2024 brings new gun restrictions in several states

Read the Full Transcript

• Geoff Bennett:

  New gun safety laws are taking effect in a handful of states in this new year. While the country ended 2023 with more mass shootings than days in the year, new laws in California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Washington are aimed at preventing gun violence.

  I spoke yesterday with an expert tracking these new laws.

  Adam Winkler is a constitutional law professor at UCLA and an expert in gun policy.

  Thank you for being with us.

  Adam Winkler, UCLA School of Law: Thanks so much for having me.

• Geoff Bennett:

  So, in this new year, several states have implemented new gun policies. Give us a sense of the categories of restrictions and what they aim to do.

• Adam Winkler:

  Well, we have a host of new gun laws that have gone into effect with this new year.

  Some states like California have adopted new restrictions on who can carry concealed weapons and where those guns can be carried. States like Washington have expanded background checks and imposed a waiting period, while still other states like Michigan and Minnesota have enacted red flag laws, which allow judges to temporarily remove firearms from someone who's deemed a threat to themselves or to others.

• Geoff Bennett:

  According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were more than 650 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2023. Those are incidents where more than four people are shot or killed.

  What effect could some of these gun laws have on preventing gun violence of that sort?

• Adam Winkler:

  Well, mass shootings are, of course, one of the hardest problems in the gun safety world to solve.

  But, nonetheless, some of the laws that have been adopted are targeting these mass shootings. For instance, Washington state has expanded gun background checks in an effort to try to keep guns out of the hands of people who will commit mass shootings.

  A waiting period can also potentially help prevent a mass shooting to the extent that it's a crime of passion that one does without much thought and consideration. Still, other states like Illinois have banned the weapons that are most commonly used in high-profile mass shootings, those military-style assault rifles with high-capacity magazines.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Many of the states that we have mentioned are Democratic-led states.

  What are Republican-led states doing in the way of passing new gun safety laws, if at all?

• Adam Winkler:

  In recent years, we have seen red states make their gun laws more permissive and more loose. So, for instance, we have seen several states adopt what they call permitless concealed-carry regimes. That is, you can carry a concealed firearm even if you don't have a permit.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Many of these new gun restrictions are already being challenged in the courts. How do you expect that to play out?

• Adam Winkler:

  Well, it's very difficult to know exactly how all of these gun laws are going to fare in court.

  One thing is clear. The Supreme Court has in recent years greatly expanded Second Amendment protections and virtually any gun law is likely to be challenged in court. And many of those challenges will be successful. The Supreme Court has said that, for gun laws to be constitutionally permissible, they have to resemble the gun laws of the 1700s and 1800s.

  Given how different our gun laws are today from the 1700s and 1800s, many gun laws that are innovative and trying to solve today's problems are likely to run aground when they get into court.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Are laws and policy enough to address this country's problem with gun violence? What more needs to be done, do you think?

• Adam Winkler:

  Politicians are one thing, but the truth is, we have over 400 million guns in America, and any new policy we adopt runs headlong into that simple fact.

  We are a heavily armed society. And as long as we are heavily armed, there's going to be firearm fatalities, there's likely going to be mass shootings, and there's going to be the easy availability of firearms for those who wish to try to commit suicide.

  So we can reduce gun violence, but we can't expect to eliminate the gun violence problem in America.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Adam Winkler, thanks so much for your insights. We appreciate it.

• Adam Winkler:

  Thank you.