Gun Violence Prevention

The Problem

Gun violence continues to inflict profound harm on the LGBTQ+ community. From the Pulse shooting in Orlando in 2016 to the Club Q tragedy in Colorado Springs in 2022, our community has endured devastating losses that underscore the urgent need for stronger laws and public health responses.

A 2016 study in the American Journal of Medicine found that Americans are 25 times more likely to be murdered with a gun than individuals in other developed countries. Transgender and gender non-conforming people are disproportionately affected: nearly two-thirds of fatal violence incidents against them since 2013 involved a firearm, with Black transgender women under 30 making up the majority of these victims.

CDC data shows that two-thirds of firearm deaths in the U.S. are suicides, and the lethality of guns makes these attempts far deadlier than other methods. This is especially concerning given that 40% of transgender people and one-third of LGBTQ+ youth report suicidal ideation.

Intimate partner violence is another area of crisis. According to the FBI, 50 women are shot to death by intimate partners on average each month. In the LGBTQ+ community, the problem is even more acute: more than half of transgender people surveyed in 2015 reported experiencing intimate partner violence, and LGBTQ+ youth are twice as likely to experience dating violence compared to their non-LGBTQ+ peers.

Our nation faces an avalanche of preventable gun violence, and yet certain lawmakers continue to block lifesaving, common-sense gun laws. No child should have to fear for their life at school, and no community should be left to grieve again and again. 

Commonsense Gun Violence Prevention Measures

There is no single solution to stopping gun violence in the United States. Efforts to curb gun violence by other countries show that a comprehensive approach must be taken to reduce and prevent gun violence effectively. 

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S. 2938) was signed into law by President Biden on June 25, 2022, marking a significant milestone in Congress's efforts to curb gun violence. This law was enacted in response to the ongoing crisis of mass shootings in this country, particularly the two mass shootings in Buffalo, NY, and Uvalde, TX, in 2022. This legislation enhances access to mental health services, expands firearm purchasing requirements, and includes appropriations for gun violence prevention programs in the Departments of Justice (DOJ), Education (ED), and Health and Human Services (HHS). 

While the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a significant step in preventing gun violence, Congress needs to take further action. 

The Human Rights Campaign also supports legislation that would:

• Enhance background checks to close loopholes that allow people at high risk of violence against themselves or others to purchase guns. 
  • Bipartisan Background Checks Act (119th Congress: H.R. 18)

  • Disarm Hate Act

     

• Limit access to assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and “bump stocks,” which are attachments for semi-automatic weapons that increase firing speed, effectively simulating the abilities of a fully automatic weapon or machine gun.

  • Assault Weapons Ban 

     

• Limiting the ability of those with a history of domestic abuse to access guns. This Act would allow family members and law enforcement to obtain an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) to temporarily remove access to firearms from someone who poses a risk to themselves or others.

  • Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act 

     

• Appropriate funding for the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health to research gun violence.

For more information, please contact legislation@hrc.org. Read about other Federal Legislation pertinent to the LGBTQ+ community here.