What To Know Today
ICYMI: Where judges decide whether abusers keep their guns, we found starkly differing protections for victims. In hundreds of cases, abuse victims in Arizona, Michigan, New Hampshire, and South Dakota told courts of the grave risks they faced from violent partners with access to guns. But a person’s chances of getting a firearms restriction placed on their abuser more often depended on a judge’s subjective decision than the danger of gun violence the victim was confronting.
- Terrifying threats, no firearm restrictions: A New Hampshire man who sent a woman a photo of a gun with bullets and said, “I want to commit homicide and suicide,” was allowed to keep his guns. In South Dakota, a woman who threatened to shoot her children’s grandmother in the head in front of them was also allowed to keep her firearm.
- Court by court differences in Arizona: In Tucson City Court, fewer than 50 percent of petitioners who asked for gun restrictions during the time period we looked at got them. Petitioners in Pima County Superior Court, less than a mile away, received them in about 66 percent of cases.
- Inconsistent outcomes in Michigan: In Allegan County, just about every applicant for a protective order got a firearms restriction, whether or not they asked for one; in Ingham County, only about half the people who asked for a restriction got one.
One domestic victims’ advocate told Ann that our reporting points to the need for public data on gun restrictions in temporary protective order cases: “Shouldn’t we know when there are huge inconsistencies from court to court and judge to judge?” You can read the article here.
On Facebook, QAnon-supporting Congresswoman once indicated support for executing Democrats. Before being elected to Congress, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene liked a 2019 post that called for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be shot. She positively responded to other calls for violence against Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and FBI agents in comments, likes, and videos from 2018 and 2019, according to a review by CNN’s KFile. Last week, old social media posts surfaced showing Greene spreading misinformation about school shootings.
California resident arrested for threats against family of a member of Congress and journalist. Prosecutors say the 35-year-old man — who was disgruntled over the election results — sent threatening texts to the brother of Representative Hakeem Jeffries and a family member of George Stephanopoulos. The accused also allegedly sent several texts on the day of the Capitol attack, telling his targets that he was nearby their homes with a group of armed men. To Jeffries’ brother he allegedly wrote: “Your brother is putting your entire family at risk with his lies and other words. We are armed and nearby your house.” The man identified himself on his Facebook account as an Air Force veteran, but a spokesperson for the service said there was no record of that.
Former gun exec opposes expansion of permitless carry in Montana. Ryan Busse, who worked in the firearms industry for 25 years, said the proposed law would “make gun tragedy more likely.” The legislation, which would eliminate a government permit requirement for concealed carrying in most public places, has cleared the state House and is advancing in the state Senate. In his op-ed, Busse said armed protesters threatening his son during a demonstration last spring. Montana is one of at least nine Republican-leaning states considering measures to allow or expand permitless carry this year.
Data Point
10 per million passengers — the rate of guns TSA agents found at airport security checkpoints in 2020, more than double the rate in 2019 and the highest since the agency was founded in 2001. About 83 percent of the guns were loaded. [The Washington Post]
