The National Rifle Association has added a microphone to its holster. The 4-million member gun owners' rights group offered its first online broadcast Friday afternoon — an initial volley in an effort to become both a news organization and talk-radio presence. "Creating this is our way of saying the NRA will not be silenced. It is designed to circumvent the campaign-finance restrictions, which would bar us from communicating to our members before elections," said... (GunPolicy.org)

President Bush probably would have gotten a warmer welcome if he had come to Downtown yesterday, the last day of the National Rifle Association's annual convention, rather than today. NRA officials estimated more than 60,000 people, most of them ardent Bush supporters, flooded the David L. Lawrence Convention Center during the weekend-long convention. "I feel the same way he feels about gun rights," said Paul Leasure, 56, of Hopwood, Fayette County. "They're under... (GunPolicy.org)

In his steady, serious monotone, Vice President Dick Cheney told the National Rifle Association's annual meeting Saturday that "John Kerry's approach to the Second Amendment has been to regulate, regulate and regulate some more." Despite President Bush and Kerry holding the same position on the most pressing gun-control issues — extending the assault weapons ban, closing the gun show "loophole" and strictly enforcing existing gun laws — both the NRA and the... (GunPolicy.org)

Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing government in Italy is to change the law to allow people to kill intruders without fear of imprisonment. The justice minister, Roberto Castelli, appeared to suggest at the weekend that in addition the benefit of the doubt should be given to shopkeepers who shot robbers in the back as they left their premises. Mr Castelli, a member of the Northern League, was speaking after an incident in Milan last week which had echoes of the case of... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — The two sides in the Senate debate over extending the decade-old ban on assault weapons are convinced of the bill's value — and both think they have the numbers to prove it. "We got the bill passed a decade ago, and America has been safer for it," argued Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who pushed through the original bill in the face of roaring opposition from the National Rifle Association and its allies. "In fact, the percentage of... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — It doesn't seem to be a main theme of the National Rifle Association meeting in Pittsburgh, but the NRA has been floating an idea that could force its critics — and Congress and the courts — to confront some uncomfortable First Amendment questions. Last December, as the U.S. Supreme Court was weighing the constitutionality of the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said the group was exploring the idea... (GunPolicy.org)

It's been quite a streak for those who believe that the more guns we have, the safer we are. Last week, an east-side Detroit woman killed an armed man who attacked her as she was entering her house. She pulled a 9mm gun from her purse — she has a concealed weapons permit — and dispatched him with two shots to his head. The man had a history of burglaries. It's the kind of story gun advocates jump on as evidence that allowing more people to carry guns can save... (GunPolicy.org)

A statewide poll being released today showed that Illinois voters strongly support making the federal ban on assault weapons permanent and requiring people who purchase firearms at gun shows to undergo criminal background checks. Overbrook Research conducted the survey of 501 registered voters for Voices for Illinois Children, an advocacy group. Gun-control advocates said the poll results are evidence of public backing for several legislative proposals, including House... (GunPolicy.org)

PITTSBURGH — At 79, Ray Jennings is a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association, even though he doesn't hunt anymore. "I used to shoot squirrels for dinner when I first got married and money was tight," he said. "They were tasty, too. Now I just watch them run up and down the tree out back." The retired heavy-machinery operator from Columbus, Ohio, may have put down his weapon, but he stays on the lookout for attempts to limit gun ownership. He and... (GunPolicy.org)