Missouri Laws Make It Easier For Criminals To Get Guns: Research

ST. LOUIS, MO — Following the Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, many Americans and news organizations have tried to shine a light on the AR-15 assault-style rifle. An analysis by The New York Times found the weapon was used to slaughter at least 173 people since 2007. Included were mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California.

As America delves into yet another heated gun debate in Congress and on the internet, Patch turned to federal data and an expert to get a clearer picture of what gun violence actually looks like in America. Here’s what we found.

When it comes to AR-15 rifles versus handguns, Dr. Cassandra Kercher Crifasi, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told Patch there are two key differences.

First, bullets fired out of an AR-15 rifle travel much faster than those fired from handguns; the damage is significantly more devastating. Second, assault-style weapons like the AR-15 can be easily equipped with large capacity magazines that allow shooters to continue firing for much longer periods of time without needing to reload.

“Particularly when they’re used in mass casualty shootings, you see people are able to get off a lot of those rounds and do an extreme amount of damage compared to other types of firearms,” Crifasi said.

That said, handguns are generally easier to hide and are implicated in far more shootings overall.

Crifasi argues that America must weigh the risks of being able to fight public tyranny — meaning potentially fighting against a tyrannical government — against those of what she calls “private tyranny” — the ability of citizens to own “weapons of war,” walk into schools or churches and open fire on innocent people.

There were 15,070 murders in the United States in 2016, the most recent year that FBI data and gun trace information from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms were available. That includes 535 murders in Missouri. About half of those murders were in St. Louis.

Last year the city cracked its 25-year murder record. Per capita, St. Louis ranks third for homicides in the United States and first for non-fatal shootings, according to data from the FBI and Major Cities Chiefs Association.

The FBI defines “murders” as nonnegligent manslaughters and homicides. They do not include suicides and accidental shootings.

Nearly 75 percent of the country’s murders were committed using a gun, but rifles — meaning any rifle, not just AR-15s — were used in just 374 of them. That’s about 2 percent of all murders and 3 percent of all murders in which a gun was used.

Overall, more than 38,000 people were killed by guns in the United States in 2016, according to preliminary mortality data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly two-thirds of those were suicides. Almost half were children or young adults.

To put that into perspective, there are 58,318 names etched into the Vietnam War Memorial Wall for a conflict that lasted nearly 20 years.

According to the CDC, Missouri ranked 19th highest in the country for its gun death rate, with more than 18 such deaths per 100,000 residents. That’s lower than the leading states — Alaska, Alabama and Louisiana — which saw the highest gun death rates at 23.3, 21.5 and 21.3, respectively. But, it's still almost double the national average.

In Missouri in 2016, guns were used in 437 murders, but rifles were used in just 23 of them. That’s 4.3 percent of all murders and 5.3 percent of murders in which a gun was the weapon.

Conversely, handguns accounted for 211 murders, while knives killed 37 people in Missouri and 11 people were killed with bare hands or fists.

Data from the ATF showed there were 6,651 illegal guns recovered and traced in Missouri in 2016. The vast majority — 81 percent — were handguns. Rifles and shotguns accounted for about 18 percent.

The recovered guns were used in 210 killings that year, 459 aggravated assaults, and 177 robberies. Drug crimes accounted for more than 1,000 of the incidents in which firearms were recovered.

Crifasi, who has studied gun violence at Johns Hopkins since 2010, told Patch evidence shows gun deaths — both suicides and homicides — could be drastically curbed if states more rigorously screened potential gun-buyers to prevent banned individuals from getting their hands on firearms.

Some states require prospective handgun buyers to submit fingerprints and photographs. Typically the buyer applies through local law enforcement — often in-person or online — and local law enforcement officials have about 30 days to complete a background check on that individual.

“The reason that's important is that in the federal system, if the results of your background check don't come back within three days, the gun dealer has the option of proceeding with the sale,” she said. “And then if it comes back later that you are prohibited, then someone has to go and get those guns back from you.”

This was particularly relevant in the case of Dylann Roof, the white man who was sentenced to die for fatally shooting nine black church members during a Bible study session in Charleston, South Carolina.

“He was prohibited, but they couldn't locate the files in time,” Crifasi said.

When a gun-buyer goes to a federally licensed firearm dealer and undergoes a background check, if nothing prohibitive is found within three days, the system won’t technically say the buyer is approved. It simply says the person is “not disapproved.”

“Even though Dylann Roof was prohibited, he came back not disapproved after three days, or at least unable to complete, and he was able to gain access to firearms,” Crifasi said.

That might not have happened if law enforcement officials had longer than three days to complete his background check, she said. If, instead, law enforcement officials are allowed at least 30 days to complete the check, they’re much more likely to find prohibitive characteristics, she says. This includes mental health issues, criminal history and substance abuse.

Crifasi notes that states often fail to report mental health conditions to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Such law changes allowing more time for background checks at the state level have had a major impact, she said.

In 1995, Connecticut passed legislation giving law enforcement more time to complete a background check. Conversely, Missouri in 2007 repealed similar legislation.

“When you look at the effect of those policies, you see a reduction in homicides and suicides in Connecticut, and you see increases in homicides and suicides in Missouri,” she said.

After Missouri repealed its law, she said there was also a 70 percent spike in the diversion of guns to criminals.

“That says to us that when Missouri repealed the law, they made it a little bit easier for criminals to obtain guns in the state,” she said. “These are guns that are originating in the state, rather than crossing state lines.

There was also an increase in guns coming into Missouri from other states, Crifasi said.

Meanwhile, the opposite seems to be happening in Maryland, which became the most recent state to pass the so-called “prohibitive purchase law” in 2013. While it’s too early to draw any definitive conclusions, she said the state has seen a 70 percent drop in gun diversions to criminals.

Furthermore, parolees and individuals on probation in Maryland told researchers the law is working. They’ve discussed with the researchers about their experiences in the underground market and said the new law has made it harder for them to access guns.

“Several of them specifically cited this new law making it more difficult,” Crifasi said. “They said people won’t buy a gun for you now because they have to go to law enforcement, so they won’t engage in a straw purchase and they won’t sell to you if you don’t have a permit.”

Patch reporters Colin Miner and Dan Hampton contributed to this reporting.

Photo by Scott Barbour/News/Getty Images