5 Policies That States Are Using to Curb Gun Violence, With Encouraging Results

On average, nearly 34,000 people are killed in the U.S. each year due to gun homicide, suicide or accidents, with another 81,000 who are shot but survive. But zeroing in on the causes of gun violence, in order to thwart them, is no easy task. It’s not just about a glut of available firearms or how easy it is to obtain one. As the Center for American Progress pointed out in its 2016 Progress Index, there is a connected web of social and economic issues that can impact rates of violence in a community — persistent poverty and a lack of employment, to name a few.
That’s led several communities to take novel approaches to curb the bloodshed, either by expanding existing federal law or implementing new ideas altogether. Below, five policies put in place by cities and states around the country whose smart governance on guns is changing the landscape for the better.

THE POLICY: A BETTER BACKGROUND CHECK

Federal law already requires licensed firearms dealers to perform criminal background checks on prospective buyers. But unlicensed private sellers — who are responsible for about 40 percent of all gun sales in “no questions asked” transactions — are not legally bound to follow the same rules.
Since the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., six states (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, New York, Oregon and Washington) have successfully closed this gap by passing and implementing these so-called universal background checks on every sale and transfer within their borders (including those purchased at gun shows and online) for all classes of firearms, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Nevada could soon be the seventh, but the state is currently undergoing a procedural dispute over the implementation of the measure.

THE POLICY: DENYING GUNS TO DOMESTIC ABUSERS

Research has repeatedly shown a lethal link between domestic violence and gun violence in the U.S. In 2011, nearly two-thirds of women who were murdered were shot and killed by their intimate partners. “It’s a huge epidemic,” says Hannah Shearer, staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
Under federal law, people convicted of a felony or domestic abuse cannot buy or own a gun. But there are some limitations to that measure, like defining a domestic abuser only as a spouse. To protect more women, some states, including six in 2017 alone, have strengthened federal law by expanding that definition to also encompass former dating partners.

THE POLICY: LICENSING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives requires a federal license for those in the business of selling guns. But the law doesn’t mandate that dealers perform background checks on their employees, says Avery Gardiner, co-president at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “They also don’t train them to recognize signs of illegal gun trafficking, nor is a gun store even required to lock up its inventory at night,” she says.
In response, 15 states, along with Washington, D.C., have made state-issued licenses mandatory for gun dealers. Additionally, six states — California, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington — now require gun stores to do background checks on employees.

Six states now require firearm dealers to perform background checks on their employees.

THE POLICY: A FOCUS ON INNER CITIES

“Sometimes gun deaths in cities that are ethnically diverse get overlooked,” Shearer says, adding that instead, there’s a tendency to focus on mass shootings and rare events. But the reality is that deaths by guns happen every day across the country.
The Law Center published a report last year on promising approaches being implemented nationwide to reduce urban gun violence. One such city that’s seen success: Richmond, Calif.
In 2007, the Bay Area city was considered one of the country’s most dangerous. So officials there enacted intervention programs and policy reforms in response. They created a new agency, the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS), to treat violence as a communicable disease and connected vulnerable residents to social services. As ONS’s director DeVone Boggan, a 2015 NationSwell AllStar, described the agency’s mission: “You’ve got to understand the nature of [violence], and you’ve got to understand the drivers of it” in order to combat it.
The results were impressive, with homicides in Richmond dipping by 2010. Three years later the city saw its murder rate fall from more than 40 homicides a year to 16, its lowest number in more than three decades.

THE POLICY: DETERMINING WHO’S TOO DANGEROUS TO HAVE A GUN

A measure designed to keep guns away from people perceived at risk of harming themselves or others allows police, and sometimes family members, to ask the courts to intervene. Provided with enough evidence, a judge might temporarily deny a person’s access to guns if he or she is deemed to be a significant danger.
Connecticut was the first state to enact a version of this order in 1999, followed later by Indiana, California and Washington State. Others, including Oregon, are considering adopting similar bills. In 2016, researchers from Duke University led a study that found a measurable reduction in Connecticut’s suicide rate as a result of its risk-warrant policy.
“These laws have a huge potential for saving lives,” Shearer says, “because family members often notice warning signs that somebody is suicidal or homicidal before something really bad happens.”
Homepage photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.
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This School Encourages Women to Join the World of Politics

For the most part, politics is still a man’s thing. And the numbers from the National Women’s Political Caucus support that (disappointing) claim: Of the 535 Congressional seats, only 18.5 percent, or 99 members, are women. Adding to that, in 2013, only 24.1 percent of the 7,383 state legislators were female.
These statistics are exactly what the Women’s Campaign School is trying to change. Since 1994, this nonprofit has been teaching women the skills needed to run a successful political campaign.
So how did the school start? Well, it can be all traced back to 1992, which was dubbed the “Year of Women” due to the record number of female candidates. But the momentum couldn’t be sustained, and the following year saw a staggering decline in the number of female candidates.
So a number of powerful women —  Patricia Russo, head of the Commission on the Status of Women; Conn. Rep. Rosa DeLauro; former Conn. Rep. Nancy Johnson; former Yale Law School Dean Guido Calabresi and others — held a meeting to discuss the future of women in politics. Prior to the gathering, Russo had spoken to New York Times reporter Andree Aleion Brooks who offered a solution to the problem: a campaign training camp for women.
Russo took that idea to the meeting, and with the full support of Calabresi, the Women’s Campaign School emerged.
Through the years, it’s more than proven its worth.  In 20 years, the school has trained 1,400 women (about 70 to 80 per year) and boasts graduates such as Sen. Kristen Gillibrand of New York and former Ariz. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Most important to the school, though, is its emphasis on being non-partisan and issue neutral. The school wasn’t designed as a forum to debate the hot social topics, but rather, to educate women on how to run successful campaigns in real time. So class topics include organizing, budgeting, polling, fundraising, public speaking, staffing, and working with consultants.
And it appears to be working — many graduates are holding local level positions, such as sitting on municipal or education boards, while looking to expand into the state legislature.
While funding remains one of the biggest challenges facing female candidates, the school is providing these women with a chance to do something different: nonpartisan compromise.
Through the school, women are able to communicate across party lines and know each other as individuals, not as a party color. And women are bringing this practice into the workplace also, as shown through the efforts of Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Wash. Sen. Patty Murray during the last sequester.
“Susan Collins approached Patty Murray, saying, ‘I can’t sit through another meeting where nothing is going to be resolved. Will you sit with me, and let’s put a plan together. At least put something on the table for the others to consider,’ and that became the deal that ended the sequester. So that’s the power of women in public office, and there’s a reason why we need more women running and women winning,” says Russo when describing the situation to Fast Company.
And that’s just one example. If the Women’s Campaign School keeps churning out candidates, who knows what a little touch of femininity can bring to our government.
MORE: A Savvy Investment: Companies That Support Gender Diversity

Utah Named the Most Business-Friendly State in the Union

How do you find the friendliest places to do business? Turns out, it’s not rocket science.
All you need to do is go to the businesses themselves, which is exactly what consumer service website Thumbtack.com did. Their study, conducted over two months and ending in late January, went direct to the source and asked 1,200 local small-business owners about their business environment.
And now, the results are in.
Taking the crown as the business-friendliest state is Utah, followed by Idaho, Texas, and Virginia all with “A+” ratings. At the opposite end are Rhode Island, Illinois, and California, most likely due to the high costs of operating in those states.
To compile the rankings, Thumbtack partnered with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation on a survey that focused on these main categories: Starting a business, ease of hiring, overall regulations, and training/networking.
The survey also attempted to establish a correlation between government strategies and ease of business. Overall, the highest correlation was found between licensing and permitting regulations, as well as compliance with tax regulations.
Topping the list of business friendly metro areas is Colorado Springs, Colorado. (Sacramento, California came in last.) This ranking was determined by areas that had at least 30 survey responses.
Although there are positives and negative results of studies such as this, having access more data to improve the business environment is never a bad thing.
To check out the results click here or to view the full report, click here.
MORE: How Mobile Apps Help Local Governments Connect with Citizens

The Competition for Disaster Relief Funds Heats Up

When you think of disaster relief, the words that probably come to mind are EMTs and paramedics, FEMA, and the Red Cross.
But for President Obama, it’s competition, resiliency, and natural disasters. These words — together — form his new plan to help with disaster relief.
While that may sound a bit odd, it encourages state and local governments to compete for natural disaster relief funds from the federal government. With $1 billion at stake, Obama challenged communities to create sustainable plans to rebuild and reboot their communities.
With the National Climate Assessment’s report released last month detailing the imminence of climate change, Obama’s plan also comes with the hope of finding ways to combat it. Therefore, competing states should come up with proposals that involve innovative local resilience projects, policy changes, and adaptive plans for extreme weather and climate change.
State and local communities that were declared natural disaster areas between 2011 and 2013 will be eligible for $820 million worth of grants. States hit by Hurricane Sandy will have the opportunity to compete for an additional $180 million. Applicants are required to detail how the proposed action and the disaster are linked.
Winners will receive cash through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Block Grant. Already, a few winners have been named for the Hurricane Sandy competition. Here, a few of the approved projects.
The Big U in New York will protect Manhattan (West 57th Street to The Battery to East 42nd Street) from floods and storm water through the creation of a protective system. This part of the city is low-lying and culturally important, and the project will have environmental and social benefits as well.
Another is the New Meadowlands: Productive City and Regional Park, which will combine transportation, ecology, and development to connect and rebuild the swampy area between New Jersey and New York.
The Jersey Shore will also receive some funding with a focus on repairing the beaches and rejuvenating the communities in the area.
For a listing and description of the rest of the approved projects, click here.
With all of the natural disasters that have occurred recently, President Obama’s competition will hopefully encourage states and local governments to plan and prepare to prevent such devastating effects from occurring in the future — or at least, lessen their impact.
MORE: A National Effort to Boost Local Resources