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Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller
Kerri Miller and Kelly Gordon

Gun sales soared during the pandemic. What does that mean?

A display case shows a number of handguns.
Semi-automatic handguns are displayed at Duke's Sport Shop, March 2020 in New Castle, Pa.
Keith Srakocic | AP 2020

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Last month, Texas became the 20th state to pass legislation that says no permit is required to carry a concealed handgun.

Meanwhile, gun sales are way up. They spiked in March 2020, which is largely attributed to fears surrounding the pandemic, and have remained at unprecedented levels since.

Gun violence is also soaring. More than 8,600 people have died from guns in the U.S. this year. More than 260 mass shootings have been recorded in 2021 so far, and the number of people who use a gun to attempt suicide — more than 24,000 in 2019 — goes up every year.

How can we hold all these facts together? Is there causation? Or just correlation? Monday, host Kerri Miller spoke with two women who study gun violence. Is there a way for guns to be available in America without the surrounding harm?

Guests:

  • Bindu Kalesan is an adjunct professor at Boston University and vice president of the Gun Violence Survivors Foundation.

  • Kami Chavis is a professor of law, director of the Criminal Justice Program at Wake Forest University School of Law and special adviser to the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.