Welcome to Gavel Drop, our roundup of legal news, headlines, and head-shaking moments in the courts.

Words fail when it comes to the Orlando massacre. This must-read piece from the Atlantic explains why we need to stop automatically linking gun violence and mental illness.

In one positive step toward addressing the gun-violence epidemic in this country, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday there is no Second Amendment right to a concealed weapon permit.

But Adam Winkler argues for the Atlantic that it won’t be the Supreme Court that ultimately helps fix this country’s gun problem.

The Brock Turner rape case shows another of the many failings of the criminal justice system: the unchecked influence of probation officers.

Once a mother goes to jail, it can be heartbreakingly difficult to reunite her with her children.

Which is why we should reconsider decisions like this one to take custody away from a New York mother who gave her child Benadryl.

Having uninterrupted access to abortion care is one part of economic justice for the poor, but Katha Pollitt argues reducing poverty and lowering abortion rates are really two different, disconnected things.

This story is truly horrific. Christopher Simcox, the founder of an Arizona Minuteman border patrol group and a former kindergarten teacher, has been convicted of molesting children. Simcox isn’t an attorney, but he represented himself in the felony trial and tried to have the court order one of his 6-year-old victims to testify.