California's new assault-weapons ban may save lives, but it's killing the Olympic dreams of one San Diego teen. Lauren Santibanez, 17, is a world-class target shooter and a gold-medal contender at this summer's Sydney Games. She's also, in theory, a criminal: since the ammunition magazine on her $2,000 custom-made, Walther .22-caliber pistol sits in front of the trigger-not behind it-her gun is, according to state law, an assault weapon. The ban makes California one... (GunPolicy.org)

A green crayon rolls out of a little girl's Winnie the Pooh backpack. A white-haired man wants signatures for a petition titled, "Gun Laws: Is treason the reason for the season?" Four fidgety teen-agers need a stretch break. And 3-year-old Anthony Logan? He needs a drink of water, maybe a nap. Anthony finds himself at Colorado's Capitol on Monday in a packed hearing room. They're discussing guns at the state Senate's first committee hearing on firearms... (GunPolicy.org)

Who supports federal gun registration? All the presidential candidates oppose a federal gun registration system with the exception of Bill Bradley, who favors a federal gun registration system. Al Gore is proposing a federal mandate that states license prospective gun owners before they can purchase a handgun. They would have to pass a safety test to obtain the license, which would carry their photo. Gore also is proposing to require gun manufacturers to report their... (GunPolicy.org)

The gun-control debate opened with both barrels Monday at the Colorado Captiol with lawmakers blessing one measure Gov. Bill Owens backs and dumping two others he says will keep weapons out of the wrong hands. Two mothers whose sons were gunned down in separate incidents and a Columbine High School sophomore who had friends killed and wounded in the rampage were among those testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I don't want anyone else to suffer as I have... (GunPolicy.org)

Round one went to the National Rifle Association Monday in the Colorado Legislature's gun debate. Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee defeated the two Democratic gun-control bills they considered. And three Democrats joined with a conservative Republican to weaken the state's criminal background check — another NRA win. It was the first day in a week of marathon hearings that will give an early hint of what the Legislature is going to do on guns in the... (GunPolicy.org)

Federal prosecutors Monday raised the stakes in the prosecution of four Irish natives accused of buying more than 50 guns and hundreds of rounds of armor-piercing ammunition and mailing them to Irish Republican Army sympathizers. Weston residents Siobhan Browne and Anthony Smyth and their alleged conspirators Conor Claxton and Martin Mullan, of Northern Ireland, could face up to life in prison based on the new indictment unsealed Monday at U.S. District Court in Fort... (GunPolicy.org)

Gov. Parris N. Glendening's proposal to require that guns be sold with built-in locks and, eventually, more sophisticated safety equipment has moved gun control to the front of the state's legislative agenda this year, prompting a flurry of bills from both sides of the debate. With the General Assembly meeting for the first time since the slayings at Columbine High School in Colorado and highly publicized shootings elsewhere, Glendening's so-called smart-gun plan... (GunPolicy.org)

Let's hear it for common ground in the fight against gun violence. President Clinton has announced a plan to hire more federal agents to trace guns used in crimes to their point of purchase. The National Rifle Association immediately lauded the program, noting that it has been trying to get the government to more aggressively enforce laws against illegal sales. Some news reports called this a new tack in the fight against gun violence. Not really. The program is an... (GunPolicy.org)

DETROIT — A former detective who was found innocent by reason of insanity in the deaths of his wife and children 25 years ago has confessed to killing his second wife and their son last fall, authorities said. Paul Harrington was ordered Monday to stand trial on two counts of first-degree murder in the Oct. 15 deaths of his second wife, Wanda, 45, and their 3-year-old son, Brian. "The same thing happened in 1975," Harrington said in a statement to police. "They... (GunPolicy.org)

The bell has rung. Class is in order. It's time for Toy Story. "No. 6. Real or replica?" Minneapolis Police Officer Ron Reier asks the 16 Washburn High School ninth-graders. "Real," one student says aloud as he looks at the sixth of 10 handguns Reier has taken from a black duffel bag and placed in a row on the edge of the blackboard. "Replica," replies the 53-year old Minneapolis cop. "It looks identical to a 9mm Luger." A month ago, Reier was on his way to... (GunPolicy.org)

DENVER — Gun-control opponents shot down on Monday two of three firearms bills that were part of a slew of measures filed in response to the Columbine massacre. Despite public support and the endorsement of Republican Gov. Bill Owens, a Senate panel of the GOP-controlled Colorado Legislature killed, by a tie vote, a proposal to raise the legal age for possession of handguns and assault weapons from 18 to 21. The state Senate Judiciary Committee also rejected a bill... (GunPolicy.org)