Myth-Busting Monday
Myth-Busting Monday
MYTH: Banning large-capacity magazines will do nothing to reduce fatalities in mass shootings
This article originally appeared on GVPedia.
Considering the recent and ongoing legal battles involving large-capacity magazines (LCM) we thought it pertinent to revisit this previous GVPedia myth-busting piece.
Summary:
The Giffords Law Center says the following about large-capacity magazines (LCMs), that is interchangeable with the term high-capacity magazines (HCMs): “Although the statutory definitions vary, magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition are generally considered ‘large capacity’ magazines.”
Researcher John Lott claims that large-capacity magazines, which hold more bullets than traditional magazines, “aren’t necessary for committing mass slaughter.” In his 2020 book, Gun Control Myths, Lott claims that more people are killed in mass shootings involving multiple guns that are not large-capacity magazines than in mass shootings involving a single gun with a large-capacity magazine.
Lott’s claim is misleading and relies on a confusingly labeled chart (see Figure 1 below under Lott’s Claim). When Lott compares shootings involving multiple guns and shootings involving LCMs, he excludes incidents in which the shooter had multiple guns, and at least one of those firearms had an LCM. He places these shootings into a “Both” category.
Lott’s own chart shows that the average number of people killed in mass public shootings involving multiple guns and large-capacity magazines (which he labels “Both”) have three more deaths per incident than the next deadliest category.
Lott’s Claim:
Lott downplays the impact of large-capacity magazines (LCMs) on mass shooting fatalities. In Gun Control Myths, Lott writes: “When you compare cases with multiple guns and no large capacity magazines, versus large capacity magazines and just a single gun, one finds that more people are actually killed in the former scenario (7.7 versus 6.7).” He continues by stating that, “It’s not surprising that large magazines aren’t necessary for committing mass slaughter” and “…the results indicate that banning large capacity magazines will do nothing to reduce fatalities.”
The Facts:
Lott’s claim and accompanying chart are misleading. Lott lumps together incidents in which the shooter had both large-capacity magazines and multiple guns together in a “Both” category. He then excludes those when comparing “Large capacity, not multiple guns” to “Multiple guns, not large magazines.”
As Lott points out, there are different types of mass shootings. For example, a person planning to kill his family at their home might use a simple bolt-action rifle or handgun. If a mass shooter’s objective is to indiscriminately shoot as many people as possible, the weapon of choice is often at least one AR-15-style rifle with large-capacity magazines. LCMs allow attackers to fire more rounds consecutively without having to pause to reload.
As Lott’s chart shows, the average number of people killed in mass public shootings involving multiple guns and large-capacity magazines is more than twice as large as incidents with multiple guns but no LCMs.
Banning large-capacity magazine reduces the number of mass shootings and the number of people killed in high-fatality mass shootings. When a shooter stops to reload a gun, which does not happen when the shooter is using a large-capacity magazine, a bystander has the opportunity to stop the shooter.
A 2019 study found that between 1990 and 2017, 64% of mass shootings involved LCMs. The study also found that shootings involving LCMs resulted in 62% more fatalities.
States without bans on high-capacity magazine experienced more than three times as many mass shooting deaths.
A 2018 study of civilian active shooter incidents between 2000 and 2017 found that more people were injured or killed when semi-automatic rifles were used compared to other firearms. The higher rate of injured and killed is attributed to several aspects of assault rifles including ease of use, the ability to accept large-capacity magazines, and the ability to fire high-velocity bullets.
Large-capacity magazines and AR-15-style rifles are frequently discussed together because the standard magazine size for AR-15-style rifles is 20 to 30 rounds but they can hold up to 100-round magazines.
AR-15-style rifles were used in most of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, including Orlando Pulse Nightclub (49 deaths, 53 injuries), Sandy Hook Elementary School (27 deaths, 2 injuries), Sutherland Springs Church (25 deaths, 20 injuries), and Parkland (17 deaths, 17 injuries).
Other examples of recent deadly mass shootings involving LCMs:
In 2019, a shooter in Dayton, Ohio used an AR-15-style pistol and a drum magazine that held 100 rounds to fire at least 41 rounds in 30 seconds, killing nine and injuring 17. Seven people were killed in 2018 at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California by a man armed with .45 caliber Glock 21 semi-automatic pistol with an attached laser sight and seven high-capacity 30-round magazines.
The 2017 Las Vegas shooter fatally shot 58 people and injured 422 at a country music festival using 24 firearms, including twelve AR-15-style rifles with 100-round magazines and bump stocks to allow more rapid firing.
In 2016, a 20-year-old shot and killed five people ranging in age from 16 to 95 at a Macy’s department store in Burlington, Washington using a Ruger .22-caliber rifle with a 25-round magazine that belonged to his father.
In 2013, the Santa Monica College shooter killed his father and brother, shot a female driver, and then shot and killed three more people and injured one other while carrying 40 high-capacity magazines capable of holding 30 rounds.
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