Side-by-side analysis of what each approach would mean for gun owners, families, and communities affected by gun violence.
We're a policy platform with 50 researched positions on every major issue. This page compares gun policy approaches across parties — but there's much more to explore.
Gun violence kills roughly 48,000 Americans every year — more than car accidents, more than any other wealthy nation by orders of magnitude. Approximately 55% of gun deaths are suicides, 43% are homicides, and the remainder are accidents and law enforcement incidents. Firearms are now the leading cause of death for American children and adolescents, surpassing car crashes in 2020. The US has more civilian firearms than people — approximately 400 million guns for 330 million residents. No other policy issue in America generates more heat and less progress.
The two major parties have turned gun policy into an identity issue rather than a policy problem. Democrats call for regulation but often propose measures that target specific weapon types rather than the mechanisms that enable most gun violence. Republicans defend gun rights but refuse to acknowledge that the US has a gun violence problem that other countries have solved. The Common Good Party starts from the evidence: the policies that actually reduce gun deaths — universal background checks, licensing, red flag laws, safe storage — are well-studied, broadly popular, and fully compatible with the Second Amendment.
This page breaks down each approach honestly — what it gets right, what it misses, and what it would actually mean for gun owners, parents, and communities. No spin, no talking points, just the policy.
How the three approaches stack up on the gun policy issues that matter most.
| Issue | Democrats | Republicans | Common Good |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background checks | Universal (all sales) | Licensed dealers only (current) | Universal — all transfers |
| Assault weapons | Ban sales of new | No restrictions | Enhanced licensing + age 21 minimum |
| Red flag laws | Federal standard | Oppose — due process concerns | Federal law with strong due process |
| Concealed carry | State permitting, oppose reciprocity | National reciprocity, permitless carry | Permit-based with training requirement |
| Gun licensing | Some support, varies | Oppose — infringement | Federal license, like driver's license |
| Safe storage | Federal requirement | Voluntary — personal responsibility | Required + tax credit for safe purchase |
| Gun show loophole | Close (universal checks) | Maintain current rules | Close — all sales require checks |
| Domestic violence | Close "boyfriend loophole" | Limited support | All DV offenders prohibited + surrender |
| Age restrictions | Raise to 21 for all firearms | 18 for long guns, 21 handguns (current) | 21 for semi-auto, 18 for long guns w/ license |
| Manufacturer liability | Repeal PLCAA protections | Maintain full immunity | Limited liability for negligent marketing |
Sources: Giffords Law Center, RAND Corporation, CDC WISQARS, Everytown Research, party platform documents. See the compact comparison view for a quick side-by-side summary.
The Democratic approach to gun policy centers on expanding federal regulations to reduce gun violence. Key proposals include universal background checks for all firearm sales, a ban on the sale of new assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines, a federal red flag law, mandatory safe storage requirements, raising the minimum age for all firearm purchases to 21, closing the gun show and private sale loopholes, and repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to allow lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Democrats also support community violence intervention programs and increased funding for gun violence research.
Universal background checks are supported by 84-92% of Americans in national polling, including 77% of gun owners. States with universal checks have 15% lower gun death rates. Red flag laws have been shown to reduce gun suicides by 5-14% in states that have implemented them. Safe storage requirements could prevent a significant portion of the roughly 500 annual unintentional gun deaths and reduce youth access. Community violence intervention programs have reduced shootings by 30-60% in cities that have invested in them. Democrats have been right to treat gun violence as a public health crisis.
The assault weapons ban gets the most attention but would have the least impact — rifles of all types (including AR-style weapons) account for roughly 3% of gun homicides. Handguns account for over 75%. Focusing on the most dramatic but least common type of gun violence makes for compelling politics but ineffective policy. Democrats have also been too willing to dismiss gun owners' concerns as irrational, alienating the millions of responsible gun owners who might support evidence-based reforms if they didn't feel like the end goal was confiscation. The messaging around gun policy has been counterproductive — "ban" and "take" language triggers opposition that "license" and "safety" language does not.
For more on which policies have the strongest evidence, see the full gun policy explainer.
The Republican approach to gun policy centers on protecting Second Amendment rights and opposing new federal regulations. Key positions include maintaining the current background check system (licensed dealer sales only), opposing assault weapons bans, supporting national concealed carry reciprocity, expanding permitless carry laws, opposing red flag laws on due process grounds, maintaining PLCAA protections for gun manufacturers, and focusing on mental health and law enforcement rather than gun regulation. Republicans argue that gun violence is a people problem, not a gun problem, and that new laws would only burden law-abiding citizens while criminals would ignore them.
The Second Amendment does protect an individual right to bear arms, as affirmed by the Supreme Court. Due process concerns about red flag laws are legitimate and should be addressed through robust procedural protections rather than dismissed. Mental health investment is genuinely important — particularly for reducing the 26,000+ annual gun suicides that account for over half of gun deaths. Law enforcement of existing laws (particularly prosecuting straw purchases and illegal possession) is under-resourced and could be improved. Republicans are also correct that many proposed regulations would not have prevented specific high-profile mass shootings.
The claim that regulations only burden law-abiding citizens is contradicted by evidence. Universal background checks prevent prohibited persons from purchasing firearms through private sales — an estimated 6 million transactions per year currently occur without screening. The "criminals don't follow laws" argument applies to every law — we don't repeal speed limits because some people speed. Laws create friction, increase risk of detection, and reduce impulsive access.
Focusing on mental health as the solution to gun violence is largely a deflection. Only 3-5% of violence is attributable to mental illness. The US does not have higher rates of mental illness than other wealthy nations — it has higher rates of gun ownership and weaker regulations. Every other wealthy nation has people with mental illness, violent video games, and social problems. None of them have 48,000 annual gun deaths. The variable that differs is the guns and the rules around them. Refusing to acknowledge this makes the problem unsolvable.
For a deeper analysis of what the evidence shows, see our gun policy explainer.
The Common Good Party proposes evidence-based gun safety reforms that reduce deaths while respecting responsible ownership. Universal background checks for all firearm transfers, including private sales and gun shows. A federal firearms license — similar to a driver's license — requiring proof of identity, a passed background check, completion of a basic safety course, and minimum age (18 for long guns, 21 for semi-automatic weapons). Federal red flag law with strong due process protections: clear evidentiary standards, right to counsel, prompt hearings, time-limited orders, and penalties for abuse. Safe storage requirements with a tax credit to offset the cost of purchasing a gun safe. Close the boyfriend loophole — all domestic violence offenders prohibited from firearm possession with mandatory surrender. Fund community violence intervention at $5 billion over ten years.
Unlike the Democratic approach, the CGP plan focuses on the mechanisms that cause the most deaths (handgun homicides, gun suicides, domestic violence shootings) rather than the weapons that generate the most headlines (assault-style rifles). It explicitly protects the right of responsible owners to purchase, own, and carry firearms. Unlike the Republican approach, it acknowledges that the US has a unique gun violence problem that other countries have solved, and it proposes the evidence-based solutions that have been shown to work. The CGP plan addresses due process concerns about red flag laws rather than using those concerns as an excuse to do nothing.
RAND Corporation's comprehensive review of gun policy research found the strongest evidence for three interventions: background checks (reduce gun homicides and suicides), child access prevention / safe storage laws (reduce youth gun deaths), and licensing and permitting (reduce gun homicides and suicides). Connecticut's licensing law was associated with a 40% reduction in gun homicides. Missouri's repeal of its licensing law was followed by a 25% increase in gun homicides. Safe storage laws reduce unintentional youth gun deaths by 13-31%.
Internationally, Australia implemented universal licensing and a buyback after a 1996 mass shooting and saw firearm homicides drop by 42% and suicides by 57% over the following decade — while maintaining civilian gun ownership for sport and rural use. Canada, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic all maintain significant civilian gun ownership with licensing systems and have firearm death rates 5-60x lower than the United States. The evidence is overwhelming: licensing works, and it is compatible with civilian gun ownership.
Gun policy isn't abstract — it affects real people every day. Here's what the Common Good plan would look like for people on different sides of this issue.
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Dive deeper into gun policy with these pages.
Every other wealthy nation protects both gun rights and human lives. Read the full plan and see which approach actually reduces deaths without disarming responsible owners.
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