So far in 2022, there have been more than 350 mass shootings, defined as incidents in which four or more people were injured or killed.

According to gunviolencearchive.org, approximately eight of them occurred in Alabama. Though not included in that list due to the number of deaths, this year’s deadliest in the state claimed the lives of three elderly victims at a church shooting on June 16 in Vestavia Hills.

The shooter, 70-year-old Robert Smith, allegedly shot the victims after they invited him to sit with them during a church potluck. He used a handgun.

In Georgia, nearly 15 mass shootings have occurred this year — among its deadliest was when three people were killed and three others were injured after being shot at an apartment complex in DeKalb County. A handgun was also used in those shootings.

“The mass shooter attacks with the assault rifles are kind of like the shark attack that gets the (national) news, but there might be a whole lot more shark attacks,” said Cullman City Police Chief Kenny Culpepper. “Every day you have gun violence … and it could be three or four people that are shot or seven or eight, but it’s not that mentality of ‘active shooter.’ It’s usually that someone wants to kill a specific person or a specific group or segment of people, but that doesn’t really get the news as much as the lone wolf dedicated mentally ill person that’s gonna go out and do that via active shooter, but it kills more people in the long run.”

According to national FBI gun homicide data from 2019, at least 62% of gun murders involved a hand gun, 3.55% rifles and less than 2%, shotguns. Firearm types were not reported in nearly 32% incidents of FBI data for gun murders.

“There’s not really a good answer to it. A lot of these shootings occur where alcohol is, especially drugs,” said Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk, of his community in South Georgia.

Semi-automatic rifles use, however, result in the deadliest mass shootings, though hand guns (which largely aren’t considered “assault” weapons) overall account for most of gun deaths.

“Assault weapons aren’t the problem. The guns never killed anyone by themselves. A lot of these shootings don’t involve an ‘AK’ or those type weapons,” Paulk said, adding that semi-automatic weapons encounters or confiscations in law enforcement are rare in his community, though more common among those in the illegal drug industry.

A Democrat-led proposal, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, seeks to ban assault style rifles at the national level.

The federal proposal (H.R. 1808), sponsored by Rep. David Cicinilline, D-R.I., would prohibit the sale, transfer, import and manufacture of hundreds of models of semi-automatic weapons including:

• All semi-automatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and at least one military-type feature.
• All semi-automatic rifles that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.
• Bump fire stocks and any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment, or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun.
• All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one of certain military type features.
• High capacity feeding devices (magazines, strips, and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.

The ban would not apply to people who already own such weapons, and more than 2,200 hunting style guns are exempt from the list. Currently, seven states and Washington, D.C., prohibit assault style weapons.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, assault style weapons accounted for 25% of deaths and 76% of nonfatal injuries of incidents between 2009 and 2018.

Last year, GVA logged nearly 700 mass shootings and 30 mass murders. This year, at least 16 mass murders have occurred in 11 states, according to GVA, with the most mass murders, four, occurring in Texas, and three in California.

The deadliest occurred in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, at which 19 students and two teachers where killed at Robb Elementary by an intruder with an AR-15. Eight people were killed and 29 nine injured when a gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ind.

“I think that the NRA and the pro-gun groups should voluntarily impose or get Congress to impose a 20% tax on all assault rifles and high capacity magazines, with the stipulation that the money raised will go to mental health and school security,” Culpepper suggested. “And that way, the gun lobby is being proactive instead of being on the defensive, constantly saying now you know, assault rifles aren’t bad and all that.”

Stronger background checks and red flag laws could also be an appropriate alternative to assault weapons bans and gun violence in general, Culpepper added. According to Voice of America, t{span}wo-thirds of mass shooters in tragedies resulting in larger number of deaths had a history of mental health concerns.{/span}

“You ask any law enforcement officer, and they could probably name five or 10 people that they think this person is maybe a time bomb waiting to go off, but I don’t have anything to arrest you and they’re legally allowed to carry weapons,” Culpepper said. “They know that they’re just a little bit off but they haven’t done anything that’s to the point to where they can get them probated and put into a mental institution, or they know that they’re very angry about something but you can’t take their gun just because they’re angry. But if you have that Red Flag Law, and you start getting those vibes, hey, this is not good and I’m just going to do this for safekeeping.”

Most red flag laws allow for appeals, an avenue that would allow people to keep or proceed with obtaining a firearm.

The Congressional House Judiciary committee held a hearing July 20 to on the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. If it advances out of committee, the proposal would proceed to a House vote.