A News21 investigation of
rights and regulations in America

The nation is more armed than ever, with more guns allowed in schools, churches and other public places

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Public Data

A look inside the data gathered from every state in the nation

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Every day on average seven children are shot dead in America

An investigation of deaths shows at least 28,000 children and teens were killed with guns from 2002 through 2012.

Rural sheriffs: Citing the U.S. Constitution, some refuse to enforce gun laws

Background Check Quiz

Politics

State politicians and activists remain largely gridlocked on gun laws.

Rival groups grow but NRA dominates in money and membership

Sandy Hook gives momentum to regulation, yet states are expanding the rights of weapons owners; NRA reaches out to new demographics, deals with pressure from the right.

Rural sheriffs

In states like Colorado and Maryland, some ignore or refuse to enforce gun laws that threaten rural cultures.
The Second Amendment

Groups prepare to defend themselves against government interference with the "will of the people".

For sport and self defense: The selling of guns to women

Women are the sellers, lobbyists and business owners with more women than ever owning guns and training others to use them.

Legislators nullify federal gun laws

Particularly in Western and Southern states, firearms are a political vehicle to ensure states’ rights and void U.S. gun laws.

z Nullification legislation map

See the status of nullification laws since 2005.
Guns and the dangerously mentally ill

The federal government's National Instant Criminal Background Check System fails to keep guns from mentally ill.

States Rights

U.S. States are key in the debate between gun rights and regulation legislation.

Washington Oregon California Arizona Colorado Connecticut Virginia

Colorado: Expanded gun laws and the political fallout

Colorado’s legislature ushered in unprecedented gun control laws, but gun rights activists pushed back in a battle between urban and rural.
Recalled: Two Colorado state senators have no regrets

The former lawmakers talk about the 2013 gun laws that forced them out of office.
Hear from a survivor of the Aurora shooting

“There’s always someone who wants to snatch you up and turn you into a poster child for their cause.”
Hear from a survivor of the Columbine shooting

“I don't live my life scared… If I’ve learned anything, I've learned that safety is an illusion.”

Nucla, Colorado: Don't go home without a gun

In 2013, the Nucla Town Board passed the Family Protection Order, requiring every head of household to own a firearm.

California: Is the state still a model for gun control?

Recent shootings have incited calls for even more regulations as California prepares for elections this year.

Connecticut and Arizona: Two tragedies; different reactions

The Sandy Hook and Tucson killings were both were carried out by armed men with histories of mental illness. But what happened after the shootings was very different.
Virginia: Despite election of Democrats, gun control bills have no chance

Welcome to the Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee, also known as 'The place where gun bills go to die,' where one man controls the fate of any legislation.

Washington: Dueling measures seek to redefine sales checks

Voters will decide whether or not to require background checks for all sales — or they can vote to allow only federally authorized looks at buyers to be state’s practice

Violence

In every neighborhood there is a victim and an urgency for change.

Poverty and death in urban America

Gun violence is killing hundreds of young black men in Baton Rouge, Flint, and Camden. But mothers and brothers, cops and coaches are pushing back.

More people were murdered by intimate partners with guns than by criminals they didn’t know, a News21 investigation found. At least 3,464 people were shot to death in an act of domestic violence from 2008 to 2012, compared to 3,226 people killed in the same period by unknown attackers.

Child gun deaths

An analysis of child and youth deaths from 2002 to 2012 shows at least 28,000 children and teens 19-years-old and younger were killed with guns. Most of those were homicides, followed by suicides and accidents.

Gun suicides

Americans are twice as likely to die from turning guns on themselves as they are to be murdered with one. Now, gun shops and ranges are joining up with prevention specialists to try to prevent suicides.

Domestic gun violence database

Gun homicide rates vs. domestic gun homicide rates.

Child gun deaths database

The toll of gun homicides, suicides and accidental deaths.

Gun suicide database

The rate per 100,000 of gun suicides in 2012.

Guns in Public

Debates about “gun-free” zones and the place of guns on campus and in public life continue.

Expanded stand your ground and self defense laws give shooters unprecedented protection

Since 2005, 31 states have adopted stronger self-defense laws. The laws have been invoked for everything from road rage ending in gunfire to suspected thieves shot to death as they tried to flee.

Increase in guns in public places

Yes, it is legal: More and more, those with firearms can bring them into public places such as bars, restaurants, churches and parks. In fact, it's allowed in a majority of states.
School shooting map

Details of school and campus shootings since 1960.
A move to allow “carry” on campus

Grassroots group looks to legislatures to make it easier for students to bring weapons to college and they are having some success, despite opposition from universities and faculty.

More states allow teachers, staff to be armed in K-12 schools

No one knows how many teachers are armed, but the debate is at full volume: Does it protect children from shootings by intruders or put them at risk of classroom accidents?

AMERICANS
and their
GUNS

Portraits of a nation and its love of guns.

Camp Texas

College Station, TX

Christian Outdoor Alliance summer camps introduce young Texans to hunting culture with a religious background. Kids learn about safety and hunt animals on private ranches.