The role of the gun industry in America’s gun violence epidemic.
Do you have questions about guns or gun violence in America? This is Ask The Trace, a question series driven by readers.
The National Rifle Association is one of the most powerful special interest groups in America. We’re investigating how it spends its money.
A newsletter spotlighting the people, policies, and programs grappling with the gun violence crisis.
Our team, our mission, our partners, and more. Plus: How to contact us.
We report stories that would go untold. Generous readers sustain our work.
Sign up now to get our latest stories and eye-opening briefings.
Background Checks
The bureau is getting ready to tap National Data Exchange and its 400 million records to help screen gun buyers. Experts say it would have blocked the Charleston church shooter from obtaining his murder weapon.
How We Fix This
Prompted by a 2007 law, an administrator at the Iowa Department of Public Safety personally oversaw the review of 125,000 state mental health case files to figure out who should be prohibited from owning guns.
Experts say the shortage leaves NICS vulnerable to mistakes and workers at risk of burnout.
On Thursday night, the Republican-dominated Florida Legislature responded to widespread calls for action after the Parkland mass shooting by passing the state’s first significant gun bill in two decades. The legislation was the product of intense debate by members…
A bill to give the state a tool to crack down on "lie-and-try" gun buyers awaits action from lawmakers.
After a weekend of protests and vigils following the massacre at a Florida high school that left 17 dead, President Donald Trump signaled support on Monday for bipartisan legislation aimed at improving records reporting to the federal gun background…
A new "fugitive from justice" definition has increased the odds that some violent criminals will be able to buy a firearm, experts say.
Experts have been warning since the Department of Justice changed its gun background check policy earlier this year that dangerous criminals would have a better chance of purchasing guns legally. A case out of Arizona, they say, validates their concerns.
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled a bill on Thursday morning that would reward states for improving their reporting of criminal records and domestic violence data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s gun background check system, and punish those that…
Information on 52,000 open warrants were purged from the FBI's list of banned gun buyers earlier this year.
A year before committing Sunday’s mass shooting in a tight-knit church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, suspect Devin Kelley walked into a sporting goods store to buy a Ruger assault style rifle he should have been banned from owning because of…
In testimony before President Donald Trump’s election integrity commission on Tuesday, the controversial researcher John Lott cast himself as the unlikely defender of a gun background-check system he has excoriated. His proposal to force voters to be certified through the…
Here are three challenges NICS still faces.
Security experts see danger in a Justice Department policy that weakens the system for screening firearms buyers wanted by law enforcement.
More people with outstanding arrest warrants will be able to legally buy guns under new rule.