Guns & America

Guns & America

Guns & America is a groundbreaking new national reporting collaborative in which 10 public media newsrooms, including Ideastream Public Media, will train their attention on a singular issue: the role of guns in American life. Over the course of two years, the stations will report on how guns impact us as Americans, from the cultural significance of hunting and sport shooting, to the role guns play in suicide, homicide, mass shootings and beyond. Follow our reporting at gunsandamerica.org.

Bodycams Haven't Stopped Police Shootings. Releasing The Footage May Be A Start

According to the national database Fatal Encounters, an average of 1,500 people have been killed annual during interactions with police since 2000. And…
Changed Forever: Healing After Gun Violence

Serenity Capers, 37, walked the few blocks from her North Portland home to Woodlawn High School. It was two weeks into Oregon’s statewide coronavirus…

Far Right Groups Loom As A Threat On Election Day. And Beyond.

Armed men at polling places. Post-election violence. These are not scenes typically associated with American democracy. But that’s exactly what extremism…
We Don't Know Enough About Gun Injuries. That's Hurting Local Economies

On Oct. 21, the District of Columbia hit a grim milestone for the year — 10 assaults with a firearm in one day. Data from the Metropolitan Police…
With The NRA Under Fire, Gun Control Groups Flex Campaign Muscles

Jack Sinclair first started donating to groups that support stricter gun regulations in 2013 — after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. “After…
Grieving Murdered Children During A Pandemic

Marion Bailey lost her grandson Javaun D. Graves five years ago. He was murdered in Durham, North Carolina.“I felt like I had a hole in my stomach,”…
New Study Underscores Rural-Urban Divide In Gun Suicide

A new study shows rural congressional districts have far higher suicide rates than urban ones and that firearms are a major factor.The study from gun…
Swing State Attorneys General Vow To Fight Armed Voter Intimidation After Trump Comments

Attorneys general from three swing states are vowing to fight voter intimidation after comments from the president raised worries of armed confrontations…
Utah Changed Its Approach To Suicide Prevention. It May Be a Model For Other States In The Suicide Belt

Utah state Rep. Steve Eliason had a jarring wake-up call to the suicide crisis in his state in 2012. Several of his son’s middle school classmates died by…
How Do You Get Gun Owners To Give Up Their Guns During A Crisis? Ask.

The small town of Craig, Colorado, sits on a winding river in a wide valley in the rural northwest corner of the state. Wild horses roam the wide open…
Where Help Is Far Away, Communities Are Taking It Upon Themselves To Tackle Suicide

Drifters Western Bar And Grill is a no-nonsense diner in a red wooden building just past the sign that welcomes you to Emida, Idaho. Elk and deer mounts…
Amy Coney Barrett Could Reshape Interpretation Of The Second Amendment

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has set the stage for a historic shift in the court’s makeup and could significantly change how the…
How Many People In The U.S. Own Guns?

This article is part of the Guns & America explainer series. You can read other entries here.Recent surveys find that about 40% of adult Americans own a…
Gun Regulation Advocates Fear More Guns Sold To "Prohibited" Purchasers

Firearms sales have surged this year. That has led to a corresponding backlog of background checks, which gun regulation advocates worry will lead to more…