Too much to take: A mother comforts her son, two, above and, below, stunned visitors watch police at the scene of the gunfight which left a child dying and five wounded in Washington yesterday. A feud between youths at the National Zoo in Washington ended in a hail of gunfire, leaving a 12-year-old boy brain dead and wounding five other children at one of the US capital's most popular tourist sites. Police were yesterday investigating whether Monday evening's shooting... (GunPolicy.org)

Janet Conn of San Jose was politically active once upon a time-"back in college." This past New Year's, tired of looking backward ruefully, she resolved to make a change. Before the clock struck 12 on January 1, she had stumbled on the Million Mom March Web site and decided to go to Washington, D.C., on Mother's Day to join thousands gathering there to rally for gun safety. "It's the only resolution I've kept. I still can't get into my skinny jeans and don't walk... (GunPolicy.org)

District attorney candidate Steve Cooley clarified his position on gun control during a debate Tuesday night, saying he supports the licensing of gun owners and a waiting period before firearm purchases. Cooley's comments came in response to questioning by incumbent Gil Garcetti, as the two candidates for Los Angeles County district attorney held the second debate of their campaign. Garcetti defended his handling of the Rampart police scandal and said he was a more... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Under sharp attack in the courts and in Congress, the National Rifle Association is embracing the Republican Party more firmly, and openly, than ever through campaign contributions, speeches and its direct-mail operation. On Wednesday night, Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.'s executive vice president, will serve as a co-chairman for a black-tie event in Washington saluting Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The gala... (GunPolicy.org)

At the first word of the shootings at the National Zoo, the TV news anchors awkwardly invoked their studied colorblindness and repeatedly referred to the zoo's annual Easter Monday event as "a family celebration." But there is no cause to be coy or gingerly about one of this city's most proud traditions, which long predates any white institution's effort to reach out to black Washington. Since shortly after the zoo opened in 1889, blacks have made the park theirs on... (GunPolicy.org)

Some one-on-one lobbying by Gov. Bill Owens in the Senate chambers Tuesday helped to rescue one of the last pieces of his gun plan from defeat. The proposal would allow local police and prosecutors to enforce federal laws against "straw purchases" — buying a gun for a child or a criminal. It received preliminary Senate approval after much debate. Discussion focused on how many people would get caught up in the net cast by the bill. Pro-gun Republicans said someone... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — A group of gun manufacturers filed suit against federal, state and local officials on Wednesday, charging that efforts to impose safety measures were a conspiracy that violated constitutional guarantees of free trade. The suit, the latest volley in the battle between the industry and gun control supporters, was filed in U.S. federal court in Atlanta by seven gun makers and an industry group against the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Presidential candidate George W. Bush, who's helping the Republican Party set a $18 million fund-raising dinner record, today dismissed criticism that he's influenced by gun lobby supporters. Asked if he were troubled by having a top National Rifle Association official co-chair tonight's fund-raiser, Bush said, "No, I know what I believe. I support reasonable laws to keep the guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. I believe we ought to... (GunPolicy.org)

WELLESLEY, Massachusetts — A loaded gun with no safety lock was found wedged between two seats in a middle school auditorium, where school officials said it had been for the last month. The gun apparently fell out of the pocket of an attorney during a town meeting, officials at Wellesley school said. "This was a narrowly averted disaster," Superintendent Matthew King said Tuesday. "Had a youngster picked up this gun, he could have very, very easily pointed it at... (GunPolicy.org)