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Gun Deaths Hit an All-Time High (Again) in 2021
Gun deaths continued to surge across the United States in the second year of the pandemic, reaching 48,832 in 2021, according to provisional data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. It now stands as the highest single-year tally on record, up 8 percent from the previous record in 2020, when 45,222 people died of gunshot wounds.
What Do Guns Mean to Extremists?
During the last weekend in June, a group of Proud Boys showed up to protest at a Drag Queen Story Hour event at a library in Sparks, Nevada. As the demonstration ended, one of the protesters approached the library with a gun, prompting bystanders to run for cover. A month later, protesters with the anti-abortion group Operation Save America were arrested after trying to infiltrate a Planned Parenthood in Nashville, Tennessee. One of them had a handgun.
Shooting Survivors Shouldn’t Pay Their Own Medical Bills
Whenever a mass shooting occurs, the headlines tell us how many were killed. These body counts then allow us to rank mass shootings: Robb Elementary (21 killed) was terrible, but not as bad as Sandy Hook (26 killed), which was worse than Parkland (17 killed). But what about the injured survivors, who often outnumber the dead? At the 2002 mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, for example, 12 people were killed, but 58 were wounded; in the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, 60 people were killed, and at least 413 were wounded.
Americans Want Stricter Gun Laws — and to Own Guns
We’ve reported before about the pandemic gun surge, in which Americans bought more than 40 million guns in 2020 and 2021, and how it hints at growing concerns about crime and violence, even as many are calling for stricter gun control legislation. A new survey out this week, conducted by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, helps us fill in the bigger picture around those two seemingly conflicting trends.
Congress Approved Millions for Gun Violence Prevention. Will It Reach Grassroots Groups?
When a 22-year-old woman died from a gunshot wound in February, community organizations and faith leaders in Broward County, Florida, responded quickly. The coalition took to the streets in the days following her killing, hoping to prevent further violence. They offered access to mental health support and counseling. And in the weeks after, Faith in Florida, an organization that works to prevent gun violence, organized financial support for the victim’s family.
Ghost Gun Dealers Race to Offload Inventory Ahead of New Federal Rules
Retailers of ghost gun parts are holding fire sales on the eve of new federal rule meant to curb the proliferation of homemade, untraceable weapons. The new regulations from the Biden administration, which go into effect on August 24, will require that all parts used to manufacture ghost guns are serialized and that purchasers undergo a background check. While the rule will regulate all future sales of ghost guns, it will not have an effect on the potentially millions of ghost gun kits that are already in circulation.
States May Have Found a Way Through the Gun Industry’s Liability Shield
Every year since 2013, House Democrats have introduced a bill to repeal The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA, which shields the firearms industry from lawsuits over harms committed with its wares. Every year, that effort has stalled in committee, captive to political gridlock that shows little sign of waning.
I’m The Trace’s New Community Engagement Reporter. Chicago, I Want to Hear From You.
As someone who was born and raised in Chicago, I know what it feels like to have your community written about but not necessarily written for. I’ve seen how the endless cycle of news centered on trauma and tragedy misses the complexities of Chicago’s gun violence crisis, ignoring the underlying systems and policy decisions that create and concentrate violence. I have witnessed the immense loss that reverberates through a community when someone is killed by a gun. And I’ve heard the stories of the people whose deaths make up our victim counts, from friends, family, and neighbors who worry that despite near-constant media coverage of the violence and calls for change, the city isn’t doing anything that makes us feel safer.
As SCOTUS Mulled Bruen, the NRA Lobbied in the Shadows
This story was published in partnership with POLITICO Magazine. In the first week of September 2018, during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings, the National Rifle Association’s board gathered for its final meeting of the year across the Potomac at the Westin Arlington Gateway hotel. The NRA was campaigning hard in support of Kavanaugh, whose confirmation would instantly shift power on the court in the group’s favor, and in anticipation, the trustees of an NRA legal fund approved $360,000 to back a slate of lawsuits, hoping to propel cases to the court.
How Eight Candidates Running to Represent Philadelphia Say They’ll Address Gun Violence
This story is part of Up the Block, our evolving Philadelphia-based community engagement project. Check it out here. As Philadelphia endures yet another violent summer, residents want to know what their representatives are going to do to keep them safe. In November, the city will vote in another class of...
Tracking the Effects of the Supreme Court’s Gun Ruling
The Supreme Court’s first major Second Amendment ruling in a decade is already significantly reshaping gun laws in the United States. We’re tracking its effect throughout the country, from states and cities changing their gun laws to fresh legal challenges brought by advocacy groups. We’ll continue to update this post with new developments.
Texans Have a Complicated Relationship With Guns
This article is co-published with The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsroom that informs and engages with Texans. Sign up for The Brief weekly to get up to speed on their essential coverage of Texas issues. Background checks for gun purchases in Texas rose during the weeks after the...
The Supreme’s Court Gun Decision Could Open This Policy up to Court Challenges
In June, the Supreme Court struck down a provision of New York law that required gun owners to show “proper cause” to carry a concealed gun in public. The decision effectively dismantled a policy known as “may-issue,” which was applied by New York and seven other states and gave licensing authorities the discretion to issue or deny concealed carry permits based on factors that go beyond basic requirements like passing a background check.
Senate Democrats to Introduce Bill Targeting Illegal Machine Guns
This story was published in partnership with VICE News. After years of rarely appearing in the hands of criminals, machine guns have been making a comeback thanks to tiny devices called auto sears, which turn semiautomatic pistols and rifles into full-auto weapons that spray multiple bullets with a single squeeze of the trigger.
In a New Survey, Half of Americans Anticipate Civil War
This story was published in partnership with Slate. Half of Americans agree somewhat that there will be civil war “in the next few years” and nearly one in five are similarly confident that they will soon arm themselves with a gun in a situation where political violence is justified, according to a nationally representative survey released July 19.
The Real Significance of the Supreme Court’s Gun Decision
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to strike down a portion of New York State’s century-old firearm licensing law explicitly endorsed an individual right to carry a loaded handgun in public for self-defense, immediately imperiling restrictive public carry regulations in at least six states. But constitutional law experts interviewed...
What the SCOTUS Gun Ruling Changes for New Yorkers
On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the Second Amendment confers the right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense. In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the court’s conservative majority voided the state’s requirement that gun owners show “proper cause” to carry a concealed firearm in public, and ruled that issuing authorities in seven other states no longer have the discretion to deny permits to concealed carry applicants if all the requirements are met.
After Her Sister’s Suicide, Her Work Became Saving Others’ Lives.
This article mentions suicide. Here's where to find help if you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts or depression. Time and distance. Kelly Asher-Smalt believes if only there had been more time and distance between her sister and a gun, Terry would still be alive. They would be riding motorcycles down Western...
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