United States
Bill to Strip Illinois Parents of Gun Rights if Their Children Misuse Firearms
Chicago Tribune
12 Mar 2008
SPRINGFIELD -- Parents who repeatedly allow their troubled children to gain access to guns or ammunition would lose their right to own firearms in Illinois under legislation approved Wednesday by a House committee. State officials said the measure would help prevent rare but tragic shootings that happen when unstable or violent kids get their hands on weapons, but opponents said it's not fair to deprive adults of their rights if they haven't been convicted of a crime. The vote came a day after about 2,000 people showed up at the State Capitol to oppose proposed gun-control measures, including bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Bush, Cheney, US Solicitor-General All Join White House Battle Over Guns
Washington Post, Opinion
12 Mar 2008
In preparation for oral arguments Tuesday on the extent of gun rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court has before it a brief signed by Vice President Cheney opposing the Bush administration's stance. Even more remarkably, Cheney is faithfully reflecting the views of President Bush. The government position filed with the Supreme Court by U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement stunned gun advocates by opposing the breadth of an appellate court's affirmation of individual ownership rights. The Justice Department, not the vice president, is out of order. But if Bush agrees with Cheney, why did the president not simply order Clement to revise... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Florida Gun Lobby Routs Business Lobby with 'Take Your Gun to Work' Law
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
12 Mar 2008
Over fierce opposition from Florida's business leaders, a House council voted Wednesday to allow employees to carry concealed weapons to work -- provided they kept them in their vehicles. The move was a major victory for the National Rifle Association, which has pushed unsuccessfully even stronger guns-at-work legislation the past two years. But in this election year, supporters may be satisfied with the latest measure (CS/HB 503). "This is closer to where we want to be, but not where we want to be," said Marion Hammer, NRA lobbyist. "This is an important people issue ... the constitution begins 'we the people,' not 'we the Chamber of Commerce' or 'we... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Former San Diego Police Officer Sentenced for Buying Untraceable Guns
San Francisco Chronicle / AP
12 Mar 2008
OAKLAND, California -- A federal judge in Oakland has sentenced a former San Diego police officer and a second man to prison for trying to buy untraceable guns so they could use them in robberies. Former officer Thomas Williams and Rafael Miranda were both sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after they both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess firearms equipped with silencers. In pleading guilty, the 61-year-old Willams and the 29-year-old Miranda both admitted they had bought the guns and obliterated serial numbers to commit robberies. Both men were arrested in Crockett last summer by FBI agents after making a deal to buy the guns... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Iowa Idea Offers Free College Tuition to Cops Willing to Carry Guns in Class
Quad-City Times (Iowa)
12 Mar 2008
A proposal to put armed police officers in Iowa college classrooms may get a vote of support tonight from the Davenport City Council. The council will hear a presentation for "Cops on Campus," a proposal by Davenport police detective Greg Keller that would permit officers to take college courses tuition-free. However, the officers would be required to be equipped with a cell phone that is interactive with a school's security system to respond to life-threatening situations. Officers also would be required to meet course requirements. "This isn't going to stop the problem," Keller said of a recent spate of shootings on college campuses in other states,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Philadelphia City Council Sues State Govt to Permit Local Gun Control Laws
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
12 Mar 2008
Adopting strict laws to control the straw-purchasing of guns in Philadelphia doesn't go against the state's authority to regulate firearms, City Council members Darrell L. Clarke and Donna Reed Miller told a panel of Commonwealth Court judges this morning. Those judges indicated that city officials have a steep road to climb with their argument. For them to prevail, the state Supreme Court will have to reverse a 12-year-old ruling that appeared to give the state absolute control over gun laws and prevent Philadelphia from enacting any of its own. "Aren't we just a way station?" asked President Judge Bonnie Brigance Leadbetter. Not necessarily,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Philadelphia Sues State Govt to Allow City to Set Its Own Gun Control Laws
Philadelphia Daily News (Pennsylvania)
12 Mar 2008
City Council squares off against the state General Assembly in Commonwealth Court this morning over whether the city can enforce its own gun laws. Council members Darrell Clarke and Donna Reed Miller filed a lawsuit last fall citing a "state-created danger" after several local gun-control laws were passed but not enforced because the General Assembly had not voted on corresponding state legislation. Clarke and Miller are asking a panel of judges to rule that the state's Uniform Firearm Act does not preempt the city's own gun laws, and to force the General Assembly to accept that legislation. Today's hearing will focus on challenges to the lawsuit... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Time to Remove Toxic Lead from All Ammunition: Wisconsin Makes a Move
Capital Times (Wisconsin)
12 Mar 2008
Wisconsin is taking a step in the right direction when, beginning this fall, it will require dove hunters on public lands to use non-toxic shot. But, it isn't enough. It's time to get the lead out from all hunting and fishing uses of this toxic substance. Lead has been used since Roman times and it has been known to be toxic since people developed lead poisoning after drinking from lead goblets. Milt Friend, retired director of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, said that although society has known about the problems with lead for centuries, it is a double-edged sword with many benefits, leading to its wide use, but also hidden... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
To Reduce Firearm Violence in Illinois, We Must Take Aim at Guns
Chicago Tribune, Editorial
12 Mar 2008
You can trace the end of gun control as a winning political issue to the 1994 midterm election, when Democrats lost control of the U.S. House and blamed that, in large part, on their support for a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. You start with that election. And you follow the line to the killings at Columbine High School in 1999 -- Congress did nothing in response, and paid no political price. Congress allowed the assault weapons ban to expire in 2004; that caused barely a whimper. The number of murders with firearms steadily declined from 1994 through the end of the decade, which probably helped to take off some of the political pressure to support... ( gunpolicy.org )
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