Featured Story
Two years ago, governance in Kenosha County, Wisconsin — where the 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake and the killings of two protesters by Kyle Rittenhouse continue to resonate — took a sharp right turn. GOP-supported candidates took majority control of the officially nonpartisan county board, which subsequently repealed restrictions on carrying weapons in county government buildings and successfully pushed a ballot measure declaring Kenosha a “Second Amendment sanctuary.” In the state’s spring elections on Tuesday, Kenosha voters delivered somewhat of a rebuke: Five incumbents from the Republican-leaning majority lost their bids to stay in office. [Wisconsin Examiner/WISP]
Gun Safety
The gun violence prevention movement has invested the bulk of its time and money in statehouses and courtrooms. Now, though, big players in the space have begun asking if public health messaging might transform Americans’ relationship with guns. If Smokey Bear could help stop forest fires, the thinking goes, why can’t they do the same for shootings?
In a thoughtful feature for The Trace, published in partnership with The Guardian, journalist Katie Worth examines how a new set of activists is clarifying the dangers posed by firearms — and trying to promote gun safety in the TikTok era.
Podcast
For centuries, Americans have tried to balance the dangers of gun violence with the right to bear arms. But over the last four decades, that contest has shifted. Today, guns — and the laws that regulate them — seem to be one of the country’s most intractable disputes.
How did the United States become so divided over guns? In Guns We Trust — the latest season of the podcast “Long Shadow,” produced by Long Lead and Campside Media in partnership with The Trace — explores the evolution of the uniquely American debate over a uniquely American political symbol. The season begins at Columbine High School, then follows the trail of guns from the country’s founding to the present day.
In Guns We Trust debuts April 9, but the trailer is out now. Listen and follow on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts.
What to Know Today
The politics of firearm safety are shifting, argues former U.S. Senator William H. Frist, a gun owner, physician, Republican, and member of Voices for a Safer Tennessee. With bipartisan support for policies like universal background checks and temporary gun transfer measures, lawmakers are being confronted with “the sizable majority of us who want change.” [The Atlantic]
Two years ago, governance in Kenosha County, Wisconsin — where the 2020 police shooting of Jacob Blake and the killings of two protesters by Kyle Rittenhouse continue to resonate — took a sharp right turn. GOP-supported candidates took majority control of the officially nonpartisan county board, which subsequently repealed restrictions on carrying weapons in county government buildings and successfully pushed a ballot measure declaring Kenosha a “Second Amendment sanctuary.” In the state’s spring elections on Tuesday, Kenosha voters delivered somewhat of a rebuke: Five incumbents from the Republican-leaning majority lost their bids to stay in office. [Wisconsin Examiner/WISP]
The Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention is making 60,000 gun locks available to residents, free of charge and no questions asked. The locks can be ordered through the county’s gun safety website and delivered by mail or picked up at certain medical facilities; the distribution program will expand to libraries toward the end of the year. [Los Angeles Times]
For seven months in 2020 and 2021, Washington, D.C.’s Police Department was the only legal gun dealer in the district. Federal documents show that an unusual number of firearms sold through the department were recovered at crime scenes in a short period — enough for the ATF to place D.C. police in a program designed to give extra scrutiny to dealers linked to higher levels of crime guns. [News4]
Law enforcement agencies and related foundations have received a deluge of “dark money” in recent years, according to a University of Chicago working paper, with money coming in part from big-box stores like Target and Walmart, Big Tech players like Microsoft, and oil companies like Chevron and Shell. In many places, the private funding for police comes with no oversight and can be used to purchase high-tech weapons. [The Lever]
Archive
The Rittenhouse Shootings Started a Debate in Kenosha That Hasn’t Ended: After national tensions turned local, the militias never left the small Wisconsin city. (September 2022)