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Your Call

The majority of US gun violence is carried out with handguns, but mass shooters tend to use AR-15s

Assault-style rifles on display at Chuck's Firearms gun store in Atlanta.
Erik S. Lesser
/
EPA /Landov
Assault-style rifles on display at Chuck's Firearms gun store in Atlanta.

On this edition of Your Call, we'll discuss gun violence committed with handguns and semi-automatic rifles. Six states have increased the minimum age to purchase semi-automatics from 18 to 21.

Families impacted by the Uvalde massacre are taking steps that could lead to lawsuits against Daniel Defense, the company that made the weapon used to kill 19 children and two teachers. Daniel Defense is a powerful Republican donor and has received more than 100 federal contracts and a few loans.

Guests:

Zusha Elinson, national reporter for the Wall Street Journal who is co-authoring a book about the AR-15 called American Gun

Jennifer Mascia, news writer with The Trace

Web Resources:

ABC News: The type of gun used in most US homicides is not an AR-15

The Trace: How Often Are Guns Used for Self-Defense?

The Washington Post: Uvalde victim’s family, staffer signal possible legal action against gunmaker

In These Times: The Pentagon Is Protecting and Funding the Same Gun Makers Democrats Want to Regulate

ProPublica: Why 18-Year-Olds in Texas Can Buy AR-15s but Not Handguns

Bee Soll is a producer with Your Call at KALW, and a producer, writer, and editor at KCBS Radio in San Francisco. She is a former reporter for Crosscurrents and contributor at KPFA Radio.
Rose Aguilar has been the host of Your Call since 2006. She became a regular media roundtable guest in 2001. In 2019, the San Francisco Press Club named Your Call the best public affairs program. In 2017, The Nation named it the most valuable local radio show.