Rex Kerr
1 min readJun 3, 2022

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Given that the median age of mass shooters is 33 (https://rockinst.org/gun-violence/mass-shooting-factsheet/), restricting gun ownership among young men is not likely to have a major impact on mass shootings as a whole. In more detail: roughly 10% of the male population is between the age of 18 and 25, while they commit 20% of the mass shootings...not negligible, but not overwhelmingly disproportionate (~2x risk, only some of which can be mitigated by making gun ownership illegal).

However, as schools are disproportionately the target of young (under 25) individuals who have a proclivity for assault-style weapons, and a sizable number of them (>50%) do obtain weapons legally (https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/vio.2018.0021), simply making gun ownership illegal under ordinary circumstances among under-25s might make a substantial impact on school shootings.

But there is, unfortunately, little reason to believe that this would have a major impact on mass shootings overall. Even a minor impact may be worth it, but it's worth considering the advantages, drawbacks, and likelihood of success.

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Rex Kerr
Rex Kerr

Written by Rex Kerr

One who rejoices when everything is made as simple as possible, but no simpler. Sayer of things that may be wrong, but not so bad that they're not even wrong.

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