Massachusetts Finds More Ways To Lead The Nation On Gun Violence Prevention [huffingtonpost.com]

Massachusetts already has the nation’s strongest gun laws and lowest firearm death rate. But its lawmakers recently boosted the state’s commitment to an emerging form of gun violence prevention, providing $10 million for programs specifically designed to stem the bloodshed in communities where shootings are most common.

Moved in part by gun-related tragedies over the past year, the state legislature approved a funding bill in October that included initiatives that seek to prevent school-based gun violence. 

But statewide data showed that shootings in schools were only a small part of the overall gun violence problem among young people. In fact, shootings take their largest toll among those who had dropped out of school or already graduated, state Rep. Andy Vargas (D) told HuffPost.