Plus, an Emmy nomination for “Unrelinquished,” our documentary film on domestic violence homicides.
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** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
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Saturday, July 30, 2022
Hello! In this issue:
* A decade after Trayvon Martin’s killing, stand your ground ([link removed]) laws keep expanding.
* Reveal context around a redlining settlement for the record books and the new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
* An Emmy Award ([link removed]) nomination for our documentary film on domestic violence homicides.
** THIS WEEK’S PODCAST
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** No Retreat: The Dangers of Stand Your Ground
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Stand your ground ([link removed]) laws permit a person to use deadly force in self-defense – even if that person could have safely retreated.
Ten years ago, the killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in Florida put a national spotlight on stand your ground, prompting calls for lawmakers to repeal and reform the statutes. But repeal and reform is not what happened.
Since Martin’s death, the laws have expanded by nearly 60% across the nation. And today, 38 states have some sort of stand your ground policy in place. Opponents say it’s a “kill at will” law that makes it much harder to hold people accountable for unjustified killings.
This week on Reveal ([link removed]) , our team digs deeper into the laws and their impact. Have they made us safer or do they put our lives at risk? And what do prosecutors think?
Listen to the episode ([link removed])
🎧 Other places to listen: Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) , Spotify ([link removed]) , Google Podcasts ([link removed]) , Stitcher ([link removed]) or wherever you get your podcasts.
📸 Trayvon Martin supporters gather for a rally in front of the office of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in April 2012 in Miami. Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Taking on powerful interests demands lots of time, a strong backbone and your support. Donate to keep us going ([link removed]) .
** FEATURED STORIES
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** Group Behind ‘2000 Mules’ Has Deep Ties to Ken Paxton
By Cassandra Jaramillo
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The Texas attorney general would be the one to hold True the Vote accountable on allegations that it swindled a $2.5 million donor. But the nonprofit’s founder has been a friend and ally. Read the full story ([link removed]) .
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** Inside the Global Fight for White Power
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White nationalists around the globe are working together to disrupt multicultural societies and Western democracies. Listen to the full episode ([link removed]) .
** In the News
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What’s happening in the news – with a Reveal context
Billionaire businessman Warren Buffett
** Billionaire businessman Warren Buffett. Credit: Dennis Van Tine/STAR MAX/IPx
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Second-largest redlining settlement in history. The Department of Justice announced ([link removed]) on Wednesday that it came to an agreement with Trident Mortgage Co., owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, to resolve claims of redlining discrimination in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
In 2018, then-Reveal reporters Aaron Glantz ([link removed]) and Emmanuel Martinez ([link removed]) found that Trident ([link removed]) and other mortgage companies owned by Buffett had directed their lending toward White borrowers and White neighborhoods, even in population centers where a majority of residents were people of color.
For example ([link removed]) , in Philadelphia, Trident made 1,721 conventional home purchase loans in 2015 and 2016, with only 47 of them to African Americans and 42 to Latinos.
“As part of the agreement with the government, Trident will have to set aside $20 million to make loans in underserved neighborhoods,” the Associated Press writes ([link removed]) .
Glantz and Martinez’s reporting was part of our coverage on modern-day redlining in America. Read it here ([link removed]) .
A new chapter for the ATF. Steven Dettelbach was sworn in as the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives earlier this month. The agency has had temporary leadership for the last seven years, and he is “only the second ATF director to win Senate approval since confirmation was required in 2006,” Politico writes ([link removed]) .
Dettelbach’s confirmation comes at a time when the number of people killed in mass shootings and gun homicides continues to rise. Guns are also the No. 1 weapon in domestic violence killings in the United States. We previously reported ([link removed]) that the ATF, the chief federal agency for enforcing our nation’s gun laws, does not track the number of people prohibited from possessing firearms who then go on to kill their intimate partners. And no agents ([link removed]) specialize in domestic violence.
The reauthorized Violence Against Women Act ([link removed]) aims to expand the ATF’s reach by allowing the attorney general to deputize local and state law enforcement officers to act as ATF agents to investigate abusers who break federal firearms laws. It’s a provision that came about because of our reporting.
We also know the agency has had a track record of secrecy. In our May show ([link removed]) on gun violence and reform, The Trace’s Alain Stephens told us the ATF honors fewer public information requests than agencies like the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and even the CIA. More from our coverage on guns ([link removed]) .
** A Quote to Remember
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“I think this is going to be a wake-up call for millions of Americans about how much danger this tracking puts them in when laws change and people can weaponize these systems in ways that once seemed impossible.”
— Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the New York-based Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, on how a digital trail ([link removed]) could be used as evidence against abortion seekers in states where the procedure is outlawed.
📝 Read the related investigation: Facebook and Anti-Abortion Clinics Are Collecting Highly Sensitive Info on Would-Be Patients ([link removed])
** Ending on a Good Note
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“Unrelinquished ([link removed]) : When Abusers Keep Their Guns,” a documentary film that Reveal produced in collaboration with Al Jazeera’s “Fault Lines” program, has been nominated ([link removed]) for an Emmy Award in the outstanding investigative news coverage: long form category.
The film is part of reporter Jennifer Gollan’s multiplatform project When Abusers Keep Their Guns ([link removed]) , which found scores of Americans are killed every year by domestic abusers who have weapons that should have been relinquished or seized.
Congratulations to the reporting team ([link removed]) ! The awards will be presented and streamed live Sept. 28. Full details here ([link removed]) .
This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Kassie Navarro, edited by Kate Howard and copy edited by Nikki Frick. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:
[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!
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