Friday Finds
Our weekly roundup of gun violence prevention news from across the country
On Fridays here at Armed With Reason, we highlight some articles from the gun violence prevention realm that might’ve been missed during your busy week.
Visualizing how mass shootings in 2025 compare with past years
“Last year recorded the lowest number of mass shootings since 2019, before the increase in America’s gun violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the total number of mass shootings in 2024 surpassed the totals recorded in any year from 2013 to 2019…. Here’s how 2025 compares with previous years.”
States where gun violence has surpassed car accidents as the #1 killer of children in the U.S.
“Northwell Health partnered with Stacker to analyze CDC mortality statistics nationwide and highlight the individual states where gun deaths are surpassing motor vehicle accidents, becoming the leading cause of death for American kids through their high school years.”
Trump Anti-GVP Moves So Far:
Under Trump, how will gun violence prevention fare?
“But Emery said despite recent progress, gun violence is still a public health crisis in the U.S. She added that the initiative under President Joe Biden was bringing to light how rural areas affected.”
Making schools less safe, Trump administration shuts down school safety board
“Dismantling the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse’s advisory board is a betrayal of Parkland victims’ families and their tireless advocacy. This board was created during Trump’s first administration after 17 students and staff died, and it represented a moment of bipartisan cooperation to address school violence, providing critical research and guidance to protect American children. By disbanding this crucial resource, the new Trump administration is choosing the gun lobby’s will over student safety.”
VIDEO: DHS allows U.S. Marshals, DEA and ATF to carry out immigration enforcement
“The DEA and ATF have had little experience historically in carrying out immigration enforcement. Historically, the US Marshals only get involved when there has been a migrant who has become a fugitive.”
Maxwell Frost slams Trump shutdown of Gun Violence Prevention office
“Trump knows it’s bad politics for him to come out and say, ‘I’ve eliminated this office,’ because, the fact of the matter is, gun violence has gone down over the last four years.”
‘A Direct Attack on Science:’ Trump’s Return Is Rattling Gun Violence Researchers
“Days after the inauguration, White House directives and pledges to cut public health funding are already causing chaos and uncertainty. Experts say this is just the beginning.”
National Gun Violence Prevention Groups Respond to Inauguration of Donald Trump
“‘During Trump's first term, gun violence soared to record highs and guns became the #1 killer of kids,’ said Kris Brown, President of Brady…. ‘But Biden's leadership has brought historic progress: violent crime at a 50-year low, a record drop in homicides, and an astounding 25% drop in mass shootings this past year alone. If Trump follows through on his campaign promises to undo this progress… the consequences will be deadly.’”
STUDY: Adverse childhood experiences influence potentially dangerous firearm-related behavior in adulthood
“The authors first assessed the association between adverse childhood experiences and adulthood defensive gun use. They then evaluated the role of depressive symptoms and threat sensitivity in that relationship.”
Crackdown on do-it-yourself firearm kits is curbing ghost guns. Will it last?
“The number of privately made firearms, or ghost guns, recovered from crime and accident scenes nationwide has exploded into an epidemic in recent years, up nearly 17-fold between 2017 and 2023, according to the Justice Department.”
VIDEO: New [Michigan] law changes the gun buyback process
“As of last Wednesday, all guns turned into Michigan State Police must be destroyed; something that wasn’t completely happening in the past.”
GOP shoots down [Wisconsin Gov.] Evers’ State of State proposals to curb gun violence, improve child care
“During a press gaggle after the speech, GOP leaders were asked whether their caucus would compromise on Evers’ gun violence prevention proposal, to which Assembly Floor Leader Tyler August (R-Walworth) simply replied ‘no, we’re not doing it.’ A follow-up question asked whether the GOP has any gun legislation of their own; August implied that any attempts to curb gun violence are a non-starter.”
Student Activism:
VIDEO: ‘Not one more!’: Antioch High School students protest gun violence as school reopens
“The protest follows a rally Monday at the Capitol, where dozens of students and people affected by gun violence gathered as lawmakers met for the first day of a special legislative session.”
Full rally:
Waco High Students Take Stand Against Gun Violence, Form Local Students Demand Action Chapter
“We started this chapter because we are constantly seeing people our age impacted by gun violence, especially in schools, and we believe our generation has the power to create meaningful change by using our voices.”
Students Demand Action Are Fighting to Ban High-Capacity Guns and Magazines
“Colorado wasn’t always a leader in gun safety, but it’s amazing what a couple of thousand students can do when they’re sick and tired of getting shot at school. Students Demand Action organizers have moved mountains to make sure laws are being signed that prevent easy access to guns — and it’s working.”
How to cover community violence interventions
“Anti-violence strategies can inspire multiple evergreen stories. Organizations that handle these interventions can also provide journalists with additional insight into the detrimental impacts of gun violence on the community and connect them with survivors and their families.”
Dr. Latif Davis Launches Groundbreaking Book: Gun Points: The Role of Culture in Violence
“This compelling work offers an Afrocentric cultural analysis of gun violence, focusing on the impact of cultural alignment or misalignment on African Americans who have lost connection with their cultural roots.”
