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Will Van Sant

@vansant.bsky.social

70 followers 20 following 21 posts

Reporter for The Trace, covering the gun lobby. Email: [email protected], [email protected].

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Reposted by Will Van Sant

Aaron Mendelson @amendelson.bsky.social · 10h

Today, we're debuting a new feature on @thetrace.org called 92 Days in Gun Violence. It's a quarterly update. The big finding thru Q3 is that have been fewer shooting deaths in 2025 than any year in a decade.

Plus more on gun sales, our work, and recent research:
www.thetrace.org/2025/10/shoo...

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · 15h

Gun dealers talk to @champebarton.bsky.social about the drop in demand, what drives sales, and the state of the industry.

Some dealers are seeing folks who bought during the pandemic sales surge now seeking to sell their guns.

www.thetrace.org/2025/10/gun-...

Gun Stores Are Struggling Under Trump

Dealers say the president’s gun-friendly policies have actually hurt their sales. “People have a tendency to want what they feel is under threat," one said.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · 1d

Revealing look by @mikespies.bsky.social at a troubled and now abandoned partnership between the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the gun industry's trade group.

Seems it had some success as a PR exercise at least.

www.thetrace.org/2025/10/gun-...

A Program Backed by the Gun Industry Failed to Reduce Suicide — and Was Secretly Shut Down Early

The country’s best-known suicide prevention group teamed up with the gun industry. The effort was good for public relations and raising money, but it never met its goal, and internal records show why.

www.thetrace.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Jennifer Mascia @jenmascia.bsky.social · 1d

Claim: President Trump says Portland is "war-ravaged" and "on fire."

Fact-check: Gun violence in Portland has been plummeting since the pandemic — and shootings in the neighborhood around the ICE facility are rare

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · 9d

Given yesterday's call to use American cities as military training grounds, sharing this debunking of Trump's crime claims and related @thetrace.org coverage put together by my colleague @jenmascia.bsky.social

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/trum...

Trump’s Big Crime Lies

As the president prepares to send federal troops into Memphis and Chicago, we debunk a few of his most mendacious talking points.

www.thetrace.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

The Trace @thetrace.org · 10d

Make a gift to help The Trace inform more people about an issue that affects all of us: thetrace.fundjournalism.org?campaign=701...

Everyone deserves the truth about gun violence. The Trace's reporting has empowered readers for the past decade. Your support will enable us to reach new audiences and spark change. Donate now

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Aaron Mendelson @amendelson.bsky.social · 11d

Sobering story from @themainemonitor.org on the high rates of gun suicides among older Mainers.

They're the first newsroom to use a new Gun Violence Data Hub dataset to localize a story on this subject.
themainemonitor.org/maine-suicid...

How Maine's rates of gun suicide compare to national trends

More older Mainers died by gun suicide than in car crashes over a 15-year period, data that mirrors a troubling trend across the country.

themainemonitor.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Tali Woodward @taliwoodward.bsky.social · 15d

Trump talks about crime a lot. And much of what he says is false. @jenmascia.bsky.social breaks it down here
www.thetrace.org/2025/09/trum...

Trump’s Big Crime Lies

As the president prepares to send federal troops into Memphis and Chicago, we debunk a few of his most mendacious talking points.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · 20d

Roth speaks to 2015 and homicide, certainly a grand theory:

www.hfg.org/wp-content/u...

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · 21d

NEWS: In 2020, the ATF added nonbinary as a sex choice on the federal background check form for gun sales. Now, the agency says the form is being modified to comply with Trump's order declaring male and female immutable categories.

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/gun-...

Buying a Gun Is About to Get More Complicated for Nonbinary People

The ATF has told The Trace that the federal background check form for gun sales is being revised to recognize only two sexes.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · 22d

Suicide among older men, particularly white men, is rising. Reporter amendelson.bsky.social goes deep and delivers illuminating details, like a gun store owner catching heat for trying to boost suicide awareness. Check it out:

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/gun-...

The Quiet Crisis: What’s Driving Gun Suicides Among Older Americans?

More and more older Americans are dying by firearm suicide, a new analysis from The Trace and GQ reveals. Older white men and those in rural areas experience alarmingly high rates.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · 28d

Rita Oceguera keeps a spotlight on disinfo for @thetrace.org

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/chic...

Trump Says Chicago Is Crime-Ridden. But Shootings Are Down 50 Percent Since His First Term.

Chicagoans interviewed by The Trace say they’ve been feeling safer in their neighborhoods — and do not want intervention from ICE or the National Guard.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · Sep 10

Race and geography divide gun deaths in Washtenaw County, MI, reflecting a national pattern. More fine work by @josiahbates.bsky.social in @thetrace.org

www.thetrace.org/2025/09/wash...

This Midwestern County's Divergent Gun Violence Patterns Reflect a Broader American Reality

In Washtenaw County, Michigan, social workers and community violence specialists are responding differently, if simultaneously, to gun suicides and homicides.

www.thetrace.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Josiah Bates @josiahbates.bsky.social · Sep 8

This sweeping overview by @radleybalko.bsky.social on the Trump administration's expansion of federal power is worth your time. Nothing but facts and context in here

Roundup: One month of authoritarianism. Plus: Obama cites The Watch! (sort of)

Here's what happened in just one month of the Trump administration's dizzying push toward autocracy

radleybalko.substack.com

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Josiah Bates @josiahbates.bsky.social · Sep 5

In just two weeks, more than 20 U.S. colleges received false active shooter reports, triggering lockdowns and heavy police responses. These swatting incidents may be fake, but the fear and trauma they create are real.

Strong reporting from @jenmascia.bsky.social

More Than 20 Active Shooting Hoaxes Have Locked Down Colleges Over the Past Two Weeks

Experts said swatting incidents can traumatize students and first responders.

www.thetrace.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · Aug 29

Most of the states backing Trump’s crime crackdown have areas with higher gun homicide rates than the nation’s capital, a Trace analysis shows.

At least 17 Mississippi counties endured more gun homicides per capita than the nation’s capital in 2024.

Read: www.thetrace.org/2025/08/nati...

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · Aug 27

Of course, paths other than federalizing city police forces are being pursued...

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/o...

Opinion | Trump Is Building His Own Paramilitary Force

www.nytimes.com

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · Aug 27

In a Q&A with a law and policing expert, @jenmascia.bsky.social explores limits to further crackdowns in Democratic cities that have opposed Trump.

www.thetrace.org/2025/08/trum...

Legal Constraints Could Stymie Trump’s Plans to Police Other Cities

We spoke with a policing expert from Yale Law School about whether a federal takeover could come to New York or Chicago.

www.thetrace.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Joy Resmovits @joyresmo.bsky.social · Aug 21

"The ongoing dispute exposed a foundational fracture in the city’s community violence intervention efforts. … That structural shift, according to several local activists, marked the beginning of a more top-down, enforcement-driven approach."

Josiah Bates @josiahbates.bsky.social · Aug 21

Minneapolis poured millions into community violence intervention groups after George Floyd’s murder.

Five years later, shootings are down, but the network of interrupters that helped stabilize the city is now fractured, caught in a contract standoff with the city.

My latest for @thetrace.org

'It's a Bully Tactic': Minneapolis Violence Interrupters Stand Off With the City

At the height of the racial justice protests in 2020, the Rev. Jerry McAfee was on the front lines in Minneapolis. When residents filled the streets after George Floyd’s murder, McAfee and other veter...

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · Aug 20

March for Our Lives, an important youth mobilizer, has hit hard times. Quite hard. Details in my latest story:

www.thetrace.org/2025/08/marc...

They Rallied the Nation After the Parkland School Shooting. Years Later, Their Group Is Floundering.

The gun reform group has been rocked by divisions, layoffs, and — most recently — a lawsuit alleging racism and retaliation.

www.thetrace.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Craig Hunter @chunterct.bsky.social · Aug 19

Trump claimed the nation’s capital has been “taken over by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.” But crime in D.C. and other cities he's targeted is not out of control — in fact, it’s decreasing. Below, we fact-check his claims.

The Data Doesn’t Support Trump’s Justification for Deploying the National Guard

Trump has taken over policing in D.C. and threatened to do the same in other cities. A Trace analysis shows that his claims of runaway violence are false.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · Jun 26

After capitalizing on a favorable 2022 Supreme Court ruling, gun rights groups are filing far fewer new legal challenges to firearms restrictions in federal court. But they have lots of irons in the fire at the federal appellate level.

www.thetrace.org/2025/06/gun-...

What’s Behind the Decline in Pro-Gun Lawsuits?

While filing fewer lawsuits against gun restrictions, gun rights groups are still touting their litigation efforts to rally supporters — and raise money.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · Apr 15

www.thetrace.org/2025/04/paul...

Trump's War on Law Firms May Imperil Gun Suits

After the president sought to punish Paul Weiss, references to its work on firearms disappeared from its website. Gun safety advocates fear a retreat.

www.thetrace.org

Reposted by Will Van Sant

Chip Brownlee @bychipbrownlee.com · Apr 4

If you're a current or former federal employee who works on gun violence prevention, data collection, or research, I would love to hear from you.

Protonmail:
[email protected]

Signal:
byChipBrownlee.01

Keybase:
keybase.io/chip_brownlee

The Trace @thetrace.org · Apr 3

The Trump administration is slashing jobs at the divisions responsible for studying and preventing gun violence. The CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention lost an estimated three-quarters of its staff.

CDC Teams That Study Gun Violence and Collect Data Are Decimated by Layoffs

The Trump’s administration’s cuts come after the field of gun violence research saw renewed federal support during the Biden era.

www.thetrace.org

Will Van Sant @vansant.bsky.social · Jan 15

Here's an update to some deep digging published with @motherjones.com over the summer. Millions more in anonymous cash was spent on the operation in 2023.

www.thetrace.org/2025/01/gun-...

The Secret Plan to Strike Down U.S. Gun Laws

For decades, McLean Bible Church has served as the place of worship for many of Washington, D.C.’s Republican elite. The sprawling evangelical megachurch in Vienna, Virginia, boasts a roster of former...

www.thetrace.org