Gun violence survivor campaign: Black man in jeans, a gray winter jacket and navy baseball cap on backwards stands on sidewalk in front of s 2-story oldr home holding a white human skull with large section of bone missing on right side.

At home in Arkansas and globally, shooting survivor campaigns against gun violence

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Between Jan. 1, 2022 and April 25, 2022, Little Rock, Ark. — the 24th most violent of 65 cities, according to the FBI's most recent data — counted 24 homicides. That compared to 21 homicides during the same period in 2021, according to the Little Rock Police Department’s most recent count. A disproportionate number of those murders involved guns, continuing a trend. Blacks — mainly males — accounted for all homicide victims under 30 years old in Little Rock.

Person in a dark, hooded sweatshirt leans on a black outdoor fence railing,

Opinion: Effective anti-violence efforts are trauma-informed

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The past couple of years have been some of the deadliest for many major U.S. cities. Murder rates have spiked and gun sales have surged.

We want the violence to stop. However, our chosen means of addressing violence prevention are shaped by who's leading that conversation. Too often, the results of those discussions have tended to be punitive in nature, resulting in over-policing and mass incarceration. 

Vet Suicide: Blonde man wearing tan jacket and blue jeans walks with hands in pockets between several huge, round white pillars.

Gun suicides felled some veterans; others found a way forward

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Daily, an average of 17 U.S. veterans has resorted to suicide, taking their lives at a 52.3% greater rate than other Americans did in 2019, when 6,261 veterans died by suicide. Firearms were involved in 69.2% of those deaths. Veterans aged 34 and younger died at a higher rate than any other former service members.

gun suicides among youth report: gun hidden in clothes drawer

Half of suicides were by gun; suicides by all methods rose sharply among minority youth

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With suicides, including those by gun, the second-leading cause of death for 10- through 34-year-olds — and suicides surging by 35% during 20 years ending in 2019 — it’s important to raise awareness that suicides are preventable and that most of those survive an attempt do not try another.

That’s according to the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution, whose early December report, “Convergence Dialogue on Guns and Suicide Prevention,” highlights interventions, including safe gun storage and efforts to safeguard the mental health of young people and others who may be suicidal.

Jacksonville, Florida's gun-murder capitol: bridge going over water in Jacksonville

In Jacksonville, Florida’s gun-murder capitol, locals assess the merits of crime prevention and punishment

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Adrift after his father was shot and killed during an argument with a man at a Jacksonville, Fla. bar, then 14-year-old Robert LeCount spent several years burnishing his reputation as a drug-dealer and star athlete.

“We had football rivalry, we had basketball rivalry, we had baseball rivalry. That's how we dealt with a lot of things. Our energy was in the sports and in different activities.” said LeCount, now 63, a Disciples of Christ pastor whose son, then 22, was shot in their Florida hometown in 2003.

School shooting: Photos of four teenagers nestled in collection of multi-colored flowers and cards

Opinion: Gun debate should shift toward adult shooters, who outnumber schoolkids with deadly weapons

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Any shooting in a school – like any homicide, suicide, fatality or injury anywhere – unquestionably is a tragedy. For that very reason, we need to stop the self-defeating commentary about gun violence that occurs in schools that hardly tells the whole story: Gun violence in schools amounts to a fraction of gun violence in America. Adults kill more kids than do teen gunmen.

Politicians, media talking heads and others have so fanned the flames on this subject that a Pew poll found that “a majority of U.S. teens fear a shooting could happen at their school.”

gun violence killing teens, children: young mother holding picture of dead son

Gun violence claiming more lives of American teens, children

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Gun violence is killing an increasing number of American children, from toddlers caught in crossfires to teenagers gunned down in turf wars, drug squabbles or for posting the wrong thing on social media. Experts say idleness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shares the blame with easy access to guns and disputes that too often end with gunfire.

Returning to pre-pandemic activity raises fears of anti-Asian gun violence: photo of April vigil flowers for those killed

Opinion: Returning to pre-pandemic activity raises Asian American fears of anti-Asian gun violence

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Going on outdoor walks without a mask. Hopping on a Washington, D.C. Metro train without holding my breath. Meeting friends at restaurants and bars … Resuming those and other parts of my pre-pandemic life has been fun. It’s also been scary — and not for reasons related to COVID-19. I’m Asian American, which can make being in public dangerous. 

The FBI reported that, in 2020, the number of hate crimes targeting Asian people rose from 158 to 274, a more than 70% increase.