Friday Finds
Our weekly roundup of the latest gun violence prevention news
On Fridays, we highlight articles and videos from the gun violence prevention realm that might’ve been missed during your busy week.
The Firearm Mortality Epidemic: Examining the U.S. Data from 2024
“In 2024, 44,447 people died due to gun violence in the U.S., the fifth highest total ever recorded. The overall gun death rate declined 7.1% between 2023 and 2024, resulting in 2,281 fewer deaths. This reflects a decrease in homicides, even as gun suicides reached record levels.”
Court Strikes Down New Jersey Assault Weapons Ban - Possible National Effects
U.S. appeals court strikes down New Jersey’s assault weapons ban on AR-15s
“That issue is already in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed last month to review rulings that had upheld similar bans adopted in Cook County, Illinois, and Connecticut against powerful semiautomatic rifles.”
New Jersey Just Lost Its Assault Weapons Ban. Here’s Why That Matters for the Rest of the Country.
“The ruling against New Jersey’s assault weapons ban is likely only the first, and could mark the beginning of the end for similar laws in nearly a dozen states.”
After string of legal setbacks, New Jersey lawmakers weigh how to proceed on guns
“It was the latest in a long line of judicial decisions that have poked holes in New Jersey’s expansive gun laws, which had been held up by Democrats as evidence that stricter regulations lead to lower rates of gun violence.”
SCOTUS Said You Can’t Lose Gun Rights for Smoking Pot. But You Could Still Lose a Government License To Work.
“In June, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Hemani that the government can't strip your right to possess a firearm just because you smoke marijuana. Yet an old drug conviction could still stop you from waxing eyebrows, cutting hair, or giving massages.”
Harnessing the Legal System to Create a Future Free from Gun Violence - Giffords
“Our litigation team files affirmative lawsuits against gun companies whose irresponsible conduct has allowed the gun violence epidemic to unfold. These cases rely on new, creative legal theories that challenge longstanding assumptions about what is and is not possible under the law. In doing so, we’ve moved the needle and opened up new lanes of justice for victims and survivors of gun violence who for too long have felt justice was beyond their reach.”
More Than 4 Million Americans Have Lost Access to SNAP Benefits. Experts Predict That a Higher Rate of Shootings Will Follow.
“For years, research has shown that access to food stamps or SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is associated with a lower risk of firearm injury. States that expanded SNAP programs saw lower rates of firearm-involved suicides, according to a 2024 study.”
After CPS Closed Schools, Buildings Sat Empty — And Gun Violence Rose, Study Finds
“Researchers at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University found that neighborhoods surrounding long-vacant schools saw a 10 percent increase in gun violence compared to similar neighborhoods where schools didn’t close.”
The shuttered Matthew Henson Elementary School, in North Lawndale on July 2, 2026. (Photo: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago)
Traffic Deaths Spike After Deadly Mass Shootings, Study Suggests
“The finding, published on Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA Psychiatry, suggests only that there is a link between deadly shootings and a rise in fatal car accidents; it does not demonstrate cause and effect. But the study… raises the question of whether there is a causal relationship, and if so, what the mechanism behind it might be.”
I’ve Studied Hundreds of Mass Shooters. Parents, I Hope You Know the Story of Colin Gray.
“Psychosis is among the most terrifying states a human being can inhabit. To know that your child is in that state and choose denial is a form of child abuse. A Georgia jury has now ruled that in Colin Gray's case, it was also murder.”
Why Trent Richardson spoke at Stop the Gun Violence Football Camp
“Unfortunately, Richardson… wasn't just in town for the camp. He was also in town for the funeral of his nephew, Phillip "PJ" Sheppard, who was killed in a July 5 shooting in downtown Pensacola.”