To: The New Jersey State House and The New Jersey State Senate
Stop School Shootings: Raise the Gun Age
- School shootings are on the rise: As of this April, more people have been killed or injured in mass school shootings in the past 18 years than in the 20th century (1).
- Raise the age for legally purchasing firearms to 21 because young adults ages 18-20 are 4 times likelier to commit homicide with a gun than adults over 21 (2).
- Furthermore, adolescents, including 18-year-olds, commit the majority of high school shootings (1).
Why is this important?
- A-3815 will raise the gun age to 21, but the Assembly Judiciary Committee has not considered it yet (3).
- S-2466 will raise the gun age to 21, but the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee has not considered it yet (4).
- Please help me petition the New Jersey House and New Jersey Senate to pass these bills.
Footnotes
1. Katsiyannis, A., Whitford, D. K., & Ennis, R. P. (2018). Historical Examination of United States Intentional Mass School Shootings in the 20th and 21st Centuries: Implications for Students, Schools, and Society. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(8). Retrieved October 20, 2018, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10826-018-1096-2
2. Butkus, R., Doherty, R., & Bornstein, S. S. (2018). Reducing Firearm Injuries and Deaths in the United States: A Position Paper From the American College of Physicians. Retrieved November 2, 2018, from http://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2709820/reducing-firearm-injuries-deaths-united-states-position-paper-from-american
3. A3815. (2018). New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp
4. S2466. (2018). New Jersey Legislature. Retrieved October 11, 2018, from https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bills/BillView.asp