What To Know Today
Fatal shootings erased 12.6 million years of potential life in one decade. That estimate comes from a new analysis of CDC data from 2009 to 2018 published in the journal Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open. The researchers calculated the figure compared to an average life expectancy of 80 years. They found that white men lost 4.95 million potential years from gun violence, the highest of any group and driven by their higher share for gun suicides, which constitute some 60 percent of annual gun deaths. Young Black men, far more likely to die of gun homicide and disproportionately affected by gun violence compared to their population, lost 3.2 million potential years in the period studied. Gun deaths increased by 0.72 percent every year during that time. In 2017, gun violence overtook motor vehicle collisions as the leading traumatic cause of years of potential life lost. Related from The Trace: As we reported in January, firearm injury is the 13th leading cause of death, eclipsing car crashes for the fourth year in a row, and by a larger margin than ever before.
Oregon poised to use Medicaid to provide hospital-based violence intervention. Last week, its Legislature passed a bill that would make it the third state to allow Medicaid to cover bills related to hospital-based violence intervention programs. The HVIP model connects community outreach workers with violent crime victims while they’re still in the hospital and mentors them post-discharge in an effort to prevent retaliatory shootings and repeat victimization. As Chip Brownlee wrote last year, Connecticut and Illinois were the first states to direct Medicaid to cover the costs for HVIP services, which otherwise have relied on private funding and left the concept’s long-term viability in question. An additional new investment in community violence intervention: Also awaiting the Oregon governor’s signature is a budget allocating $15 million from the American Rescue Plan for community-based violence intervention grants and $11.25 million more for victims’ compensation.
Washington State on the verge of banning high-capacity magazines. On a party-line basis, the Legislature on Friday voted to approve the measure that would bar the manufacture, distribution, and sale — though not possession — of magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammo on rifles and semiautomatic pistols. A violation of the law would be a gross misdemeanor carrying a sentence of up to a year in jail. Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, has said he will sign it. The full panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which has jurisdiction for Washington, recently upheld California’s similar ban as constitutional, giving bill supporters hope that it can survive potential legal challenges.
An anti-violence program in Philly teaches kids life skills — including how to “respect” guns. Billy Penn takes a look at Urban Navigation, a nonprofit founded last year to steer at-risk young people away from violence. The program offers people from ages 10 to 26 a slew of classes across different disciplines, including music production and bike maintenance. The program also includes a way for young people who live in areas with lots of firearms to understand the basics of gun safety and the scope of gun rights. “From talking with kids, we know that gun violence was a big issue,” said Hameen Diggins, Urban Navigation’s co-founder. “They also told us that dancing around the issue wouldn’t solve the problem, so we tackle it head on with gun safety education.”
Data Point
24 — the number of shootings on school property so far this year in the United States, according to Gun Violence Archive. In the latest incident, one teenager was killed and two students were injured when someone in a vehicle reportedly opened fire on the grounds of a high school in Des Moines, Iowa. [Gun Violence Archive]
