Top Story

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to review the 5th Circuit ruling that struck down a ban on gun possession by people subject to domestic violence restraining orders. The DOJ filed its petition on a “highly expedited schedule,” requesting that justices consider the case before the court recesses for summer. [Department of Justice]

From The Trace

Almost a year after Texas’ deadliest school shooting killed 19 children and two teachers, The Texas Tribune reports, there is still confusion among investigators, law enforcement leaders, and politicians over how nearly 400 law enforcement officers could have performed so poorly. Cowardice, or poor leadership, or a lack of sufficient training have been blamed for why police waited more than an hour to breach the classroom and subdue an amateur, 18-year-old adversary. 

But in previously unreleased interviews, officers’ own words during and after their botched response pointed to another reason: the weapon on the other side of the door. Read more →

What to Know Today

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued several orders meant to reduce suicides in the military, but stopped short of restricting gun and ammo purchases by troops younger than 25, as recommended by an independent committee last month. [Associated Press]

Over the past year, Alex Jones has transferred millions of dollars in property, cash, and business contracts to family and friends — placing that money out of reach of creditors and leaving Sandy Hook families unsure if they’ll ever get the court-ordered total damages Jones owes them. [The New York Times]

A Texas police regulator blamed two Austin homicides on the policies of reformist District Attorney José Garza. But the case around the alleged killer is complicated, and statewide policies are directly linked. [The Intercept]

Mexico filed an appeal in its civil lawsuit against U.S. gunmakers, arguing that they knowingly facilitated deadly cartel violence across the Southern border, which an American federal judge dismissed in September. The new filing follows the high-profile, cartel-linked kidnapping of four Americans, two of whom were killed, in Tamaulipas. [Reuters]

A former Smith & Wesson employee and two other men were charged with 123 criminal counts related to an attempt to create a pipeline for unregistered weapons from Massachusetts to New York. Some of the firearms sold included ghost guns and AR-15-style rifles. [The New York Times]

Shooting threats have changed the way architects approach school design. They’re incorporating more common areas, small spaces for students to be alone, and winged walls to interrupt sightlines. [NPR]

Archive

Bruen Takes Gun Law Back to a Time Before ‘Domestic Violence’”: Advocates say domestic violence victims are most in danger when they’re trying to break with an abuser for good. That time period can include court proceedings, and many domestic violence defendants remain free during the pretrial period, when domestic violence restraining orders are often issued. Those victims could now be in peril in three states. (February 8, 2023)

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