• U.S.

Over 80% of Guns Used in Mass Shootings Were Obtained Legally

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The weapons used in this week’s massacre in San Bernardino, California, were purchased legally, raising questions about how preventable gun violence is under current U.S. firearm laws.

Eighty-two percent of weapons involved in mass shootings over the last three decades have been bought legally, according to a database compiled by Mother Jones magazine that defines a mass shooting as taking the lives of at least four people in a public place. Using that criteria, Mother Jones found 73 mass shootings since 1982.

Authorities say Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 27 — the shooters who killed 14 people and injured 21 others this week. . .

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