Week in Review: January 14-18, 2019
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHT Gabrielle Giffords on standing up and speaking up for what’s right | Washington Post Magazine In an interview with The Washington Post Magazine , former Congresswoman and Giffords co-founder Gabrielle Giffords took some time to speak with KK Ottesen about the fight for stronger gun laws and life eight years after the shooting in Tucson, Arizona that nearly took her life.
LEADING THE NEWS Top Hits Red-flag law in Maryland led to gun seizures from 148 people in first three months | Washington Post | Ovetta Wiggins
Maryland courts have seized guns from 148 people in the three months since the state enacted a law designed to take weapons from people who are danger to themselves or others. Four of the gun owners posed “significant threats” to schools, an official told state lawmakers Tuesday. Montgomery County Sheriff Darren M. Popkin (D), who has helped train police officers across the state about the “red-flag” law, said he could not provide details about the gun seizures — including those that could have led to school shootings — because of a confidentiality rule.
Two Senate committees investigating Russian efforts to influence US politics through the National Rifle Association are led by GOP senators who have long received campaign support and donations from the gun group and its leaders. While that might raise questions about the integrity of the investigations, Democrats close to the probes tell the Trace and Mother Jones that they are proceeding without impediment—indicating that the NRA’s influence in Congress may not help it avoid scrutiny amid the wider Trump-Russia investigation.
Youth Suicide Rates Higher in States With More Guns | US News & World Report | Gaby Galvin
THE SHARE OF HOUSEHOLDS that have guns is the single strongest predictor of how many young people commit suicide in a state, a new study shows. At the state level, the share of households that owned guns in 2004 was strongly linked to the youth suicide rate over the next decade, researchers found, even after controlling for other factors such as depression, suicide plans and previous suicide attempts. Overall, the youth suicide rate rose about 27 percent with each 10 percentage-point increase in household gun ownership, according to the study, published Thursday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Under the Radar Why the NRA is struggling | Vox | Jane Coaston
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre bragged at the beginning of 2017, “We have the next eight years alongside President Trump to undo the Obama transformation of America and set our country back on its rightful, righteous course of freedom.” But nearly two years later, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan for the nation’s largest and most powerful gun rights organization. A particularly low point came during the 2018 midterm elections, when the NRA was outspent by gun control groups for the first time in recent history, even while allegedly coordinating with GOP candidates in two states.
How we turned guns and opioids into epidemics | Popular Science | Kat Eschner
Not all epidemics come from things you can catch from a cough. Two public health threats with ever-growing casualty rates—gun violence and drug abuse—are just as worthy of the designation as the most virulent bug, and stopping a social contagion is no small feat. Thankfully, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is devoting money and brainpower to solving America’s deadly descent into widespread opioid addiction. But thanks to a 1996 law effectively banning federal funding for the study of gun control, the country’s work on curtailing growing firearm-related fatalities has even further to go. Here’s the latest data on these looming crises.
Records Show Few Unlicensed Private Gun Sellers Face Federal Penalties | The Trace | Sean Campbell
On January 5, 2016, a teary-eyed Barack Obama stood before a podium at the White House and announced a slew of executive actions in a final push for gun reform during his last term in office. The centerpiece of the president’s rollout was a clarified definition of what it means to be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms — a threshold that, once crossed, requires a private seller to become a licensed dealer, and perform a background check for every prospective buyer.
STATE UPDATES Illinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs law requiring state licensing of Illinois gun dealers; rifle association threatens lawsuit
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday signed legislation to give the state more oversight over Illinois firearms dealers, appearing with anti-violence advocates at a West Side elementary school and saying he’ll push for further gun control measures. Pritzker’s signature on the legislation to require gun stores to get state certifications is another clear break with former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in the opening days of the Democratic governor’s administration, and the move immediately puts him at odds with opponents of stricter gun laws. Minutes before Pritzker put pen to paper amid anti-violence advocates at Young Elementary School, the Illinois State Rifle Association threatened to challenge the new law in court.
Missouri: Gun violence costs Missouri $1.9 billion per year. Guess who’s paying much of the tab?
Missouri is paying a steep price for gun deaths. Gun violence in Missouri costs the state $1.9 billion per year, according to a new report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. And taxpayers are on the hook for much of the tab. About 85 percent of victims are either uninsured or reliant upon some form of publicly-funded insurance. While many Missourians may be quick to say, “This doesn’t involve me,” the economic toll of this violence has far-reaching consequences. “Gun violence is a major problem in Missouri,” said Mike McLively, urban gun violence initiative director at Giffords Law Center. “It impacts everyone across the state whether they know it or not.”…“Missouri’s well-being is on the line,” McLively said.
Washington: Washington state deems NRA-branded insurance program illegal
Washington state on Tuesday deemed an insurance program branded by the National Rifle Association (NRA) illegal. Washington’s insurance commissioner Mike Kreidler said in a statement that he was seeking $177,000 in fines from two companies who sold the now-banned NRA “Carry Guard” policies in the state. The Carry Guard program offers liability coverage to people who fire a gun and has been branded as a self-defense policy by the NRA. Policyholders are given money up front to cover costs and expenses related to criminal defense, even if the insured later pleads guilty or is convicted of a crime, Kreidler said in the statement.
Texas: How will the Texas Legislature address school shootings? Likely not with gun control
Following a deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in May that left 10 dead and 13 others wounded, Gov. Greg Abbott released a 43-page school safety plan outlining suggestions for bills the Legislature could pass this session to reduce the threat of gun violence in Texas schools. The suggestions ranged from beefing up existing mental health screening programs to encouraging voluntary use of gun locks at home. Other proposals, like adopting a so-called “red flag” law — which would allow courts to order the seizure or surrender of guns from people who are deemed an imminent threat by a judge — have received immediate pushback. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has suggested such a measure would be dead on arrival in the Senate.
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