Locked Down and Loaded: The 2020 Gun Surge and Violence Prevention
This program was produced by Monica Lopez as part of a project of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Data Fellowship
om Nguyen, founder of L.A. Progressive Shooters, at the Route 66 Shooting Park in San Bernardino, CA. March 27, 2021.
Monica Lopez
2020 and the first few months of 2021 are shaping up to be some of the biggest periods ever for U.S. firearms sales. In California, however, gun sales last year decreased slightly.
For the past six months, reporter Monica Lopez has been digging into the data to understand more about gun buying and gun buyers in California. Below are charts highlighting some of her findings.
In this episode we hear what she learned from members of the gun and mental health communities. They discuss what they are doing to help prevent gun violence in the wake of surging national gun sales.
CA Gun Homicides & Suicides, 2015-2020, Estimated
Estimated Firearms Sold in 2020, U.S.
Estimated Firearms Sold in 2020, California
California Gun Suicides by County:
Percent Change, 2020 vs. Historical Average (2015-2019)
This program was produced as part of a project of the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Data Fellowship.
Special Thanks to: Andrew Tran, Danielle Fox, Susan Racho, Hank Lopez and Dr. Marisela Marquez
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Featuring:
- Lawrence Taylor, first-time gun buyer
- Tom Nguyen, founder of L.A. Progressive Shooters
- Geneva Solomon, co-owner of Redstone firearms
- Mark Oliva, Director of Public Affairs, National Shooting Sports Foundation
- Dr. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, historian and author of Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment
- Dr. Doreen Marshall, Vice President of Mission Engagement of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
- Michael Sodini, founder of Walk the Talk America
Credits:
- Host/Producer: Monica Lopez
Making Contact Staff:
- Executive Director: Sonya Green
- Staff Producers: Monica Lopez, Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani
- Web and social media updates: Sabine Blaizine
- Gun Survey Community Outreach Coordinator: Sandina Robbins
Music Credit:
Sergey Cheremisinov, Hibernation
Blue Dot Sessions: Messy Inkwell, Velvet Ladder
[This story was originally published by Making Contact.]
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