What To Know Today
Shootings by police officers increased by 12.9 percent in 10 states that loosened public carry restrictions. That’s according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health that looked at states that made it easier for people to carry guns without a permit between 2014 and 2020. Using data from Gun Violence Archive, the authors compared the states to a pool of 26 others that retained permitting requirements. “The trend of more states allowing civilians to carry concealed guns without a permit may be influencing the perceived threat of danger faced by law enforcement,” said Mitchell Doucette, lead author and a researcher affiliated with the center, in a press release. “This could contribute to higher rates of fatal and nonfatal officer-involved shootings.” Since the study period ended, a slew of additional states have passed permitless carry laws, bringing the total number to 25.
U.S. appeals court strikes down California’s near-total ban on semi automatic rifle sales to people under 21. In a 2-1 vote, a panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the ban violated the Second Amendment that “protects the right of young adults to keep and bear arms, which includes the right to purchase them.” The decision reverses a U.S. district court judge’s decision in defense of the 2019 state law. At the same time, the Ninth Circuit panel upheld a requirement that people under 21 must obtain a hunting license in order to purchase a long gun. The office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he was reviewing the decision. If he appeals, a full panel of the Ninth Circuit court may rehear the case, which could work in California’s favor. That happened recently when an en banc panel of the same court overturned a three-judge panel decision and affirmed California’s ban on high-capacity magazines.
New York City leaders ask ATF to revoke FFL of a leading ghost gun maker. Polymer80, a Nevada-based company that sells unserialized ghost gun kits, is a major player in the profusion of homemade, untraceable firearms. It was also previously raided by ATF agents and has faced a number of suits and state subpoenas related to its alleged facilitation of the illegal gun market. The company denies its business is illegal, but the NYPD says that about 90 percent of ghost guns it recovers include Polymer80 parts and a recent NBC News report showed that 1,722 of 1,921 ghost guns recovered by Los Angeles police last year were made from Polymer80 kits. New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Everytown for Gun Safety sent a letter to the ATF’s acting director calling for a revocation of the company’s federal firearms license. Without a renewal, Polymer80’s firearms license is set to expire in September. [Through its nonpolitical arm, Everytown provides grants to The Trace. You can find our donor transparency policy here, and our editorial independence policy here.]
Illinois governor signs bill funding more “co-responder” programs. The model pairs social workers with police officers responding to mental health calls, and is part of the growing movement to remove cops from situations that have often preceded violence. The pilot program will cover four cities in the state, not including Chicago, which already has a similar program in place. Meanwhile, in Chicago: While shootings are currently down compared to last year, the police chief on Wednesday called for more investment in community street outreach, education, jobs, mental health, and drug treatments after two mass shootings on the city’s South Side.
Data Point
$487 — the per resident cost of the Philadelphia Police Department in Mayor Jim Kenney’s proposed budget for next year. When he took office in 2016, it was $26 less. [Philadelphia City Office of the Comptroller]
