What You Should Know Today

Other board members are leaving the NRA. Citing governance failures and a lack of transparency from senior management, two of the group's 76 board members resigned on August 6. Owen "Buz" Mills, who was part of a group of directors seeking an independent investigation into suspected executive misconduct during the NRA's recent bankruptcy failure, cited liability insurance issues as a trigger for his exit. In early July, The Reload reported that the NRA is providing $ 5 million to cover the costs of potential legal proceedings after Lloyd's of London decided not to renew the group's insurance coverage. "In June I asked our leadership if we had noticed that our insurance policies for directors and officers were not being renewed, I got no answer," Mills wrote in his resignation letter. "Why so much trouble with openness?" Board member Susan Howard said in her resignation statement that she "has a heart disease in what I have discovered regarding the lack of leadership in our leaders – they have failed not just the board, but the entire membership of millions of loyal contributors ". The two appeared on the NRA blog in Danger, an anonymous website that describes itself as being run by concerned NRA members. On July 30, The Trace reported that longtime board member Ted Nugent, a rock guitarist, was stepping down "due to ongoing scheduling conflicts." – Will Van Sant, employed writer

A push towards treating trauma alongside efforts to reduce violence. In Safety, Resilience and Hope, a new policy paper, the Criminal Justice Reform Group, Alliance for Safety and Justice, calls on federal, state and local governments to ensure that the growing movement to fund community-based violence prevention efforts includes resources to help people recover from the trauma of past violence. Their recommendations include:

  • Prioritize community-based victim support organizations and involve their leaders in discussions about reducing local violence
  • Targeted resources for trauma recovery and community-based victim services in areas hardest hit by violence, including using federal funds to expand trauma recovery centers that provide a range of services to crime victims
  • Expand state victim compensation programs to all victims of violence, including those who may be currently withheld due to previous convictions
  • Providing victims with work, housing and money directly to help them escape the cycle of trauma and victimization that often leads to more violence

"Most political discussions focus almost entirely on the act of violence – how we should prevent it, act to stop it, or what is the most effective immediate response to it," Alliance director of innovation John Maki told The Trace. "What is often missing is what victims need to recover from the traumatic experience of violence." He added, "America needs a new vision for security that combines violence reduction and trauma restoration." – Tom Kutsch, newsletter editor

Philadelphia's "Crisis of Neglect of Gun Violence Survivors". Daniel Semenza, assistant professor of criminology and sociology at Rutgers University-Camden, writes in the Philadelphia Inquirer that the focus on Philadelphia record-high murders obscures the experiences of most victims who normally survive. That year, on August 5, about 80 percent of the 1,356 shootings in Philly were non-fatal. And blacks make up 85 percent of all gunfight victims in the city. "Relentless shootings in certain neighborhoods result in flare-ups effectively creating isolated communities of survivors made up of direct victims of shootings and countless others indirectly exposed to day-to-day violence, such as those who witnessed a shooting or lose a loved one," writes Semenza. Relatives of The Trace: Read Lakeidra Chavis' Aftershocks series on the roadblocks that gun violence survivors face in Chicago.

The Oregon high school attendant was arrested for allegedly planning a "mass casualty incident." Police found the 24-year-old man's warehouse with guns, ammunition and handwritten notes at three locations in Medford, Oregon after entering a police station and confessing to thoughts of murder and preparations for an attack. Officials say the man has received multiple rifles in the two years since the courts banned him from possession of firearms. He is faced with attempted murder, attempted assault and illegal gun possession. "In this particular case, we believe he took some pretty important steps to implement his plan," said the Medford police lieutenant. "If he hadn't contacted me, who knows what could have happened?"

A black man and his son visited a house with their agent. The police surrounded them with guns drawn. Neighbors in suburban Grand Rapids called police when a black realtor showed a house to Roy Thorne, a Black Army veteran, and his 15-year-old son, claiming a suspect had returned in a recent break-in. About half a dozen police officers who responded surrounded the property with guns drawn before handcuffing everyone for about 10 minutes. The police apologized on the spot. Thorne told the Washington Post that he feels "defeated" largely because his son was involved: "I don't understand how we have been treated as a threat when we are clearly not. If we were white, that wouldn't happen. "

Data point

Two-thirds – According to a study by UC Davis Health's Violence Prevention Research Program, the percentage of California gun owners who live with children who do not store all guns unloaded and locked. [JAMA Network]

source https://seapointrealtors.com/2021/08/09/putting-the-focus-on-victims-support/

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