Hello, readers. The March For Our Lives bus tour ended in Newtown, Connecticut, this weekend. A North Carolina couple faces charges for the accidental shooting death of a teenager at their house. And the Department of Justice expands its team prosecuting Maria Butina. Those stories and more in your Monday morning roundup.
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WHAT TO KNOW TODAY
The March for Our Lives summer bus tour ended yesterday with a rally in Newtown, Connecticut. Nearly six months after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the now-prominent activists at the head of the movement joined with siblings of Sandy Hook victims. The 50-city bus tour was aimed at 18- to 29-year-olds, but Axios noted that many of the events were more heavily attended by older adults: “The Parkland activists are aware of the sheer spectacle of many baby boomers and millennial adults throwing up their hands over gun laws — and placing their hope for change in high school students.” Next up for the group: A big get-out-the-vote push aimed at getting nonvoters to the polls.
A gun-world leader eludes his neighbors’ demands for a conversation about gun safety. Grinnell, Iowa, is home to both a prestigious liberal arts college and a major firearms retailer founded by the forbearers of Pete Brownell, who earlier this year resigned ahead of schedule as president of the National Rifle Association. A long and nuanced New York Times dispatch plumbs the town’s predicament. Like many communities where government budgets are stretched thin, Grinnell increasingly depends on philanthropy to fund civic resources, and Brownell and his wife are major benefactors. As Iowans, many residents like guns, respect each others’ privacy, and pride themselves on politeness. Still, some would like to press Brownell on his positions: “we think you kind of owe us a conversation,” said one. But he has avoided engaging with their invitations.
Chicago police are failing to catch shooters amid late-summer surge in gun violence. As of Friday, the CPD had made just a single arrest in the 70+ shootings recorded during the city’s bloody first weekend of August, which left 12 people dead and nearly 60 others injured. This past weekend, at least one person was killed and 30 others were wounded by gun violence in the city. The sole fatality was a 29-year-old woman seeking a protective order against a man, who became angry and shot her.
An Illinois man sent his 4-year-old son to daycare with a gun in his backpack. The weapon was concealed in blankets for nap time; within minutes of arriving at daycare, the boy discovered it. His father has been charged with reckless conduct, and bags coming into the daycare location now undergo a search process.
ICYMI: The Department of Justice bulked up the team prosecuting alleged Russian spy Maria Butina. We first shared Brian Freskos’s scoop with in our Saturday morning newsletter, The Canon. His story is now live at TheTrace.org. Brian notes the new prosecutor, Will Mackie, has an intriguing resume: He has expertise in handling cases involving sanctions and weapons exports.
ONE LAST THING
A North Carolina couple has been charged after a visiting teenager accidentally fatally shot himself with a gun found in their house. In late July, Kyle Storm Lee, 16, was visiting a friend and playing around with a .44 caliber revolver when he accidentally shot himself in the head. According to law enforcement, there were multiple other unlocked weapons in the household. The friend’s parents, Roger and Kimberly Cable, have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and failure to store a firearm to protect a minor.
North Carolina is one of 27 states that has some form of child-access-prevention law, though the strength of such measures varies considerably. As we reported in May, researchers estimate that 4.6 million American children live in homes with at least one unlocked and loaded weapon. The portion of gun-owning parents who don’t secure their guns had almost tripled since the last time similar research was conducted.
