Top Story
Right-wing YouTuber Steven Crowder published excerpts of the writings of the shooter who killed six people at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville earlier this year, amid an intense legal battle over whether the records should be made public at all. Nashville’s police chief confirmed the authenticity of the documents, noting in a statement that he was “disturbed” by the unauthorized release, and the city’s mayor ordered an investigation into the leak. A spokesperson for parents of Covenant School students, who have fought against publication of the documents, called the person responsible a “viper.” [Associated Press/Nashville Tennessean/HuffPost]
The Gun Machine
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is supposed to be the country’s top firearms watchdog. It’s tasked with regulating the gun industry and protecting the American public from gun crimes. But the agency often falls short of its mandate — and that’s no accident.
In the second-to-last installment of The Gun Machine, a podcast from WBUR and The Trace, host Alain Stephens draws on his years of reporting on the ATF to chronicle how the agency became “weak, resource-deprived, and often conciliatory” toward the industry it’s meant to keep in check. He reveals how the gun lobby and its allies in Congress worked to limit the agency’s enforcement powers and resources, and speaks with former agent David Chipman about how controversies of the ATF’s own making — like the Ruby Ridge standoff and the Waco siege — turned public opinion against the agency and made it ripe for attack.
What to Know Today
During oral arguments for U.S. v. Rahimi, the pivotal gun case before the Supreme Court, justices appeared receptive to the government’s argument for upholding a decades-old federal ban on gun possession by people subject to domestic violence restraining orders. Three justices to watch as the case unfolds: Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas. [NBC/USA TODAY]
Over the last five years, Chicago’s West Garfield Park neighborhood has experienced nearly 1,000 shootings — roughly one every other day. Its population has long been dwindling, but some residents choose to stay despite the near-constant gunfire. In their own words, they explain why. [Chicago Sun-Times]
When a young person is shot, the trauma reverberates through their whole family, researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital found. Per their analysis, in the first year after a shooting, both children who endure a gunshot injury and their parents are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. [KFF Health News/The New York Times/Health Affairs]
Flint, Michigan, designated its city hall a gun-free zone late last month, following a weeks-long saga involving alleged death threats, “proactive” installation of a metal detector, and the open carrying of firearms in committee meetings. Now, several gun rights groups and three residents have filed suit to halt enforcement of the designation, alleging that the ban infringes upon the rights of people who legally carry firearms and also violates the Open Meetings Act. [Flint Beat/ABC12]
Democrat Cherelle Parker was elected as Philadelphia’s 100th mayor yesterday, defeating GOP challenger David Oh. Parker, the presumed front-runner since the May primary, has pledged to prioritize ending the city’s gun violence crisis, including through the use of stop-and-frisk.
Data Point
$34,884 — the additional first-year health care costs, on average, for a young person who survives a shooting. [Health Affairs]