Gun Control

New White House office will work with communities to curb gun violence

The office will look to build off of last year’s landmark gun legislation and has been applauded by national local government associations who have called gun violence an “incredibly serious issue in America.”

  • By Molly Bolan

Texas House Panel OKs Bill Raising Age to Buy Semi-Automatic Rifles

The surprise legislation—just days after the shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas—would raise the minimum age for purchasing certain firearms. The bill still faces an uphill climb in the legislature.

  • By Alejandro Serrano and Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune

Three Possible Bipartisan Approaches Emerge in Curbing Gun Violence

While state approaches to gun laws vary widely, some see places where both sides of the debate can find agreement. Plus, more news to use from around the country in this week's State and Local Roundup.

  • By Elizabeth Daigneau

Nashville Attack Renews Calls for Assault Weapons Ban

COMMENTARY | Data shows that there were fewer mass shooting deaths during the 10 years in which the U.S. banned sales of assault weapons—a trend that reversed as soon as the ban expired.

  • By Michael Klein, The Conversation

Young Men Have Higher Risk of Gun Death in Some US Cities Than in War

In some U.S. ZIP codes, young men are more at risk of firearm-related injuries than military individuals deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, a study finds.

  • By Corrie Pikul, Futurity

Transit Agency Pilots Gun Detection Tech

Philadelphia’s SEPTA will test an AI-based video analytics solution that aims to reduce gun-related violence on train platforms.

  • By Chris Teale

Court Fights Begin Over Gun Bans in Places Like Subways and Bars

The legal wrangling comes after the Supreme Court placed new limits earlier this year on the restrictions states and localities can impose on where people can carry firearms. For now, it’s left to lower courts to hash out how that looks in practice.

  • By Kery Murakami

Philadelphia Mayor's Ban on Guns in Parks and Rec Centers Criticized as ‘Meaningless’

Critics question whether Mayor Jim Kenney's executive order can be effective given state firearms laws. It comes after a parks and recreation worker was struck by a stray bullet and killed.

  • By Harrison Cann

Reducing Gun Violence: A Complicated Problem Can’t Be Solved With Just One Approach

Indianapolis is trying programs ranging from job skills to therapy to violence interrupters to find out what works

  • By Thomas D. Stucky, The Conversation

15 Mayors to Target Manufacturers of Guns Used in Crimes

Possible legal action may come against the top five producers of firearms used for illegal activities.

  • By Sara Dorn

$750M Headed to States For New Gun Control Initiatives

But legal experts say a key part for states—red flag laws—could be in jeopardy after the conservative Supreme Court struck down New York’s gun law last week.

  • By Kery Murakami

Supreme Court Ruling Erodes State and Local Power Over Gun Laws

The decision in the New York case will make it more difficult to keep people from carrying firearms outside the home. It does allow governments to ban guns in ‘sensitive places,’ but further court battles are likely ahead to determine how that looks.

  • By Kery Murakami
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Here's What the Gun Safety Deal Would Mean for States

In a compromise, Democrats backed off on using funds only to encourage states to pass red flag laws that enable authorities to seize guns from people considered threatening, opening millions in federal incentive funding for "crisis intervention" as well.

  • By Kery Murakami

A Patchwork of State Red Flag Laws is Likely Under the Gun Safety Deal

Congressional negotiators plan to give states leeway designing the laws to seize firearms from people considered dangerous. It could mean a wide range of approaches balancing safety with gun rights.

  • By Kery Murakami

Why Flexibility for States is a Central Part of the Gun Safety Deal

Details of the package are still coming into focus. But senators are emphasizing that states will hold heavy sway when it comes to shaping the red flag laws the legislation seeks to incentivize.

  • By Kery Murakami

The Big Question About Red Flag Laws With the Gun Safety Deal

Under a bipartisan U.S. Senate framework, it'll be left to states to decide how to move ahead with the laws. How many will actually do so and how far they will go remains to be seen.

  • By Kery Murakami

Supreme Court Could Make it Harder For States and Localities to Keep Guns Off Streets

The high court is expected to strike down laws in several states that restrict people from carrying guns in public, potentially setting off a firestorm of court battles.

  • By Kery Murakami

Local Officials to Congress: We Want Stricter Gun Control

City and county leaders who have had to deal with the tragic aftermath of a mass shooting are looking to federal lawmakers to address the crisis.

  • By Daniela Altimari

Congress is Looking at Offering Grant Incentives for States to Adopt ‘Red Flag’ Gun Laws

The idea has emerged during talks over possible bipartisan gun legislation following the deadly Uvalde, Texas school shooting. The laws provide a way to temporarily block people seen as posing violent threats from accessing firearms.

  • By Kery Murakami

A Republican Tried to Introduce a Commonsense Gun Law. Then the Gun Lobby Got Involved

After a sheriff’s deputy was murdered in a Denver suburb, Colorado state Rep. Cole Wist took action by sponsoring a red flag bill. It likely cost him his seat.

  • By Megan O’Matz, ProPublica

Patchwork of State Gun Laws Unlikely to Change Even After Massacre at Texas School

The shooting left 19 students and two educators dead, renewing calls for stricter gun laws. But the issue has been at a standstill for years in Congress amid Republican opposition and states remain divided.

  • By Daniela Altimari and Daniel C. Vock