Latest news with #JamesAlanFox
Washington Post
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Mass shootings are down, but there's so much work left to do
Regarding James Alan Fox's May 13 op-ed, 'The illusion of the mass shooting 'epidemic'': While it's true that mass shootings are declining, Fox's recent opinion piece ought to be a reminder that signs of progress are not the same thing as a finished job. Yes, mass shootings with four or more deaths account for just 1 percent of annual gun violence in the United States, and, yes, it's encouraging that there have only been four such tragedies this year as of May 10 compared with 11 by this time last year. This decline is not a happy accident: It's the direct result of over a decade of tireless advocacy leading to historic progress, such as the landmark Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, and improvements to state laws across the nation. These reforms have contributed to what was likely the sharpest single-year homicide decrease in our recorded history. Hard-won — and fragile — progress doesn't mean there is nothing to see here or that urgency is overblown. The choice is not, as Fox suggested, between 'calm deliberation' and 'ill-conceived quick fixes in the immediate aftermath of bloodshed.' We can pursue sensible solutions with urgency, and we must. The United States continues to far outpace the world in mass shootings, and 'rare' is cold comfort to the thousands of families and communities torn apart by these tragedies — to say nothing of the daily gun violence epidemic that claims 125 lives every day. And to dismiss mass shootings that are related to domestic or community violence as somehow less relevant to the fear Americans feel and the solutions they deserve is to miss altogether the complexity of gun violence in America and the ways we can address it. While there is no question that progress should be celebrated, it also must be understood. Fox is right that policies like permit to purchase and magazine restrictions are critical to saving lives, but those are not the whole of gun policy. They are just one piece of a bigger — and very much ongoing — fight to end our nation's gun violence epidemic. And some of the most important advances that have contributed to the decline in shootings are in the crosshairs of the Trump administration: In its first 100 days, it has disbanded the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, cut funding for community violence intervention groups and mental health resources, disbanded a key gun violence data center at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and threatened to reverse several lifesaving firearms rules. This is no time to rest on laurels or engage in academic deflection like, 'what goes up eventually comes down.' Instead, it's a moment to keep going. Nick Suplina, New York The writer is senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. With great interest, I read the piece by James Alan Fox, professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University. I hope politicians and school officials will also read the piece and move to end lockdown drills in schools. This is what we had to do during drills intended to prepare us to stay safe if an active shooter was on campus at the school where I taught: Doors to classrooms were locked, all occupants were moved away from doors and windows, all lights and screens were turned off, blinds covered vision panels and windows, and everyone sat quietly on the floor and waited until a school official unlocked the doors from the outside. To my thinking, these practices actually put all those in the room in real danger, rather than keeping them safe. A motivated shooter would break the vision panel in a door, reach in, unlock the door, enter the classroom and open fire. I suppose school officials may not instruct someone to stand by the door with a baseball bat in case there is a door breach. But it's not better for school officials to instruct staff and students to take on the posture of sitting ducks. Steve Brown, Springfield The writer is a retired Fairfax County teacher. Regarding the May 14 news article 'For more teens, financial literacy starts in high school': Please allow me to point out yet another resource for such lessons: Girl Scout curriculums and badges. Girl Scouts of all ages are able to earn financial literacy badges, starting with the simple practice of counting money to developing ideas for their own businesses. Every year, the Girl Scout product and cookie sales provide opportunities for girls to set goals, seek customers, handle money and plan how to use their profits for troop activities. Some girls finance individual or troop travel, while others spend their earnings on supplies or outings. All troops are encouraged to set aside some of their products or earnings for donating to organizations that help others, which is an important part of budgeting that deserves a greater place in financial literacy education. However such financial literacy is delivered, it is an important part of 'adulting' — and one that needs to be included in the education of our youth. The next item to tackle could be the cost of being well-cared for in retirement, which was highlighted by a remark from a teenager in the article. Perhaps an emphasis on how our country cares for its elderly can be introduced into high school civics courses next. Theresa Early, Colorado Springs Reported comments from a top aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling Scouting America (previously known as the Boy Scouts) 'too woke' and suggesting that the military should end its long-standing and wide-ranging relationship with the program are not just misguided — they denigrate a valuable program at risk when young people badly need it. Though rates have declined since the early 1990s, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, juvenile crime rose across the United States in 2022. The most recent federal reports show increases in youth arrests for violent offenses, including robbery and aggravated assault. We are watching an entire generation struggle with accountability, leadership and purpose. Scouting America addresses all of that head on. I've seen it myself, as both a parent and a volunteer leader. Scouting teaches responsibility, service, teamwork and respect. It gives young people a reason to look beyond themselves, to lead, to serve and to grow into the kind of citizens this country needs. Those aren't political values. They're American ones. And if we let shortsighted political agendas dismantle programs like this, we are robbing the next generation of an excellent path to real character development. Scouting America isn't 'woke.' It's working. And we should be expanding it, not attacking it. Margaret Steele, Taylorsville, Georgia Regarding the May 15 letters, '6 readers on librarians, libraries and protests inside them': One of the great privileges and experiences of my life was doing research at the Library of Congress for 'Revisiting the White City: Art at the 1893 World's Fair.' I was also able to use the fruits of my research for my master's thesis. I spent many hours in the magnificent Reading Room of the library and many more hours in the dusty, dark and solemnly quiet stacks searching for information going back 100 years. It was an amazing experience that led me to correspond with the 12th duke of Argyll and many other interesting people. I think it is hard to grasp the enormity of the treasure trove that is the Library of Congress without having seen it firsthand. I only saw a small bit of what its three buildings, belowground stacks, and tunnels connecting it to the Capitol complex contain. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to complete my work before the stacks and other access were restricted to the public because of vandalism and theft. What the Trump administration is doing to American history and the American experience feels like another kind of vandalism and theft. Claire Tieder, Charlottesville
Washington Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Donald Trump, the conservationist conservative
In today's edition: Given the unsettling state of world and economic affairs, it is rare for Post Opinions to have three uplifting pieces in one weekend: The first bit of encouraging news comes from criminology professor James Alan Fox, who oversees the Associated Press/USA Today/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database: So far this year, there have been zero deadly mass shootings in a public place. By comparison, there were three in 2024, and a record 10 the year before that.
Washington Post
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
This year there have been zero public deadly mass shootings
James Alan Fox is a professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University and the author of 'Extreme Killing: Understanding Serial and Mass Murder.' He oversees the Associated Press/USA Today/Northeastern University Mass Killing Database. When it comes to crime statistics, bad news is big news. But to make sound policy, we need to hear good news, too, like the recent decline in mass shootings.
