Top Story
The Justice Department review of Louisville, Kentucky’s law enforcement practices found that Louisville police routinely use “unreasonable tactics” and practice “an aggressive style of policing” against Black people and vulnerable groups. The investigation was launched after police killed Breonna Taylor inside her home in 2020. [CNN]
From Our Team
Ricky Flores was visiting his mom in Chicago’s Brighton Park before a shooting left him in a coma for three days in 1999. The bullet is still lodged in his body, a reminder of the day that almost became his last. But now, The Trace’s Rita Oceguera writes, the experience is giving him an opportunity to enter the cannabis industry, through an Illinois social equity program that, for the first time, gives gun violence survivors an edge in the license lottery.
Critics say such programs have done little to diversify the marijuana industry, and the license lottery is just the first step in the long, expensive process to open a dispensary. But Illinois has made a few changes to the application process that it hopes will result in more applicants.
Read the latest from The Trace →
What to Know Today
Americans bought an estimated 1.38 million guns last month, according to an analysis of FBI data. That’s about the same as February 2022. [The Trace]
A U.S. district judge struck down a Missouri law penalizing state and local police for enforcing federal gun laws, writing that the so-called Second Amendment Sanctuary Act is “invalid, null, void, and of no effect.” [Missouri Independent]
A Sacramento, California, woman was unmasked as one of the main propagandists behind the “Terrorgram Collective,” a neo-Nazi outfit that produces media meant to inspire mass shootings. [HuffPost]
A new program from Chicago’s community college network aims to help those who help victims of trauma: The Chicago Caregivers Course will teach first responders, violence recovery specialists, and their families how to better take care of themselves as they deal with the stress of the job. [Chicago Sun-Times]
D.C.’s gun violence prevention strategy isn’t working, Washington residents, organizers, and prevention activists testified at a recent roundtable. They say the government needs to invest in local organizations and trauma-focused solutions — and do a better job of listening to communities. [DCist]
Get the Bulletin in your inbox. Sign up for our newsletters here.Connecticut Attorney General William Tong filed a lawsuit against four ghost gun manufacturers that ship parts to the state, where ghost guns have been banned since 2019. [Hartford Courant]
A Philadelphia gun violence survivor whose organization serves teen boys charged with firearm crimes is expanding his programming, courtesy of a state grant. The funding will go toward hiring more mental health professionals and adding support services like financial literacy education. [WHYY]
After years of mass shootings and everyday gun violence, international students and their parents question whether it’s safe to study in the U.S. [Grid] Context: A Japanese exchange student’s shooting death 30 years ago spurred federal gun reform — but his parents and host family say America is going backward.
Data Point
105 — the number of mass shootings — with four or more people shot, excluding the shooter — so far this year. [Gun Violence Archive]
