The collision of two American epidemics.
The programs, policies, and people driving positive change in America’s gun violence problem.
American lives, shaped by guns.
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Brian Freskos is a Chicago-based staff writer who covers the Midwest. His work has primarily focused on gun trafficking and community-based violence prevention.
Gun Trafficking
Tracking stolen firearms through the black market, from gun store thefts to crime scenes.
The Business of Guns
After Jimenez Arms went into bankruptcy, the company’s owner tried to revive his gunmaking business under a different name. Now, plaintiffs are trying to compel the ATF to close it down for good.
Year in Review
In over a dozen cities, homicides rose by 50 percent or more this year. “It’s very likely that these increases are larger than any on record,” said one criminologist.
Politics
The city's decision to enforce a requirement to report lost or stolen guns has opened another front in an intensifying battle against the state's restrictive pre-emption law.
Lawyers Mark and Patricia McCloskey won hundreds of thousands of dollars for clients injured by faulty handguns.
Facing multiple lawsuits, Jimenez Arms declared bankruptcy earlier this year. Now it's starting anew.
Gun Policy
Before they instigated some of the earliest protests against COVID-19 shutdowns, the Dorr brothers honed a brand of fiery Second Amendment activism that doesn’t sway lawmakers, but keeps the donations flowing.
Law Enforcement
The projectiles that officers are firing at protestors are “dangerous, indiscriminate, and potentially lethal,” said a researcher who examined data on nearly 2,000 people hit by them.
Coronavirus & Guns
Debate is brewing about the constitutionality of limiting gun rights during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gun Theft
A sweeping new bill introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Hank Johnson would realize a slew of big-ticket gun reform policies, including universal background checks, an updated assault weapons ban, and expanded funding for federal gun violence research. It…
FIRSTHAND: Gun Violence in Chicago
Advocates believe the city is primed for a more effective approach to shootings. Now, they are waiting to see whether the new administration will deliver.
Community Violence
A coalition of more than two dozen community groups asked the city to earmark $50 million for gun violence prevention. Lori Lightfoot's proposal calls for far less.
The city is investing millions in beautifying the public spaces where shootings are most likely to occur.
How We Fix This
The private funders and outreach groups behind the “<399” plan are bringing unprecedented coordination to gun violence prevention in the city. But without more public dollars, they say, the effort may fall short.
Organizations working to reduce shootings in the state have long struggled to secure steady sources of funding. “We’re on the cusp of something really spectacular,” said one prevention worker.
The Illinois Legislature concluded a marathon session over the weekend without advancing a bill to overhaul the state’s gun licensing program, which means that the most significant policy proposal to have emerged from February’s mass shooting in Aurora has been…
