RICHMOND, Virginia — Pro-gun state lawmakers in Virginia say they may ignore families of Virginia Tech shooting victims if they seek stricter gun control laws. Several state legislators have said any attempt to call for heightened firearm restrictions in Virginia will fall on deaf ears when linked to the campus shootings, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Sunday. State Sen. Kenneth Stolle said if the campus shooting victims' family members attempt to target the... (GunPolicy.org)

RICHMOND, Virginia — Emotions will be raw when Andrew Goddard and the parents of about a dozen other victims in April's shootings at Virginia Tech approach the General Assembly this winter to ask for more gun control. Goddard says he will describe the injuries from the four bullets that ripped into his son, Colin, who is among the survivors. He and other parents will urge lawmakers to close a loophole in the state's gun laws. They want to end a practice that allows... (GunPolicy.org)

Omar Samaha wore a suit to talk to state lawmakers yesterday. It was the same suit he wore to his younger sister Reema's funeral in April after she and 31 other students and teachers at Virginia Tech were shot and killed by Seung Hui Cho. Samaha pinned a small photo of his 18-year-old sister on his lapel as he urged Northern Virginia lawmakers to take on the state's powerful gun rights lobby and fight for what he called sensible gun reforms. "This is the only suit I... (GunPolicy.org)

Six years after new rules made it much easier to get a license to carry concealed weapons, the number of Michiganders legally packing heat has increased more than six-fold. But dire predictions about increased violence and bloodshed have largely gone unfulfilled, according to law enforcement officials and, to the extent they can be measured, crime statistics. The incidence of violent crime in Michigan in the six years since the law went into effect has been, on... (GunPolicy.org)

Whenever someone wantonly opens fire and kills a group of innocent people, the natural question is, what can be done so it doesn't happen again? There's no easy answer — no silver bullet, so to speak — but Congress has recently taken one small step that should help. It passed a bill, born of painful Long Island experience and the tragedy at Virginia Tech, that will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous, mentally ill people. Wonder of wonders, it reflects... (GunPolicy.org)

Pasadena police are investigating a woman's shooting death at a gun range. The incident occurred Saturday evening at the Pasadena Gun Center. Witnesses say the woman came in around 6:50 p.m., got a gun and retreated to the shooting stall. About 30 minutes later, the owner was closing up when he found the woman lying dead in the back. It was unclear if the shooting was... (GunPolicy.org)

CAMP PHOENIX, Afghanistan — Sgt. Dennis Busby never held an AK-47 — let alone fired one — until he came to Afghanistan. Now, the S.C. National Guard soldier is helping to restore weapons, including the ubiquitous Soviet-era assault rifle Afghan forces use. Busby, of Lexington, is a member of the Guard's 218th Brigade Combat Team, deployed here to mentor the Afghan army and police. He works at a nearby supply depot with a team of technicians that supervises the... (GunPolicy.org)

She was one of Singapore's first weapons salesmen and had her audience of seasoned weapons buyers awestruck by the time she finished her firing demonstration. The year was 1983. Local weapons maker Chartered Industries of Singapore (CIS) had made its first light machine gun, the Ultimax 100, and wanted to introduce itself to the global arms market with a bang. Pitted against reputable weapons makers who had been in business since the days of single-shot muskets, CIS'... (GunPolicy.org)