Top Story
A Black worker filed a lawsuit against his employer, a children’s psychiatric hospital, after he and a coworker were tapped to act as a gunman during an active shooter drill that was not announced to many employees, according to another lawsuit from parents and workers. Hospital employees called 911, and police handcuffed and detained the two unarmed workers for at least half an hour, he said. [Detroit Free Press]
Programming note: We’re launching a newsletter about what — and who — is making a difference in America’s gun violence crisis. Every other week, Chip Brownlee will dive into the people, policies, and programs grappling with the crisis. Interested? Learn more and sign up here.
From Our Team
Last week, Minnesota became the 20th U.S. state to approve a law that allows law enforcement to remove guns from people deemed a risk to themselves or others, commonly referred to as a red flag law. These laws enable law enforcement — and sometimes family members and other concerned parties like health care providers or roommates — to petition a judge for an order to temporarily seize guns from people.
Minnesota’s new law comes as part of back-to-back wins for gun reform advocates in the Midwest. Michigan’s Legislature also recently passed similar legislation, which Governor Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign soon. The Trace’s Chip Brownlee has more on the states that have passed laws to remove guns from people who could be dangerous.
What to Know Today
Extremists are using online gaming platforms to promote violent ideologies and find potential sympathizers, according to a new study. Nearly 71 percent of U.S. kids play these games. [NYU Stern Center for Human Rights]
A Maryland man has been regularly standing at a school bus stop armed with an AR-15-style rifle in what he says is a protest against the state’s recently enacted Gun Safety Act, which bans carrying guns in schools, health care facilities, and places licensed to sell alcohol or cannabis. While the action is legal, local families say they’re disturbed. [NPR]
A New York Police Department officer accused of shooting and killing a man in 2019 will face disciplinary charges that could lead to his firing — but the two cops who were with him at the time will not, according to a group representing the victim’s family. [Gothamist]
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo issued his first vetoes of the legislative session to strike down a trio of gun safety bills passed by Democrats on party-line votes. [Nevada Current]
Who were the teenagers who have been shot and killed in Baltimore so far this year? [The Baltimore Banner]
The Supreme Court rejected lawsuits against Google and Twitter that alleged the companies were liable for 2015 attack by the Islamic State in Paris by allowing terrorist content on their platforms; the court’s opinion sidestepped the issue of social media regulation. [The Markup] Context: Extremist groups use gun rights rhetoric as a recruiting and radicalization tool in online spaces.
Dozens of deputies in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department were ordered to show the city’s Office of Inspector General tattoos suspected of being affiliated with gangs. The Sheriff’s Department has faced allegations that secretive deputy groups control commands and promote a culture of violence, and a 2021 study found that 18 such gangs have existed within the department over the last 50 years. [Los Angeles Times]
Archive
We’re Just Starting to Comprehend How Social Media Breeds Shootings: The future of gun violence prevention depends on decoding how tweeted taunts send bullets flying. (May 2017)
