that it is difficult for institutions to choose a new path once one has been established. The thesis concludes that strict gun regulations contribute in impeding mass shootings, as has been shown in other countries such as Australia or Finland. Furthermore, in the USA, there seems to be a correlation between high gun ownership rate and number of mass shootings. There are other

measures that have been tried, but, although these measures help in minimizing damage once a shooting occurs, they are not efficient in preventing such incidents.

(3)

Content

1.Introduction ... 1

Aim and research questions ... 2

Disposition ... 3

2.What is it all about? ... 4

Mass shootings ... 4

Gun laws and the gun law debate ... 4

Second amendment ... 4

Laws governing gun ownership ... 5

Summary ... 8

3.Previous research ... 8

Underlying reasons for mass shootings ... 9

The outcome of shootings ... 10

Shootings in schools... 11

The aftermath of shootings ... 11

Psychological reactions ... 13

Summary ... 14

What will this study do?... 15

4.Theory ... 15

5.Research design, method and materials ... 19

6.Findings ... 23

Overview of themes ... 23

What does research suggest? ... 24

Gun control in the USA ... 24

Mass shootings – a global comparison ... 25

Gun laws vs mass shootings... 26

International gun laws ... 27

Attitudes towards gun control ... 27

What is the stance of the general public? ... 30

NRA and the development of gun control ... 30

Other methods that have been tried ... 31

Other suggested measures and their potential effect ... 34

The importance of learning from the experiences of mass shooters ... 40

Addressing other root causes ... 41

Why does the USA not follow the international example? ... 42

How attitudes affect gun control ... 43

(4)

Arguments for supporting stricter gun laws ... 46

Arguments for opposing stricter gun laws ... 47

How media coverage motivates people’s opinions ... 49

7.Analysis ... 50

8.Conclusion ... 52

(5)

1

1.Introduction

Gun violence in the USA is a well-known matter to almost everyone who actively follows the news about the large country in the west. Mass shootings are heard of on a nearly daily basis especially inside of the USA, and in major cases the news may spread internationally. What constitutes a mass shooting has not been officially defined, and so the public uses various different definitions for the phenomenon. The definition is usually tied to the location of the incident as well as the number of injured or killed victims. Some datasets also distinguish between incidents in which the perpetrator is injured or killed, and incidents where the perpetrator remains unharmed. In 2014, the FBI

conducted a study that showed that the number of mass shootings, or as it is called in the study, active shooting incidents, have increased by 16% annually in the time period of 2000-2013.1 The

matter of mass shootings is a widely discussed topic all over the USA, and what is frequently given as a reason to the high number of mass shootings is the lack of background checks and the generally laxgun policies that are in place in the USA.2

Although both the scientific arena as well as the society at large, has discussed this issue and presented a variety of different reasons and solutions to the problem of mass shootings in the USA, a thorough systematization has never been made of the various contributions to the discussion. Even though some attempts of explaining the effectiveness of gun laws in a systematic manner have been made previously, focus in these studies mainly lie on explaining only the objectively measurable effects of these prevention interventions, such as how the number of mass shootings change, the fatality rate of events, economic effects of interventions, etc. The main topic of research of such studies is violence prevention, with a clear attempt to explain what laws are most effective in preventing violence before it occurs. One such systematic review that solely focuses on explaining the effectiveness of gun laws in preventing gun violence, is presented in the article “Firearms laws and the reduction of violence”.3

1Smart Rosanna.2018. Mass shootings – definitions and trends [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/analysis/essays/mass-shootings.html (Accessed 31.5.2019)

2 Donohue John.2018. It’s going to take more than background checks and AR-15 bans to stop mass shootings

[ONLINE] Available at: http://time.com/5456015/gun-control-background-checks-ar15-mass-shootings (Accessed 31.5.2019)

3 Hahn Robert, Bilukha Oleg, Crosby Alex, Fullilove Mindy, Liberman Akiva, Moscicki Eve, Snyder Susan, Tuma

Farris, Briss Peter.2005.Firearms laws and the reduction of violence. P.40. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, vol 28 [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.melissainstitute.org/documents/AJPM_Firearms_laws.pdf (Accessed 19.3.2020)

(6)

2 Aim and research questions

So far, to the extent of my knowledge, no studies have been made with a particular focus on explaining the contributions of the public opinion in passing new laws or the effect of other prevention measures. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate, by using a scoping review and adopting a path-dependent perspective, what role the American gun policy and other preventive methods have in mass shootings, and whether creating stricter gun laws could make a desired difference in decreasing the number of fatal mass shootings. Furthermore, this thesis examines the role of public debate in adopting new gun regulations. The thesis aims to consider all types of contributions to the debate. Although similar studies have been made in an attempt to map out previous research on the issue of mass shootings, I consider it relevant for this study to adopt a similar approach in order to create a comprehensive overview of contributions from both the scientific as well as the general community. By summarizing earlier research, despite the fact that such studies have been made previously, I intend to create a contrasting overview between what research and debate contributes with respectively. The thesis will contribute to the knowledge about how the different prevention measures affect shootings, according to findings in previous research, and add a new perspective by including public debate on adopting new regulations into the

discussion, which has not been discussed in this manner within the scientific community before. For this thesis, the definition of Mass Shooting Tracker (MST) is used. MST is a crowd-sourced

database website which gathers information regarding mass shootings and keeps track of location and number of victims in shootings. According to MST, a mass shooting is a shooting incident regardless of location, in which there is a minimum of four victims, either killed or injured. The perpetrator is included in possible victims if the person in question is injured or killed during the incident.4 The research questions that are the base of this thesis are the following:

1. Can mass shootings in the USA be impeded by gun control laws, according to findings in previous research? If so, how?

2. What other possible ways to impede mass shootings are there, according to public debate? 3. How does public opinion affect the possibility to adopt new gun restrictions in the USA,

according to previous research?

The thesis focuses geographically on the USA in general, not limiting the study to any specific state or area. In terms of time, the study is limited to the period of 2000-2019. Naturally, mass shootings have occurred before this time period, but this time period is chosen because there has been a

(7)

3

significant increase in the number of incidents during this time, as per the study by the FBI mentioned above.

I consider this topic to be a relevant one to study, as it has been shown that a remarkably high portion of Americans, in fact, support stricter gun laws in hopes of impeding mass shootings. A recent national study from 2018, right after the Parkland school shooting in which the perpetrator killed 17 people and injured 15, showed that 66% of the respondents said that they supported stricter gun laws. This percentage was the highest ever recorded for people in favor of stricter gun laws5, yet mass shootings are a regular occurrence in all parts of the country. It seems as if there are

multiple reasons that contribute to maintaining the current gun laws, and I find it necessary to examine which these are. Identifying the reasons to a problem is where finding the solution starts. As for now, the general solution advocated by politicians in the USA, seems to be that more guns decrease the number of crimes. This is a claim generally used to justify the loose gun control laws, but in reality, there are multiple studies that have shown the very opposite, namely that gun

ownership actually increases the number of crime and does not contribute to increased safety.6

Disposition

The thesis starts by presenting some background information in part 2. Thereafter there are chapters for previous research on the subject as well as a short presentation of the theoretical framework along with a discussion of its relevance for the study at hand, followed by a chapter detailing the method and materials used. Part 6, which follows the method chapter, examines the possible relationship between number of guns and mass shootings on one hand, and gun control laws and mass shootings on the other. For this examination, a comparison with other countries is necessary to give further context to each statement. This part also includes an examination of the general

attitudes and possible problems regarding gun control laws in the USA. Furthermore, the sixth part discusses what other methods for impeding mass shootings have been tried, especially in the USA. Part 7 contains an analysis of whether the methods that have been tried, have been efficient and if there are even more options available that could be tried to impede mass shootings. The thesis ends with a conclusion, in which the main results from the study are presented. A discussion follows regarding whether the conclusions were expected and some possible suggestions for future studies on the topic are provided.

5 Ducharme Jamie.2018. More Americans than ever support stricter gun control laws, poll finds

http://time.com/5167216/americans-gun-control-support-poll-2018 (Accessed 2.6.2019)

6 Wenner Melinda.2017.More guns do not stop more crimes, evidence shows [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/more-guns-do-not-stop-more-crimes-evidence-shows/?redirect=1 (Accessed 2.6.2019)

(8)

4

2.What is it all about?

Mass shootings

USA Today writes in November 2018 that the country had experienced a total of 307 mass shooting incidents to that date.7 According to data from Mass Shooting Tracker (MST), a total of 3230

people have died as a result of a mass shooting between the years 2013-2019. Additionally, a total of 9,746 people have been injured during the same time period.8 In most mass shootings, the

perpetrators have used several firearms, and they have in most cases been obtained legally. Studies have shown that over 70% of the perpetrators of mass shootings have bought their weapons legally. In the remaining cases the perpetrators have obtained their weapons in another manner, such as by taking the weapon from a family member, buying them illegally, stealing them or even in some rare cases the perpetrators have built their weapon themselves.9

Gun laws and the gun law debate Second amendment

The gun laws in the USA are based on the so-called second amendment, which is included in the constitution. The second amendment reads as follows: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. It was adopted in 1791 and has since then been cited as the reason why American gun regulations are what they are. The original idea of the second amendment goes back to ancient Roman and

Florentine cultures, but in the English-speaking world the idea of a well-regulated militia stems from British queen Elizabeth I who proclaimed that individuals from all classes were by law

required to defend the British monarchy when needed. The interpretations of the second amendment are various different ones and it has therefore remained unclear what the initial purpose of the second amendment was. The Supreme Court in the USA has stated that the purpose of the second amendment is self-defense of individuals, essentially meaning that any legally obtained firearm kept in the home for personal self-defense should be allowed. This interpretation has been widely

accepted also among the general public, perhaps especially among those who oppose the idea of stricter gun laws. Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that American citizens have the right to participate in defending their liberties as American citizens whenever these were threatened, by

7 Miller Susan, McCoy Kevin.2019. Thousand Oaks makes 307 mass shootings in 311 days [ONLINE] Available at:

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/11/08/thousand-oaks-california-bar-shooting-307th-mass-shooting/1928574002 (Accessed 6.6.2019)

8 MST. US mass shootings, all years (2013-2019) [ONLINE] Available at: https://massshootingtracker.org/data/all

(Accessed 6.6.2019)

9 Melgar Luis, Dunn Lisa. 2018.Since 1982, 74 percent of mass shooters obtained their guns legally [ONLINE]

Available at: https://gunsandamerica.org/story/18/11/02/since-1982-74-percent-of-mass-shooters-obtained-their-guns-legally (Accessed 6.6.2019)

(9)

5

joining an organized militia, but the Court specifically points out that this is not the sole purpose of the second amendment. On the contrary, a number of constitutional historians have claimed that the original purpose of the second amendment was indeed only to allow people to join organized militias and within such organized militias bear arms, if needed to protect the freedom of the country. These historians do not agree with the Supreme Court regarding the right to keep firearms in the home for personal protection. As the American second amendment is derived from the British equivalent, which was codified in the British Bill of Rights in 1689, historians claim that the

original purpose of the American second amendment would have been the same as for the British one. According to the British equivalent, protestant citizens were allowed to bear arms in case the Parliament would need to defend the British state by arming citizens as a militia. The British law did not allow people to bear arms in personal self-defense in times of peace. The founders of the American state and its constitution did certainly have the British law in mind when drafting the second amendment. Historically, the importance of an organized militia for defending the state has been mentioned repeatedly throughout the time period from the late 1600s to the late 1700s when the American constitution was signed. The original purpose of the second amendment has thus certainly been to ensure an organized militia in times of war, in order to defend the state, but has not specifically allowed for firearms to be used in self-defense in the home.10

Laws governing gun ownership

There are further laws that provide a framework for how a firearm is to be used in specific cases. The castle doctrine and the so-called “stand your ground”-law are some of these. The castle doctrine dictates that a person has the right to use reasonable force, including deadly force, without

retreating when the person in question is attacked in his/her own home. This applies only in cases of self-defense and generally only in one’s own home. In some states, the castle doctrine extends to also apply for other legally occupied spaces, such as one’s own car or workplace. When an attack occurs outside of the home or other legally occupied space, the person is required to retreat, or at least make a reasonable attempt to retreat, prior to applying force to the situation. The “stand your ground”-laws, on the other hand, dictate that a person is not at all required to retreat in case of a threat, but instead legally allowed to use force in self-defense regardless of where the attack takes place. Deadly force is allowed in cases when the person is threatened by great bodily harm or death. The right to use force in self-defense in accordance with the “stand your ground”-laws only applies when the individual being attacked has a legal right to be at the location where the attack takes place and provided that the individual is not engaged in any illegal activities. The right does not

10 Charles Patrick. Second amendment [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Second-Amendment

(10)

6

apply if these criteria are not fulfilled. Currently, 46 states in the USA have adopted the castle doctrine and 20 states have adopted “stand your ground”-laws.11

People who support stricter gun laws have proposed different ways how such changes could be made without the need to ban firearms completely. Gabriel Klapholz discusses in his article several ways in which firearms can be made safer for the general public. His first suggestion is to increase the age limit for purchasing firearms. As of now, the federal law allows rifles and long guns to be sold to people of at least 18 years of age, while handguns can be purchased by people of at least 21 years. Klapholz uses the school shooter in Parkland, Florida as an example, since the shooter was only 19 years of age when he purchased his weapon and killed 17 people in his school.

Additionally, Klapholz suggests safe-storage laws to be put in place for gun owners. This would prevent legally purchased guns to be stolen and used for mass shootings. For example, the shooter at Sandy Hook, who killed 27 people, had stolen the weapon from his mother, who owned the gun legally. A policy change that is frequently discussed when people argue for stricter gun laws, is that of improved background checks. In 1994 the so-called Brady law was put in place in order to ensure that people’s personal history was checked prior to selling a firearm to them.12 The objective with

the Brady law is to conduct background checks of any potential gun buyers, in order to ensure that people who are unfit for owning a gun would not be able to purchase one. The background check is usually done within minutes over a computer, but if the background check would for some reason take more than three days, the sale can proceed by law. According to the Brady law, there are eight types of people who are considered ineligible for buying a firearm. These are criminal offenders, refugees, drug addicts, mentally ill people, illegal immigrants, certain legal immigrants, people who are no longer American citizens and people who have a restraining order issued against them. This seems to be a complete list, but unfortunately the system used for gathering information is not always fully reliable. Also, the background checks do not apply to all firearm sellers. The Brady law applies in regular gun stores and in licensed pawnshops that have a legal right to buy and sell firearms, but guns are frequently also sold elsewhere in places that are not legally obligated to perform a background check on the potential buyer. A quite usual place to buy a firearm at are the gun shows that are rather many in all parts of the country. An estimated number of gun shows per

11 Randall Mark, DeBoer Hendrik.The castle doctrine and stand-your-ground law [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.cga.gov/2012/rpt/2012-R-0172.htm (Accessed 13.6.2019)

12 Klapholz Gabriel.2018. Moving the gun debate forward – policy solutions for US mass shootings [ONLINE]

Available at: https://thepolitic.org/moving-the-gun-debate-forward-policy-solutions-for-u-s-mass-shootings (Accessed 14.6.2019)

(11)

7

year is 2000-5200, which makes a weekly average of 100. These gun shows are events where a number of exhibitors sell and buy guns as well as ammunition, holsters and other equipment for firearm owners. Some exhibitors are federally licensed gun dealers, who are obligated to follow the Brady law just like they are when they are in a regular gun store. Additionally, gun shows are frequented by private gun owners who buy, sell and trade guns, legally without a federal license if the sale is made between people in the same state. These sales do not require a background check, which makes it easy for anybody not qualifying to buy a gun under the Brady law, to buy one anyway. These kinds of private sales are usually known as the gun show loophole, and the Congress has in fact made several attempts to close it, to ensure that no unsuitable people get their hands on a gun. Private citizens in private settings, are also legally allowed to sell weapons to each other without the need for background checks.13

The Brady law has mainly rejected people who have a history of committing felony or who have suffered from mental illness in the past, and it has prevented 2.4 million from purchasing a firearm. It seems not to be enough, however. There have been several cases when people who have a

criminal history have managed to purchase a firearm despite their history. For example the shooter at Sutherland Springs, Texas, who killed 25 people, the perpetrator had been convicted of domestic violence while serving in the Air Force. The military chose to not inform the FBI about the

shooter’s criminal history, and so he was able to purchase a firearm legally. Also, the shooter in Charleston, South Carolina, who killed 9 people, had a criminal history that was not visible in the background check, which made him able to purchase his firearm legally. The current background check system is thus extremely ineffective in catching those who have a history of crime or mental illness and may pose a danger to others if given a firearm. The gun dealer is required to call the FBI to check if there are any notes about a criminal history, and this check often is easily done but does not catch up on all possible convictions. The buyer is allowed to buy a gun if there are no notes in the FBI’s database, regardless of whether they have shown suspect behavior before, such as complaints to the police or bad discipline in school etc. There has also been suggestions of simply banning assault weapons completely. There is a rather heated debate going on among people regarding this issue, but it is a fact that in the most deadly mass shootings, assault weapons have been used.14

13 Korte Gregory.2015. Buying a gun legally in the US isn’t difficult

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/20/how-to-legally-buy-a-gun-in-the-united-states/29034879

(Accessed 21.6.2019)

(12)

8

In general, the American gun laws are very loose in comparison with other developed countries, which is proven by the large number of gun-related injuries in the country. Even though there is technically a requirement for a background check, there are several loopholes that allow for skipping an accurate background check. The fact that the gun laws are not nationally valid, but differ between states, also contribute to making it easier for people to get their hands on a gun. If the laws in their own state have strict rules, people can just travel to another state to buy a gun more easily. Although the gun laws are a major contributing factor to the number of mass shootings in the USA, there are certainly other factors that contribute as well. Some of these are level of poverty, urbanization, alcohol consumption and the quality of the criminal justice system.15

Summary

The gun laws and the debate about them is multi-faceted in nature. There are currently several laws in place in most states that allow the usage of firearms in self-defense. These laws include the “stand your ground”-law as well as the castle doctrine, both of which allow the usage of force, even deadly force, in certain circumstances when a person feels threatened. These laws are a vital part of the debate surrounding gun laws in the USA, along with the discussion of the second amendment. Different interpretations of the second amendment are used in the debate, with many gun supporters claiming that it is a right of American citizens to bear arms, while many historians claim that the original purpose of the amendment was to ensure the right to join an organized militia in times of war, and would thus not give Americans the right to bear arms in their homes as a civil right.

3.Previous research

Previously, there have been a vast number of studies done on the subject of mass shootings in the USA. Researchers have been interested in examining the reasons for mass shootings, such as poverty rate, gun ownership rate, mental illness and so on, as well as what types of mass shootings usually occur (school shootings, randomized shootings or targeted shootings, and so on). Research has also been done on the topic of journalism in relation to mass shootings, meaning how journalists respond to and report mass shootings. Studies have shown that of different types of mass shootings, school shootings specifically are quite rare, although they gain a lot of media attention and public ditto once they occur, as people demand interventions to stop such things from happening. School shootings, however, make up an estimated 0,12% of firearm-related homicides throughout the USA

(13)

9

in the time period 1990-2012,16 but in 2018 the number grew even more, landing on 93 school

shootings within that one year.17

Underlying reasons for mass shootings

In the occurrence of a mass shooting that has proved particularly deadly, people often ask themselves what could lead the perpetrator to commit this act of violence. Many times the first thing that people speculate on is the possibility of the shooting being a terrorist act. Although mass shootings are indeed terrifying, it is incorrect to assume that the perpetrator always has a political motive. Most of the mass shooting cases have been linked to instances of bullying and/or mental health issues. The primary motive is quite often either a search for revenge for some past injustice, or an act performed to gain social power.18 Although most mentally ill people never commit violent

acts, it has been shown that some types of mental health problems create a higher prevalence for firearm-related violence. However, in most cases of firearm-related violence among mentally ill people, the act committed is suicide, not public shootings. It is estimated that ⅔ of all firearm-related violent acts committed are in fact suicides. There is still a link between degree of mental illness and mass shootings, as many shooters have been shown to suffer from serious untreated mental conditions. Some studies claim that as many as ⅔ of mass shooters suffered from a mental condition prior to committing the violent act, and that they displayed signs that are connected to serious mental conditions, such as paranoia, delusion, etc.1920 The risk of committing violent acts is

greatest among people who have refused taking medication for their condition. It is common that people who suffer from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder do not have a truthful insight into the severity of their illness and therefore refuse treatment. Substance abuse among mentally ill people has been observed to further increase the risk of committing violent acts. Indeed, when seriously mentally ill people are adequately treated for their condition, they show no more signs of violent

16 Shultz James.2013. Fatal school shootings and the epidemiological context of firearm mortality in the United

States.P.84. Disaster Health, vol 1, issue 2 [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/dish.26897 (Accessed 5.6.2019)

17 Bort Ryan.2018. The Sandy Hook massacre was 6 years ago today. This year had more school shootings than ever.

[ONLINE] Available at: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-new/american-gun-violence-statistics-768853

(Accessed 5.6.2019)

18 (1) Lemieux Frederic. 2016.6 things to know about mass shootings in America [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-things-to-know-about-mass-shootings-in-america/?redirect=1 (Accessed 6.6.2019)

19 Swearer Amy.2019.The role of mental illness in mass shootings, suicide [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.heritage.org/public-health/commentary/the-role-mental-illness-mass-shootings-suicides (Accessed 7.6.2019)

20 Malcolm John, Swearer Amy.2019. Part 1 – mental illness, firearms, and violence. P.1-2, 6. The Heritage

Foundation, no 239 [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.heritage.org/civil-society/report/part-i-mental-illness-firearms-and-violence (Accessed 7.6.2019)

(14)

10

behaviors than the general population. Therefore, the risk of having these people commit violent acts such as mass shootings decrease substantially when offered adequate treatment.21

The underlying reasons for mass shootings have previously been a popular theme within research on mass shootings in the USA. Researchers are interested in finding a reason that society can deal with to easily handle the threat of mass shootings. Several reasons contribute to mass shootings, and one of those most frequently cited in the aftermath of a shooting is mental illness. This is something that many researchers have studied, namely the connection between mental illness and mass

shootings, as well as the validity of the popular assumption that mass shooters must be mentally ill. One such study has previously been carried out by Jonathan Metzl and Kenneth MacLeish. In their study, they argue that there are four core assumptions in the aftermath of a mass shooting, and that two of these core assumptions are indeed that psychiatric diagnoses can predict the probability of a person carrying out a mass shooting, and that mental illnesses cause mass shootings to happen. Despite the apparent popularity of the assumption that if mental illness was treated early enough, mass shootings would not happen, the researchers argue that social and historical influences contribute in creating mass shooters. Gun crime is created by several social factors and cannot be attributed to mental illness alone.22

The outcome of shootings

Research has also been done regarding what factors may affect the outcome of a shooting. This is also a popular topic among researchers, and one such study was carried out by Benjamin Blau, Devon Gorry and Chip Wade. This specific study concerned a possible connection between state-specific gun laws in the USA, as well as whether the type of firearm used, the shooting venue and the mental health status of the shooter may impact the outcome of the shooting incident. Even though legal regulations are oftentimes demanded after a deadly mass shooting, as a measure to stop future incidents, the researchers find that most gun laws have no correlation with whether a mass shooting incident occurs. The exception that the researchers find is that of state assault weapon laws, that show a negative correlation with mass shooting incidents. Furthermore, the researchers find that generally the usage of shotguns, high-capacity magazines and handguns lead to an increased number of fatalities, whereas the usage of assault weapons do not show a similar

connection. Signs of mental illness in the perpetrator also seems to have a positive correlation with number of fatalities in a shooting incident, especially in cases where the perpetrator currently uses

21 Ibidem

22 Metzl Jonathan, MacLeish Kenneth.2015. Mental illness, mass shootings, and the politics of American

firearms.P.240, 246. Am J Public Health, vol 105, issue 2 [ONLINE] Available at:

(15)

11

antidepressants. Therefore, the researchers suggest that policymakers may want to focus regulations on other areas than assault weapons, and that improvements in mental healthcare may reduce the fatalities in a mass shooting incident,23 contrary to the findings of Metzl and MacLeish.

Shootings in schools

As mass shootings in schools are a rather frequent occurrence in the USA, in comparison with other developed countries, many researchers focus specifically on this type of mass shooting incidents. In order to pass gun laws, it is important to understand where changes are needed. Gary Kleck is a researcher who has focused his study on explaining where guns are acquired for school shootings. Common ways to acquire guns are through gun shows, through theft, with theft being the most common way to acquire guns in the cases studied by Kleck.24

The aftermath of shootings

In addition to discussing the type of mass shootings and the reasons that lead up to them, there has been a substantial amount of discussion regarding the aftermath of mass shootings and how this affects future mass shootings. In an article in Columbia Journalism Review, the writer discusses how journalists tend to portray mass shooters and criticizes the way journalists tend to describe them as some sort of celebrities. He gives an example of the shooting in Jacksonville, Florida in August 2018, in which the perpetrator shot 13 people, of which three (including the perpetrator himself) died. After this incident, the Washington Post published a profile describing the perpetrator and his achievements as a professional video gamer. The profile describes, for example, how he won a video game tournament in 2017, and it includes a photograph of him. The shooting incident is mentioned later in the profile, according to the author in Columbia Journalism Review in the tenth paragraph. The communications manager at the Washington Post has reportedly stated that this way of reporting about the incident was meant to give the readers some context on the community the perpetrator was active within. However, experts claim that this way of reporting about mass shooters contribute to the so-called contagion effect, which means that a phenomenon starts spreading almost like a contagious disease. Shooters who aim to find fame, might interpret the detailed profiles of previous mass shooters as a type of fame that they might want for themselves as well, and thus they may feel inclined to carry out a mass shooting themselves. Therefore experts

23 Blau Benjamin, Gorry Devon, Wade Chip.2016. Guns, laws and public shootings in the United States. P. 4733.

Applied Economics, vol 48, issue 49 [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00036846.2016.1164821 (Accessed 26.2.2020)

24 Kleck Gary.2009. Mass shootings in schools – the worst possible case for gun control. P.1461. American Behavioral

Scientist, vol 52, issue 10 [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247752377_Mass_Shootings_in_SchoolsThe_Worst_Possible_Case_for_Gun _Control (Accessed 26.2.2020)

(16)

12

suggest that media leave out photographs and names of shooters in their reports of such incidents. By minimizing the amount of information shared about the shooters and their statements or

achievements prior to the shooting, the desired fame will not be given to shooters. It is worth noting that leaving out information from news media will not necessarily impede future mass shootings, as detailed information and thus the desired fame will still be available online, on social media and the like.25

The public response has also been discussed frequently in debate articles after mass shootings. Mel Robbins criticizes the public response after a mass shooting in a commentary on CNN, and further discusses how changes could be achieved in terms of impeding mass shootings. She states in her commentary that Americans in general, do not feel a personal effect of mass shootings, and therefore are not motivated to attempt to put an end to mass shootings. She gives a rather critical account of how Americans defend their freedom to own weapons and not take action to stop mass shootings. In the aftermath of mass shootings, there is a widespread reaction of expressing

collective condolences on social media, by, for example, writing a public status in the style of Prayers for the victims or to change a profile photograph to show collective grief. Robbins argues in her commentary that this type of behavior on social media does not equal caring or a wish to really make a change. In order to truly make a change, she argues that people need to commit to make a concrete change. Robbins cites a study by the psychologist J T MacCurdy, who found that people who lived in London during the bombings of WWII could be divided into roughly three different groups depending on how close to a bombing they were. The first group were those who died. The second group were those who were present at the site, but survived, and the third group were people who were not present. MacCurdy found in his study that those who were present and survived were much more affected on a personal level than those who were not present. On the contrary, those who were not present could even feel a sense of excitement for the bombings. Robbins states that similarly, unless the mass shootings become directly personal to people, they will not be affected enough to care about making a change to the situation.26

25 Biasotti Tony. 2018. Reporters shouldn’t profile mass shooters, say experts [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.cjr.org/united_states_project/jacksonville-shooting-contagion.php. (Accessed 7.6.2019)

26 Robbins Mel. Why Americans don’t do anything about mass shootings[ONLINE] Available at:

https://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/06/opinions/why-we-dont-give-a-damn-about-mass-shootings-robbins/index.html

(17)

13 Psychological reactions

The effects of mass shootings do not stop with the end of the incident. Like in all traumatic experiences, the effects are widespread, for survivors, relatives to the victims as well as for the society as a whole. Arash Javanbakht, who is a psychiatrist specialized in trauma research, has written an article about the long-term effects of mass shootings. Javanbakht states that the survivors might develop psychological trauma when experiencing a mass shooting. This might manifest as avoidance of places and situations in which the mass shooting happened, as people are driven by fear of what they experienced. The severity of the reactions varies among different individuals, and some might even develop a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident. Symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder include anxiety, avoidance, hyper-vigilance, intrusive memories of the incident, nightmares and mental flashbacks. It is estimated that as many as 36% of survivors of a human-made incident develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Other conditions, such as depression, are present in 80% of those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Survivors may also experience a phenomenon called survivor’s guilt, which means they feel guilty for

surviving when others died in the incident. These conditions are treatable with medication and psychotherapy, but it is important to start the treatment early, as they become harder to treat when time goes by and the conditions get more chronic. Post-traumatic stress disorder may also develop in individuals who experience the incident indirectly, through the actual victims. Seeing other people suffering and dying or even just hearing about somebody else’s traumatic experience creates a reaction of fear that can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder. Media also plays a role in creating fear and anxiety among people who were not involved in the incident. By adding a

dramatic tone to the news reports, they get more viewers and readers, but unfortunately this also has the negative effect of creating fear in people. Javanbakht stresses that mass shootings do not only have negative effects. The collectively traumatic incidents also have the potential to create

constructive debate about changing the gun laws and informing the general public about the risks. It is possible to create good outcomes from a traumatic experience and make positive changes that will minimize the risk of something similar happening again.27

It is clear that what Javanbakht describes about indirect post-traumatic stress disorder and fear, is firmly rooted in the American reality. Constant news reports about deadly mass shootings and numerous false alarms that people are subjected to on a daily basis, creates a fear that is comparable

27 Javanbakht Arash.2019. What mass shootings do to those not shot – social consequences of mass gun violence

[ONLINE] Available at: https://theconversation.com/what-mass-shootings-do-to-those-not-shot-social-consequences-of-mass-gun-violence-106677 (Accessed 10.6.2019)

(18)

14

to post-traumatic stress disorder. Recently, after a week of a few deadly mass shootings that tormented the USA in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, there was a false alarm event with a motorcycle backfiring in Times Square. This caused people to start panicking and trying to escape the scene, before realizing that there was no shooting being carried out. Arthur Evans, the CEO of the American Psychological Association, says that this national fear of mass shootings is indeed something real and that people need not be directly affected to develop a fear for potential shootings happening. A survey conducted by Chapman University in 2018 reveals that 4/10 Americans fear random mass shootings. Evans cites two examples of what could be the underlying cause to the fear of mass shooting incidents among those who claim they are afraid. One reason is what is called vicarious trauma, meaning a person who has not been directly affected by a shooting, develops the same kind of reaction as somebody who was directly involved. Anxiety, depression or even post-traumatic stress disorder can be caused merely by watching news coverage of post-traumatic events, and these reactions may be further affected by factors such as substance abuse, according to Evans. Another reason to fear could be so-called priming, which happens when a person who has

previously experienced a traumatic event, expects it to happen again. Stimuli that remind the person of the traumatic event, such as loud bangs if the traumatic event was a shooting, might

subconsciously be interpreted as gunshots, which triggers the person’s fight-or-flight-response. Similar false alarm events as the one in Times Square have happened elsewhere too. Workplaces have been evacuated and searched through by heavily armed officers when reports of potential gunmen have come through to employees. The primary factor that increases the level of stress and fear in regard to mass shootings among people, is the fact that most deadly mass shootings do not happen in places that are far away from people’s home and safe haven. Instead, most shootings happen in places where many people often go, such as malls, workplaces, schools, etc., which contributes to increasing the level of fear.28

Summary

It is vital to remember, that in many cases, the underlying reason for carrying out a shooting is not political in nature, but instead, a large portion of shooters have displayed signs of mental health issues and many carry out their acts as a revenge for bullying or other previously experienced injustices. In order to fully understand the dynamics underlying a mass shooting, we need to be aware of the true motives and risk factors that may cause a mass shooting incident. It is also important to understand how the general public responds to events like these, with those directly

28 Miller Ryan.2019. False alarms, real trauma – Americans are on edge after string of mass shootings [ONLINE]

Available at: https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/07/active-shooter-false-reports-put-america-edge-after-mass-shootings/1942249001 (Accessed 11.8.2019)

(19)

15

affected being more prone to actually demanding concrete change while those not affected may not experience incentives to demand change as passionately.

What will this study do?

Previous research mainly focuses on a narrow research area, with focus on a particular prevention measure or a particular type of gun violence. The systematic reviews that have been made, focus specifically on the role of gun laws, but do not take into account the possible effect of other measures. A broad scoping review with a focus on both examining the effectiveness of different measures as well as the effect of public debate on political actions has not been made to date, which is what this thesis aims to do, by systematizing the available research and debate regarding the issue from a broader perspective than previous studies have done.

4.Theory

The theory which has been used in this thesis is the path dependence theory. This theory came into existence in an article written by the historian Paul David in 1985. Its main idea is that history plays an active role in what happens in the present day. According to the theory, a decision has been made sometime in the past, and this decision continuously interferes with present day decisions. It

becomes either difficult or expensive to break free from the path since it has such strong historical roots. David exemplifies in his article by describing the placement of the keys on the QWERTY-keyboard in typewriters and how that still is the dominant placement of keys in present day computer keyboards, although there is no practical reason why it should be so.29

It is important to understand where path dependence stems from in order to apply it to a certain phenomenon. Such path-dependent choices that have been made in the USA, both on federal and state level, regarding gun control are not created in an instant. Instead, becoming path-dependent is a process that over time continuously narrows the scope of different actions and makes one type of action the only one that is used. The path dependence theory aims to explain what factors create and affect a dependent mindset in institutional and political decisions and what forms these path-dependent behaviors might take in different situations. Assumptions that the theory frequently works with includes that policy makers have a limited number of assumptions that govern the decision-making process, that they fail to learn from past failures and that they over-emphasize caution in the decision-making process, thus creating and maintaining a path-dependent mindset.30

29 Bladh Mats.2008. Spårbundenhet – från fysik till historia [ONLINE] Available at:

http://www.historisktidskrift.se/fulltext/2008-4/pdf/HT_2008-4_671-692_bladh.pdf (Accessed 5.6.2019)

30 Greener Ian.Path dependence [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/path-dependence (Accessed

(20)

16

Researchers who have studied the process of path dependence, divide the process into different phases that show how an organization slowly moves towards path dependence. The three phases that the researchers describe are the following:

1. The preformation phase is characterized by many options of action. The choices are not predictable but usually depend upon initial conditions or previous events. At the moment a decision is made, it may not seem particularly meaningful, but unintentionally sets off a type of self-reinforcing process which in time lead to the end of the preformation phase.

2. The formation phase is characterized by a dominant pattern of action that is starting to be created, but at this point in time it is still not possible to predict a decision with certainty. During this phase, other actions that are not compatible with the dominant action pattern, starts gaining less acknowledgement and success, which even further contributes to creating path dependence.

3. The lock-in phase has started when no other actions than the dominant action pattern is being considered. The decision process is now completely fixed to that specific action pattern and it is the basis of every decision being made. Even when new alternative paths are being presented, the organization will try to make a decision that leads to the desired

outcome. New entrants in the organization simply have to adopt the currently accepted action pattern. The decisions that characterize the lock-in phase may be cognitive, normative or resource-based.31

In addition to the three phases described above, path dependence theory often deals with what is generally called critical junctures. Researchers Giovanni Capoccia and Daniel Kelemen discuss the relevance of critical junctures and define them as events that interrupt a long-lasting period of path-dependent stability and allow for changes to be made in another direction. According to the

researchers, critical junctures in history tend to move the development in a certain direction and create a self-reinforcing system where alternative options are no longer considered. These types of events are called critical, because they oftentimes lead to long-lasting processes that are then difficult to change. Critical junctures are considered the starting point of path-dependent processes and are therefore important in the development of many path-dependent societal phenomena. Critical junctures are situations characterized by a brief period of time when actors have a wide

31 Schreyögg Georg, Sydow Jörg.2011. Organizational path dependence – a process view.P.323-325. Organization

Studies, vol 32, issue 3 [ONLINE] Available at:

https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/fub188/20921/0170840610397481-2011.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (Accessed 30.6.2019)

(21)

17

range of choices and the choices they make likely will affect future outcomes. The choices made during this short period of time considered a critical juncture, trigger the future path-dependent development that further decreases the number of options. Capoccia and Kelemen argue that despite the theoretical value of critical junctures, they are rarely given much attention in path-dependent analyses. More attention is generally given to the three phases that a path-dependent process goes through, that were also presented above. In order to identify critical junctures in a process, a unit of analysis must first be identified. This unit could be a single organization or an interaction between several actors, such as a political party for example, or even a political regime in its entirety.32

Along with the three phases discussed above, I aim to identify a critical juncture that has led the gun debate on a certain path in the USA. The unit of analysis is the entire American society, including political decision-makers, other political actors such as NRA, as well as the general public.

When using path dependence theory to explain the development of a societal debate and the effect of debates on the decision-making process, rather than simply tracking the decision-making process of political actors, it is important to understand in what way societal debates influence decision-making processes in society. Researcher Jacob Torfing discusses this matter and identifies certain factors that do explain how debates in society can affect decision-making processes. He argues that actors, both political and social, have a certain need to reduce contingencies when continuously constructing and maintaining rules, norms and values that govern the function and activity of the actors in question. Having a set of stable rules, norms and values aid actors in orientating and acting effectively in a world that is undoubtedly complex and contingent. People tend to validate an

existing path even further through the action of different actors, including of course the general public. The rules and norms that are present in the society do affect the degree to which certain norms and values are validated within a decision-making process, as people tend to favor that which has previously been shown to work well.33 It is also argued that higher complexity in a given

situation may affect the degree to which a person is likely to consider new alternatives, as opposed to old alternatives that have previously been proven effective. In a highly complex situation, people usually consider information about the present situation much more thoroughly than they do

information about future consequences, thus possibly leading to poor decision-making that favors what is beneficial to deal with the present situation. A group of researchers conducted a study in

32 Capoccia Giovanni, Kelemen Daniel.2007. The study of critical junctures – theory, narrative, and counterfactuals in

historical institutionalism. P. 341-342, 348-349. World Politics, vol 59, issue 3 [ONLINE] Available at:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40060162?seq=1 (16.6.2020)

33 Torfing Jacob. 2009. Rethinking path dependence in public policy research. P.77-78.

(22)

18

which they investigated the effect of path-dependence on decision-making among individuals, and were able to prove that this type of reasoning is present in individuals also,34 why it is reasonable to

argue that public debate about a political issue could indeed affect the decision-makers’ possibility of making decisions in a certain direction. Using the theory to investigate societal debates means investigating the underlying factors that contribute to creating patterns in political decision-making, rather than solely focusing on the surface, which is the political decision-making process itself.

As this thesis is a summary of other materials, this theory has been used as the base of analysis for the materials used. The path dependence theory has been used as a explaining theory when

discussing the findings and theories of other materials, in order to create a type of debate between the materials used and the path dependence theory itself. Therefore, the arguments presented above reappear throughout the thesis. The main idea with this approach has been to use the base

arguments of the theory, that have been presented above, to explain and discuss how path

dependence affects the issue of mass shootings and the debate surrounding it. The arguments from path dependence theory have been used as an explaining argument with the intent of explaining underlying dynamics concerning the events that have had a major impact on how the issue of mass shootings is handled, in order to gain an understanding of the role of different factors for mass shootings as a phenomenon. By contrasting the materials and the path dependence theory in this manner, a discussion between the materials and the theory has been created. I have chosen this particular theory as I consider it a valuable explanation tool to use when examining the role of institutional decisions as well as public attitudes and their influence on the phenomenon of mass shootings. The theory is in fact a common one within historical institutionalism, in which the organizational actions and their connection over a long period of time is in focus.35 I have made an

attempt to identify the different phases and the importance of the crucial events for the development of the situation, using path dependence theory. The criterion for defining phases has been to identify an event that in several materials is portrayed to have the main characteristics of each phase, as presented in path dependence theory. For example, in order to define an event as a lock-in event, it needs to be portrayed as an event that has completely made one option the only one that actors choose.

34 Koch Jochen, Eisend Martin, Petermann Arne. Path Dependence in Decision-Making Processes: Exploring the

Impact of Complexity under Increasing Returns.P.79. Bus Res 2, 67–84 (2009).

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03343529 (Accessed 17.6.2020)

35 Pierson Paul, Skocpol Theda. Historical institutionalism in contemporary political science.P.6.[ONLINE] Available

at:

(23)

19

5.Research design, method and materials

The study has been conducted as an embedded case study, which means that there are several units and subunits being examined. This study examines what the materials reveal about the stance and arguments of the political actors, the general public, as well as the country as a whole about the issue at hand. Furthermore, it focuses specifically on mass shootings, rather than examining all kinds of gun violence. This approach has been particularly interesting, as the high number of mass shootings sets the USA apart from other developed countries. The aim has been to use an

explanatory approach, meaning that a so-called reference theory has been used to guide the data collection and description of the topic. This has been done by using the main arguments from the path dependence theory as a contrasting argument to create a discussion between the materials and the theory itself, as described earlier.36

The study has been conducted as a scoping review, using a qualitative approach. A scoping review is a method that aims to map out the existing research and literature in a certain topic, oftentimes with the goal of examining the extent and nature of existing research on a topic, summarizing findings and identifying gaps in knowledge regarding the topic, or evaluating the potential value of conducting a full systematic review on the topic.37 There is no specific empirical analysis in the

findings section, as the aim is not to conduct an empirical study of the issues. The findings section is divided into separate chapters for research findings and general debate. Moreover, the findings are presented in accordance with the search terms used, in order to evaluate the relevance of the materials for the research questions. The study is a case study of mass shootings specifically in the USA, but some comparisons to other countries have been made when this has been deemed

relevant. Other countries have been used as a point of comparison to give some context on what the effects of different practical and legal measures have had in those countries, in order to evaluate whether the same measures could be effective in the USA. Although some comparisons have been made in the study, the study is not comparative in nature.

This approach was chosen in order to gain an understanding of the general situation surrounding the issue. The study is expected to lead to results that could possibly enlighten us regarding possible

36 Scholz Roland, Tietje Olaf.2002 Types of case studies.P.2-4. Sage Publications, Book chapter, Available at:

https://methods.sagepub.com/book/embedded-case-study-methods/n2.xml (Accessed 19.2.2020)

37 Pham Mai, Rajić Andrijana, Greig Judy, Sargeant Jan, Papadopoulos Andrew, McEwen Scott.2014. A scoping review

of scoping reviews – advancing the approach and enhancing the consistency. P.371-372. Res Synth Methods, vol 5, issue 4 [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4491356 (Accessed 8.4.2020)

(24)

20

solutions, theoretical suggestions, for the epidemic of mass shootings in the USA, but is not meant to explain exactly how this could be done in practice. However, a small degree of discussion will be included regarding how the solutions could possibly be implemented in practice, in order to

determine whether the solutions could be helpful or not. I consider this approach to be the best to conduct this kind of study due to the large amount of material available regarding this particular matter. Many academic studies have already been conducted on this issue and in addition to that, the large number of mass shootings that happen yearly in the USA have sparked a discussion among the public as well. All of this available material, whether academic or non-academic in nature, is valuable to the study by giving various different perspectives on the situation of mass shootings. This study could perhaps be conducted using a survey approach, but indeed the time is limited and it would not be possible to distribute the questionnaires to enough participants in order to gain a truthful result in the end. Therefore, I suspect that not as much material could be gathered doing a survey or using other kinds of methods, which is why I have chosen this approach.

For literature reviews, it is normal that the initial number of materials is rather high, and thus a screening needs to be made to ensure that the most relevant materials are chosen for the study. One way for screening materials and evaluate their eligibility for the study is by reading titles and abstracts of articles to determine whether they are relevant for the study. I have, for the sake of this study, narrowed down the materials by using this exact method. It is advised in method literature, that a search be conducted in different information sources and with a variety of search terms, in order to screen materials. A search can be considered completed once it has been carried out in different sources with differing search terms, and the search generates the same results. Thereafter, the actual screening is made from the results that keep reappearing in several searches, by reading the materials and deciding based on factors such as geography, language, time span or publication date which ones are relevant to be included in the actual review.38

To begin with, I used the following search terms and different combinations of them:  “USA mass shootings” (445,000 results)

 “Gun laws“ (244,000,000 results)

 “USA gun control” (292,000,000 results)

 “Gun control and democracy” (25,400,000 results)

38 Jesson Jill, Matheson Lydia, Lacey Fiona. 2011. Doing your literature review – traditional and systematic

techniques. P.30. Sage Publications, E-book, Accessed 17.6.2020

(25)

21  “Attitudes gun control” (13,100,000 results)

The materials used have been found through Google (both the regular search engine as well as Scholar) and the Umeå university library search engine. I have used results in Swedish, Finnish and English and only from the time period of 2000-2019. The total number of results with the above-mentioned search terms was 574,945,000, but all of these have not been screened. Only those that matched the search terms completely were screened, and thus the majority of the results, which only had one or two loose matching search terms were left out from the screening. I have limited my search using materials from the categories mentioned above, including earlier research, news articles, debate articles, etc. By using the search terms presented below and different variations of these in the search engines of my choice, I was able to narrow down the initial search results to an approximate number of 170 materials that kept reappearing in different searches. By reading these and determining their relevance based on geography (USA) and timespan (2000-2019), I was able to choose a total of 74 results to use in the review, including 72 texts and 2 other materials. I have determined the relevance of materials by reading titles and abstracts of scholarly articles, as well as lead paragraphs for newspaper articles, and thus narrowed down the initial search results to a total of 74 results.39 The final selection of materials consisted of 45 texts of non-academic nature and 27

texts of academic ditto. The material referred to as “other materials”, is the informant that will be presented below as well as the MST-database. The non-academic texts were mostly debate articles, with a total of 34 of those, 5 news articles and 7 other materials including a journal article,

encyclopedia results with an author’s name associated to it, a speech transcript, a database (MST) and an opinion. The majority of these were published in the second half of the 2010s, with 36 texts being from this time period, and the rest being from the first half of the 2010s, excluding one text from the 2000s. The academic texts were mostly academic articles published online, with 25 articles being of that nature, and the remaining 2 being reports and books. 13 texts were published in the second half of the 2010s, 4 were published in the first half of the 2010s, 8 were from the 2000s and 2 of them did not have an actual date on them, but were chosen due to the fact that they covered the desired time period and were thus considered relevant.

39 Liberati Alessandro, Altman Douglas, Tetzlaff Jennifer, Mulrow Cynthia, Gøtzsche Peter, Ioannidis John, Clarke

Mike, Devereaux Philip, Kleijnen Jos, Moher David.2009. The PRISMA statement for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of studies that evaluate healthcare interventions – explanation and elaboration.P.9. PLoS Med vol 21, issue 6 [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19621070 (Accessed 25.3.2020)

(26)

22

Non-academic materials Academic materials

34 debate articles 25 academic articles online

5 news articles 2 reports and/or books

6 others

Table 1: Types of materials used

The materials collected for this study make it possible to gain an understanding of why the situation has evolved in the way it has, and thus they make it possible to create a thorough summary of the issue.40 As described earlier, I have used both academic theses as well as news articles, debate

articles and other personal accounts regarding the issue. The non-academic texts served the purpose of giving me the opinions and theories of the general public and were therefore valuable in giving this study more depth, whereas academic theses provided a more objective and factual view of the issue. I consider both to be equally important to draw conclusions regarding possible solutions for the epidemic of mass shootings. Academic articles and books have been the basis for the part focusing on research, while the part focusing on public debate is based on non-academic materials that were presented in detail above. This distinction has been made to ensure that each part is based on materials that best give a truthful overview of the issues. These are materials that I have deemed relevant for this study for a comprehensive outlook on the theme, and thus I have excluded

materials such as video lectures, encyclopedia results without an author, etc. It is also worth mentioning, that even though NRA is discussed often as an important factor in the mass shooting debate, its stance is not representative for the public opinion as a whole, but rather only one part of it, albeit a meaningful one. For a higher reliability, I consider it important that the author’s name has been displayed, so that information from the materials can be traced back to an individual for

verification if needed. Finally, I have included information from an informant who has shared his knowledge on the matter. The informant who has participated in this study is Andrew Nitchman, who is a university student with a major in criminal justice and an associate degree in the same field. Nitchman is a student at bachelor level at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH, USA, at the time of writing this thesis. As his field of study is strongly connected to criminality of various kinds, including mass shootings that are indeed a highly important crime to consider in the USA specifically, and as he has a unique perspective as an American living in the USA, he has been able to share his knowledge and personal perspective of the issue of mass shootings. He has also

contributed by sharing his own personal opinions and attitudes towards gun control measures and the debate going on in the USA regarding the issue.

(27)

23

One possible disadvantage of using this type of method, is the vast amount of materials that is generated by the search engines. Manually screening all of those is not doable within the timeframe given, if at all, and therefore the majority of the results have been left out, based on the lack of an exact match with the search terms. Leaving out the majority of materials in such a way, might cause certain valuable perspectives to get lost in the review, but given the limited time to conduct this study, this has been a necessary choice to make.

6.Findings

Overview of themes

There are certain themes that recur in several of the materials. A popular theme among researchers is that of contributing factors for mass shootings. Reasons that have been studied is the possible connection between gun ownership rate and number of mass shooting incidents. Researchers have attempted to find explanations for whether and how gun ownership rate affects the number of mass shootings. A link between social values and gun ownership has been studied, and it has been found that social values affect gun ownership rate, as people wish to uphold social values. Researchers have also studied the connection between gun law permissiveness and number of mass shootings, which is helpful to examine in order to gain understanding for how gun laws affect the occurrence of mass shooting incidents. Gun law permissiveness, as well as a high gun ownership rate, has been found to increase the number of mass shootings, which suggests that strict gun laws would indeed impede the number of mass shootings. Furthermore, researchers have been interested in how the attitudes towards gun ownership and strict gun laws differ between people from different

backgrounds and of different ages. It is important to understand the stance of the public in order to make democratic changes to laws, and thus studying attitudes also seems to be a popular theme among researchers. Some scientists have also investigated mass shootings as a public health problem and the connection of democratic ideas and mass shootings, in order to gain an understanding for the factors that contribute to mass shootings.

Among the general public, the debate is heated. People have various arguments both for and against stricter gun laws. Recurring discussions on how mass shootings should be impeded if not by legal regulations are being held. The suggestions that are oftentimes presented, include measures that are mainly meant to minimize damage once a shooting occurs, such as bullet-proof doors and regular lock-down drills etc., but few suggestions are actually preventive in nature. Those who support stricter gun laws argue that legal regulations regarding gun ownership would decrease the number

References

Related documents

Affordances and Constraints of IntelligentAffordances and Constraints of IntelligentAffordances and Constraints of IntelligentDecision Support for Military Command and

Attempts by scholars to decipher why peace in the midst of war should refrain from underestimating this crucial factor, as armed conflict may continue

- A certified copy of bachelor's degree or vocational degree worth at least 180 higher education credits shall be enclosed to the application. Original documents may be

A few algorithms are selected and implemented with “Spark” in scala, python or java (depending on student preferences). The implementations are benchmarked and

Different MNCs have different processes of developing global leadership talents, 2) Proposition G: MNCs have difficulties in developing certain personal traits and

Vernacular structures like these exist all over the world and are not exclusive to the Sámi design tradition, but this makes them no less part of the Sámi cul- ture...

This scheme essentially relies on consumers making use of other policies like the Green Deal or ECO or it relies on consumers carrying out energy renovations themselves without

Re-examination of the actual 2 ♀♀ (ZML) revealed that they are Andrena labialis (det.. Andrena jacobi Perkins: Paxton & al. -Species synonymy- Schwarz & al. scotica while