Suggestions for localizing this week's big national story, and a look at how effective gun laws have been or might be

Tom Silvestri of The Relevance Project writes:

There is plenty of reporting to be done localizing the massacre in Uvalde, Texas. And Buffalo, N.Y. Consider initially documenting trends in three areas:
Gun ownership and gun purchases: Lots to consider. Start with what percentage of local households and commercial establishments own guns. If you want one focus, analyze statistics on the type of guns -- "assault rifle," long guns, or those that fire large amounts of bullets in short periods -- that were used in the New York and Texas mass shootings. Another focus: Guns being bought by individuals age 21 and under.
Mental health and treatment: If you want one focus, report how many people have been identified as threats and what happened after the initial inquiry. Explain how local authorities treat reports of dangerous individuals, antisocial behavior, or people in danger. Also: Describe in numbers your community's safety net to treat mental illness.
Deaths and injuries involving guns: Compare and contrast with other causes of death and injury.
If possible, analyze over the last 10 years. A narrower range could be the pandemic years as we are learning the dangers of prolonger isolation.
Added starter: Crime reports involving incidents on school properties.
In all efforts, stick to the facts. Run counter to today's "opinion first, facts later." Godspeed on such important, relevant coverage.

As calls for stricter gun control are debated, maybe we should ask, just how effective are gun laws? "Many proposed laws probably would not have much impact on curbing the mass shootings that dominate the news. But they could lessen their severity, and might also bring down overall gun violence," writes Washington Post Fact Checker Glenn Kessler. His analysis starts with a look at President Biden's claim that “When we passed the assault weapons ban, mass shootings went down. When the law expired, mass shootings tripled.” He pokes several holes Biden's claim but cites evidence that the 1994 assault-weapons law "may have been effective in reducing the death toll" by limiting large-capacity magazines.