Gun Violence

Tragedies produce numbers. This is true of hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and other events that take lives and, at least momentarily, grab the news media’s attention. These numbers include dollar amounts for financial losses and subsequent expenditures for prevention and repair. More importantly, they include numbers for deaths and injuries. On […]

Numbness and Numbers

April 5, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention by dillo1sa

Scholars who study public policy focus on the stages of the processes for developing laws and policies to address society’s problems. Such policy-process stages include “problem definition” and “formulation” of the wording for new laws. These two stages can pose challenges. Ideally, we would like to achieve a consensus concerning […]

Every “Oh No, Not Again!” Is a Call for Legislative ...

March 24, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention by dillo1sa

LEGISLATIVE ACTION: Enhanced Background Checks Act, Violence Against Women Act, and more! On March 11, the U.S. House of Representatives approved two bills that seek to reduce the risk and harm of gun violence. H.R. 8 is the Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021. If approved by the U.S. Senate, […]

New Bills Begin to Move Forward in Congress

March 15, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention by dillo1sa

With news media coverage dominated by so many important developments concerning COVID, economic relief for struggling Americans, and investigations of the domestic terrorists’ attack on the U.S. Capitol, it can be difficult to take note of less prominent reports. Yet, we know from experience that stories related to the continuing […]

Guns in the News: Sobering Reminders and Protective Actions

March 4, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention / guns in capitol by dillo1sa

As noted in recent news reports, Valentine’s Day marked the third anniversary of the horrific mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Using the same type of weapon previously used to kill 26 people in 2012 at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Parkland shooter used […]

Parkland, a New President, & a New Session of Congress

February 17, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention / guns in capitol by dillo1sa

One year ago, a majority in the Virginia state legislature aligned with their governor to take actions intended to reduce the risk of gun violence. The members of that state’s General Assembly enacted a series of measures—amid emotional debate, controversy, and large scale protests—that reflected policy analysts’ conclusions about the […]

What a Difference a Year Makes (and Not in a ...

February 9, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention / guns in capitol by dillo1sa

In the aftermath of the violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol, the members of Michigan’s State Capitol Commission unanimously approved a prohibition on citizens’ openly carried firearms within the Michigan Capitol. During that meeting, the measure was presented as the result of negotiations among the commissioners, implying that there are […]

The Latest Developments: The State Capitol Commission & the ...

January 26, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention / guns in capitol by dillo1sa

On Monday, the Michigan State Capitol Commission voted unanimously to support a limited prohibition on citizen-carried firearms inside the state Capitol. It had appeared that the majority of commissioners wanted to leave any action on this issue to the legislature. However, the legislature never acted in 2020 and the terrorist […]

The Michigan State Capitol Commission’s Modest “First Step”

January 12, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention / guns in capitol by dillo1sa

Wednesday’s shocking, shameful invasion of the U.S. Capitol by domestic terrorists will long be remembered as one of the worst days in the political history of our democratic republic. Obviously, the event is all the worse for being incited by political leaders who feed their followers a steady diet of […]

The Invasion of the U.S. Capitol: Implications for Michigan

January 6, 2021 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention by dillo1sa

News reports tell us that 2020 is a record-setting year for sales of firearms. The 17.2 million gun-purchase background checks conducted this year already exceed the previous record of 15.7 million in 2016. October alone showed a 60 percent increase in background checks compared to October 2019. Moreover, it is […]

Our Moment of Risk… (And Opportunity?)

November 30, 2020 in Learn / Reports tagged Gun Violence / gun violence facts / gun violence prevention by dillo1sa