On Thursday, U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde logged a win. The Georgia Republican, who owns a gun shop that sells silencers on its website, took credit for pushing through a provision in President Donald Trump’s tax bill that cut taxes on silencers — one of the most highly regulated gun accessories in the country — and, per Politico, otherwise removes them from being regulated under the National Firearms Act. The bill is now with the Senate, and could still undergo a major rewrite.
But more certain changes to federal gun regulation have come in recent days. This week, the ATF invited gun dealers whose licenses have been revoked for violating the law to reapply. On May 16, the Trump administration announced an agreement to permit the sale of forced reset triggers, a matchbook-sized device that enables semiautomatic rifles to fire faster than M16 machine guns. That decision sparked alarm from gun violence prevention groups (and got a lot of media attention), but as The Trace’s Jennifer Mascia reports, experts are divided over how much practical impact the change will have.
More news on the federal level: The Trace’s Chip Brownlee reports that a coalition of community groups led by the Vera Institute filed a class-action lawsuit against the Trump administration to restore federal grant funding of their work. Among the plaintiffs is FORCE Detroit, one of the six organizations that make up the city’s ShotStoppers program. As Great Lakes reporter Josiah Bates reported earlier this year, Detroit officials credit the community violence intervention program with helping to dramatically reduce shootings and homicides in the areas where it was implemented, contributing to the city’s historic decline in gun violence last year.
The Trace’s Rita Oceguera reports from elsewhere in the Midwest this week, with a story on what happens after a shooting. Oceguera analyzed thousands of gun cases in Chicago and found a troubling trend: Even as police there have fewer homicides to solve, arrest rates remain comparatively low, leaving thousands of Chicagoans without closure on the death of their loved ones. Among those Chicagoans is Zhiene Washington, a mother who lost her son to a shooting, and to this day does not know who killed him. Her story makes the consequences of gun violence heartbreakingly clear.
From The Trace
Trump Clears Way for Rapid-Fire Triggers. How Much Will It Matter?: Experts disagree about the consequences of bringing forced reset triggers — devices similar to auto sears and bump stocks — back to the market.
A Gun Deemed Too Dangerous for Cops, but Fine for Civilians: Police are reselling their SIG Sauer P320 pistols — alleged in multiple lawsuits to fire without the trigger being pulled — to the public.
When Fatal Shooting Victims Are Black, Chicago Police Arrest Rates Drop: A Trace analysis found that Chicago’s clearance rates are declining even with fewer homicides to solve. Thousands of families are still looking for closure.
Trump’s Cuts Imperil Life-Saving Prevention Efforts, Lawsuit Says: Five nonprofits are suing the administration for canceling hundreds of millions of dollars for violence prevention.
What We’re Reading
Two killings, no explanation: Families left reeling after Bureau of Indian Affairs shootings: A lack of transparency in BIA police killings leaves families searching for answers. [InvestigateWest]
We Made Luigi Mangione’s 3D-Printed Gun — and Fired It: In the wake of the killing of a health care CEO, journalist Andy Greenberg built and tested the exact model of the partially 3D-printed pistol used in the shooting. It was entirely legal. [Wired]
Two Israeli Embassy staff shot dead outside Jewish museum in Washington, DC: Police detained a 30-year-old suspect after a deadly attack outside the Capital Jewish Museum. [Al Jazeera]
Justice Dept. to drop police reform deals with Minneapolis, Louisville: Civil rights division chief Harmeet K. Dhillon announced the decision days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis. [The Washington Post]
She Denied Mel Gibson a Gun — Then Trump’s DOJ Fired Her: Former US Pardon Attorney Liz Oyer describes “damaging and destructive” policies behind the scenes at the Justice Department. [Mother Jones]
In Memoriam
Abdul Rahman Waziri, 31, “was a lion of a man,” said Ben Hoffman, a friend and former Green Beret who worked with Waziri, “but also one of the most gentle warriors I have ever seen.” Waziri, an Afghan who fought alongside U.S. forces for more than five years, was shot and killed outside his apartment complex in Houston last month over an apparent dispute about parking; although a man confessed to the shooting, no charges have been filed. Waziri had resettled in Texas after escaping Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal in 2021. He was a beloved husband and father to two young daughters. He’s remembered as a “gentle giant” who, during his time working with the military, was “always helping other people in the face of significant personal peril.”
Friends, family, and members of Houston’s Afghan community are baffled that the shooter hasn’t been charged. “It’s ridiculous,” said Waziri’s brother, Abdullah Khan, who lives in Florida. “In Afghanistan, we have no law at all. But if someone gets murdered, the person will not be free.” Khan also said: “We came here to seek safety, but it is also not safe for us.”
Spotlight on Solutions
Anud Hashi got involved in gun violence prevention for an all-too-common reason: Last year, the Salt Lake City, Utah, high school senior lost a close family friend in a shooting. Since then, she’s taken steps to make change in her community any way she can, joining the Somali Anti-Gun Violence Campaign and making plans to grow her reach in the future. She’s slated for the pre-med track at the University of Utah and hopes to pursue a career in public health. “Public health is what allows us to gain awareness of issues,” Hashi said. “And there’s a way for it to make an impact on smaller communities.” The Salt Lake Tribune has more.
Pull Quote
“It’s almost as if they give up before they even put the effort in. We’re overlooked.”
— Zhiene Washington, a mother who lost her son to a shooting seven years ago and still does not know who killed him, on Chicago Police’s homicide clearance rates, to The Trace
