After decades of limited action on gun control policies particularly on the federal level, the U.S. gun violence prevention movement has largely fallen short of its initial goals. Although in 2022 Congress passed the first gun safety bill in almost 30 years, the legislation excluded several policies long advocated for by activists, such as universal background checks. In response to failures with gun control legislation, the movement for gun reform has shifted its approach. This presentation provides an overview of the movement’s trajectory, from focusing on gun control to emphasizing community violence prevention. It examines how and why movement strategies have evolved and the impact the shift has had on the wider discussions about safety in communities.
PROGRAMME
Speaker: Mila Seppälä, Doctoral Researcher, University of Turku
Chair: Charly Salonius-Pasternak, Leading Researcher, FIIA
This event is a part of a research series on the characteristics of the US role in global politics organized by the Center on US Politics and Power at FIIA.