David Kirk

University of Oxford Website

David Kirk is Professor of Sociology at the University of Oxford. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago.

Voting History

Mass violence

Red flag laws, allowing police or family members to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from a person who presents a danger to themselves or others, would reduce the frequency or severity of mass violence.

Vote Confidence
Agree 1
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 7
Comments

As made clear in RAND's Gun Policy in America project, research on the effects of many gun policies on various outcomes, including mass violence, is inconclusive or nonexistent because of a lack of investment in gun violence research and/or a lack of data. Many experts on the panel will surely be aware of what the Dickey Amendment did to federal funding for gun research. The relationship between red flag laws and mass violence is one question where more reseach is needed.

Universal background checks, which would require almost all firearm sales in the US to go through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, would reduce the frequency or severity of mass violence.

Vote Confidence
Agree 2
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Agree 5
Comments

Here again, we need more research, as findings to date are largely inconclusive.

Increasing the presence of armed security at schools and other public venues would reduce the frequency or severity of mass violence.

Vote Confidence
Disagree 3
Median Survey Vote Median Survey Confidence
Neutral/No Opinion 5
Comments

Again, we need more investment in research and evidence. Beyond the question of whether armed security in schools might prevent or reduce the severity of mass violence, policy-makers need to consider the potential damage to educational engagement and attainment from treating schools like prisons.