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.
A Decade of Impact: Gun Policy in America
“The centerpiece of the initiative is The Science of Gun Policy, our systematic review of research on firearm law effects across a range of outcomes, which uses a transparent evaluation approach, including explicit, publicly reported criteria to assess study design, methodological quality, and the strength of studies' causal claims.”
The Current Conflicted Gun Ownership Debate:
Researchers track how the 2024 presidential election changed behaviors around firearms
“A Rutgers Health study highlights an increased desire among specific groups to obtain firearms, carry them and store them more accessibly.”
A ‘bizarro world’: How Trump’s words have scrambled America’s gun politics
“Republicans are saying, ‘Don’t bring your guns to protests,’ after 10 years of saying, ‘Of course you can bring guns to protests.’ And many liberals saying, ‘You have a right to bring a gun to protest,’ even though they’ve been saying for years it would be irresponsible to bring a gun to a protest.”
Minneapolis Is the Violent Reckoning the Gun Rights Movement Has Long Wanted
“The Second Amendment crowd isn’t fighting against tyranny.”
VIDEO: The politics of gun ownership
“Guns are often portrayed as a symbol of conservative identity. Yet, as NPR reports, gun ownership and training have been rising among people with liberal political views, a trend especially noticeable since President Donald Trump’s second inauguration.”
Guns for me, but not for thee
“As we learned in the wake of last month’s murder in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti by Department of Homeland Security agents, Second Amendment rights are quite malleable, applied selectively and depending upon one’s politics.”
Pro-gun groups quickly rallied for Alex Pretti. Why didn’t they do the same for a Black gun owner?
“Race is a factor, let’s call it like it is. It’s been a factor in this country…. If Philando [Castile] had been white in the suburbs of Minneapolis, would they have said something?”
Leftist and liberal gun groups are seeing a rush of new members
“With President Donald Trump sending armed federal agents into communities around the country, even more once gun-shy liberals and leftists are considering getting armed.”
Liberals Are Buying Guns. It Won’t Make Us Safer
“A society already saturated with weapons — the U.S. has more guns than people —does not become safer when one more group decides that it, too, must arm itself. It becomes more fragile, more reactive, and more dangerous to live in, particularly for the people least insulated from harm.”
Federal GVP Cuts Fallout:
After Trump’s Cuts, Who’s Going to Fund Gun Violence Prevention?
“Congress is taking steps to stabilize research dollars, researchers are turning to private funders, and states are emerging as a critical backstop. But is it enough?”
A Year of Trump Has Stretched the ATF to Its Limits
“As Trump begins his second year in office, here’s a look at how his changes have affected the agency charged with enforcing America’s gun laws.”
Guns.com Meets Record Suppressor Demand with Largest Selection of In-Stock Inventory
“Demand for suppressors is at an all-time high following the elimination of the federal NFA tax…. The American Suppressor Association reports more than 730,000 Form 4 e-forms have been submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for suppressors since January 1.”
Violence Prevention Program at Hospitals Can Prevent Recurrent Harm
A new study found that a hospital-based intervention program can help prevent violence reinjury or recurrence by providing a range of mental health and social support services to gun violence victims.
Laws to keep guns away from distressed individuals reduce suicides
“… a new analysis… shows that the passage of ERPO laws does reduce suicides by gun. Published in JAMA Health Forum, researchers looked at data from four states that passed ERPO laws and eight that did not, and concluded that the laws reduced firearm suicides by a mean of 3.79 incidences per 100,000 population.”
Do not blame universities for gun violence
“While accountability in response to the failure of safety systems is necessary, these investigations portray gun violence at universities as a procedural misstep rather than an institutional failure on the part of the federal government.”
Pirro appears to walk back threats to arrest gun owners in DC
“The US attorney previously said anyone who brought a firearm to Washington would go to jail.”
— What to Know Before Buying a Gun —
Our desperate times have created concerned reactions, so here’s a factsheet to consider if you’re pondering gun ownership.