On Wednesday morning, a man by the name of Samuel Cassidy opened fire at a public transit yard in San Jose, California, killing nine of his coworkers before taking his own life. While many of the details surrounding the shooting are still surfacing, some things are clear. The man was a disgruntled employee who had worked for the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) rail yard for many years, often expressing discontent with his coworkers and bosses in addition to what he saw as “unfair work assignments.” According to an ex-girlriend, he was prone to mood swings that were only exacerbated by his consumption of alcohol. On the day of the shooting, Cassidy came armed to work with three handguns and eleven magazines and seemed to systematically target certain coworkers. “[P]recursor things for explosives” were also found within his work locker.
This latest tragedy has once again led to questions about how to best handle the gun laws within the United States. The common arguments for each side of the national gun debate are well-known. On one hand, proponents of tighter gun control argue that stricter access to firearms would cause less deaths. On the other hand, detractors of stricter gun control state that it would infringe upon their Second Amendment right to bear arms and to defend themselves. One side might argue that if Samuel Cassidy was unable to obtain the guns, nobody would have died, whereas the other side might argue that those involved in the shooting would have been able to better defend themselves had they had access to a firearm.
To further complicate the matter, simply looking at statistics within the United States can often cause confusion. California, a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the United States may, at first glance, seem to be a sort of statistical paradox. California leads the nation in “mass shootings” (shootings where 4 or more people are fatally shot) with 21 happening since 1982. However, when looking at the number of gun-related deaths per 100,000 people, California finds itself much lower on the list coming in 44th place with 7.2 deaths. Both numbers may be explained by the sheer number of people within California. Other lower-population states such as Alaska and Wyoming, that have much more relaxed gun laws, come in at first place and third place respectively with 24.4 and 22.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
Despite the confusing statistics, the current Presidential Administration’s stance on the topic is clear. In a statement made by President Biden in the wake of this latest shooting, he urged Congress to “take immediate action” stating that “every life that is taken by a bullet pierces the soul of our nation.” Similarly, California Governor Gavin Newsom in his statement following the aftermath of the shooting called for “real action to curb gun violence today.”
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group Blog. If you are in need of legal help, the CIMA Law Group is a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona which possesses expertise in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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