Majority Of Gun Deaths In US Are Suicides, Not Homicides, Study Finds

Harvard Public Health: New Gun Deaths Data In U.S. Show Continued Rise In Suicides
Gun homicides, including mass shootings, are a pervasive and horrific issue, and we have rightly focused attention on reducing them. But a majority of gun deaths, 54 percent, in the U.S. aren’t homicides, they’re suicides. Indeed, as the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence puts it, suicide is “the untold story of gun violence in America.” Both suicides and gun deaths have increased over the last two decades, and there is a strong link between firearms and suicide deaths. Suicide-by-gun makes up most of both gun deaths and overall suicide deaths (over half of each). (Kelly, 2/1)

In other news about gun violence —

Politico: Harris At Tyre Nichols’ Funeral: This Isn't Public Safety
The funeral of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who died after being beaten by police officers in Memphis, Tenn., was marked by emotion, music and a renewed call for justice on Wednesday, including by Vice President Kamala Harris. “This is a family that lost their son and their brother through an act of violence, at the hands and the feet of people who had been charged with keeping them safe,” Harris said at the service in Memphis. (Olander, 2/1)

The Washington Post: Metro Employee Killed While Trying To Stop Man Shooting At D.C. Commuters
A Metro employee who tried to stop a gunman targeting commuters Wednesday was fatally shot on a D.C. train station platform in a shooting rampage that injured three others, halted rail service for hours and again left residents unsettled as the city continues to confront gun violence. Police said the gunman appeared to select his victims randomly near the end of the morning rush hour. The attack started on a Metrobus traveling from Maryland and ended underground on the platform of the Potomac Avenue Metro station in Southeast Washington. (Mettler and George, 2/1)

CNN: 'Run, Hide, Fight' Tactic In Active Shootings May Be Outdated, Security Experts Say
You’ve probably heard these three words – run, hide, fight. The tactics from the FBI, echoed to law enforcement agencies across the country, have been used for decades to teach civilians their options if confronted by an active shooter: evacuate the area, find a place to hide, or – as a last resort – take action against the shooter. More and more, though, engaging the gunman may prove more effective than the other choices, CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem said, with at least one US community shifting away from the “hide” piece in lieu of more active defensive steps. (Gingras, Kapp and Ly, 1/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: How To Take In Traumatic News Events And Preserve Your Mental Health
Last week brought a relentless wave of horrific news events: two California mass shootings two days apart, the release of video footage showing Memphis police officers’ violent beating of Tyre Nichols, and the release of a body-cam recording showing an intruder’s attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul in the couple’s San Francisco home. Each incident was disturbing, and in some cases exacerbated the stress many communities — including Asian American and Pacific Islanders, Black Americans and migrant workers — have already experienced as instances of anti-Asian violence and police brutality gained in visibility during the last few years. (Ho, 2/1)

The Hill: Judge Blocks NJ Law Allowing State To Sue Gun Industry
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a New Jersey law that allowed the state to sue gun manufacturers for creating a “public nuisance” with their sale and marketing of firearms. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed the law in June to create a path for suing companies engaged in the sale, manufacture, distribution, importing or marketing of gun-related products for a public nuisance, defined as conduct that interferes with the public’s rights. (Gans, 2/1)

Politico: Guns In The House? A Raucous Natural Resources Panel Debate 
House Natural Resources Committee Republicans on Wednesday defeated Rep. Jared Huffman’s (D-Calif.) push to reinstate an explicit ban on carrying firearms to the committee room after a lengthy and occasionally heated debate. The panel’s chair, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), repeatedly declined to clarify, under questioning from Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Huffman, whether he interpreted House rules as barring firearms from committee rooms. Multiple Democrats contended that different members have various interpretations of the House rules, but Westerman referred their questions to the Administration Committee, which sets the chamber’s internal standards. (Adragna, 2/1)