It’s been a little more than two weeks since Donald Trump’s inauguration, and it’s clear that gun violence prevention efforts are far from the top of the new administration’s agenda. In lieu of federal action, attention now turns to the states — and at capitols across the country, lawmakers are already making moves. Their bills run the gamut.
Here are some of the things we’re watching:
- Indiana lawmakers have filed around 20 gun-related bills. Proposals include creating gun buyback programs, prohibiting gun carrying near polling places, and barring the state from creating “gun-free zones.”
- Virginia lawmakers are clashing over legislation to ban the sale, purchase, or transfer of assault firearms and large-capacity magazines, and a similar proposal to ban ghost guns.
- A bill in Washington state would require gun buyers to have special permits, limit bulk sales of ammunition and firearms, and impose new taxes. Another would define the role of sheriff’s “posses.”
- The South Dakota Legislature is considering legislation to bar the use of a merchant category code to identify transactions at gun stores. (A law professor described these laws to The Trace’s Champe Barton as “political theater.”)
- Alabama lawmakers have proposed bills to make possession of a Glock switch a state crime and create a criminal penalty for failing to disclose to law enforcement the possession of a firearm during a stop. Republicans in the state are also considering a “tough on crime” public safety package.
- Utah lawmakers are considering substantive changes to the state’s gun laws, including allowing 18-year-olds to open carry.
— Sunny Sone, senior editor
From The Trace
The Legacy of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention: Rob Wilcox, a co-director of the now-shuttered office, discusses what the Biden administration accomplished, and why he remains optimistic about gun violence prevention efforts.
Appeals Court Says 18-Year-Olds Can Buy Handguns, Teeing Up SCOTUS Battle: The January 30 ruling is the latest in a series of divergent opinions on age restrictions for guns. Experts say the split means the justices are likely to intervene.
How Many Guns Are Circulating in the U.S.?: We attempt to pin down a central — yet elusive — data point in the conversation around gun violence.
What to Know Today
Threat assessment teams, or law enforcement and school officials tasked with identifying students who pose a danger, have become more common amid increasing school shootings. Though these teams have existed in schools for around 25 years, there are no national operational standards, and few states or school districts collect data about them. Advocates say some teams have perpetuated systemic inequities. [KFF Health News]
In the years since he survived the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, David Hogg became one of the most prominent faces in the gun reform movement and an increasingly big player in Democratic politics. On Saturday, he was elected vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. [The Harvard Crimson]
A judge barred the far-right extremist Proud Boys from selling merchandise branded with its name or symbols without the permission of the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Black church where Proud Boys members burned a “Black Lives Matter” banner after a Trump rally. The church initially won a $2.8 million default judgment against the group but was awarded control of their name after the defendants failed to pay it. [The New York Times]
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court will decide if Lower Merion County, part of Philadelphia’s Main Line, can regulate where firearms are sold. The case could have ripple effects across the state: Pennsylvania has a “preemption” law prohibiting local governments from enacting their own gun restrictions. Lower Merion officials argue that the law doesn’t extend to zoning rules. [The Philadelphia Inquirer]
President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to delay Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Mexico until next month. Part of the deal: The U.S. will investigate gun trafficking into Mexico. Researchers estimate that hundreds of thousands of firearms are trafficked from the U.S. to Mexico each year. [Courthouse News]
In Brazil, 100 grieving mothers are a part of a pioneering research project at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro to create a nationwide policy of institutional support for survivors of state violence. Each mother has lost a child at the hands of police officers, often by gunfire. Brazilian police kill more than 6,000 people each year, and most victims are Black men. [The Guardian]
At least 96 people died in domestic violence-related events in Mississippi last year, with most incidents carried out by men and involving a gun, according to a data analysis by Mississippi Today. Mississippi is one of a few states without a board that reviews domestic violence deaths; advocates are backing a bill to create one, in the hopes of revealing trends to prevent such deaths in the future. [Mississippi Today]
This section was written by assistant engagement editor Victoria Clark.
Data Point
About 512 million — the number of firearms produced for the U.S. market since 1899 [The Trace]
Non Sequitur
How Younger Generations Keep Lion Dancing Alive in LA
Young people are dedicating their after-school hours to keeping the folk art of lion dancing alive through the East Wind Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. [NPR]
