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.
Trump Rolls Back GVP Gains
Trump Administration Rolls Back Dozens of Gun Regulations
The Trump administration is scrapping more than three dozen firearms regulations, abandoning a crackdown on illegal sales, restoring gun rights to some people with mental illness and loosening oversight of private weapons transactions…. In the view of critics and even some A.T.F. veterans, the agency, in closely mirroring the demands made by gun owners and manufacturers to lighten their regulatory burden, is enacting changes at the expense of public safety.”
Trump administration takes major steps to roll back gun regulations
“Justice correspondent Ali Rogin discussed the administration’s efforts with Chip Brownlee, a staff writer at The Trace, covering federal gun policy.”
Related: National Gun Violence Prevention Groups File Formal Comments to Dangerous ATF Rule Rollbacks - Brady
Related: Trump’s ‘law and order’ rhetoric rings hollow amid dismantled gun safety
How the gun industry fixes prices, but fails on safety
“An analysis of gun industry economic data, court records, earnings call transcripts, and publicly available retailer agreements revealed that the gun industry uses a practice that resembles resale price maintenance (RPM) to enforce a price floor for guns in America. This is also known as price fixing.”
July 4th Shootings This Year Went Down — Again
“Texas had the most incidents, with 33, followed by California with 29, New York with 26, Ohio with 22, and Illinois and Pennsylvania with 17 each.”
Johns Hopkins Report Finds Declining Gun Homicides, Record Gun Suicides in 2024
“The vast majority of gun deaths—about 86% total—were among males. The report also highlights the increasing rate of gun deaths among females over the past decade, especially among those who are non-white.”
Court battles leave Virginia’s new assault weapons ban in legal limbo
“‘Certainly yesterday, we had hoped to get a decision to streamline these cases…. They popped up in certain parts of Virginia, but we are going to continue to fight to enforce the bills that were passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Spanberger.’ Jones emphasized public safety remains the administration’s focus.”
Sen. Lashrecse Aird, D-Henrico, and Attorney General Jay Jones participate in a gun violence prevention roundtable at Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Petersburg. (Photo: Markus Schmidt; via Virginia Mercury)
New GVP Research
Under the Gun: How police efforts to get guns off the street have backfired
“What I have found is that that particular charge … is one of, if not the most, racially disparate charges in the criminal legal system…. Especially in cities, it is overwhelmingly young Black men who are charged with illegal gun possession.”
Most veterans and service members who die by firearm suicide never disclose their intent
“Their study, published in The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, examined the patterns of 28,600 individuals with a history of military service who died by firearm suicide between 2013 and 2021.”
Researchers find link between vehicle crashes and firearm injuries
“The findings could help inform violence prevention efforts, said Dr. Mike Levas, one of the authors of the study….”
Canada is suing OpenAI for ignoring school shooter’s violent prompts
“This new lawsuit by the Canadian government follows private lawsuits filed by seven of the victims in April. OpenAI is also facing legal action in the United States as the Attorney General of Florida is pursuing criminal charges for ChatGPT assisting the FSU school shooter.”
Community Solutions
Community Engagement in the Science and Study of Gun Violence
“Communities most affected by gun violence are often the subject of research, but the people who live in these communities have limited influence over how studies are designed and conducted. A new guide aims to change that by offering practical recommendations for researchers seeking to build meaningful partnerships with community members and practitioners.”
What Can Cities Learn From Baltimore’s Extraordinary Decline in Violence?
“Instead, a growing body of research suggests that the city’s approach — a coordinated system combining focused deterrence, community violence intervention, victim services, improved investigations, and sustained leadership from City Hall — may be one of the clearest examples yet of a city reducing gun violence at scale.”
Journalists must show human cost of gun violence, says trauma surgeon in new book
“Rogers, whose book comes out in July, is the chief of trauma and acute care surgery at University of Chicago Medical Center on the city’s South Side, which suffers the brunt of Chicago’s gun violence.”
VIDEO: ‘It’s profoundly damaging’: A Golisano Children’s ER doctor explains what bullets do to kids — physically and mentally
“We must talk about the emotional and mental toll…. We have so many children in our community witnessing violence as well.”
VIDEO: Kentucky church sparks backlash after bizarre skit showing the devil being executed by firing squad at youth event
“In the video, a group of people dressed in camouflage and carrying air rifles walked down an aisle, with a crowd of kids and adults on either side. As the group reached the stage at the front of the room, Walker can be heard saying, ‘Take him out, blow him up.’”
Related: ‘It was traumatizing to watch’: Local church defends viral ‘Kill the Devil’ VBS skit amid backlash
