In the U.S., body armor that has been regularly used by the perpetrators of mass shootings is subject to far fewer restrictions nationwide than guns, raising questions about the equipment’s accessibility and fears about the deadliness of such shootings if police are unable to use deadly force to stop them, reports The Guardian. The only purchase limitation in most of the U.S. is a federal ban on possession of body armor by people convicted of violent felonies and no states require background checks, permits or registration.
Depending on the type of armor and the intensity of the situation, the wearer may not even notice being hit by a bullet, says Aaron Westrick, a body armor expert and criminal justice professor at Lake Superior State University. The Violence Project, a nonpartisan group that researches gun violence, found that at least 21 mass shooters over the last 40 years have worn body armor – the majority in the last decade. Legislators have introduced bills in Congress to regulate the sale of body armor, but none have passed.