Leigh Paterson

Email: lpaterson@insideenergy.org; leighpaterson@rmpbs.org

Leigh Paterson was raised in New Jersey, graduated from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, and then taught English at a culinary high school in France. Leigh then got her Master's in Broadcast Journalism from the S.I Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and then moved to Washington D.C. in 2009. After spending two years as a producer at CanadianTV's Washington bureau, Leigh left to freelance. Since then, as a one woman show, she has reported for TV and radio from across the country for BBC News, BBC World Service, PRI's the World, ABC-Univision, Agence France Presse, and CBC News.

Poll: Americans, Including Republicans And Gun Owners, Broadly Support Red Flag Laws

By Leigh Paterson • Aug 20, 2019

Strong majorities of Americans from across the political spectrum support laws that allow family members or law enforcement to petition a judge to temporarily remove guns from a person who is seen to be a risk to themselves or others, according to a new APM Research Lab/Guns & America/Call To Mind survey.

Many Mass Shooters Share A Common Bond: Male Grievance Culture

By Leigh Paterson • Aug 9, 2019

While the circumstances of every mass shooting are unique, the perpetrators of the recent shootings in Ohio and Texas fit into a consistent storyline: white men with access to guns committing violence in the name of real or perceived grievances.

Colorado Incident Prompts Questions About Out-Of-State Gun Sales

By Leigh Paterson • May 2, 2019

A Florida teen arrived at Denver International Airport last month and then purchased a shotgun at a gun store in the suburb of Littleton. What followed was a massive, frantic manhunt and the closure of schools all over northern Colorado. Questions about the legality of that gun purchase persist.

Twenty Years Later A Look At Columbine, Then And Now

By Leigh Paterson • Apr 18, 2019

Helen H. Richardson / The Denver Post / via Getty Images

The nation was shocked on April 20, 1999, when 12 students and one teacher were killed in a mass shooting at Columbine High School outside of Denver, Colorado.

In the 20 years since, through other prominent school shootings from Sandy Hook to Parkland and an ongoing rise in U.S. shooting deaths, Columbine has loomed large in our politics, policy and culture.

Should People In Crisis Have Guns? States Look To Limit Their Access

By Leigh Paterson • Jan 21, 2019

Judy Amabile believes that if Colorado enacts an Extreme Risk Protection Order bill, it could help prevent her son from buying a gun. — Leigh Paterson, KUNC

Judy Amabile has a crumpled sleeping bag laid out on the porch of her bright, beautiful home in downtown Boulder, Colorado.

"My son isn't supposed to come in the house when he's been drinking. That's why we have this sleeping bag out here," she explained. "Anybody else would look at that and think uh, what? But for us it's like…That’s life."

Colorado Lawmakers Weigh 'Red Flag Law' As Gun Owners Push Back

By Leigh Paterson • May 3, 2018

Surrounded by law enforcement, district attorneys, and advocates, Colorado lawmakers unveiled a bill on Monday that would allow guns to be temporarily taken away from someone who is a significant risk to themselves or to others.

When Coal Companies Fail, Who Pays For The Cleanup?

By Leigh Paterson • Feb 29, 2016

For decades massive, open-pit coal mines have been feeding the country's appetite for energy. Once coal companies are done with the land, they're supposed to restore it. But as America's coal industry declines, it may not have the funding to keep its cleanup promises.