Top of PageGun Policy News
Guns on campus; firearms, students and teachers
Racing to Lowest Standard, US States Slacken Controls on Hidden Handguns
20 December 2011
USA Today
JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi resident who receives a concealed carry permit and takes an eight-hour course can now carry a gun on college campuses, in bars and in courthouses.
As of this summer, Wyoming residents need no permits for concealed weapons. And in Indiana, private businesses must allow employees to keep firearms in their vehicles on company property.
Those and other recent changes on the state level represent a growing shift toward loosening state gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Officer, Gun Owner Dead in New Virginia Tech University Shooting
8 December 2011
Reuters
BLACKSBURG, Virginia - A gunman ambushed and killed a campus police officer and was later reported to have been found dead on Thursday at Virginia Tech University, the site of one of the worst shooting rampages in U.S. history.
Authorities declared the campus safe and lifted a lock-down after a nearly four-hour manhunt, seeming to lend credence to television news reports that a body found in a Virginia Tech parking lot was that of the shooter.
Police at a televised... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control Group Asks Maverick Federal MP to Explain Pro-Gun Stance
27 October 2011
Australian (Sydney)
Anti-gun campaigners have called on maverick Federal MP Bob Katter to explain his Australia Party's policy towards firearm laws.
The party denies being solely focussed on giving gun owners and dealers better rights, but The Australian has today revealed the gun links of key officials and backers, including Mr Katter's son-in-law, Rob Nioa, president of the Australian Gun Dealers Association.
Gun Control Australia president John Crook today said it was a "disgusting... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Licence Applicants May Have to Prove Mental Health in Netherlands
4 October 2011
Auburn Journal (California)
A majority of Members of the Netherlands Parliament are supporting a recommendation from the public security council that applicants for a gun ownership license prove they are psychologically healthy before they can obtain a license.
In the Netherlands gun ownership is not a right but a privilege, with hunting and target shooting the only two legitimate reasons for owning a gun. Self-defense is not considered a legitimate reason for owning a gun and only the police may... (GunPolicy.org)
US Lawmakers Push to Allow Carrying Guns on College Campuses
30 September 2011
USA Today
State lawmakers across the USA are pushing a growing number of bills this year that would legalize carrying guns on college campuses, according to groups tracking the trend.
This year, at least 14 states have introduced 35 bills that would allow students and faculty to carry concealed weapons on state colleges and universities or loosen restrictions on gun bans on campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Meanwhile, two states, Maryland and... (GunPolicy.org)
Boy Injures 2 Students with Unattended Police Assault Rifle in Russia
17 September 2011
RIA Novosti (Russia)
MAKHACHKALA - A high school student in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Dagestan accidentally wounded two other students after he made a shot from an assault rifle in a school, a local police spokesman said on Saturday.
He said several policemen were invited to a school in the Tarumovsky district of Dagestan to deliver a lecture for children.
"A senior class student was examining an assault rifle that was left unattended for some time by one of the policemen after... (GunPolicy.org)
College Shooting Revives Debate Over Canadian Gun Registry [Francais]
14 September 2011
CapAcadie.com (Canada), Editorial
[Translated summary: The fifth anniversary of the Dawson College tragedy brings back the debate over the abolition of the firearm registry. The number of homicides in Canada involving a carbine or shotgun has dropped between 1975 and 2006, from 183 to 36. Pure coincidence?]
Il y avait exactement cinq ans hier, un étudiant du Collège Dawson à Montréal ramenait au souvenir des Montréalais et de tous les Canadiens le drame de la Polytechnique: armé d'une arme... (GunPolicy.org)
Sweden,Iceland,Denmark,Finland,Norway
Nordic Countries Set Sights on Stricter Gun Control after Norway Attacks
16 August 2011
Agence France Presse
STOCKHOLM — In the Nordic countries, where hunting is popular and firearms are plentiful, the twin July 22 attacks that killed 77 people in Norway have spurred lawmakers to consider tighter gun laws.
But change will not come without resistance in a region where hunting is viewed by many as a cultural heritage passed down from Viking ancestors, and sport shooting is a favourite pastime.
Finland, which has one of the world's highest gun ownership rates at 1.5 million... (GunPolicy.org)
3 Men Charged with Production and Selling of Imitation Guns in China
15 August 2011
China Daily
XIAMEN, Fujian - Three men in East China's Fujian province have been charged with producing and selling imitation guns following a raid on a toy gun factory in Jinjiang city in July.
You Zhixian, a publicity officer with Jinjiang public security bureau, said the three suspects surnamed Huang, Ge and Chen had been arrested on suspicion of producing and selling imitation guns that could cause injury.
"More than 10,000 imitation firearms were discovered in the factory,"... (GunPolicy.org)
Once Again, a Gun Scare at Virginia Tech
4 August 2011
Washington Post
BLACKSBURG, Va. — Once again, police rushed to the campus of Virginia Tech. Again, the words man with a gun raced across the university. And again, students and workers locked doors and turned off lights.
But a day-long search Thursday failed to locate the tall figure in the blue-and-white vertically striped shirt whom three summer campers thought they saw with a pistol, and by late afternoon their report remained unconfirmed.
A five-hour campus lockdown was lifted... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Norway,United Kingdom,Africa,Afghanistan,Mexico
Gun Trade Inevitably Leads to the Sort of Atrocity Inflicted on Norway
31 July 2011
Independent (UK), Opinion
In discussion of the atrocity in Norway last week, there is one subject which has been notable by the almost total silence about it: guns. In response to recurring massacres in American high schools and British villages, in response to footage from Africa and Afghanistan showing ragged, untrained young men brandishing automatic small arms, in response to a man coolly murdering dozens of youngsters in an hour-and-a-half, funfair-like shooting spree on a Norwegian island,... (GunPolicy.org)
NSW Police Minister Rules Out Supporting Guns in Australian Schools
18 July 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
The Police Minister, Mike Gallacher, yesterday ruled out supporting changes to gun laws in NSW and said the state government would not consider introducing shooting as a sport into the school curriculum.
This was despite the Shooters and Fishers Party saying they had received an indication from the state government that it would largely support their firearms bill, which includes allowing shooting as a sport in NSW schools.
The Shooters MP Robert Borsak said he had... (GunPolicy.org)
Push for Shooting as a Sport in Schools in New South Wales, Australia
17 July 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
THE Shooters and Fishers Party has won the support of the O'Farrell Government to increase shooting as a sport in schools.
The gun control lobby and even some in the Coalition see the minor party's long-held ambition to get more guns into the hands of children as the price the government must pay for the support of Shooters MPs, Robert Borsak and Robert Brown. It relies on the pair to get its legislation through a hostile upper house.
At the top of their wish list is... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Lawmaker Pointing Her Handgun at a Journalist Draws Fire
16 July 2011
New York Times, Opinion
While all the country gaped last week at the acrimony ensnarling the Federal government, Arizonans were treated to an additional, equally bizarre spectacle. You'll be shocked to hear that a firearm was involved.
It was a classic case of he said/she said, but of a particular stripe hard to imagine outside Arizona, where guns are so fervently embraced that I imagine they rank above waffle irons as popular wedding gifts and make the occasional appearance at christenings,... (GunPolicy.org)
Tougher Gun Laws Go into Effect in Finland after Shootings
13 June 2011
univision.com / AFP
Tougher hand gun laws went into effect in Finland Monday, after being pushed through parliament amid outrage over two recent school massacres and a shopping centre shooting spree.
The new legislation raises the minimum age for a handgun permit from 18 to 20 years of age, requires applicants to be trained by a police-approved instructor at a gun club, and obliges medical and military personnel to report anyone they feel is mentally or socially unsuitable to own a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Doctors Call Gun Safety 'Preventive', Gun Lobby Labels It 'Invasive'
13 June 2011
Boston Globe
Pediatricians regularly give parents advice about how to keep their children safe at home: Stash toxic cleaners where young children cannot get to them, fence the backyard swimming pool, require bike helmets, and keep any firearms unloaded and locked away.
Physicians call this kind of preventive care "anticipatory guidance". When it comes to guns, the National Rifle Association calls it an invasion of privacy.
Governor Rick Scott this month signed a law making Florida... (GunPolicy.org)
Bloody Shootout Between Rival Groups on a Campus in Mali [Francais]
6 June 2011
Le Républicain (Mali)
[Translated Summary: On 3 June the campus of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FAST) saw a bloody clash between two rival student groups fighting over the management of University dormitories. Machetes, axes and guns resulted in 'many' injuries].
Usage d'armes à feu et d'armes blanches
8 blessés graves
Le campus universitaire de la Faculté des sciences et techniques (Fast) a été, le 3 juin 2011, le théâtre d'un affrontement sanglant entre deux groupes... (GunPolicy.org)
Of All Higher Ed Issues Facing Nevada, Guns on Campus Shoots to Top
1 June 2011
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada), Opinion
CARSON CITY — Of all the problems facing the beleaguered Nevada System of Higher Education, which one seems so urgent that the Legislature would take it up? Perhaps it's how to deal with deep budget cuts, which will be at least $200 million when you count the loss of federal stimulus money? Or access for underprivileged students? Or graduation rates? Or the division of resources between UNR and UNLV?
Well, if you guessed any of those, you'd be wrong. The real... (GunPolicy.org)
Kansas Received the 'Craziest Gun Laws' Award from US Gun Control Group
30 May 2011
Kansas City Star (Missouri) / AP
WICHITA - A national gun-control group has named Kansas as one of four states to receive its "Craziest Gun Laws" award because of a new measure the organization says allows guns in the state's schools.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence issued its annual ranking of gun laws earlier this month. Kansas, Virginia, Utah and Florida received the group's "Craziest Gun Laws" award.
The Wichita Eagle reports state and local officials say a bill signed by Gov. Sam... (GunPolicy.org)
California Tough Gun Control Laws Cut Flow to Mexico
29 May 2011
San Francisco Chronicle
California's tough gun-control laws are targeted at armed criminals in general and mass-shooters in particular. But they appear to have had the unintended consequence of making California gun stores unattractive to purchasers buying weapons for the Mexican drug cartels.
A Hearst Newspapers survey of guns purchased in the United States and funneled to Mexican drug traffickers found that out of 1,600 guns identified by brand name and purchase point in court documents, a... (GunPolicy.org)
Oklahoma Bill Allows Concealed-Carry Permit Holders to Bring Guns on Campuses
26 May 2011
Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
OKLAHOMA CITY - Gov. Mary Fallin signed a measure Wednesday that allows people with concealed-carry permits to leave weapons in locked vehicles in CareerTech campus parking lots.
"I believe, as does our Legislature, that it is reasonable to allow a gun owner with a concealed-weapons permit to leave his or her gun locked in the car while visiting a career technology center," Fallin said.
"Permit holders already have that right at most locations in Oklahoma. This is a... (GunPolicy.org)
Student Grazed by Bullet During School Shooting in California
25 May 2011
San Francisco Chronicle / AP
SAN PEDRO, California - Authorities say a student was wounded in the leg when gunfire erupted near a high school in San Pedro.
Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman Monica Carazo says two people with guns exchanged fire Wednesday afternoon across the street from San Pedro High School.
A stray bullet struck a wall on campus and grazed the leg of a female student. Carazo says the student was treated at a hospital for a minor injury.
Carazo says police have... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Owners Set Up Trusts to Avoid US Machine Gun Background Checks
25 May 2011
CNN
PRESTONBURG, Kentucky -- For Benjamin Ferguson, the Dewey Lake Fish and Gun Club brings back memories. As a child, Ferguson came to the modest gun range in rural Floyd County, Kentucky, to learn gun safety so he could go deer hunting with his family.
Now, the Army veteran and drug counselor has children of his own, six in total. He passes along knowledge about gun operation and safety and encourages his children to explore the guns -- safely, of course.
"It's... (GunPolicy.org)
Hawaii School Shooting: Father Says Son Found Gun in Secluded Campus Area
24 May 2011
San Francisco Chronicle / AP
HONOLULU - The father of an Oahu eighth-grader arrested after a gun he was showing friends fired at school says the boy found the weapon in a secluded area of campus.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday that Jason Takayesu said the Glock pistol isn't his, and he never owned a gun. Police previously said it's registered to someone with a different last name from the eighth-grader.
Takayesu says his son will be suspended his freshman year and will attend an... (GunPolicy.org)
Wisconsin Law Would Allow Concealed Carry Guns Without Training or Permit
23 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
MADISON - The effort to allow people to carry concealed weapons without getting training or a permit is gaining traction in the state Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on a revamped version of a bill to do that at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. It would allow people to carry concealed guns without registering with the state, but would also allow them to get optional permits that would allow them to carry weapons closer to schools.
Those optional licenses would... (GunPolicy.org)
Shooting at Hawaii School, 1 Student Injured
23 May 2011
San Francisco Chronicle / AP
PEARL CITY, Hawaii - A loaded handgun brought to a Hawaii middle school by a student was fired on campus before school started Monday, narrowly missing one student and leaving another with minor injuries, police said.
The .45-caliber Glock went off after the student carrying the handgun pointed it at another student, and the second student pushed the gun away, Honolulu police Capt. Lester Hite said. The bullet ricocheted off a lava rock wall and went through the jacket... (GunPolicy.org)
After Utah 'Crazy' Gun Control Law, Why Not Allow Dueling?
19 May 2011
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Opinion
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave Utah a zero score because it does not have "a single common sense gun law" on its books.
It also bestowed on Utah its "Craziest Gun Laws" award for allowing guns on college campuses ("'Craziest laws': Utah scolded by national gun-violence group," Tribune, May 6).
In response, Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, said: "I'm glad we got a zero from that group. I actually wish we would get a negative score from them — like an... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Buyback Initiative in Alabama, But More Gun Control Measures Are Needed
15 May 2011
Montgomery Advertiser (Alabama), Column
There are too many guns floating around here these days.
In fact, there are so many that the city of Montgomery announced Thursday that it would pay to get them off the streets: $50 per gun, no questions asked. They'll take whatever you've got -- handguns, shotguns, rifles. Just take your guns to any fire station during a certain time period next Friday and you'll get the cash and have a shot to win a prize.
City officials are expecting such a turnout that... (GunPolicy.org)
Colorado Columnist: 'Children Are the Future of Our Gun Culture'
13 May 2011
Denver Post (Colorado), Column
Now that you have askedand you know who you are — the fourth- grader in Lakewood who this week shot at least six of his classmates with a BB gun while the teacher was looking away deserves the punishment coming to him.
That said, kudos to the Lakewood Police Department for not rushing into the school, wrestling the kid to the ground, maybe pepper-spraying him, handcuffing him and hauling him out like so much rough lumber.
Instead, the officers arrived calmly and... (GunPolicy.org)
Wisconsin Concealed Carry Bills: Guns Make Us Feel Safer Everywhere?
12 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin), Opinion
Here's what I don't get. If concealed carry is such a good idea and is going to make us all safer, why exempt government buildings where lawmakers work?
Or schools for that matter. Think how much safer the kids will be if someone with a gun happens to be around if trouble breaks out in the lunch line or third-hour study hall. You know, it takes a vigilante to raise a child.
If more guns equal more protection, then let's go for it and quit watering down the rules.... (GunPolicy.org)
Airgun Shooting of 6 Students: Colorado 10yr-old Faces School Expulsion
11 May 2011
The Washington Post / AP
LAKEWOOD, Colorado — Police in a Denver suburb say a 10-year-old boy accused of shooting six classmates with a BB gun is due in court next month to face misdemeanor charges.
Lakewood Police spokesman Steve Davis alleges the fourth-grader at Stein Elementary shot his classmates Monday while the teacher wasn't looking. Davis reported no serious injuries.
Davis says the boy was arrested on suspicion of assault and launching dangerous missiles that can cause injury, but... (GunPolicy.org)
The Campus Carry Movement Stutter-Steps Across US
10 May 2011
Atlantic (USA), Opinion
Last October, an email popped into my inbox from Mike Stollenwerk, co-founder of gun rights networking hub OpenCarry.org, which boasts the motto, "A right un-exercised is a right lost." He was responding to a question I had about the possible re-tabling of a bill in the Texas legislature which would, if passed, allow students to carry handguns with them to college.
At the time, only Utah allowed the carrying of concealed weapons into the classrooms of public... (GunPolicy.org)
Republicans Moving Forward: Texas Senate Approve Guns On Campus
10 May 2011
News 10 (Albany, New York) / AP
AUSTIN, Texas - Republicans in the Texas Senate on Monday approved allowing concealed handgun license holders to carry weapons into public college buildings and classrooms, moving forward on a measure that had stalled until supporters tacked it on to a universities spending bill.
Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, had been unable to muster the votes he needed under Senate rules to pass the issue as its own bill after the measure met stiff resistance from higher... (GunPolicy.org)
Carry Hidden Guns Without Permit or Training: Wisconsin Bills Trigger Debates
8 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
A newly floated bill that would allow Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons without getting permits, background checks or training would essentially let the state catch up with the latest thinking in gun law, according to backers who call the approach "constitutional carry."
Others, however, seem stunned at the idea that anyone who could lawfully own a gun could carry it just about anywhere, under a coat or in a purse, without any government oversight.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
US Open Carry Movement: The Right To Bear Arms Movement Growing
7 May 2011
Russia Today
The number of shootings in the schools and streets of America has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of thousands to assert their Second Amendment rights. The movement to bear arms publicly at all times is significant and growing.
Some even see their semi-automatics as a last line of defense against the government.
Craig Rutherford, member of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, spent years carrying a gun in the Balkans and in Iraq as a defense contractor. So when... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Buyback Aims to Collect, Destroy Another Million Guns in Brazil
7 May 2011
Associated Press
The government began a gun buyback campaign on Friday that officials hope will take more than one million guns off the streets by the end of the year.
The campaign started one month after a gunman shot and killed 12 children in a Rio de Janeiro school before killing himself. In similar campaigns in 2003 and 2009, 1.1 million firearms were turned in.
The Justice Ministry says on its Web site that gun owners can turn in their guns and ammunition with no questions... (GunPolicy.org)
Mothers of Gun Violence Victims Campaign to Save Canada's Gun Registry
6 May 2011
Canadian Press
OTTAWA — La coalition pour le contrôle des armes à feu n'a pas perdu de temps. Quatre jours après l'élection d'un gouvernement majoritaire conservateur, elle redémarre sa campagne pour le maintien du registre des armes à feu.
Dans une lettre ouverte, les mères de six victimes demandent aux citoyens de contacter leur député nouvellement élu et de réclamer que le registre soit maintenu tel quel.
Durant la campagne électorale, le premier ministre Stephen... (GunPolicy.org)
Illinois Looks Set to Allow Residents to Carry Hidden Handguns: Say No
4 May 2011
Chicago Tribune, Editorial
The Illinois House may vote Thursday on legislation that would allow residents of the state to carry a concealed weapon in public. The bill passed out of committee Wednesday. If it passes the House and Senate, it faces a promised veto by Gov. Pat Quinn.
Illinois is, admittedly, an outlier in the issue of concealed carry of firearms. Illinois and Wisconsin are the only states that completely prohibit it. Wisconsin, though, permits the open carry of firearms in some... (GunPolicy.org)
For the US NRA, It's All About Generating Fear and Normalising Guns
4 May 2011
Huffington Post (USA)
From all reports, at its annual convention last weekend in Pittsburgh, the National Rifle Association, as usual, cloaked itself in patriotic themes, claimed special kinship with the Founders, and portrayed itself as the true protector of American values. There was much talk of "freedom". More than anything else, however, the NRA gatherings are celebrations of fear.
The NRA is the most accomplished marketer of fear in American political life.
There is, first, the fear... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Gets an Official State Gun — And It's Manufactured in Connecticut
30 April 2011
Time (USA)
Oh, Arizona. Now, in addition to an official state reptile (the Ridge-nosed rattlesnake) and official state neckwear (the bola tie), you can add an official state gun.
As of Thursday, when Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the measure into law, the Colt single-action army revolver became the official sidearm of the Grand Canyon State.
Designating the gun — the same one slung by Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody and Theodore Roosevelt — the official heater of Arizona... (GunPolicy.org)
New York 3rd Grader Charged With Selling Loaded Gun
29 April 2011
Reuters
A New York City third-grader and his father have been arrested after the boy sold a loaded 9mm pistol to a classmate for $3, police said on Friday.
The unidentified boy and his father, Ignacio Galvin, 54, were arrested Thursday in Queens after the buyer's mother alerted school authorities when he came home from class and showed her the weapon, thinking it was a toy.
Father-son criminal charges include three counts each of criminal possession of a gun. An additional... (GunPolicy.org)
Radical Proposal to Curb Guns at an American High School
29 April 2011
San Francisco Chronicle, Opinion
Here are three words you don't want to see in an e-mail from your kid's high school: lockdown, incident and firearm. And yet, these words have been appearing in various combinations with alarming frequency of late in messages from the Berkeley High School administration. As noted in a page one news story in Sunday's Chronicle, the school has been rocked by a series of gun-related incidents in recent months. While none of these most recent occurrences has resulted in... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Working Out How Texas Kindergartner Got Gun, Injured 3 6yr-olds
20 April 2011
Associated Press
HOUSTON - Police are trying to determine how a Houston kindergartener got a loaded gun that he brought to an elementary school, where officials say it accidentally fired when it fell from his pocket as he sat down for lunch, wounding himself and two other students.
Some parents said the incident has made them think twice about safety at the school and they wonder if additional security measures, including extra officers and even metal detectors, are needed. School... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Governor Throws Out Guns in Schools Bill, Obama Circumcision Bill
19 April 2011
Arizona Daily Star
PHOENIX - Calling the legislation "poorly written," Gov. Jan Brewer on Monday vetoed legislation that would have let people carry their guns in the public rights of way through university and community college campuses.
She also nixed legislation that would have required candidates for president to provide documents proving they meet the federal constitutional requirement to be a "natural-born citizen" before their name is placed on the ballot.
Brewer said giving the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Dropped by 6yr-old Texas Schoolboy Fires, Injures 3 Children in Class
19 April 2011
Associated Press
A kindergartener brought a gun to his Houston elementary school and was among three students injured when it dropped from his pocket during lunchtime and accidentally fired, officials said.
One bullet discharged at about 11 a.m. in the school's cafeteria, spraying fragments at the students, said Houston Independent School District Assistant Police Chief Robert Mock.
"Either some type of chips off the floor, or it could be pieces of the round that discharged," Mock... (GunPolicy.org)
Of 40 Campaigns for Hidden Handguns on US Campuses, Nearly All Failed
15 April 2011
New York Times, Opinion
By Monday, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona must decide whether to sign a bill partly lifting her state's ban on guns on college and university campuses. Gun advocates insist that will make campuses safer by discouraging mass killers and giving students the ability to fight back. Gun control proponents warn the law will lead to more lethal violence.
Both sides are probably wrong. Gun violence at colleges and universities — there are fewer than 20 homicides on campus per... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Tech Survivor Colin Goddard Now Lobbies Full-time for Gun Control
13 April 2011
USA Today
NEW YORK — It's a spring evening in Midtown Manhattan and Colin Goddard is working a reception on the top floor of the HBO building.
Waiters carry trays of hors d'oeuvres through the crowd while Goddard, a 25-year-old who could model for a J.Crew catalog, chats amiably. He doesn't have to move much because people flutter around him. The lights flicker, and the crowd moves to a screening room to watch Gun Fight, a documentary on the nation's firearms debate. The film... (GunPolicy.org)
Brazil Lawmakers Propose New Referendum on Gun Law, Gun Sale Ban
13 April 2011
BBC News
Brazilian lawmakers say they will propose a national vote on whether to ban the sale of guns, after a deadly shooting at a school last week.
The Senate leader said legislators would rush through a bill to allow a referendum to be held this autumn.
A similar proposal in 2005 was rejected by voters and kept gun sales legal.
Brazil observed three days of mourning after the attack on 7 April, in which a gunman shot dead 12 children in a school in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil... (GunPolicy.org)
School Shooting Prompts Gun Buyback, Bill to Ban Gun Sales in Brazil
12 April 2011
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Five days after Brazil's most lethal school shooting killed 12 children, Senate leaders decided Tuesday to rush a bill that would let the voters decide whether to forbid gun sales in South America's biggest country.
Senate leader Jose Sarney said at a news conference that legislators would treat the matter with urgency so the issue could be put before Brazilian citizens this fall.
The bill would have to be approved by both the Senate and the... (GunPolicy.org)
After Brazil Mass Shooting, Demonstrators Demand Tougher Gun Laws
12 April 2011
NTD-TV News (New York), Transcript
A group of protesters gather on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro - three days after 12 children were shot dead at a local school.
They're calling on authorities to increase gun control measures.
As red-stained Brazilian flags blow in the breeze - the activists hold signs with the names of the children who were lined up and shot point-blank.
One demonstrator said security forces need to crack down on the availability of fire arms.
[Antonio Costa, President,... (GunPolicy.org)
Brazil Renews Its Million-Gun Destruction Push After Rio School Massacre
12 April 2011
Forbes (USA)
Brazil's Ministry of Justice is calling on gun owners to turn in their arms. The government's disarmament campaign is voluntary and began back in 2005, but the justice department opted to start the campaign earlier and promote it more feverishly following the nation's first homicidal school shooting on April 7 in the Realengo neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro.
The disarmament campaign will start May 6 with the objective to take as many guns off the street as possible.... (GunPolicy.org)
Suspected Vendors of Revolver to Rio Schoolkids' Mass Killer Arrested
10 April 2011
Latin American Herald Tribune (Venezuela)
RIO DE JANEIRO – Rio de Janeiro's Civil Police announced Saturday the arrest of two men accused of selling a revolver to the perpetrator of last Thursday's massacre at a school, in which 12 children were killed and another 12 were wounded.
Charleston Souza de Lucena, 38, and Izaias de Souza, 48, were arrested before dawn Saturday, accused of selling a 32 caliber revolver to Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, the killer who committed suicide when surrounded by... (GunPolicy.org)
School Massacre Spotlights Gun Violence, Rising Firearm Sales in Brazil
8 April 2011
Christian Science Monitor
Brazil is no stranger to urban mayhem, with street shootouts splashing the front pages of newspapers each day in the nation that tops the world in deaths by firearms.
But Thursday's massacre of 12 children at school in western Rio de Janeiro has touched a nerve in this hardened nation. As families hold burial services today, Brazil is asking how such violence more associated with the United States became a reality here.
As happened following the 2007 Virginia Tech... (GunPolicy.org)
Young Gun Owner Shoots, Kills 12 in Brazil's Worst Mass School Shooting
7 April 2011
Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - A gunman roamed the halls of an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and killed 11 children, lining them up against a wall and shooting them in the head at point-blank range as he shouted, "I'm going to kill you all!"
It was the worst school shooting in Brazil and would have been deadlier if the gunman had not been shot in the legs by a police officer, who said the man then fell down some stairs and shot himself in the head.
Images... (GunPolicy.org)
In the Gun Control Debate, Americans Often Speak Different Languages
3 April 2011
Indianapolis Star (Indiana)
Jim Bolin was as shocked as anyone else in Morgan County to hear about the shooting of a teen at Martinsville's West Middle School.
But he's not shocked enough to get rid of his guns -- even though he and his wife are raising five children younger than 5 in their Mooresville home.
"I think if people are responsible and they're not criminals, they're allowed to have guns, they should have all they want," Bolin said.
"Back when I first had guns, I had two daughters... (GunPolicy.org)
Kindergarten Kids Get Gun Licences in New Zealand Preschool Experiment
30 March 2011
Dominion Post (Wellington)
Four-year-old preschooler Lucy Coup has already earned her own gun licence.
Like the other children at her Auckland kindergarten, and in childcare centres around New Zealand, the youngster hangs the laminated licence from a string around her neck when she plays with her toy gun – but she must shoot at the target.
"We don't shoot people, because it might hurt them," Lucy says firmly.
Instead of banning gun play, many early education centres are adopting a policy... (GunPolicy.org)
Pre-schoolers Earning 'Firearm Licences' at New Zealand Kindergartens
30 March 2011
New Zealand Herald
Kids with imaginary guns are learning real safety lessons at kindergartens and early childcare centres around the country.
At some centres, children earn a "gun licence" once they learn the rules around handling firearms. Children make their own guns out of cardboard and paper and if they break the rules they lose their licence.
New Zealand Kindergartens chief executive Claire Wells said the idea - which she understood had been thought of by some centres "quite some... (GunPolicy.org)
Kindergarten Kids Issued 'Firearm' Licences in New Zealand Experiment
30 March 2011
TVNZ (Christchurch)
Children as young as four are making fake gun licences as part of kindy lessons on firearm safety.
Staff in day care centres say teaching them about gun safety at such an early age will lead to a greater sense of responsibility about firearms.
Children at one Wellington kindergarten told TV ONE's Close Up that they will lose their self-made gun licence if they break any rules.
One child said the licence rule was "not to shoot any people", while another said "you... (GunPolicy.org)
The American Gun Lobby's Solution to Gun Violence: Pack More Heat
24 March 2011
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Column
Utah is America's first lucky locale to have an official state gun: A week ago, the Browning M1911 automatic pistol joined cuthroat trout, Spanish sweet onions and the Dutch oven among symbols of the Beehive State.
Utah beat out Arizona, where legislators want to honor Wild West traditions by making the Colt single-action Army revolver official firearm of the Grand Canyon State.
The gun lobby gives no quarter. If you felt the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson, which... (GunPolicy.org)
2,405 More Americans Have Been Shot Dead Since Tucson Mass Shooting
13 March 2011
Newsweek (USA)
On a snowy Wednesday evening in February, the main attraction on the marquee at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Va., was True Grit, the Coen Brothers' bloody homage to the shoot-'em-up Westerns of Hollywood's Golden Age. But the movie playing inside had a very different message to send.
Four years ago, on April 16, 2007, Colin Goddard was one of 49 people shot by Seung-Hui Cho in Virginia Tech's Norris Hall, a mere 1,000 yards from the Lyric Theatre — and one of... (GunPolicy.org)
Response to Arizona Mass Shooting: Americans Should Carry More Guns
10 March 2011
New York Times, Column
It's been nearly nine weeks since that tragic shooting in Tucson, and you may be wondering whether there's been any gun legislation proposed in the aftermath.
Well, in Florida, a state representative has introduced a bill that would impose fines of up to $5 million on any doctor who asks a patient whether he or she owns a gun. This is certainly a new and interesting concept, but I don't think we can classify it as a response to Tucson. Jason Brodeur, the Republican... (GunPolicy.org)
Rare Defeat for Gun Lobby as Florida Rejects Open Gun Carry on Campus
9 March 2011
Miami Herald
TALLAHASSEE — The NRA was handed a rare defeat Wednesday when Senate Republicans scrapped plans to allow some people to bring guns on college campuses.
The defeat was born of a tragic frat house shooting at Florida State University on Jan. 9. It was about 1 a.m. that day when Amy Cowie, 20, watched her twin sister die in her arms after Amy's boyfriend accidentally shot her with his AK-47-style rifle.
Amy tried CPR as blood gushed from Ashley's chest, but couldn't... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns On Campus? Expect Tragedy if US Schools Allow Hidden Handguns
8 March 2011
CNN, Opinion
Gun-friendly Arizona and Texas are among about a dozen states considering versions of bills to allow university professors and students to bring loaded guns into their classrooms to defend themselves against "gunmen."
Jack Harper, an Arizona state representative who introduced such a bill, argues, "When law-abiding, responsible adults are able to defend themselves, crime is deterred."
"It's strictly a matter of self-defense," said Texas state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, who... (GunPolicy.org)
Most Proposed New US Gun Laws Would Further Weaken Gun Control
8 March 2011
BBC News
Two months have passed since six people were killed and a dozen injured in a gun attack in Tucson, Arizona, directed at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The BBC's Paul Adams looks at where the debate over gun control now stands in the state.
Outside Safeway, at the junction of Oracle and Ima, in northern Tucson, almost all traces of the tragedy have gone.
Across the busy highway, a simple line of white crosses, each bearing the name of a victim, stands out against a... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Professors Scared of Armed Students, Scared of Arming Students
6 March 2011
Los Angeles Times
AUSTIN, Texas - Konrad Sliwowski stood in the shadow of the University of Texas clock tower surrounded by the lunchtime clamor: the student election volunteers in handmade "Vote Big John" T-shirts, the Lego Club, and activists against human trafficking stationed near fliers advertising a screening of "Airplane!"
"I don't like guns in any kind of situation," the 22-year-old senior said recently while passing out fliers for a lecture on Rwanda. "School is already an... (GunPolicy.org)
American Lawmakers, Industry, Lobby Push for More Guns on Campus
6 March 2011
ABC News (Australia), Transcript
ELIZABETH JACKSON: In the US, Texas legislators are considering giving college students the right to carry concealed weapons on campus.
Any changes to gun control in the US always sparks furious debates and this is no different.
Those pushing the move say it would help prevent massacres like Virginia Tech while others say it will only help increase the chances of yet another mass shooting.
Our North America correspondent Lisa Millar has been speaking to those on both... (GunPolicy.org)
Eleven US States Mull Laws to Encourage Hidden Handguns on Campus
6 March 2011
Los Angeles Times
Utah is the only state that requires public universities to allow holders of concealed weapons licenses to carry guns on campus, although some private campuses elsewhere also allow concealed weapons.
Laws to allow concealed weapons on college campuses are being considered in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Advocates say such laws would let students, faculty and staff protect themselves in... (GunPolicy.org)
Texans Divide Over Encouraging Hidden Handguns on Campus, in Class
3 March 2011
Wall Street Journal
DALLAS — Texans are about to engage in a political shootout over guns on campus.
Legislators in the Lone Star State have proposed that college students and professors be allowed to carry concealed weapons. Opponents of the measures, including the presidents of some of the state's biggest universities, say handguns would be a bad addition to an environment in which stress and drinking are rampant.
With a vote on the measures coming as soon as late March, the issue is... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Moves Closer to Allowing Hidden Handguns on College Campuses
28 February 2011
New American (USA)
In one of the most controversial, but many say common-sense, moves related to campus violence and Second Amendment rights, the state of Texas is considering legislation that would allow students, professors, teachers, and other personnel to carry firearms on the campuses of elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as those of colleges and universities — without any violations or punishments.
HB 1167, introduced in the Texas House of Representatives on February... (GunPolicy.org)
Trainers Protest Move to Scrap Hidden Handgun Permits in North Carolina
28 February 2011
Anderson Independent Mail (North Carolina)
ANDERSON, North Carolina — A bill that is working its way through the state legislature could eliminate concealed weapons permit requirements and cost the state millions of dollars in lost permit fees.
Many Anderson-area instructors said they are still following the bill and want to learn more, but they are worried that no longer having mandatory classes for concealed weapons permits could hurt or destroy their business.
Instructors also said they think that... (GunPolicy.org)
Lawmakers Across USA Debate Promoting Hidden Handguns on Campus
26 February 2011
New York Times
PHOENIX — Along with the meaning of life and the origin of the universe, college students across the country have another existential question to ponder: the wisdom of allowing guns in class.
In Arizona, known for its gun-friendly ways, state lawmakers are pushing three bills this year focused on arming professors and others over the age of 21 on Arizona campuses. Sponsors talk of how professors and students are now sitting ducks for the next deranged gunman to... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Lawmakers Push Hidden Handguns on Campus - 'Still a Bad Idea'
25 February 2011
Dallas Morning News (Texas), Editorial
The gun agenda is back in the Legislature with the velocity of a speeding bullet.
Proponents are determined, finally, to make it possible for a university student to legally pack a Glock for class along with textbook and iPad.
What an awful idea.
State law contains a list with the heading "Places Weapons Prohibited." Schools and educational institutions are listed first, ahead of courts, polling places, airports and prisons. And there's a common-sense reason for... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns-on-Campus Campaigners Ignore Downside: Youth + Firearms = Risk
22 February 2011
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
When a 19-year-old sophomore named Colton Tooley opened fire with an assault rifle last fall near the UT Tower at the University of Texas, it seemed to some like a horrible rerun: In 1966, the tower was the site of what was then the worst campus shooting in U.S. history, when a sniper firing from the top of the structure killed 14 people. In some states, this kind of history might lead to government action to protect students from gun violence. But not in... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Lawmakers Move to Prosecute Doctors for Asking About Guns
22 February 2011
Palm Beach Post (Florida)
TALLAHASSEE — Emergency room doctors, psychiatrists and pediatricians should not be able to ask a patient whether he or she owns a gun, a panel of Florida lawmakers said Tuesday, giving the OK to a proposal that pits two of the state's most politically powerful lobbying interests - the National Rifle Association and the Florida Medical Association - against each other.
The Senate Criminal Justice Association approved on a 4-1 vote a bill to bar doctors from asking... (GunPolicy.org)
The US Campus Gun Debate: A Timeline of School and College Shootings
21 February 2011
Telegraph (UK)
Guns are banned at schools, universities and colleges in 38 American states. In 11 others, schools are allowed to decide whether or not to ban firearms from the premises. At present only Utah demands that they allow qualified gun owners to carry weapons on site.
This is a timeline of recent shootings at American colleges dating back to the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007, when Seung-Hui Cho, a student, killed 32 people and injured another 15, in the country's... (GunPolicy.org)
Students in Texas May Be Free to Bring Guns to Class Under New Laws
21 February 2011
Daily Mail (UK)
Students in Texas could soon be allowed to bring their guns into class under new legislation the notoriously gun-friendly state is poised to adopt.
More than half the state's senators have signed the bill, which is widely expected to be passed.
If the law goes through, it will add weight to a growing national campaign for students to carry firearms as a defence against college shootings like the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
The move comes little more than a month... (GunPolicy.org)
States at Centre of America's Debate Over Hidden Handguns in Churches
16 February 2011
Deseret News (Utah)
A little more than a month after the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that left 6 people dead, gun control has again become a hot-button issue — although not in a form many might have expected.
According to Bloomberg, following the shooting, one-day sales of handguns in Arizona jumped 60 percent to 263 on Jan. 10 compared with 164 on that same Monday in 2009. States like Ohio, California, Illinois and New York also had large jumps in sales, and nationwide sales... (GunPolicy.org)
Giant, Well-oiled National Gun Registry 'Exactly What We Need' in America
16 February 2011
Lake County News-Sun (Illinois), Column
I had all but forgotten about the Valentine's Day shooting rampage at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. Three years to the day that five people were shot to death and 18 wounded in a murder/suicide, I sat at my dining room table, typing the FAFSA school code for NIU, a preliminary choice for the next kid off to college.
Steve Kazmierczak, the 27-year-old former NIU graduate student who shot up a geology lecture hall, had been treated for mental illness since high... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Teen Drops Out of Gun Lobby Law Suit After Background Revealed
14 February 2011
KCBD-TV News (Texas)
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Lubbock teenager who sued both the state & federal governments over gun rights will not continue the fight, but instead hand off his lawsuit to two other people who will replace him as plaintiffs. James D'Cruz says in court records that he has moved to Florida with his parents.
"Because he is no longer living in Texas, Mr. D'Cruz no longer wishes to be a named Plaintiff in this Texas-based lawsuit," court records say.
Rebekah Jennings and Brennan... (GunPolicy.org)
Iraq,United States,United Kingdom
New York, UK, German Gun Dealers' Links to Global Arms Trafficking Deal
13 February 2011
Democrat and Chronicle (New York)
In May 2007 a British firearms dealer — Mil Tec Marketing Inc. — signed off on a contract to supply weapons parts to a Florida-based company that provides munitions and equipment to the U.S. military and other national defenses.
Under that agreement, weaponry and accessories would have ended up in Iraq for the war effort. But the British firm was unable to meet the contractual promises. Oddly, an ensuing spat between the companies is the seed of an international... (GunPolicy.org)
German Father Guilty of Manslaughter After Son Killed 15 with Dad's Gun
10 February 2011
Deutsche Welle
Two years ago, a 17-year-old went on a shooting rampage in the southern German town of Winnenden, killing 15 people and himself. Now the gunman's father has been found guilty of manslaughter and breaking gun laws.
The father of the 17-year-old boy who shot dead 15 people in the southern German town of Winnenden has been convicted of breaking gun laws, for failing to store his weapons properly, and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Jörg K., 52, was given a... (GunPolicy.org)
Student Killed, 11 Others Shot in Ohio University Frat House Gunfight
7 February 2011
Detroit News
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Two men have been arrested and charged in a shooting Sunday at an Ohio fraternity house that killed one student and injured 11 people near Youngstown State University, police said Sunday. Each man is charged with aggravated murder, shooting into a house and 11 counts of felonious assault, Youngstown police Chief Jimmy Hughes said.
One suspect surrendered to police, and the other was arrested at home, Hughes said. The suspects were in a dispute,... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas, 7 Other US States Consider Encouraging More Guns on Campus
4 February 2011
National Public Radio (USA)
Is the answer to mass shootings on college campuses to arm students and staff? Eight states are considering legislation that would allow people to carry a concealed handgun into the lecture hall, the library or the dorm. Ground zero for the debate is Texas, where a proposed law would remove "premises of higher education" as gun-free zones.
"Right now, so-called gun-free zones, I think, ought to be renamed Victims Zones," says state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, a San Antonio... (GunPolicy.org)
Lawmakers in Firearm Frenzy: Utahns Oppose Open Gun Carry on Campus
29 January 2011
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
There can be little doubt a week into the 2011 Legislature that lawmakers like their guns. Love them, really.
Lawmakers opened the session praising Utah weapons pioneer John M. Browning, celebrating a day honoring the state's founding father of firearms and then moving to designate Browning's M1911 as Utah's official gun.
And a House committee approved a bill that would require hotel owners to allow patrons to keep guns in their rooms.
"I think the reason you see so... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida May Allow Guns in Schools, Jail Doctors for Asking Gun Questions
26 January 2011
Sun-Sentinel (Florida), Editorial
In a poorly timed effort to further liberalize the state's gun laws, the Florida Legislature has proposed legislation that may make gun enthusiasts happy, but could potentially undermine Florida's efforts to produce jobs and revive its economy.
Simply put, a gun-toting reputation isn't so good for business, a reality lawmakers must consider as they weigh bills that would allow people to carry licensed concealed weapons openly, and penalize physicians for supposedly... (GunPolicy.org)
University Presidents Fight 'More Guns in College' Lawmakers in Arizona
26 January 2011
ABC News (USA) / AP
Two weeks after a shooting incident that left six people dead outside a grocery store in Tucson, Ariz., two new bills remain in the Arizona Legislature that would loosen gun controls, specifically on college campuses. Neither proposal sits well with the heads of the state's public universities.
Guns and college campuses simply don't mix, the presidents of Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona say.
If the measures pass,... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Mayor, Relatives of Shooting Victims Push for US Gun Control
25 January 2011
New York Times
A man whose son was among the students killed at Columbine High School stepped up to the microphone at City Hall on Monday wearing the boy's sneakers. A pastor recalled a former congregant who was one of the people shot this month outside a supermarket in Tucson. And a woman told the story of her son, who died in 2007 in East Harlem.
The speakers were part of a procession of relatives and friends of victims of shootings whom Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg used at a City... (GunPolicy.org)
Every Day in America 34 People Are Murdered with Guns, Says NY Mayor
24 January 2011
Guardian (UK)
The mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, today called for the imposition of universal background checks on anyone buying a gun in America, in an attempt to reduce the daily bloodletting that he said amounted to a national calamity.
Bloomberg invited a group of 34 gun victims or relatives of victims to New York's City Hall in a symbolic representation of the 34 people shot dead on a typical day in the US. He said that since 1968, when Martin Luther King and Robert... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona's Gun Control Laws Were Much More Strict, Enforced in the 1880s
23 January 2011
Los Angeles Times
TOMBSTONE, Arizona — A billboard just outside this Old West town promises "Gunfights Daily!" and tourists line up each afternoon to watch costumed cowboys and lawmen reenact the bloody gunfight at the OK Corral with blazing six-shooters.
But as with much of the Wild West, myth has replaced history. The 1881 shootout took place in a narrow alley, not at the corral. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday weren't seen as heroic until later; they were initially charged with... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed US Hidden Handgun Owner Loses Permit for Threats, MLK Slur
21 January 2011
Greely Daily Tribune (Colorado) / AP
GREELEY, Colorado - A Colorado radio station owner who aired an editorial denouncing the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. has lost his gun permit.
The Greeley Tribune reports the concealed weapon permit was permanently revoked Friday, when a judge also ordered school board member Brett Reese to stay at least 100 yards from a rival radio station owner.
Justin Sasso says Reese threatened "a shootout" over advertisers.
Reese has said his remarks were... (GunPolicy.org)
Stop Treating Gun Ownership as Sacred: US 2nd Amendment No Excuse
21 January 2011
Detroit Free Press, Opinion
This is no longer a debate. It is no longer two sides throwing words at each other about what the Constitution allows.
It is time now for a serious national discussion about who can buy a gun, who can keep a gun and how to keep guns out of the hands of people who would shoot up a crowd, killing six and wounding a U.S. congresswoman.
It is time for us to stop using the Second Amendment as an excuse to be dangerous. That is the only way we can stop a kid from taking a... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Gun Lobbies: Listen to The Inmates Who Run the Asylum
21 January 2011
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
Why is the United States so much more violent than Canada? Canadians receive, even welcome, violence-based American mass culture pumped out 24/7 by the mammoth entertainment industry. Yet our society remains dramatically less violent than theirs. Take guns.
The United States has by far the highest gun homicide rate in the industrialized world. In a study of 23 of these nations, the American rate was nearly 20 times higher than the others. Some 100,000 shootings take... (GunPolicy.org)
School Shootings: In Nebraska, A Proposal for Teachers to Carry Guns
19 January 2011
Christian Science Monitor
A Nebraska lawmaker wants teachers to be able to carry concealed guns in school.
The proposal follows a recent shooting in which an Omaha high school senior killed an assistant principal and wounded a principal before killing himself.
Each school district would set its own policy, with a two-thirds majority vote of the school board required to allow the weapons. Teachers or administrators would have to get a concealed handgun permit, which requires some training.
"If... (GunPolicy.org)
How Many Deaths Are Enough? Arming US Students 'Too Stupid for Words'
18 January 2011
New York Times, Column
On April 22, 2008, almost exactly one year after 32 students and faculty members were slain in the massacre at Virginia Tech, the dealer who had sold one of the weapons used by the gunman delivered a public lecture on the school's campus. His point: that people at Virginia Tech should be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus.
Eric Thompson, owner of the online firearms store that sold a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun to the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, did not... (GunPolicy.org)
A New-old Mission for Diane Feinstein: Ban US High-capacity Ammo Clips
16 January 2011
Los Angeles Times
Her past efforts to tighten control of guns drew on the awful aftermath of violence, so there was a certain sad symmetry to Sen. Dianne Feinstein's pledge last week to work with her colleagues to outlaw the extended ammunition clip that allowed Tucson shooter Jared Loughner to fire at so many people so swiftly.
Feinstein said in an interview Friday that she was exploring the idea of reviving a law to limit the size of ammunition clips. The assault weapons ban of 1994,... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Solution to Arizona Shootings: Hidden Handguns in Classrooms
15 January 2011
Wall Street Journal
The Arizona shooting has emboldened pro-gun groups that plan to lobby politicians for proposed laws that could expand the right to carry concealed weapons on the state's college campuses.
At least two bills are on the table in Arizona, which resumed its legislative session this week. One would allow faculty members to carry concealed weapons on campus. The other would prevent colleges from stopping people with a valid permit, including students, from carrying them on... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Pathetic Fear in Face of Gun Extremists: 100,000 Shot per Year
14 January 2011
New York Times, Column
The second semester French class began a little after 9 on the morning of April 16, 2007. The weather that day was unusually cold for April. A light snow was falling.
One of the students, Colin Goddard, now 25, recalled what happened that morning in a new documentary film, "Living for 32."
"We started hearing loud banging noises outside of our classroom," he said. "The teacher went to the door to look into the hallway to see what was going on… As soon as she opened... (GunPolicy.org)
After US Democratic Party Policy Shift, Little Chance for New Gun Controls
13 January 2011
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — The first federal gun control law was passed in 1968 after the assassinations of the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and the Brady bill mandating background checks on gun purchases was enacted in the years following the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981. But don't look for any new gun control laws coming out of Capitol Hill in the wake of the Tucson shooting rampage.
The reason is not only the new Republican majority in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Notion of Pulling Handgun, Shooting Assailant More Fantasy Than Fact
12 January 2011
Boston Globe, Blog
Because of their high-profile nature, mass murders are often exploited to advance some political agenda, and this is especially true when it comes to the role of firearms. Mass shootings have served as ammunition in the debate over gun control, but used, ironically enough, by advocates on both sides of the issue.
In the wake of particularly deadly and widely publicized shootings, gun control proponents have argued that the carnage would not be so great were it not for... (GunPolicy.org)
Omaha Detective Left Handgun Out, Son Shot School Principals With It
11 January 2011
Reuters
Police are reviewing how off duty officers store their weapons after a student used his detective father's police handgun in a school shooting spree last week.
Robert Butler, Jr, retrieved his father's gun from a closet on Wednesday and shot and killed high school assistant principal Vicki Kaspar, who had earlier suspended the boy from school for driving his car onto school athletic fields. He also wounded principal Curtis Case before killing himself.
The debate over... (GunPolicy.org)
