Politics & Government
100 Days Since Newtown: More Than 2,200 Gun Deaths in the U.S.
Among the most recent gun deaths in Washington state were an adult brother and sister who police say were shot by their father in Puyallup, a suicide at a gun safety class in Bellevue, and a murder at a Bellevue bar.
Thursday marks 100 days since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.
Despite public outcry for stricter gun laws—particularly limits on assault weapons—more than 2,200 people have been killed by guns in the United States since Adam Lanza, 20, fatally shot twenty children and six educators, according to a tally by the Huffington Post.
The latest local victim of gun violence is Dennis League, 46, who police say was shot in the head by his father Sunday morning in Puyallup. He died on Thursday. League's 43-year-old sister Danielle Faucett was also shot and died on Sunday.
Find out what's happening in Kirklandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Also, earlier this month a man killed himself during a gun safety class in Bellevue. In Renton recently there have been two suicides by gun, including one by rapper Freddy E. In December, a man was shot and killed at the now-closed Munchbar in Bellevue.
To get the full effect of 100 days of gun violence, click the link above to Huffington Post (or here) and then the "Next" button for a graphic representation.
Find out what's happening in Kirklandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A similar project by Slate and Twitter feed @GunDeaths puts the total at 3,053 as of 9 a.m. Thursday.
In total, 48 people in Washington have died of gunshot wounds since the Sandy Hook mass murder, according to Slate.com. In addition to Sunday’s shooting in Puyallup, many of the killings have been in the Puget Sound area:
- Two in Renton
- Two in Bellevue
- One in Puyallup
- One in Sumner
- Two in Tacoma
- Six in Seattle
- One in SeaTac
The Sandy Hook mass murder reignited the national debate on gun control, though some question if it's waning in the months since the school shooting.
The Senate is expected to vote on a legislative package that includes provisions to expand background checks on gun purchases, creates new penalties for straw purchases and includes funding to bolster school safety, according to USA Today. The legislation does not ban assault weapons.
Earlier this month, a bill that would have extended background checks to private gun sales failed to make it out of the Washington state House of Representatives.
For a previous Patch post about gun control efforts in the Legislature, see:
- Contentious Gun Bill Fails to Pass State House
What do you think of the statistics? Tell us in the comments below.