Mother's Day, a holiday usually celebrated with bouquets and brunches, will take on a distinctly political tone this year as women in Sacramento and across the nation march for stronger gun control laws. The Million Mom March is expected to draw 50,000 anti-gun protesters to Washington, D.C. on May 14. A year after the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, 12 children a day still die from gunshot wounds in America, the event's organizers say. Closer to home,... (GunPolicy.org)

Gov. Ryan announced Thursday that the Illinois State Police will reach out to the roughly 900 police agencies across the state to help them trace every gun they recover. Last week, Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan sent letters to several state law enforcement groups pointing out that outside Chicago, only 25 percent of recovered weapons are traced. Chicago traces every confiscated gun. "We're concerned about the level of compliance," said Sam Nolen, director of the... (GunPolicy.org)

Bush, Gore differ on whether tougher enforcement is enough The presidential candidates sharpened their positions on guns and violence Thursday as a new poll found that most Americans favor stricter enforcement of existing gun laws over more controls on firearm sales and safety. Nearly two-thirds of Americans now believe it is more important to enforce existing gun laws "than to enact new statutes aimed at restricting weapons sales and improving gun safety," according... (GunPolicy.org)

'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition" is the capsule description of the gun policy of George W. Bush. While he gets queasy when the National Rifle Association accuses Bill Clinton of outright murder and mayhem, the Texas governor is foursquare in favor of packing heat in your pocket, purse, waistband, or ankle holster. Trying to make the best of a loser hand on gun control, Bush played the "character education" card yesterday in a Texas elementary school memorial... (GunPolicy.org)

FREEDOM, Wyoming — In this mountain-fringed farm valley, where target shooting and hunting are rites of passage as much as recreation, Bob Baker is fighting to protect a small gun manufacturing business started by his father. Thousands of miles away, in New York, Gladys Gerena also is familiar with the sound of gunshots. The noise often echoes through her Brooklyn housing complex, where she raises five adopted children. A sixth, she says, was killed by teen-ager with... (GunPolicy.org)

At first glance it seems pretty hard to fault a bill passed last week by the House that offers grants to the states to toughen firearms sentencing. The measure is intended to spread a Richmond, Va., program called Project Exile, under which state prosecutors defer on gun crimes to the feds, who have stiff mandatory minimum sentences available. The bill would provide funds to states that likewise let the feds handle gun cases or enact similar sentencing schemes of their... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — President Clinton offered a compromise Friday on background checks for gun purchases, a move he called "a gesture of good faith" designed to revive negotiations with Congress on his stalled gun safety legislation. In a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde, R-Ill., Clinton proposed retaining records from background checks for 90 days, rather than the current 180 days. "As a gesture of good faith, I am willing to meet you halfway on this... (GunPolicy.org)

SALT LAKE CITY — Self-proclaimed "pistol packin' mamas" plan to rally at the state Capitol to oppose the Million Mom March, a gathering planned by mothers backing gun control. The pro-gun protest begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday on the steps of the Capitol in Salt Lake City. "We are sick and tired of the irrational gun-haters exploiting defenseless children and families to push their fanatical anti-gun legislation," said Janalee Tobias, president of the Women Against... (GunPolicy.org)