New Gun Laws Take Effect in Five States Today

Several states are ringing in the new year with increased gun control as mass shootings continue to devastate lives.

Gun violence has become a major concern as mass shootings in schools, nightclubs and homes became more prevalent in recent years. There were 656 mass shootings in 2023, versus 646 in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as a single event in which four or more people, excluding the shooter, are shot or killed.

While most mass killings with guns happen inside a home, 12 percent occur in businesses, 6 percent in public areas, 2 percent in schools and 1 percent in religious settings, according to a database maintained by the Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

A new law in California, which took effect Monday, aims to curb gun violence in public. The law will ban people from carrying a gun in most public places, including libraries and sports venues.

The law is being challenged in court. On December 20, a U.S. District judge blocked the law from taking effect, ruling that it violates Californians’ Second Amendment right to bear arms. On Saturday, a federal appeals court put a temporary hold on the ruling, which allows the law to take effect, until the appeals court rules on it.

In October, an Army reservist carrying an assault-style weapon opened fire at a bowling alley and restaurant in Maine, killing 18 people and injuring 13. Officials said that the suspected shooter, Robert Card, had a history of mental illness, but there was no evidence that he had ever been involuntarily committed. He was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound

Following the shooting, Maine officials said that a red flag law could have made a difference. Such laws allow state courts to temporarily seize guns from people whom they believe could be a risk to themselves or others.

On Monday, a new red flag law took effect in Minnesota. It allows family members and law enforcement personnel to petition for an extreme risk protection order if they believe a person who has a gun is at risk of endangering that individual or others. Minnesota is the 20th state to enforce a red flag law.

Illinois is banning high-powered semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines starting Monday, while Washington state is expanding its gun purchasing laws.

The gun ban in Illinois was challenged in court after it was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker on January 10. State Representative Dan Caulkins filed a lawsuit against Pritzker arguing that the banning of high-powered semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines violates the state’s constitution. But the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the ban in a ruling in August.

Washington already had a 10-day waiting period to buy a semiautomatic weapon, but on Monday the waiting period was expanded to purchases of any firearm. New legislation will require gun buyers to show that they have passed a firearm safety-training program in the past five years.

Ghost guns are also becoming a more pervasive issue. These are firearms that do not have a serial number and can be bought online and assembled at home. Since they are untraceable, gun purchasing regulations do not apply to the buyer, and anyone, including minors and prohibited purchasers, can get their hands on a ghost gun.

Over the summer, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a ghost gun ban into law, and it took effect Monday. But two gun rights groups, the National Association of Gun Rights and Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, have filed a federal lawsuit against Polis over the ban, claiming that it violates the Second Amendment rights of gun owners.

Gun rights advocates continue to oppose strengthening restrictions, citing what they see as their Second Amendment rights. Such advocates also see owning a gun as a protection against increasing gun violence.

The CEO of the National Rifle Association, Wayne Lapierre, said after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012, “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Twenty students and six adults were killed at the Newtown, Connecticut, school.