For decades, epidemiologists have known that homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women and birthing people in the United States. But a full picture of the crisis is still unfurling: As The Trace’s Fairriona Magee reported last year, it wasn’t until 2003 that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began marking pregnancy status on death certificates. It took nearly 15 years before the CDC had data from each state.
There are a few things we know about this epidemic. These deaths are most often at the hands of intimate partners, and most often they are deaths by gunfire. A landmark study published in February provided more insight: Researchers calculated pregnancy-associated violence by state, and the report suggests a strong connection to firearm legislation and reproductive protocols. (Magee’s latest story has more on that study.)
The other thing we know is that these deaths are largely preventable. But taking the steps to prevent such deaths is becoming more difficult under the Trump administration. The Trace’s Alma Beauvais reported this week that domestic violence support groups — already stretched thin — warn that looming cuts to federal grants, coupled with a dwindling federal workforce, are likely to gut resources for survivors. After the Trump administration imposed a widespread pause on federal grants and loans in January, the Office of Violence Against Women, or OVW, abruptly scrubbed its website of grant opportunities and told organizations not to bother finalizing applications. That’s not to mention the effects of downsizing at the CDC.
Still, while things look bleak on the federal level, there’s movement elsewhere. As Magee reported, Mississippi had the highest maternal death ratio by firearm in the United States, with 13.42 deaths per 100,000 births. It also has one of the highest firearm mortality rates in the country, and lacks extreme risk protection orders and domestic violence gun laws. But just before their legislative session ended, lawmakers sent Governor Tate Reeves a bill to create a state Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board, to study deaths and learn how to better prevent them.
From The Trace
Trump Administration Ends Zero-Tolerance Policy for Lawbreaking Gun Dealers: The Biden-era policy resulted in a record number of gun dealers losing their licenses to operate.
Even As Shootings Plummet, Philly Sees an Alarming Uptick in Children and Teens Charged With Gun Violence: Since 2016, the number of Philadelphia juveniles charged with homicide has increased nearly ninefold.
Domestic Violence Services Are in Jeopardy, Providers Say: The Trump administration’s push to cut federal grants has domestic violence groups considering layoffs, reduced hours, and shelter closures.
How Many Guns Did Americans Buy Last Month?: Americans bought an estimated 1.22 million guns in March 2025, according to seasonally adjusted estimates.
What We’re Reading
DOJ establishing task force to push Trump gun agenda: The Department of Justice on Tuesday created a Second Amendment Task Force to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda on gun legislation while easing regulation on ownership laws. [The Hill]
Trump administration pushes out the No. 2 official at ATF: Marvin Richardson was forced out the same week that the Trump administration said it replaced ATF’s acting director Kash Patel with a new acting director: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. [The Washington Post]
He’s a decorated war vet but a convicted criminal. ICE wants to deport him: “His situation is incredibly complex and tragic. It’s the story of multiple failures of the U.S. military when it comes to one of its own soldiers, of a man who fought and bled for the United States believing he was earning his right to be called an American only to find himself in deportation proceedings.” [NPR]
Failure to treat, failure to protect: For accused mentally ill killers and their victims in Chicago, help comes too little too late: People with mental illnesses are far likelier to be victims than to commit crimes. But a small number of unprovoked, midday killings downtown examined by the Sun-Times show big gaps in care for severely mentally ill, violent people who cycle through jail, prison, and hospitals. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Gunfire, explosions ring out from shooting range next to her home. And nobody can help: Lois LaRoe says more than two years of gunfire and explosions have left her legally deaf, suffering from PTSD, and feeling scared and abandoned by police and lawmakers. [Detroit Free Press]
A Mass Movement: A History of the Baltimore Uprising, From the Ground Up: To try to fathom not only what happened after Freddie Gray’s death in 2015, but also to get a sense of where we are now, Baltimore Beat sought out people who were involved, in one way or another, with the Uprising. But there are thousands of other versions of this story. [Baltimore Beat]
Linda Becerra Moran needed housing and support. When she called the police, they shot her: A former outreach worker reflects on her time supporting Linda, a trans unhoused woman who was shot and killed in February by LAPD. [Los Angeles Public Press]
The Sovereigns are Coming to Court: A man on death row for killing two police officers might be found incompetent for “sovereign beliefs.” Peter Beck pulls back the curtain on sovereign citizens and their interactions with the legal system. [Court Watch]
Davis Moturi reflects on failed pleas to Minneapolis police that led to him being shot in his own yard: ““They just didn’t care,” Moturi said. “And I know I didn’t have the right complexion for protection. And it showed by the way they treated me throughout that whole experience.” [MPR News]
The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI: Thousands of newly obtained documents show that Clearview AI’s founders always intended to target immigrants and the political left. Now their digital dragnet is in the hands of the Trump administration. [Mother Jones]
In Memoriam
Daquell “King” Collins, 6, may have been young, but he already “had a huge personality and many talents,” a relative said. King died in an apparent accidental shooting last week, two days before his 7th birthday; according to prosecutors, he had gotten hold of a firearm owned by his mother while she was at work and unintentionally fired it at himself. Family members described a tight bond between the two: King was a momma’s boy, and his mother loved him deeply. King was sweet and energetic, a loving brother, and a source of smiles and laughter everywhere he went. At a vigil, attendees remembered him as a “dancing machine.” His father described how, without fail, his son would request McDonald’s when he picked King up from school. “He was just a good kid,” his father said.
Spotlight on Solutions
Farmers have one of the highest rates of suicide of any occupation, a phenomenon experts link to unique risk factors: Farmers are isolated, often located in rural areas with few resources; they have easy access to things like guns and toxic chemicals; and they experience emotional stressors that can be difficult for crisis-line workers to recognize. That combination makes prevention an even more difficult task — but as The Guardian reports, licensed social worker Kaila Anderson, who grew up on a farm in Kansas, has developed a promising treatment.
Anderson’s LandLogic Model trains health care providers to understand what it means when a farmer says something like “The sorghum crop just failed” and develop interventions based on their client’s connection to the land. As farmers face the threat of further economic strain under the Trump administration, Anderson’s strategy could become a crucial tool to protect an often overlooked population. The Guardian has more.
Pull Quote
“They’re just misguided and misunderstood. If you’re surrounded by one thing for a long time, eventually, you’re going to pick up some type of mannerisms unless you have somebody by your side supporting you and guiding you in the right direction.”
— Mysir Green, 16, discussing the increase in Philadelphia teens wielding guns, to The Trace
