To do that, we've got Reason Magazine's J.D. Tuccille back on the show. He recently wrote about what Kash Patel's appointment might mean for the gun agency.

He argued it could send a signal the administration plans to merge the two law enforcement arms, if not officially, at least effectively. Tuccille said the move has the potential to reign in some of the worst excesses of the ATF by eliminating its singular focus on gun law enforcement. But, he noted, it could also backfire on gun owners given the FBI's reputation for aggressive enforcement, even over-aggressive at times.

Then there's Kash Patel himself. He has received strong backing from gun-rights groups, who hope he'll wipe out the gun restrictions and zero-tolerance approach, as well as the officials who implemented them. However, Tuccille said his history of comments promising retribution against his and President Trump's opponents in government and media raise concerns about how he might wield his expansive new power over federal law enforcement.

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Special Guest: JD Tuccille.

That's not because the two shootings are directly connected but rather because the Wisconsin attack was influenced by the Columbine attack. And the CEO killing has many of the same hallmarks that could lead to it influencing future attacks as well. To examine how likely that is, we have former FBI agent and active shooter research pioneer Katherine Schweit back on the show.

Schweit was part of the team that began tracking active shooter events in the wake of the Sandy Hook attack. She helped create the framework for responding to them for both law enforcement and civilians. She agreed there is reason to think the CEO killing could have a similar effect to that of Columbine.

She said it's hard to know what might happen with future assassination attempts, but the messaging and viral nature of the CEO killing make copycats more likely. But she said she has seen progress in combatting active shooter incidents, with the number falling the past two years. And the same tactics could be used to reduce copycats as well.

Special Guest: Katherine Schweit.

That's why Robert VerBruggen from National Review and the Manhattan Institute is joining us. He's been writing about the ins and outs of crime data for years and has produced some of the most insightful commentary I've seen.

With data from the FBI, CDC, and elsewhere indicating a significant increase in murder over the past two years, VerBruggen walks us through the trend and its implications. He also explains why the FBI's data is less reliable than its ever been before and what impact that has on everything. He said that as we've seen a historic change in the murder rate, the FBI's reporting capabilities have become historically bad.

However, VerBruggen said there is still a lot we can figure out from what we do know. For instance, he said it's unlikely that the gun sales spike fueled the murder spike. Instead, he argues police pullback in the wake of the 2020 riots is largely to blame. However, even that conclusion comes with significant nuance due to how widespread the spike has been. 

We also hear from Reload Member Allen, who is a new gun owner living in New York City. He explains why he decided to buy his first gun just over a year ago and what the onerous process for actually obtaining a shotgun has been like.

Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman and I discuss a federal ruling blocking enforcement of the most controversial portions of New York's latest gun-carry law.

Special Guest: Robert VerBruggen.

That's why I wanted to bring on an expert in active shooter situations to give some insight into what causes these events and how they might be prevented. There are few people with a better understanding of the situation than the person who created the FBI's research program on active shooters: Katherine Schweit.

She literally wrote the book on how to stop the killing.

Schweit created the FBI's definition of "active shooter." While most media or activist counts for "mass shooting" focus on how many people are shot or killed, the FBI doesn't have an official definition for the term. Instead, it focuses on identifying people who attempt to carry out random public shootings regardless of whether they are successful.

That makes it narrower than most definitions used by major media outlets, which incorporated many gang or crime-related shootings, but broader than definitions from the Associated Press or Mother Jones that focus on mass shootings where the attacker is able to kill many people. Schweit said that was the goal of her approach since it gives an opportunity to study trends that appear among those who attempt these attacks.

She said nearly all of the active shooters the FBI has profiled over the past decade are young men. Most use handguns. And most are triggered by a combination of different stressors such as financial distress or social ostracization.

Shcweit said the FBI's research has identified ways that shootings can be prevented. She said a big part of the solution is for people to speak up when they notice the warning signs somebody may be spiraling toward violence. She even explained a recent example where a co-worker successfully stopped a likely attacker after he threatened to carry out an attack.

Plus, Contributing Editor Paul Crookston joins the show to talk about the flood of post-Bruen lawsuits.

Special Guest: Katherine Schweit.