Category: guns

As Colorado Reels From Another School Shooting, Study Finds 1 in 4 Teens Have Quick Access to Guns

The study analyzed Colorado kids’ responses to how quickly they could get their hands on a loaded gun without their parents’ knowledge. More than 1 in 10 said they could do so within 10 minutes.

Pandemic Stress, Gangs, and Utter Fear Fueled a Rise in Teen Shootings

With their brains still developing and poor impulse control, teens who carry firearms might never plan to use them. But some do.

Guns Are the Biggest Public Health Threat Kids Face. Why Aren’t They Getting the Message?

Today’s public service announcements on gun safety feel somewhat sanitized. It’s time to act with the same kind of visceral public campaign that helped de-glorify smoking. Would filmmakers commit to making action movies without guns, just as filmmakers stopped making smoking glamorous in films?

When Gun Violence Ends Young Lives, These Men Prepare the Graves

Just outside St. Louis, a cemetery for children sits on a hill. A wooden, weather-worn sign welcomes mourners to “Baby Land.” The gravediggers who made the special spot work quietly in the shadows.

Colorado Considers Changing Its Red Flag Law After Mass Shooting at Nightclub

In El Paso County, where five people were killed in a mass shooting at a nightclub in November, officials have filed relatively few emergency petitions to temporarily remove a person’s guns, with scant approvals.

Survivors of Gangs and Gun Violence, These Women Now Help Others Navigate Grief

As teens, these three women lived amid street gangs around East St Louis, Illinois. Now, as adults, they support the families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. And because of their past, some residents trust them more than they do the police.

To Combat Gun Violence, This Artist Turns Ammunition Into Art

In a city plagued by gun violence, Mykael Ash is turning ammunition into art. Ash, who lives in East St. Louis, Illinois, frequently walks through parts of the city where bullet shells aren’t hard to find. The shell casings represent a cycle of inequality, Ash says, and the art he makes with it serves as a call to action.

Mass Shootings Reopen the Debate Over Whether Crime Scene Photos Prompt Change or Trauma

After almost every mass shooting, a debate is renewed over whether to publish the photos of the carnage the guns have inflicted.

Abortion Issue Helps Limit Democrats’ Losses in Midterms

Although control of Congress was still undecided Wednesday, Republicans seemed poised to take power in the House, while the fate of the Senate remained too close to call. Economic issues were at the top of voters’ minds, but abortion access also played a large role in their decisions.

Texas Revamps ‘Active-Shooter’ Drills at K-12 Schools to Minimize Trauma

School lockdown drills are designed to prepare students for violent threats. But for some students, especially those with special needs, the drills can trigger or exacerbate mental health problems. Texas is taking a step toward balancing safety and mental health with new regulations around how the drills are conducted. “If some kids are coming away traumatized or we’re magnifying existing trauma, we’re not moving in the right direction,” one expert says.