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Where the VP Contenders Stand on Gun Reform
Vice President Kamala Harris, who oversees the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, has played a prominent role in the Biden administration’s gun policy work. Now, as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for president, she’s in the process of choosing her own running mate, who may also be entrusted to guide the gun reform agenda of her ticket and the work of her administration if she’s elected.
He Fatally Shot a White Man, Claiming Self Defense. Now He’s Charged With Murder.
Maurice Byrd knows how to handle firearms. In the early 2000s, the U.S. Army deployed him to Afghanistan and Iraq. As a civilian and owner of a barber shop in the Philadelphia suburb of Hatboro, Pennsylvania, he has a license to carry his 9mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic handgun, but never had a reason to use the weapon.
Kamala Harris’s Record on Guns
After President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race, activists on both sides of the gun issue have begun to weigh in on Vice President Kamala Harris’s likely ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket. Some of the nation’s most influential gun violence prevention groups have...
Gun Violence Prevention Services Can’t Reach Everyone. Telehealth Could Help.
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chuka Emezue watched as a few men in the domestic violence intervention program he directed struggled to stay awake or were distracted in remote video calls. Though some participants disliked the virtual instruction brought on by social distancing, a small but promising group was engaged by the flexibility it provided. Participants who responded well inspired Emezue to look into a rehabilitative solution rarely discussed: How technology could be used to reach Black youth who are exposed to violence.
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In Chicago, ShotSpotter Sparks a Political Power Struggle
This February, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his plan to decommission ShotSpotter, a controversial gunshot-detection technology that alerts police to shootings by using hundreds of acoustic sensors throughout the city. Johnson’s plan, which would sunset the technology in November, was the culmination of a years-long debate and a decision applauded...
AR-15s Are Used in America’s Deadliest Shootings. Why Is It So Hard for Police to Defend Against Them?
When a Butler Township police officer responded to reports of a gunman atop a roof outside former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania campaign rally on July 13, he met a threat he was ill-equipped to counter: an AR-15-style rifle. The officer quickly retreated, falling down the ladder he had used...
Guns Are Allowed Outside the RNC. This State Law Is the Reason Why.
The Republican National Convention is underway in Milwaukee, and despite the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, guns are allowed near the convention site because of Wisconsin’s preemption law, which prevents local municipalities from enacting gun regulations stricter than the state’s. This means in the densely...
How the Trump Rally Shooting Fits Into America’s Gun Violence Crisis
The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, raised questions about assault rifles, access to ammunition, and gun culture. As we learn more details about the shooting on July 13, which left one attendee dead and wounded Trump and three others, here are five stories from The Trace to help make sense of what happened, and where we go from here.
The Attempt to Assassinate Trump Was Also a Mass Shooting
The attack on former President Donald Trump, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing as a “potential domestic terrorism act,” was both an assassination attempt and a mass shooting — defined as four or more victims shot, per the Gun Violence Archive. It was one of nearly 300 mass shootings that have transpired in the United States so far this year.
How Police Guns End Up in the Hands of Criminals
American law enforcement agencies spend billions of dollars a year buying new guns. To lighten the budgetary blow, many agencies resell or trade in their used firearms. These weapons eventually make their way to gun store shelves, ready to be taken home by members of the general public. Sometimes, the...
They Survived the Highland Park Mass Shooting. It Opened Their Eyes.
It was a beautiful morning in Highland Park two years ago as the small city north of Chicago prepared to hold its first Fourth of July parade since 2020, when COVID-19 put public celebrations on hold. Two friends, Jason Rotter and Martin Rossen, brought their families downtown to celebrate the holiday.
July Fourth Gun Violence Plummets to a Five-Year Low
Independence Day weekend is almost always the time of year when gun violence kills or injures the most people. But this year, there were fewer people shot than in any year since 2019. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 245 people were injured or killed in shootings on the holiday,...
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy Explains His Historic Warning About Gun Violence
One week ago, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy took the unprecedented step of issuing an advisory on gun violence, marking the first time his office has addressed the issue in such depth. Murthy’s 32-page document is a clarion call to treat gun violence as an urgent public health crisis. It...
How SCOTUS’s Chevron Decision Threatens Gun Regulations
On June 28, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority struck down a four-decade-old legal precedent known as Chevron deference, which allowed federal agencies to broadly interpret federal law. The ruling could have ramifications for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the federal agency in charge of regulating firearms,...
GOP Lawmakers Say They’re Banning Credit Cards From Tracking Gun Purchases. Is It All a Show?
On July 1, new laws will take effect in Tennessee and Georgia that Republican legislators say will prevent banks and credit card companies from tracking firearm purchases. At least 15 states — all but one of them Republican-led — have passed similar laws in the past two years, barring financial institutions from using a merchant category code to identify transactions at gun stores.
The Trace Is Hiring a Director of Development
The Trace is looking for a director of development to help sustain and expand our high-impact, award-winning reporting on gun violence. At our growing nonprofit media organization, we’re building the only team of journalists dedicated to reporting on one of the most critical issues facing our country. Our stories are making a difference, and our financial support has increased during these uncertain times. As we plan for the future, we’re seeking a talented development leader to accelerate our fundraising, particularly in major gifts.
Surgeon General Issues First-Ever Gun Violence Advisory
The U.S. surgeon general has issued an unprecedented warning about the deadly and far-reaching effects of gun violence, a move that could draw resources to the issue and influence public policy. Dr. Vivek Murthy’s advisory on June 25 marks the first time that the Office of the Surgeon General has...
Days After the Supreme Court Rejected a Bump Stock Ban, Philadelphia Outlawed Rapid-Fire Devices. Will It Matter?
In March, eight Philadelphia high school students waiting for a city bus were mowed down by rapid gunfire. Last October, a police officer in an airport parking garage confronted a thief breaking into a car, only to be killed by a similar burst of gunfire. Philadelphia Police believe that the...
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