The Intelligence Review | volume 1 | issue 2 |

nomination is confirmed, ensuing Supreme Court rulings regarding firearms will stand as
major obstacles on the road to introductions of gun-control legislation. Moreover, in the
unlikely scenario that a federal gun-control bill does see bicameral success, President
Trump —based on his current stance on guns— would almost certainly exercise his presidential
right to veto any legislation he deems flawed. From here, it becomes quite clear that the
likelihood of gun-control legislation being introduced at the federal level will probably dwindle.
On top of the aforementioned federal developments, there has been a host of state-level
developments surrounding gun control, among other policy categories. Multiple states and
communities throughout the US have approved proposals that address marijuana
legalization, transportation projects, and minimum wage (Anon. 2016a). This may indicate
that citizens across the country are dissatisfied with Congress’ general inactivity and have
subsequently made their own strides to introduce an assortment of laws in their states. The
campaign to introduce legislation that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana is
comparable to the battle over gun control. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the
first states to legalize the recreational use of marijuana and after last year’s elections they
were joined by California, Maine, Nevada, and Massachusetts (Ingraham 2016). Today,
there are 29 states that permit the use of marijuana for medical or recreational purposes
(Higdon 2016), despite there being a federal prohibition. The landmark implementation of
these laws demonstrates how motivated citizens were able to utilize the American
legislative system to push their agendas, despite failure at the federal level. Similarly,
California, Nevada, and Washington have each introduced their own variation of guncontrol
legislation following the 2016 presidential elections. Therefore, in an era of
increased active-shooter incidents exacerbated by an immobilized Congress, it is likely that
we will see continued enactments of state-level gun control legislation, following a timeline
similar to recent campaigns to legalize marijuana.
Conclusion
Last year was quite tumultuous for American politics in general, and the recent elections
have produced sweeping policy implications for the future of gun-control legislation in the
US. On November 8, the Republicans won the presidency and maintained a majority in
both chambers of Congress. The newly elected president and his fellow Republicans in
Congress regularly combat initiatives to strengthen gun-control legislation by holding fast
to their belief that gun rights are more important to uphold. Thus, it can be stated with
high confidence that it is unlikely that federal gun control legislation will be introduced in
the near future. Additionally, the recent rise in frequency and severity of active-shooter
incidents, paired with the fact that states have been enacting their own regulatory firearm
policies, likely indicates a surge in policy innovation at the state level. Therefore, it may be
stated with moderate confidence that similar legislation will be introduced in the foreseeable
future.
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