Featured Story
Gun violence is uniquely challenging to study — and that means proving the efficacy of gun violence intervention and prevention programs is burdensome, too. As it invests in community-based efforts to reduce gun violence, the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is taking on the evidence challenge. [The New York Times]
Data
America’s gun violence crisis is hard to understand — partly because data on the problem is often incomplete, hard to access, and difficult to make sense of. These conditions have had a detrimental effect on newsrooms covering the issue, resulting in journalism that doesn’t provide a full picture of a public health crisis that claims nearly 50,000 American lives every year.
The Gun Violence Data Hub, a new initiative from The Trace, seeks to change that. This multiyear project — run by team of editors, reporters, and researchers — seeks to help journalists access reliable data on one of America’s foremost public health crises. The Trace is building this tool to fill gaps in the current data landscape, facilitate deeper reporting on gun violence, and increase public understanding of the issue.
Learn more and find out how it could help you →
The Business of Guns
Navy veteran Kelli McAllister, 53, was hunting deer in North Florida in February 2021 when her Savage Arms Axis II rifle went off unexpectedly. The bullet sliced through her calf and, by the time she made it to a hospital, she had lost so much blood that her leg needed to be amputated below the knee.
McAllister claimed in a lawsuit against Savage Arms that a defect in her Axis II had allowed it to unexpectedly fire, even though the safety was engaged; a Pensacola jury sided with Savage Arms in March. But a Trace review of company records and testimony, as well as interviews with multiple firearms quality and consumer product safety experts, raises serious questions about the reliability of a gun trusted by thousands of hunters around the country — as well as whether the company behind it knew about a possible defect and continued selling it. The Trace’s Champe Barton has the story.
What to Know Today
The Wyoming GOP voted to censure Governor Mark Gordon after he vetoed legislation that would have repealed many of the state’s gun-free zones; members also called out his rejection of a property tax relief measure. Gordon has previously angered the state party’s far-right flank, but the censure is the latest signal of Wyoming Republicans’ criticism that the governor is too moderate. [WyoFile]
Since the shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville last year, Tennessee policymakers have ramped up penalties against students who make mass threats against schools. But a large body of research shows that zero-tolerance policies like these aren’t the most effective way to prevent violence in schools, and can counteract another tool: threat assessments. [ProPublica]
California Governor Gavin Newsom is continuing to push a proposal for a constitutional amendment to nationalize some gun restrictions. In September, the California Legislature approved a resolution in support of the effort — but no other state has done so, with some Democratic lawmakers citing concerns about a “runaway” constitutional convention. Why is Newsom still promoting the amendment? [The Mercury News]
The Army will no longer allow military commanders to have sole discretion over whether soldiers accused of some serious crimes, including domestic violence and murder, can leave the military rather than go on trial. Under the new rule, which took effect over the weekend, cases will be referred to a new office of military attorneys who specialize in violent crimes. [ProPublica, The Texas Tribune, and Military Times]
Data Point
One-third — the drop in homicides and nonfatal shootings in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, between 2021 and 2023. That was a sharper decline than in many other cities. [The New York Times]
