![]() ![]() A red flag law is active in Massachusetts, McDevitt says, though it’s not commonly used, in part due to lack of awareness. The concerned citizen can be a family member, local police, or even school personnel. “Red flag” laws allow someone close to a gun owner to ask a court to take that person’s weapons if they believe they may pose a threat to themself or others. These 3-D printed guns, or “ghost guns,” as they are called in the House bill, can be printed in parts and assembled and don’t have serial numbers, so it can be difficult to trace ownership, McDevitt says. Handguns include revolvers, where bullets are loaded into a revolving chamber, or semi-automatic pistols, which are magazine-loaded. In addition, he notes that there are two suicides for every homicide in the United States. “Most of the shootings happen either in street encounters between young people, in drug deals or in gangs, or in the home in domestic violence situations,” he says. While mass shootings with assault weapons are more likely to make headlines, McDevitt says they are not common, and most gun violence in this country is committed with handguns. Illustration by Hannah Moore/Northeastern University High-capacity magazines hold more than 10 rounds. Magazines are spring-loaded bullet canisters used to load a variety of gun types. This is the type of weapon that was used in the recent hospital shooting in Tulsa. Assault weapons have “very large bullets that do a lot of damage,” and can be semi-automatic (like an AR-15) or automatic (like an AK-47). “An assault weapon is generally defined as something that was originally used in the military,” McDevitt says. Bump stocks are illegal in most states, McDevitt says.ĪR-15 rifle with bump stock. The term made it to the mainstream media after the Las Vegas shooter used a gun with a bump stock to kill 58 people at a festival. Automatic weapons are illegal in most states, he says.īump stocks make a semi-automatic weapon mimic an automatic, making them a loophole in many states’ automatic weapon ban. “Once you pull the trigger, it will keep firing as long as the trigger is pulled down, until there are no more bullets,” McDevitt says. Unlike a semi-automatic weapon, an automatic weapon-an example would be a machine gun-continues firing without the shooter having to pull the trigger again. While we may associate the term “semi-automatic” with rifles, which are long guns with grooves in the barrel that help improve accuracy, it can apply to any type of weapon, including handguns. Illustration by Hannah Moore/Northeastern UniversityĪ semi-automatic weapon is any weapon where the shooter pulls the trigger, one bullet is fired and a new bullet is automatically loaded. What are the terms used in the bill to describe firearms? Automatic rifle vs. What do these restrictions mean, and how effective would they be if passed? Here’s a primer on key gun terms, from Jack McDevitt, professor of the practice in criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern. Phil Murphy called for laws that make gun manufacturers vulnerable to civil lawsuits, and California lawmakers pushed for stricter gun control. Last week, New York passed a bill raising the age to buy a semi-automatic rifle to 21 and expanding red flag laws, CNN also reports. The federal legislation follows a push for gun control at the state level. The changes are unlikely to make it past a Senate vote. The House bill is wide reaching: It would raise the minimum age to buy some semi-automatic weapons to 21, strengthen bump stock and “ghost gun” regulations, ban high-capacity magazines, and give local governments power to start high-capacity magazine buyback programs, CNN reports. The House passed the Protecting Our Kids Act on Wednesday, hours after hearing harrowing testimony from gun violence survivors and their families, and two weeks after a shooter killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. ![]()
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