The pandemic put gun violence on the back burner — then Sacramento happened: analysis

On Monday, the San Francisco Chroniclereported that the issue of curbing gun violence in the United States — which has essentially been lying dormant since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — could be whisked back into the forefront with the Sacramento shooting that left a half dozen people dead.

"In 2019, two-thirds of Californians were concerned about a mass shooting where they lived, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Last year, only half were. Nationally, even though gun deaths are on the rise, Gallup found that support for stricter gun laws dipped to its lowest point (52%) since 2014," said the report. "But more attention could be drawn to gun safety — at least in California — after Sunday’s mass shooting in Sacramento that killed six and wounded 12."

"There are still too many unknowns from Sunday’s carnage to predict how the horrific incident could influence the midterm elections or what legislation could gain more support. Investigators have not revealed what kinds of weapons were used, how many shooters there were or what their motivations might have been," the report noted. "But what is known is that it has become all too familiar. The incident was one of seven mass shootings last weekend and one of 121 this year nationwide, according to the Gun Violence Archive."

Nationally, any kind of legislative action is unlikely due to the GOP's ongoing intransigence about any sort of overhaul of gun laws, although President Joe Biden is taking some executive actions of his own like regulating certain kinds of pistol braces.

However, California has been much more aggressive in laws to address gun violence at the state level. The state is even considering legislation that would empower private citizens to sue people who have excessive weaponry, modeled after Texas' extreme abortion ban.