Friday Finds
Our weekly look back at 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.
The Militia and the Mole - “A unique, startling window into the militia movement”
“He’d been galvanized by the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol…. He believed democracy was under siege from groups the FBI has said pose a major domestic terrorism threat. So he infiltrated the militia movement on spec, as a freelance vigilante. He did not tell the police or the FBI. A loner, he did not tell his family or friends.”
‘We’ve been at this rodeo before’: gun-safety groups prepare for second Trump term
“But we’ve got the playbook from 2016, and in some ways, I think we’re in much better shape than we were in 2016.”
New Reports Track Gun Ownership and Rates of Gun Violence in Each State
Which states have the strongest gun laws in 2025? Massachusetts moves up, Louisiana falls
“Everytown for Gun Safety ranked all 50 states on gun safety by comparing the strength of their gun laws to their gun death rates and found 14 states labeled ‘national failures’ on gun policy by the advocacy group had rates of gun deaths two and a half times higher than the nine considered national gun safety leaders.”
States with Weak Gun Laws and Higher Gun Ownership Have Highest Gun Death Rates in the Nation, New Data for 2023 Confirm
“The [Violence Policy Center] analysis uses just-published 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WONDER data and presents overall gun death rates state by state for 2023, which is the most recent year for which data are available.”
What We Learned From Analyzing 10 Years of Shooting Data
“You’re more likely to be shot in the rural South than in big cities like Chicago.”
Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Combat Emerging Firearm Threats and Improve School-Based Active Shooter Drills
In likely the last GVP acts of their administration, Biden-Harris team announced that “it completed the work required under the Executive Order President Biden signed in September 2024.”
Suicide prevention key to cutting gun violence, advocates say
“Federal data shows that the suicide rate among Black young people between the ages of 10 and 19 surpassed that of their White peers for the first time in 2022, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.”
Supreme Court Declines Hearing Challenge to Maryland's Gun License Law
“The law, enacted in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, mandates safety training, fingerprint submission and background checks for prospective handgun owners.”
‘Another failure by the gun lobby’: Supreme Court won’t review Delaware’s firearms control laws, but legal battles continue
“The justices also declined to review federal court decisions upholding Maryland’s handgun licensing requirements, which were a model for Delaware’s permit-to-purchase law that passed last year. The Delaware law is also facing a lawsuit by gun advocacy groups….”
Judge rules in favor of gun rights group over Cook County's gun, ammo tax
“Cook County enacted a $25 tax per firearm and 1 to 5 cent tax per round of ammunition in 2012. After legal challenges, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled against the county in 2021. The county had previously amended the measure and reinstated the tax.”
VIDEO: New initiatives to stop gun violence
“New data from the NYPD finds that gun violence in the last year was down.”
Wisconsin’s governor creates new violence-prevention office in wake of school shooting
“Gov. Tony Evers also called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass a series of gun control and public safety measures, saying reducing violence should be a ‘shared priority that transcends politics.’”
Westchester creates gun violence prevention taskforce
“The group will work with organizations that are currently making strides in rooting out gun violence and foster collaboration across these agencies leveraging each other’s resources. The task force aims to identify and implement best practices to prevent and ultimately eliminate gun violence in the county.”
Westchester Legislator Shanae Williams discusses the new task force (via Mid Hudson News)
VIDEO: Tiny Nebraska village chosen for national school gun violence memorial site
“The national project will place 15 memorials in 15 cities nationwide, which will pay tribute to the over 500 students killed nationally in school shootings since Columbine High School in 1999.”
