The aftermath of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others – six fatally – last week has resulted in no plans for sweeping antigun legislation. Instead, gun control proposals forwarded by members of Congress in the past week have been notably limited in scope – seeking to address only narrow subsections of the population or perceived legal loopholes. The reason: the political calculus of gun control has changed dramatically in the past 20 years,... (GunPolicy.org)

My morning coffee cup overfloweth with news of note. The San Ysidro McDonald's massacre. Columbine. Virginia Tech. Northern Illinois University. Now, a Tucson shopping center. These horrific American disasters have a common denominator that has numbed America's will to change. Its latest incarnation: a Glock semi-automatic with a 33-round magazine. For decades, these weapons of mass destruction have enabled evil and psychotic killers whose only wish is to kill greater... (GunPolicy.org)

RICHMOND - Tucked into the Rev. John Hilton's shirt pocket was a miniature copy of the Gospel. Tucked into his belt was a 9mm handgun. Hilton, whose clerical collar peeped out from a jacket showing a blaze-orange "Guns Save Lives" sticker, said there is no contradiction in carrying a Jimenez Arms semiautomatic and the New Testament, just as there is no contradiction in the idea that only by increasing access to firearms would society be a safer place. "Even in the... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — The gunman accused of trying to assassinate Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others, Jared Lee Loughner, was not on any government watch list that might have warned someone not to sell him a gun or caused police to investigate his unstable behavior. It turns out there is not a list in the United States for people like Loughner. The same goes for Joseph Stack, who flew his plane into an IRS office in Austin, Texas, last February. Stack... (GunPolicy.org)

Following the tragic Tucson, Arizona shooting, lawmakers quickly reacted by announcing their intent to strengthen gun control laws. On Sunday, Representative Carolyn McCarthy released the draft of the bill that she is planning to introduce to Congress next week, one that would outlaw high-capacity magazines. Politico reports, "Representative Carolyn McCarthy's (D-N.Y.) bill also goes further than the assault weapon ban that would expire in 2004, outlawing the sale or... (GunPolicy.org)

The mass shooting in Tucson last weekend is fueling the gun control debate in neighboring California, with an advocacy organization renewing a push to prohibit firearms in restaurants and state lawmakers taking up a bill that would end the state's open-carry law. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence launched a drive last week challenging restaurants and cafes to exert their private property rights and ban guns in their establishments. The push formalized a... (GunPolicy.org)

Democrats face tough fight on gun control after Tucson shootings Bring back the ban on assault weapons, or tighten enforcement of existing gun control laws and regulations? Those were two options for strengthening gun control offered Sunday by Democrats in the wake of the Tucson, Arizona, shootings last week that killed six people and wounded 13, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. The limited range of ideas showed the power of the pro-gun lobby in... (GunPolicy.org)

The answer to the question, "Why can't the United States have a grown-up, rational discussion about reasonable gun control measures anymore?" was actually provided before the Tucson, Arizona shooting – specifically, on 3 January, at the National Press Club. The candidates for the Republican National Committee chairmanship – a race just concluded on Friday – were having a debate marked by frustratingly silly questions, but one of the silliest moments had to be when... (GunPolicy.org)