Commonwealth Policy Center

The latest mass shooting in Odessa, Texas has once again gripped our hearts. The shooter had gotten into an argument in his workplace, got fired then went on a rampage. As with most mass shootings, there’s a new call for more gun restrictions. But will more restrictions, short of an outright ban on guns stop random mass shootings? Consider Chicago which has highly restrictive gun laws. This year, 330 people have been killed with guns, many of which were illegally obtained. Of course, all were illegally used. Illinois passed a law allowing seizure of weapons from people with mental health issues. There’s also a 72-hour waiting period for all gun purchases. Time will tell whether such measures have any impact on decreasing gun deaths in Chicago and the state of Illinois.