It was a busy week for gun cases at the Supreme Court.
In a unanimous decision Thursday, justices blocked a lawsuit by the Mexican government accusing major U.S. gun manufacturers of aiding and abetting traffickers who smuggle firearms across the southern border, ultimately fueling cartel violence. The ruling wasn’t entirely a surprise. During oral arguments in March, a majority of the court expressed doubts that Mexico — a country with just two gun stores but thousands of gun deaths each year — had offered specific enough evidence to move forward to a trial. The Mexican government had to prove that its claims fit a narrow exception in a federal law that immunizes the gun industry against suits stemming from the criminal misuse of its products. Justices found that Mexico did not meet that threshold.
On Monday, a split court declined to take up cases challenging state bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The question about assault weapons is likely to return to the high court’s attention, however. While the case before justices concerned a ban in Maryland, other state bans are facing active challenges now. Justice Brett Kavanaugh predicted that the court “presumably will address the AR-15 issue soon, in the next term or two.”
These state bans are imperiled thanks to the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision. As The Trace’s Chip Brownlee has reported, the Bruen decision marked a seismic shift in the landscape of American gun rights, and left up for debate not only state bans on assault weapons but also concealed carry laws, federal restrictions on machine guns, and a host of other firearm restrictions. In a new story, published in partnership with Slate, Brownlee explains the crux of the issue: Bruen requires gun laws to align with the country’s “history and tradition.” The test has turned judges into reluctant antiquarians — a job some have admitted they aren’t prepared for. The result? Chaos and confusion in courtrooms across the country.
From The Trace
Musket vs. AR-15: Judges Are Throwing Out Gun Restrictions Because of Antiquated Laws From America’s Founding: A 2022 Supreme Court decision that gun laws should align with the nation’s “history and tradition” has sown confusion in courtrooms and weakened long-standing limits on firearms.
A Timeline of American Gun History: Since the Supreme Court decided that modern gun laws should reflect America’s history and tradition, researchers have been combing through records from the country’s early days.
Supreme Court Blocks Mexico’s Lawsuit Against U.S. Gunmakers: The decision marks a major setback for Mexico’s yearslong effort to stop the American gun industry from allegedly stoking cartel violence.
Chicago Police Have Failed to Solve More Homicides. Could a New Law Help?: The department implemented a range of recommendations meant to improve its homicide investigations, but with no obvious effect.
Shootings Dropped in Lansing, Michigan, but Untangling Why Is Complicated: A violence interruption program has demonstrated progress. How much credit can it claim in chaotic times?
On Finding Beauty in the World Again: A mother who lost her daughter to gun violence in Philadelphia turned to gardening to heal. This is her story.
Trace Talk: Gen Z and Gun Violence
Join us next Friday, June 13, for a free virtual discussion on how gun violence is affecting Americans in their teens and early 20s, and what young people are doing to turn the tide. Panelists include Jaclyn Corin, executive director of March for Our Lives; Alabama State Representative Phillip Ensler; Maryland State Delegate Joe Vogel; and Mariah Cooley, of the University of Chicago Crime Lab. The conversation will be moderated by Trace reporters Chip Brownlee and Jennifer Mascia.
What We’re Reading
‘Gonna have to hear mothers and sisters cry’: Trump’s funding cuts leave at-risk youth vulnerable to gun violence: Mississippi’s Operation Good engaged teens in a range of programs, protecting them from crimes — but that work is now in jeopardy. [The Guardian]
How U.S. Gun Culture Spread to a Remote Island in the Baltic Sea: An island resident designed and made a 3D-printed gun, an example of how enthusiasts abroad embrace firearms technology nurtured in the United States. [The New York Times]
Citigroup reverses firearms policy after pressure from Trump administration on big banks: A month after the 2018 mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Citigroup enacted restrictions for its clients that sold firearms. On Tuesday, the bank rolled back that policy. [CNN]
“The Intern in Charge”: Meet the 22-Year-Old Trump’s Team Picked to Lead Terrorism Prevention: One year out of college and with no apparent national security expertise, Thomas Fugate is the Department of Homeland Security official tasked with overseeing the government’s main hub for combating violent extremism. [ProPublica]
In Memoriam
Naseem King, 18, was deeply loved and deeply loving, his sister said, “one of those kids that always showed light, always showed love.” King was shot and killed while driving along a highway in Richmond, Virginia, last weekend. He was just a couple months away from graduating high school, and he had recently earned a scholarship to the University of Orlando. He was looking forward to his next chapter, and hoped to pursue a career in graphic design or real estate. He showed so much promise, loved ones said: He was kind, intelligent, funny, creative, helpful. Truly, they said, he was such a good kid.
Spotlight on Solutions
Research shows that exposure to gun violence is linked to higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation. For young people, that can create an additional risk: Youth exposed to high levels of trauma are more likely to perpetrate violence. Across the country, organizations are turning to cognitive behavioral therapy to break that cycle — and the strategy is showing promise.
Choose to Change, a violence prevention program in Chicago, has put CBT at the center of its efforts. The Marshall Project has more.
Pull Quote
“Nature, and just beauty within itself, is healing. When some of us come out of our homes, or come out of the front door, or go to walk the neighborhood, we’re surrounded by abandoned homes, litter on the streets, police or fire rescue sirens. … I figured that the healing garden would be a space where you could breathe in nature in peace.”
— Terrez McCleary, a Philadelphian who lost her daughter, Tamara Johnson, to a shooting in 2009 and established the nonprofit Moms Bounded by Grief, on creating a healing garden for others who have lost loved ones to gun violence, to The Trace
