Last fall, federal funding of seven state pilot projects to conduct ongoing gunshot-injury surveillance projects came to a halt when the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a group of conservative congressmen claimed that the activity was driven by veiled liberal political goals of gun control. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), which funded them, all the state projects still exist, but most of them have cut back significantly on their... (GunPolicy.org)

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein has been a consistent and knowledgeable supporter of gun safety laws. Her proposed federal ban on large ammunition magazines, which can produce a lethal barrage of bullets, would fill a loophole in the 1994 federal assault weapons ban. It would also enhance the effectiveness of a state bill, awaiting Assembly action after being passed by the Senate, that would reinstate and improve the California assault weapons ban. Feinstein's bill... (GunPolicy.org)

SACRAMENTO — Democrats negotiated with the Wilson administration over the final shape of a new state assault weapons bill Tuesday, while an aide to the Republican governor said chances of an accord are a tossup. The governor may be willing to sign legislation by Assemblyman Don Perata (D-Alameda) that expands restrictions on military-style assault weapons, but not without changes, said Wilson staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Shortly before heading... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Saying "it's just too early to assign blame," President Clinton cautioned the nation Wednesday against speculating why two young Arkansas boys allegedly gunned down four classmates and a teacher outside their school. "We'll have to have a lot more facts before we can draw any conclusions. I've tried to be real careful about that. I think all Americans should," Clinton told ABC in an interview taped in Dakar, Senegal, where he was ending a 12-day African... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — In the wake of last week's school yard shooting spree in Arkansas and November's killing of a Denver police officer, Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette introduced legislation Tuesday to ban ammunition clips that hold more than 10 bullets. "Officer Bruce Vander Jagt, a decorated member of the Denver Police Department, was killed last year with a legally obtainable Chinese SKS assault rifle equipped with an American-manufactured 30-round magazine," the Denver... (GunPolicy.org)

JONESBORO, Arkansas — Freeman Brewer, a farmer who has owned guns most of his sixty-odd years, is perplexed by news reports all but blaming last week's schoolyard killings here on the fact that the two young shooters had access to family guns. This is a state where 300,000 hunting licenses are issued and a region where guns seem as commonplace as cell phones. "It's not like what they're saying," said Brewer, standing by a pickup truck outside a local convenience... (GunPolicy.org)