On this edition of Your Call, we'll find out how easy it is to buy a gun in the US. Americans own 393 million firearms. That's half of the world’s civilian firearms. The US leads the world in firearms per capita.
In 2020 alone, more than 45,000 Americans died by gunfire, more than any other year on record. That figure represents a 25 percent increase from 2015, and a 43 percent increase from 2010. According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 321 Americans are shot every day in the US (210 survive; 111 die).
It only took five clicks for Quartz staffers to purchase one of the two rifles the Uvalde, Texas gunman bought a few days after turning 18. Daniel Defense sells the DDM4V7 AR-15-style weapon online for $1,870, plus tax. Shipping to a local gun shop is free.
Guests:
Jennifer Mascia, news writer at The Trace
Champe Barton, reporter covering community violence and the gun industry at The Trace
Web Resources:
Quartz: We ordered the same gun used in Uvalde. Here’s how easy it was.
The Washington Post: Maker of rifle in Texas massacre is deep-pocketed GOP donor
In These Times: The Pentagon Is Funding the Same Gun Makers Democrats Want to Regulate
ProPublica: Why 18-Year-Olds in Texas Can Buy AR-15s but Not Handguns
The Trace: The Buffalo and Uvalde Gunmen Bought Their Rifles Legally at 18
Independent: Texas school shooting: Who are Daniel Defense, the makers of Salvador Ramos’ AR-15?
