Los Angeles (KNX) - A new study from Kaiser Family Foundation finds nearly one in five American adults say they've had a family member killed by a gun - including suicides. Roughly the same number said they have been personally threatened with a gun.
Kelly Drane, research director for the Giffords Law Center to prevent gun violence, joins KNX News to discuss.
LISTEN:
It's hardly breaking news to hear Kelly tell KNX In Depth that Americans are 25 times more likely to be killed in a homicide involving a gun compared to people living in similar high-income countries and that "the epidemic of mass shootings that we see here is something, unlike any other country in the world."
If we are so acutely aware of the problem, why does it seem like nothing is being done about it?
Kelly says that progress has been slow despite the more than 500 laws passed at the state level to protect communities from gun violence.
"Clearly, even those policies are not enough, and there's more action that states and the federal government needs to take," she says.
Take California, for example; with some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, we still have our fair share of gun violence - so are the laws just not working?
Kelly says California has one of the country's lowest gun death rates, but the issue is likely the surrounding states, like Arizona, that have "incredibly weak gun laws."
So what's the solution? As Kelly sees it, it is not about taking guns away from Americans - the nightmare scenario of many gun rights supporters - but rather "implement policies that look at risky behaviors that people have" and passing laws that prevent those individuals from gaining access to firearms.
"We know when we poll people, 90 plus percent of Americans want to see these laws and policies implemented and passed," Kelly says, and so she is confident and optimistic that we will get there one day.
Listen to the whole interview below.
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