Gun Violence Expert Resource Guide

Some of the country's foremost experts, organizations and academics working on gun violence issues are listed in this resource guide.

Access the guide here.

For more information on the topic click on "covering gun violence."

Covering Gun Violence

In order to spur further public debate and greater knowledge about gun violence, media outlets in the Midwestern region were asked to submit proposals for original investigative reporting.

Bloomberg Antigun Sting Provokes Backlash in Arizona

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne were unhappy about New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's sending undercover officers to a gun show in Arizona, says the Arizona Republic. In a Facebook posting, Brewer said New York "taxpayers would appreciate Mayor Bloomberg more if he spent their money and used his time and energy focusing on his city and their immediate issues."

Brewer later told Fox News it is "interesting" that Bloomberg is "out here in Arizona solving our problems." Bloomberg sent investigators to a gun show in Phoenix two weeks after the Tucson shooting that killed six, and gravely wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and thirteen others. The investigators hired by Bloomberg were able to buy semiautomatic pistols despite saying they probably couldn't pass a background check. Horne called the move a publicity stunt, and said he was angry that Bloomberg's office failed to give Arizona police advance notice of their plan as is "standard professional courtesy."

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PoliticalInsider/117693

Arizona Governor Says Her State's Gun Laws Are 'Fair and Just'

Gov. Jan Brewer is defending Arizona laws that allow the sale of firearms at gun shows without a background check and that forbid cities from imposing such requirements, reports Capitol Media Services. "We believe our laws are fair and just in the state of Arizona,'' she said. Her comments followed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's release of videos taken by undercover agents at a Phoenix gun show just 15 days after the mass shooting in Tucson. There, Arizona private investigators hired by New York City were able to purchase weapons not only without a background check but, at least twice, after admitting to sellers they probably would not pass.

Last year Brewer signed legislation making Arizona only the third state in the nation to let anyone carry a concealed weapon without a state permit, training and a background check. But Brewer said Monday she remains open to further liberalizing the state's gun laws. "I am a strong proponent of the Second Amendment,'' she said. One of the measures awaiting debate this session would further expand where individuals can carry guns to include public buildings unless there were metal detectors and lockers for owners to secure their weapons.

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/nation_world/article_94dd35d0-2d64-11e0-be51-001cc4c002e0.html

A Controversial Look "Inside Gun Shows"

Readers of the new report, "Inside Gun Shows: What Goes on When Everybody Thinks Nobody's Looking, fall in two two main camps, says the Las Vegas Sun. One argues that author Garen Wintemute of the University of California, Davis is an activist trying to advance a gun control agenda. The other camp will be aghast by covert photos Wintemute’s researchers took of everyday gun show fare: rows of semi-automatic firearms lined up for sale, dirt cheap guns, merchandise with neo-Nazi, neo-confederacy, or pro-violence messages.

Wintemute’s researchers didn’t confirm any illegal straw gun purchases in Las Vegas. They did see things that would give plenty of people pause — like a guy walking through a Vegas show with what appeared to be an Uzi, telling onlookers he had nine more for sale. A private seller, hawking items from his own collection, he could, if inclined, quietly sell those Uzis to anyone. Researchers watched a Vegas gun show salesman hype a pistol with rounds designed to pierce body armor, calling the firearm a “cop killer.” There’s nothing illegal about that, but nothing commendable about it either, says the Sun.

ATF releases NY State Gun Trace Data

Firearms trace data was released by the New York field office in July.  The data was compiled from crime guns gathered in New York State from Jan 1. to Dec. 31 2008. The review found that 54 % of all firearms were recovered in New York City. The report breaks down gun recovery by region.

The report can be found here.

Gun Violence and Youth: Stopping it Before it Starts

The Crime Lab at University of Chicago released a new report, Gun Violence Among School-Age Youth in Chicago strongly suggesting early youth intervention to stop the high rate of gun violence in urban areas, especially Chicago. The Crime Lab is also sponsoring a design competition to nurture and evaluate new pilot programs.

For more information and to read the report click here.

Mexicans Cite U.S. Guns In Murder Boom

Mexican authorities are blaming firearms purchases in the United States for the gun violence that has ravaged the country, reports National Public Radio. More than 5,000 people were murdered in Mexico last year,  and 95 percent of the weapons recovered from those killings were traced back to the U.S., authorities say. That's largely because it's easier to buy guns in the U.S. and smuggle them across the border than it is to get them in Mexico.

"I'll tell you something with all due respect: The problem of violence in Mexico starts in the United States when someone buys a weapon, and their intent is that it's going to Mexico," says Abel Murrieta-Guttierez, attorney general of the Mexican state of Sonora. ATF Agent Bill Newell says that drugs coming north and guns and ammunition going south has been fueling a war between drug cartels and law enforcement. Newell he says the guns are coming from all over the U.S., with some purchased on the black market and at gun shows, but most coming from licensed dealers. In Arizona and Texas, any adult with a valid ID and no criminal record can buy as many guns as he or she wants.

Greg Ridgeway

Associate director, Safety and Justice Program

RAND Corporation

Santa Monica, Calif.

Jeffrey Hiday, media contact

(703) 413-1100, x5117 or (310) 451-6913

media@rand.org

Expertise: Illegal firearms and ammunition. The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit think tank that focuses on research and analysis of public policy issues.

Criminal Justice Journalists

tgest@sas.upenn.edu or dkrajicek@aol.com

Expertise: This national association of reporters and editors has published an online primer on guns and gun control, written by crime journalist David J. Krajicek. It includes a history of guns and gun control and thumbnails on key players.

American Firearms

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Andrew Molchan, director
(954) 467-9994
andrew@amfire.com
www.amfire.com

American Firearms represents the Professional Gun Retailers Association and National Association of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers.

Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy

Washington, D.C.

www.fedstats.gov

This federal interagency Website has links to statistics on firearms, among other things.