The Virginia Senate has an unprecedented opportunity today to begin to reverse the state's abysmal record on gun regulation. For years, state lawmakers have defeated bills requiring vendors at gun shows to conduct background checks of would-be buyers. Yet such legislation squeaked by the Senate Courts of Justice Committee by an 8 to 7 vote this week and is poised for a vote in the full Senate. Politicians of both parties, including self-described gun rights advocates,... (GunPolicy.org)

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic lead have accumulated over the decades at the two most popular outdoor gun ranges in South Florida. At Markham Park in West Broward, a county study put the load of pellets across from the skeet and trap range alone at 350 tons and found a layer of splintered clay targets five feet thick lining the bottom of six-acre Shotgun Lake. That was 11 years ago. At Trail Glades range in West Miami-Dade, county records show the sand... (GunPolicy.org)

KARACHI — The presence of illegal weapons in the city is rising at an alarming proportion, as every day one comes across unfortunate incidents of ethnic violence and other such criminal offences. In this regard, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Sindh recently traced the whereabouts of the arms smugglers in a bid to get rid of this menace from the city once and for all. According to admissions made by the smugglers in custody, there are about 13 such... (GunPolicy.org)

When Erik S. Ayala shot nine strangers — killing two — before taking his own life outside an underage nightclub downtown, he left behind an ocean of questions. For one thing, how could a troubled young man with a history of "emotional issues" walk into a pawnshop and leave with a 9 mm handgun? Federal gun-control regulations allow people with long histories of mental health problems to buy guns if they've never been civilly committed to a psychiatric hospital or... (GunPolicy.org)

PAWTUCKET, Rhode Island — Police said they found nearly 100 guns in the home of a man arrested on drug charges. When police arrested 29-year-old Joab Coderre at his home in Pawtucket on Thursday, they found drugs and enough guns to supply a small army. Along with four pounds of marijuana and scales, police confiscated 93 weapons, including assault rifles, .357-caliber Magnums, a 9 mm Glock, collector rifles, and shotguns. Investigators also found hundreds of rounds... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — The country's new homeland security chief said Friday that the Obama administration is mapping out a crackdown on the flow of firearms smuggled to Mexico's murderous drug gangs operating along the Texas border. Janet Napolitano said she had directed the Customs and Border Protection service "to find guns going south and interdict them." Additionally, the homeland security secretary said she will give Mexican authorities access to a government database to... (GunPolicy.org)