Commentary

It’s Time to Hold Our Leaders Accountable and Fix Crime Victims Compensation

Commentary

It’s Time to Hold Our Leaders Accountable and Fix Crime Victims Compensation

As Illinois enacts changes to its victims compensation program, a group of health care providers, survivors, and activists argues that the state needs to make financial help far more accessible to people who have faced gun violence.

Kevin Zickterman, Rhiannon Jimenez, Tanya L. Zakrison, and Paige-Ashley Campbell
Are Cities Willing to Cut Police Spending and Invest in Community Violence Prevention?

Commentary

Are Cities Willing to Cut Police Spending and Invest in Community Violence Prevention?

We know that a public health approach can reduce gun violence. With budgets tight, funding those programs will take divesting from law enforcement.

Anthony Smith and Rachel Davis
The Pandemic’s Impact on Racial Inequity and Violence Can’t Be Ignored

Commentary

The Pandemic’s Impact on Racial Inequity and Violence Can’t Be Ignored

More than ever, our leaders need to prioritize policies and resources that protect vulnerable communities.

Fatimah Loren Muhammad
The Very Essential Work of Street-Level Violence Prevention

Commentary

The Very Essential Work of Street-Level Violence Prevention

On the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, outreach workers are going beyond their mission of preventing shootings by filling gaps in social services.

David Muhammad and DeVone Boggan
We Can’t End Inequality Until We Stop Urban Gun Violence

How We Fix This

We Can’t End Inequality Until We Stop Urban Gun Violence

Here’s a blueprint for cities ready to get started.

Thomas Abt
More States Should Raise the Age to Buy Firearms

Commentary

More States Should Raise the Age to Buy Firearms

Semi-automatic rifles deserve additional scrutiny.

Cassandra Crifasi
A Woman Terrorized With a Gun Is a Woman Harmed by One

Commentary

A Woman Terrorized With a Gun Is a Woman Harmed by One

We must recognize that abusers with guns can cause damage well before they fire.

Susan Sorenson
I Was in High School When a Shooting Turned Me Into a Gun Violence Activist. Here’s What I Want the Walk-Out Kids to Know.

Commentary

I Was in High School When a Shooting Turned Me Into a Gun Violence Activist. Here’s What I Want the Walk-Out Kids to Know.

Nza-Ari Khepra, age 21, is already a veteran gun reform activist. She was 16 years old when her friend, Hadiya Pendleton, was shot and killed at a playground near their Chicago high school in 2013. Hadiya was an honor…

JoVona Taylor
I’m a Florida Teacher in the Era of School Shootings. What Happens in My Classroom During a Lockdown Drill Should Horrify Americans.

Commentary

I’m a Florida Teacher in the Era of School Shootings. What Happens in My Classroom During a Lockdown Drill Should Horrify Americans.

“Remember,” I tell the children, looking them in the eyes in the darkened classroom. “Remember to keep the scissors open. They’ll stab better that way.” My students, the target demographic for many a Disney Channel sitcom, laugh nervously at me…

K.T. Katzmann
The End of DNAinfo and Gothamist Is a Loss for Local Coverage of Gun Violence

Commentary

The End of DNAinfo and Gothamist Is a Loss for Local Coverage of Gun Violence

The abrupt demise of DNAInfo and the Gothamist chain of local news blogs sent shockwaves through their cities’ media ecosystems. The outlets helped fill a news hole left by the closing or shrinking of legacy print newspapers in New…

Alex Yablon
When Does Openly Carrying a Gun at a Protest Become a Criminal Act?

Commentary

When Does Openly Carrying a Gun at a Protest Become a Criminal Act?

When it crosses over into "going armed to the terror of the public" — and breaks a centuries-old law that may give local governments a new tool for managing violent demonstrations.

Olivia Li and Dahlia Lithwick
Commentary

Real Hurricane, Fake News About Shooting at Irma

As Hurricane Irma bore down on his home state, Ryon Edwards of DeLand, Florida, created a Facebook event page intended to encourage people — or so it seemed, sort of — to fire their guns as an act of…

Ben Hallman
I Killed a Student at a College Party. I Wish I Wasn’t Carrying My Gun That Night.

Commentary

I Killed a Student at a College Party. I Wish I Wasn’t Carrying My Gun That Night.

"I didn't predict how fast the situation would escalate."

Chaz Thrailkill as told to JoVona Taylor
My Job Is to Tell the Public When People Are Shot in Baltimore. This Time, It Was My Little Brother.

Commentary

My Job Is to Tell the Public When People Are Shot in Baltimore. This Time, It Was My Little Brother.

Stricken by grief by the July slaying, T.J. Smith, the chief spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, now feels overwhelmed by the support that has poured in from around the country.

Kerry Shaw and T.J. Smith as told to Kerry Shaw
A Missouri Student Imagines Life on an Armed Campus

Commentary

A Missouri Student Imagines Life on an Armed Campus

Mining the experiences of other states for an educated guess at what may lie ahead.

Dan Roe

Help our journalists shine a light on gun violence

Commentary

It’s Time to Hold Our Leaders Accountable and Fix Crime Victims Compensation

Are Cities Willing to Cut Police Spending and Invest in Community Violence Prevention?

The Pandemic’s Impact on Racial Inequity and Violence Can’t Be Ignored

The Very Essential Work of Street-Level Violence Prevention

We Can’t End Inequality Until We Stop Urban Gun Violence

More States Should Raise the Age to Buy Firearms

A Woman Terrorized With a Gun Is a Woman Harmed by One

I Was in High School When a Shooting Turned Me Into a Gun Violence Activist. Here’s What I Want the Walk-Out Kids to Know.

I’m a Florida Teacher in the Era of School Shootings. What Happens in My Classroom During a Lockdown Drill Should Horrify Americans.

The End of DNAinfo and Gothamist Is a Loss for Local Coverage of Gun Violence

When Does Openly Carrying a Gun at a Protest Become a Criminal Act?

Real Hurricane, Fake News About Shooting at Irma

I Killed a Student at a College Party. I Wish I Wasn’t Carrying My Gun That Night.

My Job Is to Tell the Public When People Are Shot in Baltimore. This Time, It Was My Little Brother.

A Missouri Student Imagines Life on an Armed Campus