@mikespies.bsky.social
Senior staff writer at The Trace, Contributing Writer at Rolling Stone. Get in touch at mspies@thetrace.org or on Signal: @mikespies.15
Weekend reading from this week's issue: "A Woman Lost Two Partners to Guns—Then the N.R.A. Came to Collect" by Mike Spies (@mikespies.bsky.social). https://newyorkerest.com/issue/2026/08/03?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=weekend_reading
A Woman Lost Two Partners to Guns—Then the N.R.A. Came to Collect
The majority of suicides in the U.S. involve guns, and eighty per cent of those are done by white men, a pattern that the gun-rights organization has spent decades denying.
newyorkerest.com
A devastating personal story reveals why firearm suicide has remained a blind spot in America’s gun debate. www.newyorker.com/podcast/poli...
The Woman Who Took On the N.R.A. After Two Gun Suicides
A devastating personal story reveals why firearm suicide has remained a blind spot in America’s gun debate.
newyorker.com
My new story, about profiting from gun suicide: www.thetrace.org/2026/07/gun-... Published in partnership with @thetrace.org and @newyorker.com
Parting Shot
Stormy Kay was born in 1961, when her parents were young newlyweds, unprepared and thrust into adulthood. Stormy’s mother cut meat at a grocery store and taught classes at a beauty school, and her fat...
thetrace.org
SCOTUS just killed Hawaii's requirement to get permission to carry a firearm onto private property. But according to the industry's own research, “a majority of gun owners and conservatives also don’t feel safe when it comes to concealed carry.” www.thetrace.org/2025/07/gun-...
Concealed Handguns Create a Climate of Fear, the Gun Industry’s Own Research Reveals
The gun industry is pushing Congress to loosen restrictions on carrying, even though routine carrying makes even its customers feel less safe.
thetrace.org
A New York appeals court upheld a $4.3 million judgement against former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, who was found liable in a 2024 civil corruption case for enriching himself using the organization’s funds.
New York Appeals Court Upholds $4.3 Million Judgment Against Former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre
The panel also left intact a 2024 ruling that barred LaPierre from holding a paid position within the NRA for 10 years.
thetrace.org
"Eight months before Cole Tomas Allen sprinted past a security checkpoint with his shotgun in an alleged attempt to kill President Donald J. Trump, he walked into Turner’s Outdoorsman in Torrance, California, and purchased the weapon, a Mossberg pump-action 12-gauge."
The Trace@thetrace.org · 3mo agoA new analysis of state data by The Trace links the chain to a quarter of California's crime guns. The retailer also sold a shotgun to the White House Correspondents' Dinner attacker.
"Why are all the journalists laid off now" this is why. Pretty simple.
Huh. I always thought it was weird that my doctor dresses up like Jesus during my annual physical and lays hands on my forehead, but I guess that’s just the norm.
This is called “strategic defeat.” You have ended up in a worse position than before you began, with your adversary, while battered, emerging in a stronger position than before.
Aman Batheja@amanbatheja.bsky.social · 4mo agoNew: The White House is signaling that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is not a must-have to end the Iran War, potentially setting the stage for Iran to continue to flex its strategic position over one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels for the foreseeable future
Here’s something Ron Johnson once said: “You know, there’s a reason Greenland was called Greenland. It was actually green at one point in time. And it’s been, you know, since, it’s a whole lot whiter now so we’ve experienced climate change throughout geologic time.”
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5mo agoRon Johnson on Fox News whines about the "mainstream media" being unfair to Republicans
Just received the following push alert from wapo: “The Interior Department reached a settlement to pay France’s TotalEnergies [$1 billion] not to pursue two offshore wind farms but direct the investments toward fossil fuels.”
@mikespies.bsky.social · 5mo agoRemember when the Obama admin invested $500 million in a solar company and the company didn’t pan out and GOP lawmakers and the conservative press said it was the biggest scandal of all time?
Remember when the Obama admin invested $500 million in a solar company and the company didn’t pan out and GOP lawmakers and the conservative press said it was the biggest scandal of all time?
Art Candee 🍿🥤@artcandee.bsky.social · 5mo agoLooks like ICE is really helping TSA agents at this airport. 🙄
I continue to find it mystifying that lack of trust in media is portrayed as a consequence of the media’s actions, as opposed to a decades’ long conservative project—beginning w the Nixon admin—to discredit the media as a biased organ of the dem party. Ppl should revisit the watergate pressers.
Jay Rosen@jayrosen.bsky.social · 6mo agoTimes columnist @polgreen.bsky.social poses a familiar question, and arrives at a... let's say an unusual answer. Why, she asks, has trust in the news media cratered? Because aggressive, probing journalism isn't really that popular. People resent it. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/o... [Gift link]
"An additional 18 people reported P320 injuries in 2025, including...a Utah man shot through the penis on Valentine’s Day." Stunning reporting by my @thetrace.org colleague, Champe Barton: www.thetrace.org/2026/02/sig-...
Even a Decade of Unintentional Shootings Could Not Slow America’s Top Pistol Maker
SIG Sauer’s P320 has prompted scores of lawsuits for alleged safety issues. Insiders say a push to make more guns led to shoddy manufacturing.
thetrace.org
If you want to buy and read a book written by AI, I’m sorry to say that there is no hope for you
Sarah Weinman@sarahweinman.com · 6mo ago“If I can generate a book in a day, and you need six months to write a book, who’s going to win the race?” God this is bleak
My take on what has transpired in Minneapolis, published in partnership with @thetrace.org and @motherjones.com www.thetrace.org/2026/02/gun-...
The Violent Reckoning the Gun Rights Movement Long Wanted Is Playing Out in Minneapolis
The 2A crowd warned about tyranny and “jack-booted government thugs,” while also building a shadow army amped up on the idea of crushing domestic opponents. After a decade on the beat, The Trace's Mi...
thetrace.org
"Trump’s federal thugs beat up on His face and his chest Then we heard the gunshots And Alex Pretti lay in the snow, dead Their claim was self defense, sir Just don’t believe your eyes It’s our blood and bones And these whistles and phones Against Miller and Noem’s dirty lies"
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
I wrote about my childhood friend Alexi Pretti. Please read it and share it and remember him as a human being. @theverge.com
I grew up with Alex Pretti
The kind-hearted ICU nurse shot by ICE agents was my childhood best friend.
theverge.com
Re: #3: This is not actually a new rule
Adam Serwer@adamserwer.bsky.social · 6mo ago1. Wasn’t at a protest 2. Was disarmed when they shot him while he was face down 3. New gun rights rule: the second amendment is when conservatives can carry guns everywhere, but if anyone else has a gun we can kill him on sight bsky.app/profile/atru...
Senator Markwayne Mullin on the purpose of the 2nd amendment: “Our founding fathers understood the essential role of an armed citizenry in safeguarding individual liberties and deterring tyranny. This right is a cornerstone of our democracy and must be upheld without compromise.” Did he mean it?
Ted Cruz on the 2nd amendment: “It is a Constitutional right to protect your children, your family, your home, our lives, and to serve as the ultimate check against governmental tyranny — for the protection of liberty.” Does he still believe that?
What do gun rights advocates say is the purpose of the second amendment?
ICE’s attacks are the latest form of rightwing political violence. It’s just state sanctioned now.
It’s not just that. What’s happening now is the payoff after decades of theater in service of helping wealthy conservatives preserve their wealth. While they would not share the spoils, they bequeathed the right to commit violence, which provides its own kind of power, and now the chickens are home
The victim of today's ICE shooting in Minneapolis is the 5th person to be shot and killed by federal immigration agents since President Trump began his crackdown last year. This is the 19th time they've opened fire. We're tracking incidents here:
How Many People Have Been Shot in ICE Raids?
The Trace is tracking gun incidents connected to Trump’s immigration crackdown. Know of one? Please be in touch.
thetrace.org
The basis of the gun rights movement, under the movement’s interpretation of the 2nd amendment, has crumbled before our eyes. As the gov’t turns arms against its people, the movement’s leaders, followers, legal scholars, and GOP allies have been silent. Ditto for SCOTUS’s conservative bloc.