Alex Yablon

Data

Suicides by Gun Have Steadily Climbed, Federal Data Shows

America’s suicide rate is rising, surging by nearly a third since the turn of the millennium. Within that public health crisis is an underlying problem: a jump in the number of people taking their own lives with firearms.

Gun Policy

How ‘The Law That Saved Gun Rights’ Gutted ATF Oversight of Firearm Dealers

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the federal agency charged with overseeing gun stores, routinely goes easy on firearm dealers who break the law. That’s the thrust of a recent scoop by the New York Times, which…

Safe Storage

A Gun Owner Explains Why He Leaves His Pistol Loaded and Unsecured

One of the most significant and least appreciated splits among gun owners may concern how they store their firearms. There is what they believe is the best way to stow a gun: Unloaded, and locked up. And then there is…

Data

Gun Violence Research Gets $50 Million Boost From Private Funders

In one swoop, a new $50 million initiative to boost funding for gun violence research is poised to eclipse the federal government’s meager efforts to understand the epidemic. Experts in the field say the fund, created by the Laura and…

Gun Policy

Illinois Lawmakers Pass Revised Bill to Regulate Gun Stores, Setting Up a Veto Showdown

Illinois lawmakers have passed a measure to regulate gun stores in the state just two months after Republican Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed a similar bill. Now the legislation’s sponsors are hoping they can override their governor’s opposition and muscle the…

Gun Policy

American Guns Are Fueling Record Homicides in Mexico. Experts Urge the White House to Take Action.

Mexico is on track to have its most murderous year on record.  Criminal violence in that country is overwhelmingly committed with firearms, most of which are sourced from the United States. This week, experts on gun policy and Latin…

Gun Trafficking

Chicago Felons Busted for Gun Trafficking Bought Weapons Via Armslist and Facebook

John Philips’s alleged aspirations as a gun runner were complicated by the fact that he himself was banned from owning firearms, and therefore had no way to legally acquire the weapons he planned to traffic onto the streets of Chicago.

The Business of Guns

Trump Administration Advances Plan to Relax Gun-Export Rules

The Trump administration on Monday advanced a long-sought-after plan to relax export rules for American small arms, including semiautomatic rifles, handguns, and sniper rifles. In a private briefing with members of Congress, State Department officials outlined a proposed rule…

The Business of Guns

Sturm Ruger Shareholders Just Forced America’s Biggest Gunmaker to Report on the Risks of Gun Violence

Shareholders on Wednesday voted to require firearms manufacturer Sturm Ruger to complete a report on the reputational and financial risks posed to the company by gun violence. By February 2019, Sturm Ruger, which makes more guns annually than any other…

Gun Policy

Florida Democrats Want Voters to Decide on a State Assault Weapons Ban in 2020

At the national level, the #NeverAgain movement is working to elect candidates committed to passing stronger gun laws. But in Florida, the state where it all started, a plan is afoot to achieve the Parkland students’ most aggressive…

Gun Policy

Gun Violence Researchers to Congress on CDC: Show Us the Money!

The federal funding bill signed last week by President Donald Trump included a clarification that the Centers for Disease Control “has the authority to conduct research on the causes of gun violence.” But will it result in…

Shooting

In a Single Day, Two Unintentional Shootings by Armed School Staff on Campus

A core plank of the response by President Donald Trump and other NRA-aligned Republicans to the Parkland shooting has been pushing for more armed school employees, who could deter or respond to attackers with lethal force of their own.

Law

The Legal Way to Seize Guns From Dangerous People

It’s not the way President Trump suggested.

National Rifle Association

The NRA’s Self-Defense Insurance, Carry Guard, Loses Crucial Partners

In the wake of the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida,  the National Rifle Association has lost relationships with a number of big corporations that are facing public pressure: Delta, Hertz, and MetLife to…

The Business of Guns

New Smart-Gun Company Says It’s Making a Pistol Gun Owners Might Actually Want

The market for smart guns has been plagued by years of false starts, but a new company believes it can crack the code to getting Americans to accept personalized firearms. The Philadelphia-based LodeStar Firearms is developing a smart handgun…