Gun Policy News
Private firearms carried in public, openly or concealed
Alarm Over Growing Use of Weapons at Rallies
27 August 2021
Guardian
A gunfight in Portland, Oregon, last week is intensifying concerns over escalating violence during contentious rallies in the city, as far-right demonstrators and anti-fascist counter-protesters have repeatedly faced off.
The Portland police bureau charged a 65-year-old man from Gresham, Oregon, over a gunfight in the city's downtown during violent clashes on Sunday. Authorities say Dennis Anderson drew a concealed handgun and shot at a group of anti-fascists who were... (GunPolicy.org)
Certain Laws Could Reduce Gun Deaths by More Than 10%
15 June 2020
Science
Nearly 40,000 people were killed by firearms in the United States in 2018, but curbing these numbers has been a statistically tricky—and politically fraught—problem. Now, a study that tracked individual gun laws over time suggests states can reduce gun deaths significantly by doing three things: limiting children's access to guns, restricting concealed-carry permits, and restricting "stand your ground" policies.
The study isn't without its flaws, but the basic... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Laws and Ownership in Italy
23 March 2018
Local (Italy)
Italians do not have a fundamental right to bear arms, and there are tough laws regulating both ownership and use of guns in the country.
Before buying a gun, you first need to get a gun purchasing licence ( Licenza di porto d'armi o Nulla osta) -- this is also necessary if you inherit or are given a weapon. To be eligible, you must be over 18, have a certificate from a shooting range to prove you can safely use the firearm, have a clean criminal record, and state that... (GunPolicy.org)
US Virgin Islands Shows Registration-Confiscation Link
30 October 2017
NRA Publications (USA)
If there were ever a perfect example of the endgame of the gun-ban crowd and their ultimate weapon -- registration of firearm owners -- it comes with the order by the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands to confiscate registered firearms from law-abiding citizens as a response to the impending devastation of Hurricane Irma.
Gov. Kenneth Mapp, in a toxic Sept. 4 order, proclaimed that the activated National Guard "is authorized and directed to seize arms,... (GunPolicy.org)
Pentagon Beats Trump to Allow Private Guns on Military Bases
23 November 2016
The Trace (USA)
As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed to use his executive authority to immediately scrap a longstanding rule that bars military personnel from carrying their own firearms on bases and at recruiting centers. Late last week, the Department of Defense took its own steps to loosen restrictions on private gun carry in new rules issued by the Pentagon.
A November 18 directive, approved by Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work, says base commanders "may grant... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Owners Plan to Eliminate Curbs on Ownership - NYT
22 November 2016
New York Times
HOUSTON — Before the election, gun rights activists were so worried Hillary Clinton would win the presidency that some of them bought extra ammunition and guns, fearing a crackdown on certain weapons, bullets and magazines.
They're not worried now. Instead, since the election of Donald J. Trump, gun advocates have been rejoicing, crowing about their political clout and plotting ways to eliminate many remaining curbs on gun ownership and use as they await one of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Is it so Easy to Openly Carry Loaded Rifles in Texas?
17 November 2016
KCBD (Texas), KFDA
Open carry has been legal in Texas for almost a year, but Amarillo law enforcement said they still see more long guns and rifles carried openly than hand guns and pistols.
The problem is the long guns and rifles don't require a license.
One of the most popular guns sold in Amarillo is the AR-15.
Gun experts tell us they're big sellers because they're versatile and can be used for sport and protection.
And unlike a handgun, they don't require any licensing or... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun-carrying Restrictions May Be Wiped Out Under Trump
14 November 2016
Guardian
With Donald Trump in the White House, tourists from other states may soon be able to bring their guns to shops of Fifth Avenue, the plaza at Rockefeller Center and other New York City sights.
Advocates say they expect Congress to finally pass a sweeping gun rights law that could dismantle local gun-carrying restrictions in states including New York, New Jersey, Maryland, California and Hawaii.
These changes could come soon. If Congress passes a federal right-to-carry... (GunPolicy.org)
New Research Confirms Guns on Campus Don't Stop Shooters
2 November 2016
Mother Jones (USA)
Eight states currently have laws that allow people to carry guns on college campuses. In 24 others, individual colleges can decide whether to allow firearms on the premises. The primary rationale for these laws, according to their supporters, is safety: School shooters, they say, are less likely to succeed in their attacks if students and teachers are armed and able to fight back.
But a new study from Johns Hopkins University shows that campus carry laws are unlikely... (GunPolicy.org)
US 'National Dialogue Has Changed' on Guns - 130 of the Worst
21 October 2016
New York Times
John R. Houser was dangerously mentally ill, too ill to carry a gun. Of that, there is little doubt.
Over 16 years, Mr. Houser, 59, had been charged with hiring a man to burn down a lawyer's office and named in a domestic violence complaint. In 2008, after Mr. Houser threatened to kill his daughter's fiancé, a judge issued a temporary restraining order and ordered him hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation. In 2014, he threatened to shoot law enforcement officers who... (GunPolicy.org)
US State Encourages Hidden Handguns, Gun Crime Rises
10 October 2016
Urban Milwaukee (US), Opinion
In July of this year, I criticized Attorney General Brad Schimel for insisting that Wisconsin was safer because of concealed carry becoming law in 2011.
"Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites hold a concealed carry license, making our state a safer place to live, work, and raise a family," he said then.
I pointed out that his assumption was flawed — the state wasn't safer under the recent years of concealed carry. FBI data for the years 2011-2014 showed that... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Owner Licensing Soars 71% in Puerto Rico [ES]
9 October 2016
El Nuevo Dia (Puerto Rico)
[Translated summary: In Puerto Rico, there are 210,438 registered firearms among civilians and another 15,628 in gun shops. Ownership licences increased 70.9% between 2011 and 2015 while concealed carry licences rose 18.7%. Police also observe that firearm possession incremented among women, with 747 licences in 2011 and 1,980 en 2015.]
Se reporta un incremento en la expedición de licencias y permisos de portación, así como en el valor de las importaciones de este... (GunPolicy.org)
Growth Industry for US Gun Owners: Shooting People Insurance
26 September 2016
Toronto Star (Ontario)
WASHINGTON — James Cook, father of two young girls, has insurance for a house fire, insurance for a car accident, insurance for a health problem.
For the last two years, he has also had insurance for shooting someone.
Cook, a 32-year-old defence lawyer in Colorado, has no plans to shoot anyone. But he is armed with a concealed handgun everywhere he goes except court, and he wants to be prepared for the minuscule possibility he will have to fire it in... (GunPolicy.org)
Pink Pistols: Gun-Toting Gay Americans, Trained and Armed
12 September 2016
Philadelphia Inquirer
Gwen Patton does not carry a gun specifically because she is a lesbian. She carries a gun because she believes random evil can put its hand on you at any moment - and gay people face additional danger.
"Yeah, because someone mugs you on the street, they want your wallet, they want your watch, they want money. A woman might also face a threat of rape," she says. "Another level is when they don't like you for what you are. There's a quantum leap in danger."
That's why... (GunPolicy.org)
Does This Gun Make Me Look Fat? Wearing Hidden Handguns
8 September 2016
CBS News (USA), Associated Press
ATLANTA -- Does this gun make me look fat?
For decades, women have had few choices when it comes to the clothing they can wear to hide that they're carrying a firearm. They could wear baggy T-shirts or coats, or put it in a purse and hope it didn't get swiped or that they didn't have trouble getting it out in an emergency.
Enter holsters, corsets, camisoles and other clothing designed to be flattering, feminine - and functional - for the pistol-packin' mama crowd.... (GunPolicy.org)
Claims of the NRA's Favorite Social Scientist, Debunked
30 August 2016
Vox (USA)
The War Against Guns: Arming Yourself Against Gun Control Lies by John Lott is well on its way to ascending into the pantheon of pro-gun literature. A parade of conservative heavyweights has lavished praise on the book since its publication this month, among them Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, Ann Coulter, and Sean Hannity. Cruz opined that "the Second Amendment has no better defender than John Lott," adding that with this book, Lott "has done... (GunPolicy.org)
Professors, Students' Opinions About Guns on Campus - NYT
27 August 2016
New York Times
As classes began here at the University of Texas this past week amid a new law allowing concealed handguns on college campuses in the state, an accounting student quietly strapped on a pistol and headed to class.
A pre-med sophomore joined a raucous protest against the law.
A professor who had sued to stop the law resigned herself to teaching with handguns in the classroom.
And the college president sought out ways to safeguard the campus culture that he cherished... (GunPolicy.org)
US Airport Security Seizes Record 81 Carry-on Guns in a Week
22 August 2016
The Trace (USA)
Usually, the loaded gun is stuffed in a carry-on bag or a purse. Almost always, the excuse is: "I forgot."
For the second consecutive week, the Transportation Security Administration confiscated a record number of firearms at security checkpoints at U.S. airports. Officers seized 81 guns between August 12th and 18th. Of the weapons, 70 were loaded, and 31 had a round chambered, meaning ready to fire at the squeeze of a trigger.
Last week's tally brings the agency's... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA's Favourite Gun 'Academic' John Lott is a Fraud
12 August 2016
ThinkProgress (USA)
The United States seems to be in a perpetual cycle mourning mass shootings in the country. This year alone, there have already been 233 mass shootings, where four or more victims were shot, leaving 310 dead and 930 injured. But every time another shooting happens, advocates pop up arguing that more guns don't actually lead to more violence and stall the much-needed conversation about gun control.
John Lott is, if not the most influential, certainly the most prolific... (GunPolicy.org)
Most Young US Adults Support Gun Sale Background Checks
6 August 2016
Guardian, Associated Press
About nine in 10 young American adults say they support criminal background checks for all gun sales, according to a new GenForward poll.
Such support remains consistent across racial and ethnic groups, the poll found – stiffer penalties for violating existing gun laws are supported by nine in 10 young whites, Asian Americans and Latinos and eight in 10 African Americans. More than half (57%) of young Americans support a ban on rapid-firing semi-automatic weapons,... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Officials Sue Gun Rights Activist After Complaint
5 August 2016
New York Times, Associated Press
DALLAS — A Texas county sued a gun-rights activist who has complained that county officials were unlawfully barring firearms from being brought into a public building.
The lawsuit filed by Waller County, which extends into the suburbs of Houston, takes aim at Terry Holcomb Sr., the executive director of a gun-rights organization called Texas Carry.
Holcomb has sent letters to more than 75 local governments and other public entities across the state complaining of... (GunPolicy.org)
US Hidden Handgun Permits Up 215% Since 2007 - John Lott
1 August 2016
Bearing Arms
According to John R. Lott, Jr. with the Crime Prevention Research Center, the number of concealed handgun permit applications [was] 14.5 million during President Obama's administration. That's a 215% increase since 2007!
Another key finding in Lott's research follows females with firearms. According to the CPRC report's findings, "the number of women with permits has increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits."
Evidence also "suggests that... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Advocates for Some Black Gun Owners, But Not Others
21 July 2016
The Trace (USA)
The day after Philando Castile was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop, his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds spoke at a march on the Minnesota governor's mansion. Reynolds, who filmed the aftermath of the shooting, made an unusual first demand for an African-American protester decrying police violence: She insisted police treat concealed carriers with respect.
Reynolds says Castile, who held a concealed weapons permit, told the officer that pulled him over... (GunPolicy.org)
US Street-level Police are More Likely to Support Gun Rights
19 July 2016
Guardian
US police officers, on the front lines of gun violence every day, have particular reason to be on edge in the presence of civilians carrying guns, after 11 days in which eight officers were killed in two planned shootings.
With Cleveland's open-carry law now also in the spotlight as many fear violence around the Republican national convention, the Cleveland police union went so far as to ask Governor (and former Republican presidential candidate) John Kasich to suspend... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Gun Laws Blurred Lines Between Suspects and Marchers
10 July 2016
New York Times
DALLAS — As a demonstration against police shootings made its way downtown here on Thursday, it differed from others around the country in one startling way: Twenty to 30 of the marchers showed up with AR-15s and other types of military-style rifles and wore them openly, with the straps slung across their shoulders and backs.
In Texas, it was not only legal. It was commonplace.
The state has long been a bastion of pro-gun sentiment and the kind of place where both... (GunPolicy.org)
US 2nd Amendment Does Not Guarantee Hidden Handguns - Court
9 June 2016
New York Times
A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Thursday that the Second Amendment of the Constitution does not guarantee the right of gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public places, upholding a California law that imposes stringent conditions on who may be granted a concealed-carry permit.
The 7-to-4 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, overturned a decision by a three-judge panel of the same court and was a... (GunPolicy.org)
No 'Right' to Carry Hidden Handgun - US Federal Court Ruling
9 June 2016
Los Angeles Times
A federal appeals court ruling that gave gun control advocates a major victory Thursday underscored California's rising importance as a center of legal and political battles over guns.
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided in a 7-4 ruling that California counties may restrict permits for carrying concealed firearms in public. That decision overturned a 2014 ruling that prompted some California counties to relax their rules.
"It should not be minimized how big... (GunPolicy.org)
US Law Doesn't Guarantee Right to Hidden Handguns - Court
9 June 2016
New York Times
LOS ANGELES — A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled Thursday that the Second Amendment of the Constitution does not guarantee the right of gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public places, upholding a California law that imposes stringent conditions on who may be granted a concealed-carry permit.
The 7-to-4 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, overturned a decision by a three-judge panel of the same... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvania Lawmakers Aim to Curb Gun Background Checks
7 June 2016
Guns.com
Legislation will be brought up Tuesday in the House to replace the troubled Pennsylvania Instant Check System that has long drawn the ire of gun rights advocates.
The proposal to scuttle the system in favor of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Instant Background Check System, is backed by Republican Speaker Mike Turzai and currently has over 70 bipartisan sponsors.
"The PICS system duplicates the background check which is already completed when a NICS... (GunPolicy.org)
US Man Brandishes Assault Rifle Near School: Court Says OK
17 May 2016
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
Advocates for the open carry of guns won another court victory Tuesday, when an appellate court threw out a loitering conviction against a man cited for walking around with an AR-15 rifle on his shoulder near a school.
"We are pleased the Court of Appeals recognized that merely carrying a firearm, with nothing more, cannot constitute an offense in Wisconsin," said John Monroe, who represented Mark Hoffman.
Hoffman is among those gun owners who actively test law... (GunPolicy.org)
California: Carrying a Loaded Gun in a Backpack Still Illegal
9 May 2016
San Francisco Chronicle
Carrying a loaded gun without a license is illegal in California even if the weapon is tucked inside a backpack, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday.
In a unanimous ruling Monday, the court allowed prosecutors to charge a man with violating California's open-carry law by carrying a loaded revolver that police said they found in his backpack.
The law makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, to carry a loaded gun "on the person or in a vehicle while... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun, Pistol Manufacturer Sales Up 26% from Last Year
3 May 2016
Guardian
Sturm, Ruger & Co, one of the largest gun manufacturers in the US, reported sales of $173.1m for the first quarter of 2016, up 26% from last year and some of the highest earnings in the company's 67-year history.
At a shareholding meeting, executives said "we are good citizens" and predicted that demand for guns could continue to grow thanks to the increasingly heated political rhetoric of the 2016 election, and a long-term trend of Americans wanting guns for... (GunPolicy.org)
Louisiana Mulls 40 Gun Law Changes: Most Encourage Guns
8 April 2016
San Francisco Chronicle
BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Lawmakers are seeking to shape Louisiana's gun laws with more than 40 firearm-related changes proposed this session.
But while proposals, including several measures attempting to limit released convicts' access to guns, have come from lawmakers in both parties and within each chamber, disagreements lie in how to best curb the state's high recidivism and crime rates while respecting constitutional rights.
Lawmakers have said a number of the... (GunPolicy.org)
'Allow Guns at US Republican Convention' Call Had a Twist
29 March 2016
Trace (USA)
In a presidential campaign season where "gun-free zones" have been a favorite target for Republican candidates, a Change.org petition sought to push conservatives on how dearly they hold their Second Amendment principles. The letter called for the Republican Party to allow the open carry of firearms at its nominating convention this July, which will be held in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. The arena bans all weapons, which the petition argued put "all attendees at... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Australia,Brazil,South Africa
Gun Control: What Works and What Doesn't
7 March 2016
Washington Post, Blog
Gun control works, but you have to be smart about it.
That's the takeaway from a major new analysis out this month in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews. Columbia University's Julian Santaella-Tenorio and a team of researchers pored over the results of 130 studies on gun control legislation passed in 10 different countries to find out which policy interventions worked, which ones didn't and on what issues the jury was still out.
Big caveat up front: Sussing out cause... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handgun Licensing, Gun Registration Soar in Guam
6 March 2016
Pacific Daily News (Guam)
Almost 600 concealed firearms licenses were issued in Guam in 2014 — a dramatic jump from previous years, when the numbers hovered around 100, according to Guam Police Department data. In 2015, more than 800 licenses were issued.
Sen. Tony Ada attributes the dramatic jump to a bill he authored in 2014, which became law that year.
"P.L. 32-150 was enacted in May of 2014," Ada said. "It makes sense that any jump in the number of concealed (firearms licenses) issued... (GunPolicy.org)
10 Americans Who Shaped the Gun Debate This Year
28 December 2015
Trace (USA)
Deborah Azrael, gun-violence researcher
Despite some 300 million guns in circulation in America, research on guns and gun violence remains seriously underfunded. Among the handful of public health experts helping to expand the available pool of data is Dr. Deborah Azrael of Harvard's Injury Control Research Center. Azrael co-authored a seminal study in 2015 that found firearm suicide rates are higher in states with higher rates of gun ownership, underscoring the... (GunPolicy.org)
18 November 2015
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia (Puerto Rico)
Gun laws in Puerto Rico regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, many U.S. federal laws apply, as well as Constitutional rulings and protections. (1) (2)
Summary Table
Subject/Law? Long guns - Handguns - (Notes)
Permit to purchase? No - No - (Firearms purchases are subject to the requirements of US Federal law)
Firearm registration? No - No
Assault... (GunPolicy.org)
Guam,United States,Puerto Rico
15 July 2015
Pacific Daily News (Guam)
The timing of a recent court ruling from the Commonwealth Court of Puerto Rico could not be better, and may well set in motion a significant ripple effect in other U.S. Island jurisdictions, namely Guam and Hawaii.
The Puerto Rican court recently handed down a ruling on a class action lawsuit that was brought by the Ladies of the Second Amendment, or LSA, with 850 individual plaintiffs. The court ruling, confirmed by the Second Amendment Foundation, or SAF, was a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Airport Checkpoints Seize Up to 18 Guns a Day, 80% Loaded
9 June 2014
New York Times
Lots more of our fellow travelers are packing for the airport, so to speak. So far this year (as of the end of last week), the Transportation Security Administration has found 892 guns in passengers' carry-on bags at security checkpoints. That's a 19 percent increase from the comparable period of last year, when the total was 750 guns.
The 2013 gun-tote tally was a record, at 1,813 firearms found, incidentally. As this year's gun haul keeps rolling along, a one-day... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Retreats from Its Own Article Criticising Gun Carry Advocates
4 June 2014
New York Times, Opinion
The National Rifle Association is distancing itself from an article on its website that called demonstrations by gun rights advocates who brandished weapons in public "scary" and "weird," and that said such advocates had "crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness."
The article and the subsequent denunciations in the past week are an unusual public disagreement inside the N.R.A. about the tactics of protesters, particularly in Texas, who have shown up... (GunPolicy.org)
Even After Moving Right for 30 Years, NRA Has a Tea Party Problem
4 June 2014
Bloomberg (USA), Opinion
Like the Republican Party, the National Rifle Association has been moving right for more than three decades - ever since radicals calling for maximum gun rights took over the organization's convention in Cincinnati in 1977. And like Republican leaders who keep caving to the demands of Tea Party extremists at virtually every turn, the NRA's national leadership has a big fat Tea Party problem that it cannot solve.
NRA leader Wayne LaPierre has proved willing to shout... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Activists Cut Up NRA Member Cards Over 'Disgusting' Criticism
2 June 2014
Talking Points Radio
Gun lovers in Texas are furious at the National Rifle Association right now.
In response to the NRA's statement on Friday criticizing Texas activists' recent tactics, members of the pro-gun group Open Carry Texas have been cutting up their NRA membership cards, and the group has issued a statement demanding a retraction of the NRA's "disgusting and disrespectful comments." Or else.
"The more the NRA continues to divide its members by attacking some aspects of gun... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Slams Texas Gun Group as 'Downright Weird' After Restaurant Rally
2 June 2014
New York Daily News
Even the National Rifle Association thinks some Texas residents are taking public gun toting too far.
The notorious gun lobby has slapped members of Open Carry Texas as "downright weird" for their insistence on bringing loaded semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15s and AK-47s, into family-friendly establishments like Chipotle and Starbucks.
The statement, released Friday, came one day before a throng of some 150 people, some armed with semi-automatic rifles and... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Decides Good Guys with Guns are Weirdos, Suggests Backdown
2 June 2014
Bloomberg (USA), Opinion
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," said National Rifle Association chieftain Wayne LaPierre. Unless, apparently, the good guy with a gun is in Texas and obeying the state's open-carry law while hunting down some Mexican food or a cup of joe.
According to a May 30 post on the NRA website, exercising one's rights in such a manner is, well, a little weird.
It's hard to imagine where open-carry advocates got the notion that they... (GunPolicy.org)
Fearing Rising Backlash, NRA Urges US Gun Activists to Stand Down
2 June 2014
Mother Jones (USA)
The last couple of months have been rough for proponents of open-carry gun laws. No fewer than seven restaurant chains have taken a stand against firearms being brought to their businesses, after activists in Texas conducted provocative demonstrations in which they toted semi-automatic rifles into various eateries. Texas law allows rifles (though not handguns) to be carried on display in public, but some patrons and employees were unnerved and angered by the... (GunPolicy.org)
The Best Reporting on Guns in America – A Collection from ProPublica
28 May 2014
ProPublica
Are Mass Shootings Increasing? Depends on How You Count Them
Criminologists have made the same point again and again: the number of mass shootings in America is not increasing. Experts told the Los Angeles Times that mass shootings represent only a small fraction of the annual deaths due to gun violence, and that police data indicate that the overall count of mass shootings per year has not shown any significant increase over time. This conclusion is based on the FBI's... (GunPolicy.org)
US Fat Food Chain Rejects Guns After 'Intimidating' Shooters' Tactics
20 May 2014
USA Today
Chipotle is asking customers not to bring firearms into its restaurants after gun-rights advocates brought assault-style weapons into a downtown Dallas store during the weekend.
The Mexican fast-food company, based in Denver, said Monday evening that it has traditionally complied with local firearms laws, but that "the display of firearms in our restaurants has now created an environment that is potentially intimidating or uncomfortable for many of our... (GunPolicy.org)
Spitting, Stalking, Rape Threats: How Gun Extremists Target Women
15 May 2014
Mother Jones (USA)
As Jennifer Longdon steered her wheelchair through the Indianapolis airport on April 25, she thought the roughest part of her trip was over. Earlier that day she'd participated in an emotional press conference with the new group Everytown for Gun Safety, against the backdrop of the National Rifle Association's annual meeting. A mom, gun owner, and Second Amendment supporter, Longdon was paralyzed in 2004 after being shot in her car by unknown assailants, and has since... (GunPolicy.org)
Officials in Guam Pass Concealed Carry Law for Firearms
10 May 2014
Guam PDN
Residents could soon be able to get a concealed firearms permit if they meet certain qualifications, if the governor signs a bill that was passed into law by the Legislature yesterday.
Bill 296 would align Guam's firearms law with other jurisdictions and require the police department to issue concealed firearms permits to residents who meet certain requirements.
The bill was one of many that senators voted to pass during the last day of session yesterday. The bill... (GunPolicy.org)
Critics Claim Hypocrisy Over Gun Bans in US State Capitols But Not Bars
8 May 2014
Chicago Tribune
South Dakota lawmaker Steve Hickey has 17 guns, a National Rifle Association card and a faith that pistol-packing residents make public places safer — except for the one where he works.
"We have the most contentious issues being debated in public policy, affecting people in irate, angrily ways and affecting millions and millions of dollars," Hickey said of the copper-domed capitol in Pierre, where he sponsored a law allowing teachers to carry firearms in schools.... (GunPolicy.org)
US States Changed Gun Laws Since Massacre: 4 Looser, 8 Tighter
2 May 2014
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
In April of this year, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed HB 60, a bill which expands the ability to carry firearms in public spaces such as bars and airports. The media was quick to report that this bill is evidence of a backlash against the many significant gun violence prevention laws enacted in the states last year, despite the media's predominant narrative from last year that, after Newtown, more states weakened gun laws and the gun lobby "won". The truth is that... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Laws: How Key US States are Easing or Tightening Restrictions on Firearms
26 April 2014
Guardian (UK)
After Congress failed to pass gun reform last year, the debate over gun violence and Second Amendment rights has largely moved from Washington DC to state capitals. That debate heated up after the December 2012 shooting tragedy at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Last year, lawmakers in Connecticut and Colorado – another state rocked by a mass shooting in 2012 – passed sweeping new gun-control measures. In January 2013, New York enacted a law... (GunPolicy.org)
Georgia Law Allows Guns in Many Public Places, Despite Opposition
23 April 2014
CNN
ELLIJAY, GA - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a wide-ranging gun bill into law Wednesday that has critics howling and proponents applauding.
House Bill 60, or the Safe Carry Protection Act of 2014 - which opponents have nicknamed the "guns everywhere bill" - specifies where Georgia residents can carry weapons. Included are provisions that allow residents who have concealed carry permits to take guns into some bars, churches, school zones, government buildings and... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Rights Advocates or Gun Advocates? US Gun Lobby Digs its Heels In
13 April 2014
Telegraph (UK)
The song blasts from two speakers placed either side of a beige canopy: "Guns, whether Remingtons and Glocks / Come on man it ain't like I'm a slingin' 'em on the block / I'm gonna tell you once, and listen son / As long as I'm alive and breathing, You won't take my guns."
Under the canopy is a table full of T-shirts and baseball caps embossed with the words "Open Carry Texas". And gathered around that are a handful of people with AK-47 or AR-15 semi-automatic rifles... (GunPolicy.org)
Proposed Gun Reform Would Relax Concealed Carry Law in Guam
2 April 2014
ABC Radio Australia (Shortwave)
More residents in Guam may soon be able to carry concealed firearms if a bill introduced into its legislature is passed.
The bill, which has bipartisan support, was introduced into Parliament by Senator Tony Ada.
Co-sponsor of the bill, Senator Aline Yamashita, has told Pacific Beat that at present 50 per cent of residents in the US territory who apply for a permit to carry a concealed firearm are unsuccessful.
She says the Second Amendment to the US Constitution... (GunPolicy.org)
Critics: Georgia's Stand-Your-Ground Gun Law 'Recipe for Unnecessary Killing'
27 March 2014
Guardian (UK)
A new Georgia gun law will extend the state's stand-your-ground legislation to protect convicted felons who kill using illegal guns, under what one criminal law expert calls a "recipe for unnecessary killing".
The bill, called HS60, was passed by the state legislature last week and is now awaiting governor Nathan Deal's signature. It was promoted by state Republicans for offering greater protection to law-abiding citizens. But lawyers, the state association of chiefs... (GunPolicy.org)
Disarmed: How American Cities Are Losing the Power to Regulate Guns
6 March 2014
Atlantic (USA)
It was after midnight on February 15. Valentine's Day had ended, but there were still roses in the gift shop when two men hobbled into Via Christi Hospital St. Joseph in Wichita, Kansas, each with a bullet wound in the thigh. One of them explained to police that he had a concealed-carry handgun license, and that he'd been drinking at the Shot Time II bar when he'd accidentally fired a bullet through his own leg and into the leg of the man sitting next to him.
Kansas... (GunPolicy.org)
American Gun Culture Shifts Towards a 'Stand Your Ground' Nation
25 February 2014
Slate (USA)
Ever since George Zimmerman gunned down Trayvon Martin in his Sanford, Fla., gated community, it's become an article of faith that the rash of lethal shootings in public places — from the Florida moviegoer who was killed after a texting and popcorn-throwing incident to Jordan Davis, shot in his car at a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station to last week's lethal shooting in an Arizona Walmart — is attributable to the "stand your ground" laws enacted over the past decade... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Reminded by Supreme Court Teens Shouldn't Have Handguns
25 February 2014
Bloomberg (USA), Editorial
The U.S. Supreme Court today told the National Rifle Association something the NRA has always known: Under the U.S. Constitution, gun possession can be legally regulated.
The court declined to review two lower court rulings restricting the rights of Americans under age 21 to own handguns. The decisions run counter to the ferocious liberalization of gun laws throughout the nation after the court's 2008 Heller decision, in which a polarized 5-4 majority blew past the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Study Shows Having a Gun in the House Doesn't Make a Woman Safer
23 February 2014
Atlantic (USA)
Christy Salters Martin is a professional boxer and the owner of a concealed carry permit. But when she attempted to leave her husband, she was shot with her own gun. Today, she cautions other women against making the same mistake. "Just putting a weapon in the woman's hand is not going to reduce the number of fatalities or gunshot victims that we have. Too many times, their male counterpart or spouse will be able to overpower them and take that gun away."
Wayne... (GunPolicy.org)
Court Overturns Concealed-Carry Rule in Blow to California Gun Law
13 February 2014
Reuters
A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down a requirement by San Diego County that residents show "good cause" to carry a concealed firearm, a ruling that could force local governments across California to revisit the way they license handguns.
A three-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, acting on a 2009 lawsuit, ruled in a 2-1 decision that San Diego County's restrictions amounted to an unconstitutional infringement on citizens' Second Amendment... (GunPolicy.org)
Case Against US Man Illustrates Canada's Zero-Tolerance Gun Policy
3 February 2014
Los Angeles Times
Louis DiNatale didn't intend to enter Canada when he and his wife wound up on a bridge from New York state to Ontario province one day in September, misdirected by an unreliable GPS. What began as an American couple's getaway to Vermont quickly turned into a lesson on the stark difference between the U.S. and Canada when it comes to gun laws.
DiNatale, whose request to turn around and cross back into the U.S. was denied, then made another mistake. When a border... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Debate: Is Price of an Armed America a More Dangerous America?
2 February 2014
Christian Science Monitor
ATLANTA - Charles Ingram and Robert Webster were neighbors in Florida, but friends said the two older men had little love for each other and often quarreled. On a spring day in 2010, the two men, both gun enthusiasts who had state permits to carry concealed weapons, got into another argument across their lawns.
This time, police later said, both men pulled out their weapons. When Mr. Webster began approaching, Mr. Ingram raised his gun, as did Webster. Two shots rang... (GunPolicy.org)
Last US State Passes Concealed Carry Gun Law, Cops Wary of Changes
9 January 2014
JC Online (Indiana) / USA Today
CHICAGO - Illinois is now the last state in the U.S. to allow average citizens to carry around concealed firearms.
On Sunday, it joined a two-decade long parade of jurisdictions ranging from Arizona to Vermont that have loosened their gun laws at the same time violent crime rates were dropping across the country.
"For years, we heard from gun control groups that concealed-carry laws would result in an increase in crime," said Larry Keane, general counsel for the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Journalists Banished for Questioning the Gospel of Guns
4 January 2014
New York Times
BARRY, Illinois — The byline of Dick Metcalf, one of the country's pre-eminent gun journalists, has gone missing. It has been removed from Guns & Ammo magazine, where his widely-read column once ran on the back page. He no longer stars on a popular television show about firearms. Gun companies have stopped flying him around the world and sending him the latest weapons to review.
In late October, Mr. Metcalf wrote a column that the magazine titled "Let's Talk Limits,"... (GunPolicy.org)
More Than Half of Americans Now Have Tougher Gun Laws
12 December 2013
Mother Jones (USA)
An unthinkable massacre ignites an intense national debate. Then, Congress does nothing. The powerful gun lobby wins again. End of story.
[Interactive charts of US state gun laws are displayed in the original]
So went the popular narrative last spring with the collapse of gun control legislation on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, scores of people have been wounded or killed in five new mass shootings and other gun rampages around the country, and an estimated 30,000 have... (GunPolicy.org)
Post-Newtown, US Gun Control Battle Moves to States
9 December 2013
Reuters
In the year since the massacre of 26 schoolchildren and adults in Newtown, Connecticut, efforts to pass gun legislation have stalled in the U.S. Congress but shifted to the states, helped by the deep pockets of outgoing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
In scores of statehouse battles, both gun-control and gun-rights advocates have notched wins since a mentally unstable gunman killed 20 first-graders and six adults at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School on December... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun-Buying Spree Wanes After Post-Newtown High
28 November 2013
Washington Times
Federal gun-purchase background checks ticked up in October, but analysts say the surge in applications to buy guns, which peaked in the months after the Newtown school shootings in Connecticut, likely has leveled off.
After hitting an all-time high of 2.8 million in December 2012, checks run through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System remained high through May when compared to previous year tallies. Sales then dropped for the next four months,... (GunPolicy.org)
Honduras Won't Debate Gun Control Despite Being World's 'Murder Capital'
19 November 2013
New Republic (USA)
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — Nearly everyone in Honduras blames drug trafficking for the Central American country's unfortunate distinction of having the world's highest homicide rate - over 91 per 100,000. But in the same breath, nearly everyone in Honduras will also admit, just days away from a landmark general election, that the proliferation of firearms plays a key role in the tragic triumvirate of corruption, trafficking, and violence that's increased here over the... (GunPolicy.org)
When a Peo-Gun Advocate Dissents, US Gun Lobby Attacks Its Own
8 November 2013
New York Times, Opinion
It's not as if Dick Metcalf was some kind of gun control fanatic.
On the contrary, he's a gun guy through and through, such an unyielding defender of the Second Amendment that last year he led the charge to push through a law giving the residents of Pike County, Ill., where he lives, the right to carry concealed guns without a permit. He called the practice "constitutional carry" rather than "concealed carry."
In the early 1980s, he and a handful of friends started a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Cops Shoot Youth with BB Gun, Guns Still 'Anything But Normal'
26 October 2013
Bloomberg (USA)
Last weekend, gun rights activists marched at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, carrying semi-automatic rifles and loaded magazines. Four days later, eighth-grader Andy Lopez was shot to death by Santa Rosa, California police for failing to drop the BB gun he was carrying to a friend's house.
Men carrying AR-15s down the street, fine; boy carrying BB gun down the street, fatal? Something does not compute.
In fact, the tragic killing in the second case exposes the... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Gun Extremists Think Their Behavior is Nuts
22 October 2013
Bloomberg (USA), Blog
"A rifle on our back is part of our everyday life, just like a cellphone is part of our everyday life," Angela L. Pena told a reporter for the New York Times. Pena made the comment last weekend at a gun-rights rally in San Antonio, where enthusiasts openly carried rifles, including semi-automatic rifles, in order to assert their right to openly carry rifles, including semi-automatic rifles.
There are countries where carrying such weapons is "just like" carrying a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Firearm Owners Push Their Right to Bear Arms Anywhere, Anytime
11 October 2013
Newsweek (USA)
The weapon he was carrying, an AK-74 assault rifle, measures three feet long, with a barrel of about 16 inches, and is capable of firing several dozen rounds per minute. Brian McCauley says he never meant to scare anyone. The state of Texas disagrees, and his upcoming trial has become a focal point in a dangerous new battle in the national debate over gun laws.
By the time McCauley walked into a San Antonio Starbucks in August, tensions had been building for years. The... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun-Control Advocates Losing Ground in the US Despite Mass Shootings
22 September 2013
Washington Post
Nine months after the horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., advocates of stricter gun-control measures have had little luck in state legislatures across the country. In fact, if the gun debate is reignited after another massacre claimed 12 victims Monday at the Navy Yard in Southeast Washington, it will take place in a country with fewer restrictions on firearms than were in place a year ago.
Gun-control advocates had hoped to pass new... (GunPolicy.org)
Two Licensed US Gun Owners Shoot, Kill Each Other in Road Rage Case
19 September 2013
Daily Kos, Opinion
There's a story out of Michigan where two gun owners got involved in a case of road rage, and ended up shooting and killing each other.
Two drivers are dead after a road rage incident escalated into a shootout. The incident happened around 6:45p.m. Wednesday on M-66 near Steele Street.
Witnesses tell WZZM 13 a one driver was following another driver too closely. The first driver pulled into a car wash parking lot and the other driver followed them into the parking... (GunPolicy.org)
In Gun Debate, Divide Grows as Both Sides in US Dig in For Battle
15 September 2013
New York Times
The weeks after a gunman killed 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn., were characterized by a new optimism about a goal that had seemed elusive for almost a decade: tougher gun laws. The shooting was called on more than one occasion "a game changer."
In the nine months since, although supporters of stricter legislation have won some victories, those high hopes have been tempered by a series of losses, most notably in April when the Senate defeated several measures to... (GunPolicy.org)
Chicago Abolishes Gun Registry to Comply with State Carry Law
11 September 2013
Reuters
Chicago on Wednesday reluctantly abolished a 45-year-old requirement that gun owners register their weapons with the city, marking a victory for advocates of gun rights such as the National Rifle Association.
The city council voted to end the gun registry in place since 1968 to comply with court rulings against Chicago and Illinois gun control laws, and to bring the city into line with a state concealed carry law.
"I happen to think the court's wrong. I think their... (GunPolicy.org)
Iowa Issues Gun Permits to the Blind, Allowing Them to Carry in Public
8 September 2013
Huffington Post (USA) / Des Moines Register (Iowa)
In a move sure to leave gun safety advocates scratching their heads, Iowa is issuing gun permits to the blind.
The permits allow legally blind applicants to purchase weapons and carry them in public. Per state law, any attempt to deny an Iowan these rights based on physical ability would be illegal, reports the Des Moines Register.
"When you shoot a gun, you take it out and point and shoot, and I don't necessarily think eyesight is necessary," said Michael Barber, a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Huffington Post (USA) / Des Moines Register (Iowa)
How I Got Licensed to Carry a Gun in 32 US States by Barely Trying
1 September 2013
Mother Jones (USA)
According to the state of Utah, I earned the right to carry a concealed handgun on a Saturday morning in a suburban shopping center outside Baltimore. Toward the back, next to a pawnshop and White Trash Matt's tattoo parlor, is the global headquarters of Dukes Defense World, a mom-and-pop firearms instruction shop certified by the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification to teach nonresidents firearm safety as a prerequisite for obtaining a concealed-carry permit.
My... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Built Database of US Gun Owners While Opposing Gun Registry
21 August 2013
RT-TV Novosti (Russia)
The National Rifle Association has frightened Americans about the prospect of a federal registry of firearm owners, but the NRA itself has secretly created a database with information from tens of millions of Americans who do not hold a membership.
The NRA has spent years secretly collecting information about gun owners from state and local offices and has built the country's largest privately held database of current, former and prospective gun owners, according to a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Safety Instructor Accidentally Shoots Student
13 August 2013
CNN
Oh the irony. An Ohio man was shot in the arm. At a gun safety class.
Michael Piemonte was attending a concealed-carry class with his wife Alison in central Ohio's Fairfield County over the weekend. Such classes are required for anyone wanting carry a concealed weapon in the state.
There were 29 students in the lecture-type class, Piemonte said. He was sitting in the front row.
While the instructor was demonstrating a self-defense techniques, the gun went off.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Permits Jump in US State Despite Falling Rates of Violence
21 July 2013
Hawaii Reporter
Hawaii firearms registrations shot up more than 70 percent in 2012, while gun violence continued a four-year decline, according to a new state Department of the Attorney General report.
"While there has been a tremendous increase in firearm registration activity in Hawaii since 2000, the annual trends for both the number of firearm-related violent crimes and the proportion of violent crimes involving firearms relative to other weapon types remained stable within a low... (GunPolicy.org)
Americans Legally Toting Hidden Handguns at Alarming Rates - NY Times
17 July 2013
New York Times, Editorial
Amid all the furious debate generated by gun tragedies like the Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida, citizens in too many states have been quietly, legally arming themselves at alarming rates that offer scant optimism for reining in the nation's runaway gun culture.
Florida granted more than 173,000 new concealed-carry gun permits in the past year, even as the Trayvon Martin case proceeded — a 17 percent increase that is double the rate of five years ago and brought... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Owners Still Overwhelmingly White Males
12 June 2013
US News & World Report
The Pew Research Center's latest survey on gun control this week provided a familiar profile of the typical gun owner in the United States: adult, white and male. That profile differs greatly from the makeup of the country, according to Pew. White men represent just a third of the U.S. population, but about 60 percent of adults with guns in America today are white men.
This revelation isn't new. In April, Dan Baum, author of the recent book "Gun Guys: A Road Trip"... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA-Backed Kansas Law Bans Government Lobbying on Gun Issues
6 June 2013
Washington Post
TOPEKA, Kansas — Fresh off a series of legislative victories across the country, the National Rifle Association has launched a new effort starting in gun-friendly Kansas seeking to clamp down on the use of government money to lobby on gun-control issues.
While it's not clear how the law would be enforced considering it includes no penalties for violators, critics argue the measure threatens to stifle debate and give the state government far more control over a local... (GunPolicy.org)
New Gun Control Movement in America Making Real Strides
28 May 2013
New Republic
On April 17, the bill to expand background checks on gun buyers failed in the Senate, and the fatalistic shrugs in Washington were so numerous they were nearly audible. The legislation had been a modest bipartisan compromise, supported by 90 percent of the public and lobbied for hard by the president. A group backed by Michael Bloomberg had spent $12 million on ads pressuring senators to vote "yes." When the bill fell short — by just five votes — it seemed to... (GunPolicy.org)
US Senate Blocks New Laws, Ignore Pleas from Gun Victims
18 April 2013
Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans backed by a small band of rural-state Democrats scuttled the most far-reaching gun control legislation in two decades Wednesday, rejecting tighter background checks for buyers and a ban on assault weapons as they spurned pleas from families of victims of last winter's school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
"This effort isn't over," President Barack Obama vowed at the White House moments after the defeat on one of his top domestic... (GunPolicy.org)
Share of US Households with Guns Declined Over Past 4 Decades, Study
9 March 2013
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
NEW YORK — The share of U.S. households with guns has declined over the past four decades, a national survey shows, with some of the most surprising drops in the South and the Western mountain states, where guns are deeply embedded in the culture.
The gun ownership rate has fallen across a broad cross section of households since the early 1970s, according to data from the U.S. General Social Survey, a public opinion survey conducted every two years that asks a sample... (GunPolicy.org)
Rate of Gun Ownership in US Is Down, Survey Shows
9 March 2013
New York Times
The share of American households with guns has declined over the past four decades, a national survey shows, with some of the most surprising drops in the South and the Western mountain states, where guns are deeply embedded in the culture.
The gun ownership rate has fallen across a broad cross section of households since the early 1970s, according to data from the General Social Survey, a public opinion survey conducted every two years that asks a sample of American... (GunPolicy.org)
Tom Diaz on Converting to Gun Control and the Effect of Newtown
4 February 2013
Macleans (Canada)
Tom Diaz, 72, is one of the most prominent gun control advocates in the United States. A former senior policy analyst at Washington's Violence Policy Center — which considers firearms violence to be a public health issue rather than criminal issue — Diaz wrote Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America in 1999. It explored the links between political lobbying by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun manufacturers. Last year, dismayed by a decade of... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Speech Indicates Action on Gun Crime, Not Gun Control
4 February 2013
Guardian (UK)
Observers billed Obama's speech here in the Twin Cities Monday afternoon as the first stop for a White House road show promoting gun control legislation, but the event's tone, its location, and, yes, even its content signal that the White House has chosen a circuitous route in pursuit of its goals. The goals themselves have changed, too, as the White House shifts our attention away from the specific horror of Sandy Hook to the more mundane living nightmare of daily gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Interactive Display: US Gun Laws by State
16 January 2013
Guardian (UK)
President Obama has indicated a move towards strengthening federal gun control measures, but the reality is that the majority of gun legislation in the US is enacted at the state level. That has brought broad variations across the country, with states taking different approaches to issues ranging from sales, permits, licensing, self-defence and carry laws.
Carrying firearms: open and concealed
Open-carry and concealed-carry laws determine how public citizens can carry... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Israel,Switzerland
Israel, Switzerland Have Stringent Gun Control, Fewer Guns Than US
19 December 2012
Foreign Policy (America)
Following the tragic shooting last week in Newtown, Conn., two stories leapt out at me. The first was the astonishing tale of a teacher, Victoria Soto, who hid her first-graders in closets and took a bullet rather than risking the children's lives by hiding with them. The second featured a photograph of an Israeli woman with a military-style long gun slung across her back, herding children protectively. The contrast between the powerful Israeli woman and the unarmed... (GunPolicy.org)
Canada Is Alone Internationally in Rolling Back Gun Laws
17 December 2012
Now Toronto, Opinion
I'm not going to ask if what happened in Newtown, Connecticut can happen here because now's a time for reflection, not panic and cheap one-liners.
Our gun laws are a good deal stricter than those in the United States. The days when you could purchase a rifle at the counter of the Canadian Tire with little more than a driver's license are over, thanks to Marc Lepine's 1989 outrage.
But when it comes to gun control, we've been headed in the wrong direction for the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Airport Officials Report Rise in 'Forgotten' Guns in Carry-On Bags
28 September 2012
New York Times
The list of potentially lethal weapons was certainly eye-opening: 47 guns (38 of them loaded, including six with rounds in their chambers), three inert hand grenades, supplies of black powder, hunting knives, timing fuses and a sword.
Then, consider that the list was compiled by the Transportation Security Administration, of weapons found in airline travelers' carry-on bags in the seven days that ended on Sept. 20.
In fact, the T.S.A. says the number of guns found at... (GunPolicy.org)
Craft Guns, Automatic 'Miniguns' Legal in Most US States
10 September 2012
Business Insider
No matter which side you stand on in the gun debate, it's pretty well known a whole host of weapons exists in America.
And for some, like flamethrowers or knife-point sharp Wild Kat Keychains, you can hardly believe they're legal — at least in most states.
We've rounded up the best of the best, or the most dangerous of the dangerous, depending on your point of view.
While many of these weapons are banned in at least a few states, for the most part they're fair... (GunPolicy.org)
Handgun Type in US Sikh Shooting Is Mass Shooting Weapon of Choice
7 August 2012
New York Times / Reuters
The semiautomatic handgun used in the deadly attack on a Wisconsin Sikh temple is the same type used in other recent U.S. mass shootings, including one at a theater in Colorado, and the attack on a congresswoman in Arizona, gun experts said.
Wisconsin shooter Wade Michael Page used a Springfield 9mm semiautomatic handgun to carry out the attack at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, officials said. As in several other recent mass shootings, the gun had been... (GunPolicy.org)
Vigilante Street Shooting a Turning Point in US Gun Control Debate?
19 April 2012
Christian Science Monitor
For years, gun laws had grown less restrictive. But some gun rights advocacy has been curtailed after the Trayvon Martin shooting, which has provided ammunition for gun control groups.
ATLANTA - Will Americans leery of a decade of gun rights expansions stand their ground over the Trayvon Martin case?
The Feb. 26 shooting of the unarmed teenager in Sanford, Fla., by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, and the initial police decision not to charge Mr.... (GunPolicy.org)
Battleground America: One nation, under the gun - New Yorker feature
17 April 2012
New Yorker
Just after seven-thirty on the morning of February 27th, a seventeen-year-old boy named T. J. Lane walked into the cafeteria at Chardon High School, about thirty miles outside Cleveland. It was a Monday, and the cafeteria was filled with kids, some eating breakfast, some waiting for buses to drive them to programs at other schools, some packing up for gym class. Lane sat down at an empty table, reached into a bag, and pulled out a .22-calibre pistol. He stood up, raised... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Deadly Devotion to Guns: A British Columnist Meets the NRA
16 April 2012
Guardian (UK)
There are around 90 guns for every 100 Americans yet, despite 85 fatal shootings a day, the mighty US gun lobby is as powerful as ever. In the wake of Trayvon Martin's killing, Gary Younge reports on the country's deadly attachment to firearms
At an organising breakfast for National Rifle Association (NRA) grassroots activists, Samuel Richardson, a man with whom I have not exchanged a word, passes me a note. "Please read the book Injustice by Adams," it reads. "He was... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Gunfest Focuses US Fight Over 'Shoot First' Hidden Handgun Laws
14 April 2012
CBS News (USA)
ST. LOUIS - Avid hunter Rob West drove from Chillicothe, Ohio, to St. Louis this week to join some 70,000 fellow National Rifle Association members at the organization's annual convention, where seven acres of guns and gear were on display and where politics was never far from anyone's mind.
For the NRA, which opposes any restrictions on gun ownership and President Barack Obama's re-election, the Second Amendment right to bear arms is sacrosanct.
"We don't want... (GunPolicy.org)
Is Gun Control Dead in America? Adam Winkler in the Washington Post
13 April 2012
Washington Post, Opinion
Monday marks five years since the massacre at Virginia Tech, where a mentally ill student, Seung Hui Cho, used two handguns he had bought legally to kill 32 people and wound 25 others. Other than a relatively minor law to improve the national database used for background checks, no significant gun-control legislation followed that tragedy.
Since then, there have been several mass shootings, including additional school rampages and the attempted assassination last year... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Turns 'Gunshine State' After Years of Republican Control
29 March 2012
Bloomberg (USA)
For years, Florida Capitol Police asked gun owners to check their firearms at the door. Not anymore.
Since a law in October made it easier to carry concealed weapons into the 1.2 million-square-foot government headquarters in Tallahassee, Senate security relies on alert buttons installed on the phones of lawmakers and staffers that let them instantly listen in to events.
"I don't think panic buttons are going to be very helpful if somebody charges into your office... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handgun Permit Holders Killed 391 US Civilians, Police in 5 Years
28 March 2012
New York Times, Column
The debate over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin seems to be devolving into an argument about the right to wear hoodies, but it really does not appear to be a promising development.
Congress, which never draws any serious conclusions from terrible tragedies involving gunplay, did have time on Wednesday to fight about whether Representative Bobby Rush of Chicago violated the House dress code when he took off his suit jacket, revealing a gray sweater he was wearing... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Do Americans Love Their Guns, Fiercely Defend Gun 'Freedom'?
27 March 2012
al Jazeera, Video
As thousands die from gunshots every year we ask why most people are still fiercely defending the gun culture in the US.
There are more guns legally held per person in the US than in any other developed nation. And despite a string of high-profile shootings in recent years guns are embedded in the American culture.
The right of individuals to carry arms is enshrined in the Second Amendment of the US constitution, written in 1791. And today, it is one of the most... (GunPolicy.org)
Why More Americans Carry Hidden Handguns in Public Places - Feature
11 March 2012
Christian Science Monitor
Leaning against a scrub pine as preschoolers scurry about at his feet, Shane Gazda, father of 3-year-old twins, recalls a conundrum he faced earlier that morning: whether to take his Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun to a Groundhog Day celebration in this town's White Deer Park.
After all, what was once against the law in North Carolina – carrying a concealed gun in a town park, square, or greenway – is now, as of Dec. 1, 2011, very much allowed. To Mr. Gazda, who... (GunPolicy.org)
California Gun Lobby Has High Hopes of Winning Hidden Handgun Fight
20 February 2012
Los Angeles Times
Chuck Michel's strategy for crime-fighting rests on the element of surprise: Keep the bad guys guessing who's armed and who's not.
"If 5% of the ducks could shoot back, you're not going to go duck hunting," said the Long Beach lawyer representing many Californians denied concealed weapons permits and, in his view, their constitutional right to self-defense.
For decades, that argument has fallen flat in the courtroom. Judges have routinely held that denying permits to... (GunPolicy.org)
Super Bowl TV Ad Makes New York Mayor Bloomberg US Gun Control King
4 February 2012
Christian Science Monitor
The gun control movement has faltered in recent years. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has vowed to spend his own fortune to buck that trend, most notably with a Super Bowl ad.
ATLANTA - With little political capital to lose and millions of his own cash to spend, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is determined to check the role of guns in American society.
A 30-second Super Bowl ad featuring Mr. Bloomberg on a couch with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will go a long way... (GunPolicy.org)
New York, Boston Mayors Lead Influential American Gun Control Group
4 February 2012
Reuters
NEW YORK - Among the slick, million-dollar ads for the likes of Pepsi and Honda during the Super Bowl this Sunday, viewers in Washington will see a far more modest spot. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino will be sitting on a couch touting an issue most politicians avoid like the plague: gun control.
The two mayors, whose local teams face off in the big game, are making the pitch for Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), the organization they... (GunPolicy.org)
Glock: The Rise of America's Favourite Handgun
27 January 2012
New York Times, Book review
You rarely pull a gun to start a conversation, but when I recently told an in-law that I was writing about Glock pistols, he improvised a research project. Reaching beneath his jacket, he quickly unholstered, unloaded and handed me his Glock 9 millimeter — this was in Kentucky, land of permissive concealed-carry laws. "I always carry this, and I always will," he said before giving me a primer that could have been used in a promotional video for both the pistol and... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Sales Up? It's a Beat-up Story: Real US Industry Figures Suppressed
9 January 2012
Huffington Post (USA)
The media has been awash this holiday season with stories about a "dramatic increase" in gun sales in the United States. CNN, for example, declared, "December holiday shoppers were not just interested in buying the hottest electronics and toys--they also were purchasing record numbers of guns." USA Today claimed, "Along with millions of Kindles, Angry Birds and gift cards, Santa left a record number of guns under Americans' Christmas trees." Reuters gushed about "16.5... (GunPolicy.org)
In North Carolina, 2,400 Hidden Handgun Permit Holders Had Convictions
26 December 2011
New York Times
Alan Simons was enjoying a Sunday morning bicycle ride with his family in Asheville, N.C., two years ago when a man in a sport utility vehicle suddenly pulled alongside him and started berating him for riding on the highway.
Mr. Simons, his 4-year-old son strapped in behind him, slowed to a halt. The driver, Charles Diez, an Asheville firefighter, stopped as well. When Mr. Simons walked over, he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
"Go ahead, I'll shoot... (GunPolicy.org)
Racing to Lowest Standard, US States Slacken Controls on Hidden Handguns
20 December 2011
USA Today
JACKSON, Miss. – A Mississippi resident who receives a concealed carry permit and takes an eight-hour course can now carry a gun on college campuses, in bars and in courthouses.
As of this summer, Wyoming residents need no permits for concealed weapons. And in Indiana, private businesses must allow employees to keep firearms in their vehicles on company property.
Those and other recent changes on the state level represent a growing shift toward loosening state gun... (GunPolicy.org)
US Handgun Production, Imports Double in 4 Years: Women Lead Trend?
11 December 2011
Sydney Morning Herald, Bloomberg (USA)
NEW YORK -- Robin Natanel picks up a compact black pistol, barrel pointed down range. Gripping the gun with both hands, left foot forward, she raises the semi-automatic and methodically squeezes off five shots. The first one creases the left edge of a red bull's-eye on a target 7.5 metres away. The four others paint a 7.5-centimetre pattern around the first. If the target were a person's head or heart, he would probably be dead.
Natanel is a Buddhist, a self-avowed... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handguns: US Lawmakers Vote for Lowest Common Gun Safety Rules
26 November 2011
Economist
One question that worries many visitors to defensivecarry.com, a website devoted to the delights and pitfalls of life with a hidden gun, is whether their "concealed-carry" permits will be valid outside the state in which they are issued. Can they take their guns on holiday with them? Can they pack them in their checked bags for a flight? What if their plane is diverted to a spot like New York, which makes it exceedingly difficult to carry a gun? And if they cannot bring... (GunPolicy.org)
Laws Restricting Hidden Handguns Weakened, Eliminated in 22 US States
15 November 2011
Mother Jones (USA)
Ever thought about stashing a loaded Glock in your jacket and carrying it into a bar for a little extra protection? In Ohio, thanks to a new state law, you're now free to do so. All you need is a permit.
Ever since Ohio implemented a "concealed carry" law in 2004—allowing the possession of a hidden, loaded handgun in public—changes in state legislation have made it increasingly easy for people to carry guns around. This year, Ohio lawmakers decriminalized having a... (GunPolicy.org)
American Gun Lobby, Far Right Pushing for More Lenient Gun Laws
29 October 2011
al Jazeera, Opinion
If you are looking for the literal embodiment of dysfunction in US political culture and the institutions that serve it, look no further than the National Rifle Association (NRA), and the deadly and divisive role it plays in shaping the political agenda. Specifically, the radically and reliably dishonest, dangerous and deranged legislation they foist upon the American people day in and day out through their purchase of most Republican and many Blue-Dog Democratic... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Voters, Muslims Need Not Apply for Texas Gun Course
28 October 2011
Reuters
SAN ANTONIO - A central Texas gun dealer ran radio ads advising "Socialist" liberals, those who voted for President Barack Obama, Arabs and Muslims that they need not apply for his concealed gun license class.
Crockett Keller, who owns Keller's Riverside Store, ran the ads on the radio station in his rural hometown of Mason, Texas, which is 120 miles west of the state capital of Austin.
"If you are a Socialist liberal and/or voted for the current campaigner in chief,... (GunPolicy.org)
US Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill, 'That's Not Liberty, More Like Lunacy'
24 October 2011
New York Times, Opinion
Between the struggle to fold a sport jacket so it doesn't wrinkle, the 45-minute wait on a security line if I'm flying, the price of gas if I'm driving and the worry either way that I left the coffee maker on, I thought I was pretty well versed in the inconveniences and stresses of domestic travel.
Hardly! Things could be much, much worse, namely if I were a gun owner with a permit to carry a concealed firearm in my home state and an itch to do so in any other state I... (GunPolicy.org)
California to Ban Open-Carry of Handguns, Retain Info on Long Gun Sales
11 October 2011
San Francisco Chronicle
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown has outlawed the open carrying of unloaded handguns in California, signing a bill late Sunday night that makes the practice that had been popular with some gun rights advocates a misdemeanor in the state.
The bill, AB144 by Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge (Los Angeles County), will take effect Jan. 1 and was backed by law enforcement officials throughout the state who said the practice created a public safety... (GunPolicy.org)
At Urging of Police, California Bans Open Carrying of Handguns
10 October 2011
Los Angeles Times
Sacramento— With the announcement early Monday that he had outlawed the public display of handguns in California, Gov. Jerry Brown bucked a national trend toward more lenient firearms laws and placed himself in the political cross-hairs of the state's 2nd Amendment activists.
Brown, the owner of three guns, said in a statement that he signed a bill banning the open carrying of handguns at the urging of law enforcement officials, who included Los Angeles Police Chief... (GunPolicy.org)
The US Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act: 'Some Bad Ideas Refuse to Die'
18 September 2011
New York Times, Editorial
Some bad ideas refuse to die. Include in that category an extreme proposal percolating in the House to strip states of their authority to decide who may carry a concealed loaded firearm. This gift to the gun lobby, the subject of a hearing last week by a House Judiciary subcommittee, is nearly identical to a provision the Senate defeated by a narrow margin two years ago.
Every state but Illinois makes some allowance for concealed weapons. The eligibility rules vary... (GunPolicy.org)
Judges Across America Rule Against Further Relaxation of US Gun Laws
27 August 2011
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — The 2nd Amendment's "right to keep and bear arms" is proving to be a right to keep a gun at home, but so far not a right to bear a loaded firearm in public.
The Supreme Court breathed new life into the amendment when it struck down strict handgun bans in Washington and Chicago and spoke of the "inherent right of self-defense."
But to the dismay of gun rights advocates, judges in recent months have read those decisions narrowly and rejected claims from... (GunPolicy.org)
For New Wisconsin Hidden Handgun Permits, Web Training May Suffice
10 July 2011
Fox News (USA) / AP
MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin residents who want to carry a concealed handgun legally need to be trained first -- but the state's new law could allow applicants to satisfy that requirement without ever touching a gun.
The concealed-carry measure became law when Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed it Friday. A few minor parts take effect right away but most aspects don't go into effect until November.
The law, which now leaves Illinois as the only state without some sort of... (GunPolicy.org)
Illinois Final Focus of US Gun Lobby Battle to Encourage Hidden Handguns
29 June 2011
Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — As state after state voted to let residents carry concealed guns, Illinois has held out, for a long list of reasons: A strong gun control movement. A dynasty of powerful Chicago mayors. A line-up of state leaders who oppose expanding access to guns.
With Wisconsin now on the verge of adopting concealed carry, Illinois soon will be all alone, the last state with a complete ban on carrying concealed weapons. That makes it the next big prize in... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Relaxes Law to Allow Hunting in Cities, Hidden Handguns in Bars
19 June 2011
Arizona Republic
Gun advocates were shocked in April when Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed bills that would have relaxed restrictions on guns in public facilities and on college campuses.
While those measures failed, four less-controversial gun bills will take effect July 20.
The bills involve hunting within city limits, concealed-carry licensing, carrying firearms in wildlife refuges and firearm rights for those who have been rehabilitated from mental illness. All four either modify or repeal... (GunPolicy.org)
New Ohio Law can Expunge Crime Record for Possession of Guns in Cars
17 June 2011
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
The new gun bill that Gov. John Kasich is poised to sign includes something unusual in Ohio law: a "do-over" for past violators of firearms-in-vehicles rules.
Senate Bill 17 would allow concealed-carry permit-holders to take guns into bars, restaurants and stadiums that serve alcohol, unless those venues post prohibitions. It also includes an expungement process so that past violators of sections of the law related to possession of firearms in vehicles could have their... (GunPolicy.org)
Ohio Passes Law Allowing Gun Owners to Carry Guns in Bars
16 June 2011
Daily Mail (UK)
Lawmakers in Ohio have voted to allow gun owners to carry guns in bars.
The state has ruled that it is acceptable for drinkers to conceal their weapons as they prop up bars.
The Ohio General Assembly passed the bill in a 55-38 vote despite opponents complaining that guns and alcohol would endanger public safety.
Also included in the controversial law is a change to the restrictions on how guns can be transported within the Midwest state.
The state Senate, which had... (GunPolicy.org)
Kansas Received the 'Craziest Gun Laws' Award from US Gun Control Group
30 May 2011
Kansas City Star (Missouri) / AP
WICHITA - A national gun-control group has named Kansas as one of four states to receive its "Craziest Gun Laws" award because of a new measure the organization says allows guns in the state's schools.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence issued its annual ranking of gun laws earlier this month. Kansas, Virginia, Utah and Florida received the group's "Craziest Gun Laws" award.
The Wichita Eagle reports state and local officials say a bill signed by Gov. Sam... (GunPolicy.org)
Oklahoma Bill Allows Concealed-Carry Permit Holders to Bring Guns on Campuses
26 May 2011
Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
OKLAHOMA CITY - Gov. Mary Fallin signed a measure Wednesday that allows people with concealed-carry permits to leave weapons in locked vehicles in CareerTech campus parking lots.
"I believe, as does our Legislature, that it is reasonable to allow a gun owner with a concealed-weapons permit to leave his or her gun locked in the car while visiting a career technology center," Fallin said.
"Permit holders already have that right at most locations in Oklahoma. This is a... (GunPolicy.org)
Wisconsin Concealed Carry Law: Guns Allowed into State Capitol?
25 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
MADISON - Wisconsin residents would be allowed to carry concealed weapons without getting permits or any training under a bill a Senate committee approved Wednesday, and the lead sponsor of the measure said she supported allowing people to bring guns into the state Capitol.
The vote came the same day an email from a top aide to Gov. Scott Walker was released that said as of six months ago Walker was prepared to sign "any" concealed weapons legislation. The email was... (GunPolicy.org)
In Favor of a Responsible Concealed-Carry Law for Wisconsin
24 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin), Editorial
We favor a responsible concealed-carry law for Wisconsin - one that requires a permit, a realistic amount of training, a background check and access for law enforcement to a database of permit holders, records that should be subject to the state Open Records Law.
Unfortunately, the state Senate is slouching toward irresponsibility.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on a retooled bill Wednesday that would allow people to carry guns without registering them with... (GunPolicy.org)
California Gun Control Law Could Lead to More People Carrying Guns
24 May 2011
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
What if we passed a gun control law but it led to more people carrying guns on our streets? That may be exactly what happens if a bill passed last week by the California Assembly becomes law.
AB 144 would prohibit the carrying of visible firearms in California cities. It was inspired by the spectacle of gun-rights advocates showing up last year at Starbucks shops with their handguns prominently displayed. That's legal, as long as those guns are unloaded.
If, however,... (GunPolicy.org)
Wisconsin Law Would Allow Concealed Carry Guns Without Training or Permit
23 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
MADISON - The effort to allow people to carry concealed weapons without getting training or a permit is gaining traction in the state Senate.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on a revamped version of a bill to do that at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. It would allow people to carry concealed guns without registering with the state, but would also allow them to get optional permits that would allow them to carry weapons closer to schools.
Those optional licenses would... (GunPolicy.org)
Debate Over Open-Carry Handguns Flares Again in Philadelphia
21 May 2011
Fox News (USA)
With a shocking altercation between Philadelphia police and a 25-year-old IT worker putting the spotlight back on open-carry gun laws, local authorities are warning gun owners that they will be "inconvenienced" if they carry unconcealed handguns in the city.
Lt. Raymond Evers, a spokesman for the city police, told FoxNews.com that gun owners who open carry, which is legal in the city, may be asked to lay on the ground until officers feel safe while they check... (GunPolicy.org)
The Push for a Concealed Carry Law in Wisconsin Raises Questions
18 May 2011
La Crosse Tribune (Wisconsin), Editorial
The push for a concealed-carry law in Wisconsin raises questions that we can't seem to understand:
* Why do the leaders of our state insist on making it more difficult to vote while making it easier to carry a weapon? Why do you have to show a photo ID to vote when, under one of the concealed-carry proposals, you can apply for a license by mail without proof of identification?
* At a time when our state leaders are intent on cutting personnel costs to reduce the... (GunPolicy.org)
California New Bill Bans Open Carry of Unloaded Handguns
17 May 2011
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, California - The California Assembly approved a bill Monday to prohibit openly carrying unloaded handguns in public after a debate that pitted gun rights proponents against chiefs of police.
The bill, AB144, would make it a misdemeanor to carry an exposed and unloaded gun in a public place, street or vehicle except in some unincorporated areas. It was approved 45-29 largely along party lines and moves to the Senate.
Several states ban openly carrying... (GunPolicy.org)
California New Bill: Crackdown on Carrying Unloaded Handguns in Public
17 May 2011
Sacramento Bee (California)
Saying you don't need a gun to order a cheeseburger, a California lawmaker Monday pushed through the Assembly a crackdown on carrying unloaded handguns in public places.
Assemblyman Anthony Portantino's legislation takes aim at a movement that encourages people to show up at public places with unloaded handguns strapped to their side.
"Our families deserve to feel safe in our parks and coffee shops," said Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge.
"You don't need a handgun... (GunPolicy.org)
Clash Between Man and Cops in Philadelphia Over Legal Open Carry of Guns
16 May 2011
Philadelphia Inquirer
MARK FIORINO'S story has three elements that tend to get people worked up - gun rights, Philly police and YouTube.
On a mild February afternoon, Fiorino, 25, decided to walk to an AutoZone on Frankford Avenue in Northeast Philly with the .40-caliber Glock he legally owns holstered in plain view on his left hip. His stroll ended when someone called out from behind: "Yo, Junior, what are you doing?"
Fiorino wheeled and saw Sgt. Michael Dougherty aiming a handgun at... (GunPolicy.org)
Georgian Gun Law Allowing Open Carry Raises Confusion
16 May 2011
Times Free Press (Tennessee)
Walking into Los Guerreros restaurant off Main Street in LaFayette, Ga., to grab some food on his day off recently, Denny Rayes stiffened when he saw that the man in front of him had a gun strapped to his side.
"It made me think, 'I wish I was wearing mine,'" said Rayes, a LaFayette police officer and resident.
For nearly a year it has been legal for people with concealed-carry permits to wear their weapons in plain sight as long as they are holstered.
But it still... (GunPolicy.org)
Fed. Judge Ruled in Favor of Stricter Control of Hidden Handgun in California
16 May 2011
Fox News / AP
SACRAMENTO, California – A federal judge ruled Monday there is no constitutional right to carry a hidden gun in public — a decision that dealt a setback to gun-rights advocates who had challenged how much discretion California law enforcement officials have in issuing concealed weapons permits.
U.S. District Court Judge Morrison England Jr. in Sacramento supported a policy by Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto that says applicants must have a reason, such as a safety... (GunPolicy.org)
New Ohio Guns Law Allowing Concealed-Carry in Bars: Let's Not Drink to That
14 May 2011
news.cincinnati.com, Editorial
When Ohio's concealed-carry law was enacted in 2004, opponents warned it would lead to Wild West shootouts on the streets. They were wrong. The legislation licensing qualified Ohioans to carry concealed firearms, forged through years of tough debate, struck a sometimes awkward yet reasonable balance between liberty and safety.
But now, Ohio lawmakers, with signals of support from Gov. John Kasich, are poised to upset that balance with a measure to allow concealed... (GunPolicy.org)
Wisconsin Concealed Carry Bills: Guns Make Us Feel Safer Everywhere?
12 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin), Opinion
Here's what I don't get. If concealed carry is such a good idea and is going to make us all safer, why exempt government buildings where lawmakers work?
Or schools for that matter. Think how much safer the kids will be if someone with a gun happens to be around if trouble breaks out in the lunch line or third-hour study hall. You know, it takes a vigilante to raise a child.
If more guns equal more protection, then let's go for it and quit watering down the rules.... (GunPolicy.org)
Ohio Controversial New Law Allowing Guns in Places That Serve Alcohol
12 May 2011
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
A divided Ohio House voted yesterday to allow concealed-carry permit holders to take guns into restaurants, bars and open-air arenas that serve alcohol as long as they do not drink.
"I say we're not expanding Second Amendment rights. We are restoring Second Amendment rights," said Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, one of the measure's sponsors. "How sad we have to do that. We have had substantial infringement upon our constitutional rights."
The bill passed 56-40 and... (GunPolicy.org)
Republicans Moving Forward: Texas Senate Approve Guns on Campus
10 May 2011
News 10 (Albany, New York) / AP
AUSTIN, Texas - Republicans in the Texas Senate on Monday approved allowing concealed handgun license holders to carry weapons into public college buildings and classrooms, moving forward on a measure that had stalled until supporters tacked it on to a universities spending bill.
Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, had been unable to muster the votes he needed under Senate rules to pass the issue as its own bill after the measure met stiff resistance from higher... (GunPolicy.org)
Carry Hidden Guns Without Permit or Training: Wisconsin Bills Trigger Debates
8 May 2011
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
A newly floated bill that would allow Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons without getting permits, background checks or training would essentially let the state catch up with the latest thinking in gun law, according to backers who call the approach "constitutional carry."
Others, however, seem stunned at the idea that anyone who could lawfully own a gun could carry it just about anywhere, under a coat or in a purse, without any government oversight.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
US Open Carry Movement: The Right to Bear Arms Movement Growing
7 May 2011
Russia Today
The number of shootings in the schools and streets of America has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of thousands to assert their Second Amendment rights. The movement to bear arms publicly at all times is significant and growing.
Some even see their semi-automatics as a last line of defense against the government.
Craig Rutherford, member of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, spent years carrying a gun in the Balkans and in Iraq as a defense contractor. So when... (GunPolicy.org)
Illinois Looks Set to Allow Residents to Carry Hidden Handguns: Say No
4 May 2011
Chicago Tribune, Editorial
The Illinois House may vote Thursday on legislation that would allow residents of the state to carry a concealed weapon in public. The bill passed out of committee Wednesday. If it passes the House and Senate, it faces a promised veto by Gov. Pat Quinn.
Illinois is, admittedly, an outlier in the issue of concealed carry of firearms. Illinois and Wisconsin are the only states that completely prohibit it. Wisconsin, though, permits the open carry of firearms in some... (GunPolicy.org)
California Legislature Mum on Lawmakers Wanting to Carry Hidden Guns
2 May 2011
San Francisco Chronicle / AP
SACRAMENTO, California - The California Legislature will not disclose the identities of four lawmakers who sought to carry concealed weapons inside the state Capitol and other legislative buildings, even though all four are publicly known.
On Monday, the state Senate cited exemptions in the Legislative Open Records Act as it rejected an inquiry from The Associated Press. The Assembly previously also cited privacy and security concerns in denying the AP's request for... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Muzzles Doctors on Gun Safety, Bans Local Gun Control Laws
28 April 2011
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE - The Florida Senate on Thursday, by a succession of mostly party-line votes, approved a trio of bills that supporters say will ensure citizens' constitutionally-protected gun rights.
One measure restricts doctors from asking patients about gun ownership, and another prohibits local governments from passing stricter gun laws than the state. Those two already have been approved by the House and await Republican Gov. Rick Scott's signature.
The third, which... (GunPolicy.org)
Restricting Firearms Makes Us Less Safe: US Gun Lobby Chief Makes Case
25 April 2011
USA Today, Opinion
Several states are passing Stand Your Ground laws and loosening their concealed carry laws, making it easier for people to defend themselves … and that's a good thing.
Consider what happens when decent people can't protect themselves.
Amanda Collins was a student at University of Nevada's Reno campus in 2007. Even though she had a concealed carry permit, she was unarmed the night she was brutally raped by James Biela. She had left her gun at home because she was... (GunPolicy.org)
Politicians 'Cowed' as US Gun Lobby Pursues 'Radical to Idiotic' Gun Laws
24 April 2011
USA Today, Editorial
When it comes to gun fights, things are pretty quiet on the Potomac these days. Democrats, cowed by the National Rifle Association's political clout, have no taste for pushing gun control up the agenda. And even if they did, the landmark 2008 Supreme Court ruling that the Second Amendment provides a right for individuals to own guns largely leaves them disarmed.
The states, however, are another matter. Gun rights activists have taken their national victories not as a... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handguns OK in Ohio Bars As Long As Gun Owner Doesn't Imbibe
17 April 2011
Hudson Hub Times (Ohio)
COLUMBUS - Permitted Ohioans would be allowed to carry concealed firearms into bars and restaurants that sell alcohol as long as they're not imbibing, under legislation OK'd by the Ohio Senate April 13.
Substitute Senate Bill 17 passed on a final vote of 25-7 and heads to the Ohio House for further consideration.
"This legislation is about affirming law-abiding citizens the right to bear arms," said Sen. Tim Schaffer, a Republican from Lancaster and primary sponsor of... (GunPolicy.org)
Illinois Moves to Allow Hidden Handguns, Hide Identity of Gun Owners
10 April 2011
Christian Science Monitor
CHICAGO - It's highly likely that the identity of Illinois gun owners will continue to be protected from public disclosure.
Legislation passed in the state House of Representatives Friday circumvents the efforts of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who is fighting to make the names and expiration dates of all state-issued firearm owner identification cards available through the state's Freedom of Information Act.
Attorney General Madigan contends that citizens... (GunPolicy.org)
Illinois Passes Bill to Prevent Publication of Gun Permit Holders' Names
8 April 2011
Reuters
The Illinois House passed a bill on Friday that would allow gun owners to have their identities shielded from public disclosure.
The legislation, sponsored by Republican Rep. Richard Morthland passed by 98-12 with wide bipartisan support in the Democratic-majority House.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has contended that the names and expiration dates on firearm owner identification cards should be available under the state's Freedom of Information Act.
"We... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland 'Gun Pushers' Want Courts to Gut Hidden Handgun Restrictions
22 March 2011
Baltimore Sun
A national gun control advocacy group weighed in Tuesday on a federal lawsuit that challenges Maryland's handgun permit laws, saying that the changes sought would be "bad law and even worse policy."
In an amicus brief, the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence urges the dismissal of a lawsuit brought last year by the Second Amendment Foundation on behalf of Hampstead resident Raymond Woollard, a Navy veteran who was denied a renewal of his handgun permit.
Brady Center... (GunPolicy.org)
2,405 More Americans Have Been Shot Dead Since Tucson Mass Shooting
13 March 2011
Newsweek (USA)
On a snowy Wednesday evening in February, the main attraction on the marquee at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Va., was True Grit, the Coen Brothers' bloody homage to the shoot-'em-up Westerns of Hollywood's Golden Age. But the movie playing inside had a very different message to send.
Four years ago, on April 16, 2007, Colin Goddard was one of 49 people shot by Seung-Hui Cho in Virginia Tech's Norris Hall, a mere 1,000 yards from the Lyric Theatre — and one of... (GunPolicy.org)
Response to Arizona Mass Shooting: Americans Should Carry More Guns
10 March 2011
New York Times, Column
It's been nearly nine weeks since that tragic shooting in Tucson, and you may be wondering whether there's been any gun legislation proposed in the aftermath.
Well, in Florida, a state representative has introduced a bill that would impose fines of up to $5 million on any doctor who asks a patient whether he or she owns a gun. This is certainly a new and interesting concept, but I don't think we can classify it as a response to Tucson. Jason Brodeur, the Republican... (GunPolicy.org)
Most Proposed New US Gun Laws Would Further Weaken Gun Control
8 March 2011
BBC News
Two months have passed since six people were killed and a dozen injured in a gun attack in Tucson, Arizona, directed at Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The BBC's Paul Adams looks at where the debate over gun control now stands in the state.
Outside Safeway, at the junction of Oracle and Ima, in northern Tucson, almost all traces of the tragedy have gone.
Across the busy highway, a simple line of white crosses, each bearing the name of a victim, stands out against a... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Confident of Making Hidden Handguns Legal in 50th US State
6 March 2011
Peoria Journal Star (Illinois)
PEORIA — Tazewell County Sheriff Bob Huston has been around guns all his life. Target shooting with his grandfather. A member of Manual High School's rifle club in Peoria in the 1960s. Manager of a shooting range 25 years. Almost 40 years in law enforcement, including 12 as sheriff.
In all those years, he's never had to fire a weapon on duty. "Most police officers don't," he says. He's only had to pull a gun once while off duty.
"I was at the track running, I saw a... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Professors Scared of Armed Students, Scared of Arming Students
6 March 2011
Los Angeles Times
AUSTIN, Texas - Konrad Sliwowski stood in the shadow of the University of Texas clock tower surrounded by the lunchtime clamor: the student election volunteers in handmade "Vote Big John" T-shirts, the Lego Club, and activists against human trafficking stationed near fliers advertising a screening of "Airplane!"
"I don't like guns in any kind of situation," the 22-year-old senior said recently while passing out fliers for a lecture on Rwanda. "School is already an... (GunPolicy.org)
American Lawmakers, Industry, Lobby Push for More Guns on Campus
6 March 2011
ABC News (Australia), Transcript
ELIZABETH JACKSON: In the US, Texas legislators are considering giving college students the right to carry concealed weapons on campus.
Any changes to gun control in the US always sparks furious debates and this is no different.
Those pushing the move say it would help prevent massacres like Virginia Tech while others say it will only help increase the chances of yet another mass shooting.
Our North America correspondent Lisa Millar has been speaking to those on both... (GunPolicy.org)
Texans Divide Over Encouraging Hidden Handguns on Campus, in Class
3 March 2011
Wall Street Journal
DALLAS — Texans are about to engage in a political shootout over guns on campus.
Legislators in the Lone Star State have proposed that college students and professors be allowed to carry concealed weapons. Opponents of the measures, including the presidents of some of the state's biggest universities, say handguns would be a bad addition to an environment in which stress and drinking are rampant.
With a vote on the measures coming as soon as late March, the issue is... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear of Obama Sends Hidden Handgun Permit Numbers Soaring in Ohio
3 March 2011
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
Ohio has pumped out a record number of permits to carry concealed weapons since Barack Obama became president, according to a report released yesterday by Attorney General Mike DeWine.
"There's the perception out there that gun control might be inevitable under the Obama administration," said Jeff Garvas, president of Ohioans for Concealed Carry.
"So when there's a potential to lose your right to own a gun or it might be harder to get a permit, that might drive more... (GunPolicy.org)
Illinois Debates Whether to Reveal or Conceal Names of Gun Owners
2 March 2011
St Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - In a year that promises to be busy with gun-related legislation -- including conceal-carry bills and a move to stop cities from imposing their own gun restrictions -- add the issue of whether gun owners' names are a matter of public record.
The Illinois State Police says they aren't, and has denied a request by The Associated Press to see the list of who has a Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card.
The news agency appealed to Illinois... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Left Has Permanently Lost the Argument for Gun Control
1 March 2011
Washington Times, Editorial
The left has permanently lost the argument on gun control. Despite their best efforts to take advantage of the tragic shooting in Arizona to promote pointless restrictions on things like the size of handgun magazines, the propaganda campaign is unlikely to go anywhere. Instead, the right to keep and bear arms continues to gain steam as state lawmakers around the country are enacting measures that would have been unthinkable not so long ago.
On Monday, Wyoming lawmakers... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Moves Closer to Allowing Hidden Handguns on College Campuses
28 February 2011
New American (USA)
In one of the most controversial, but many say common-sense, moves related to campus violence and Second Amendment rights, the state of Texas is considering legislation that would allow students, professors, teachers, and other personnel to carry firearms on the campuses of elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as those of colleges and universities — without any violations or punishments.
HB 1167, introduced in the Texas House of Representatives on February... (GunPolicy.org)
Utah, Arizona Tipped to Grant Handgun the Status of Official State Firearm
28 February 2011
Atlantic (USA)
State flower, state motto, state song and now … state gun?
Call it shots fired. Two states have officially moved to declare state firearms in 2011, less than two months after the Arizona massacre that left six dead and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) grievously injured on January 8th.
In both states, Utah and Arizona, the bills seem likely to become law.
The Utah legislature took up a bill certifying the Browning Model 1911 automatic pistol as the official gun of Utah... (GunPolicy.org)
Certified Gun Trainer Cheated Applicants, Faces 186 Charges in Kentucky
25 February 2011
WLKY-TV News (Kentucky)
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - A man certified in Kentucky to teach people gun safety has been named in a 186-count indictment.
Authorities said Henry Pruitt signed off on concealed carry permits even though his students were not adequately trained.
Some people even got their permit without ever firing a shot.
That's just one key part of the training that Pruitt is accused of skipping.
The gun range is the final step in eight hours of training needed to qualify for a... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Lawmakers Push Hidden Handguns on Campus - 'Still a Bad Idea'
25 February 2011
Dallas Morning News (Texas), Editorial
The gun agenda is back in the Legislature with the velocity of a speeding bullet.
Proponents are determined, finally, to make it possible for a university student to legally pack a Glock for class along with textbook and iPad.
What an awful idea.
State law contains a list with the heading "Places Weapons Prohibited." Schools and educational institutions are listed first, ahead of courts, polling places, airports and prisons. And there's a common-sense reason for... (GunPolicy.org)
Lawmakers Push for No-Permit Hidden Handgun Carrying in Wyoming
23 February 2011
Associated Press
CHEYENNE — Wyoming residents could carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill that cleared its first hearing in the state House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The House voted 48-8 in favor of the bill after stripping off a proposed committee amendment that would have disallowed people from carrying concealed guns if they were too intoxicated to drive a vehicle. The bill already has passed the Senate and needs two more hearings in the House.
Rep. Jon... (GunPolicy.org)
US Should Follow Canadian Example of Tougher Gun Registration
21 February 2011
News-Press (Florida), Opinion
Taking on the gun lobby is an exercise in futility. No politician - Democrat or Republican - will risk having the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA) campaign against them at election time. It would have been a losing battle especially in the face of the 2008 Supreme Court 5-4 majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller which held that the second amendment was not limited to a "well regulated Militia" but secures an individual's right to own firearms.
In... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Rights vs. Gun Control: Arizona Legislators Push to Weaken Gun Law
20 February 2011
Daily Star (Arizona)
It didn't take much effort for the accused gunman in Tucson's Jan. 8 mass shooting to buy a semiautomatic handgun and ammunition - quick trips to the Sportsman's Warehouse and Walmart near his home.
It didn't take long - 15 seconds - for him to shoot 19 people, killing six, when he fired 31 rounds using a high-capacity magazine. That's roughly double the standard number for the Glock pistol he used.
And even if police could go back in time, they wouldn't have been... (GunPolicy.org)
Tucson Shooting Not Cooling Western Arms Ardor as Utah Plans State Gun
18 February 2011
Bloomberg (USA)
Lawmakers from Arizona to Wyoming, the mountain region of Western movies and home to four of the five fastest-growing states, are moving forward with gun laws that would be among the nation's most permissive, undeterred by the shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords.
Arizona, where the shooting took place last month, is considering a proposal to allow firearms on college campuses. Wyoming's Senate passed a bill to authorize residents to carry concealed... (GunPolicy.org)
States at Centre of America's Debate Over Hidden Handguns in Churches
16 February 2011
Deseret News (Utah)
A little more than a month after the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson, Ariz., that left 6 people dead, gun control has again become a hot-button issue — although not in a form many might have expected.
According to Bloomberg, following the shooting, one-day sales of handguns in Arizona jumped 60 percent to 263 on Jan. 10 compared with 164 on that same Monday in 2009. States like Ohio, California, Illinois and New York also had large jumps in sales, and nationwide sales... (GunPolicy.org)
Wyoming Soon to Be 3rd US State to Scrap Permits for Hidden Handguns?
11 February 2011
Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyoming - Wyoming residents would be able to carry concealed guns without a permit under a bill that has cleared a legislative committee.
The House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee voted 8-1 Friday in favor of the bill, sponsored by Casper Republican Senator Kit Jennings. It already has cleared the Senate and now goes to the full House.
The committee amended the bill to specify that people couldn't carry concealed guns while... (GunPolicy.org)
New Law Would Make Illinois the 49th US State to Allow Hidden Handguns
10 February 2011
Telegraph (Illinois)
ALTON — State Rep. Dan Beiser said he is working to bring Illinois in line with 48 other states in co-sponsoring legislation allowing responsible gun owners to carry concealed weapons in public.
"As a legislator, I am always advocating for the protection of the Second Amendment and preserving the right of lawful citizens to own firearms," said Beiser, D-Alton. "For too long, we have been preventing law-abiding citizens from being better able to protect themselves and... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas, 7 Other US States Consider Encouraging More Guns on Campus
4 February 2011
National Public Radio (USA)
Is the answer to mass shootings on college campuses to arm students and staff? Eight states are considering legislation that would allow people to carry a concealed handgun into the lecture hall, the library or the dorm. Ground zero for the debate is Texas, where a proposed law would remove "premises of higher education" as gun-free zones.
"Right now, so-called gun-free zones, I think, ought to be renamed Victims Zones," says state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, a San Antonio... (GunPolicy.org)
Lawmakers in Firearm Frenzy: Utahns Oppose Open Gun Carry on Campus
29 January 2011
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
There can be little doubt a week into the 2011 Legislature that lawmakers like their guns. Love them, really.
Lawmakers opened the session praising Utah weapons pioneer John M. Browning, celebrating a day honoring the state's founding father of firearms and then moving to designate Browning's M1911 as Utah's official gun.
And a House committee approved a bill that would require hotel owners to allow patrons to keep guns in their rooms.
"I think the reason you see so... (GunPolicy.org)
University Presidents Fight 'More Guns in College' Lawmakers in Arizona
26 January 2011
ABC News (USA) / AP
Two weeks after a shooting incident that left six people dead outside a grocery store in Tucson, Ariz., two new bills remain in the Arizona Legislature that would loosen gun controls, specifically on college campuses. Neither proposal sits well with the heads of the state's public universities.
Guns and college campuses simply don't mix, the presidents of Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona say.
If the measures pass,... (GunPolicy.org)
Los Angeles City Council Mulls Ban on Openly Carrying Guns in Public
21 January 2011
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES, California - Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti is asking the city attorney to look into prohibiting the "open carry" of unloaded guns, which is currently allowed by state law.
City News Service says Garcetti on Friday was seconded by six of his City Council colleagues on the motion, which he called necessary in the wake of recent shootings in Tucson and gun-related incidents on LA school campuses this week.
Garcetti says carrying even an... (GunPolicy.org)
Governor of Virginia Quietly Allows Open Carry of Firearms in State Parks
19 January 2011
Washington Post
Gun rights advocates celebrated Wednesday -- and supporters of gun control grieved -- over news that Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has quietly lifted the ban against people carrying firearms openly in state parks.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, sent an e-mail blast to fellow gun-rights supporters with news that as of Tuesday people could carry openly. Gun owners with concealed weapons permits had the right to carry in Virginia State... (GunPolicy.org)
With 82 People Shot Each Day, Time to Inject Sanity Into US Gun Debate
19 January 2011
Los Angeles Times, Column
The gun was in a backpack, we're told. The backpack was dropped or set down in a Gardena High School classroom Tuesday morning, and the gun fired accidentally, critically injuring a 15-year-old female student who was struck in the head. A male student, also 15, was shot in the neck.
You send your kids to school, and before the lunch bell rings, they're in the hospital.
So the questions begin.
Why is it so easy to smuggle a gun onto campus? How many more guns are on... (GunPolicy.org)
Openly Carrying Guns, $5million Fine for Doctors Go Too Far in Florida
18 January 2011
News-Press (Florida), Editorial
After the Tucson shootings, one can imagine how potentially provocative it would be for a concealed weapon permit holder to be striding down the street openly carrying a firearm.
Picture the reaction of families when someone enters a restaurant or crosses a university campus with weapon at the ready.
All that and more would be legal under Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Sen. Greg Evers' Senate Bill 234 that would allow concealed-weapons-licensed gun owners to openly... (GunPolicy.org)
Rallies in Richmond, Virginia Target Gun Control Laws from Both Sides
18 January 2011
Virginian-Pilot (Virginia)
RICHMOND - It's one of the most heated debates of our time: Would fewer guns equal fewer killings, or is it just the opposite?
In the shadow of the recent shootings in Arizona, the argument is as contentious as ever. Both sides came to the capital Monday to air their starkly different views to lawmakers.
The face-off, however, was more subdued than in years past. Each camp staged its own rally and kept largely to its own.
The irony of dueling over guns on Martin... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Shooting Fuels Debate About Open-Carry Gun Law in California
17 January 2011
Fox News (USA)
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)
Polls Show More US Support for Weaponry as Gun Control Opinions Chill
16 January 2011
Washington Post, Editorial
The public opinion climate for more regulation of guns is significantly chillier today than it was two or three decades ago. In 1990, 78 percent of the public told a Gallup poll that they felt that the laws covering the sale of firearms should be made stricter; in October of last year, just 44 percent said this. A sizable shift in public sentiment has taken place in just the past two years. The percentage of the public saying it's more important to control gun ownership... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Solution to Arizona Shootings: Hidden Handguns in Classrooms
15 January 2011
Wall Street Journal
The Arizona shooting has emboldened pro-gun groups that plan to lobby politicians for proposed laws that could expand the right to carry concealed weapons on the state's college campuses.
At least two bills are on the table in Arizona, which resumed its legislative session this week. One would allow faculty members to carry concealed weapons on campus. The other would prevent colleges from stopping people with a valid permit, including students, from carrying them on... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Shooting Energizes Push for More Hidden Handguns in Florida
15 January 2011
Miami Herald
TALLAHASSEE -- In the aftermath of Tucson's shooting rampage, lawmakers in Florida are ready to make their stand on guns clearer: They want more people to have the right to carry them in the open and fewer government restrictions.
All told, lawmakers have filed three separate bills that seek to restrict local governments from regulating firearms, stop doctors from even asking patients about them and that allow for licensed gun owners the right to wear firearms outside... (GunPolicy.org)
More Guns Are Not a Solution: Arizona Killings Highlight Hidden Handgun Risk
14 January 2011
Boston Globe, Editorial
Inevitably, the Tucson shootings have reopened the debate on whether Americans would be safer or less safe if gun laws permitted people to carry concealed firearms even — or especially — in places like government buildings or college classrooms. "Concealed carry" is a popular law in Arizona — even injured Representative Gabrielle Giffords supported it — and some backers have suggested that the best defense against future shootings would be to allow civilians to... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland's Top Court Offers Weak Defense for Strong, Sensible Gun Law
13 January 2011
Washington Post, Editorial
Just days before the rampage in Arizona, the highest court in Maryland issued a ruling that now seems more apt than ever.
The Court of Appeals dealt with a challenge to a Maryland law requiring a gun owner to obtain a permit to carry a weapon in public. In Arizona, no such permit is required. Maryland's concealed-carry law contrasts sharply with Arizona's lack of such a law and is among the strictest in the country, requiring a criminal background check, employment... (GunPolicy.org)
How Glock Became Weapon of Choice for Cops, Gun Hobbyists and Killers
13 January 2011
Business Week / Bloomberg (USA)
For all the anguish and outcry in the days after a community college dropout named Jared Loughner allegedly sprayed a Tucson crowd with 33 bullets from a semiautomatic pistol, one response was notably absent: any sense that America's latest shooting spree, which killed six people and wounded 14, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, would bring new restrictions on the right to own or carry large-capacity, rapid-fire weapons.
The gun control debate has vanished... (GunPolicy.org)
Notion of Pulling Handgun, Shooting Assailant More Fantasy Than Fact
12 January 2011
Boston Globe, Blog
Because of their high-profile nature, mass murders are often exploited to advance some political agenda, and this is especially true when it comes to the role of firearms. Mass shootings have served as ammunition in the debate over gun control, but used, ironically enough, by advocates on both sides of the issue.
In the wake of particularly deadly and widely publicized shootings, gun control proponents have argued that the carnage would not be so great were it not for... (GunPolicy.org)
USA: Our Nation's Insane Refusal to Impose Reasonable Controls on Guns
11 January 2011
Washington Post, Column
We may not be sure that the bloodbath in Tucson had anything to do with politics, but we know it had everything to do with our nation's insane refusal to impose reasonable controls on guns.
Specifically, the rampage had everything to do with a 9mm semiautomatic Glock pistol -- a sleek, efficient killing machine that our lax gun laws allowed an unstable young man to purchase, carry anywhere and ultimately use to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head. The weapon also... (GunPolicy.org)
While Some Americans Lawmakers Talk Gun Control, Others Pack Heat
11 January 2011
Fox News (USA)
While some lawmakers are responding to the mass shooting in Arizona by introducing legislation to increase gun control or asking for additional security, others say they're going to start exercising their Second Amendment rights and carry weapons.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, had a permit for a concealed weapon before the Arizona incident that killed six and wounded 14, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Chaffetz Press Secretary Alisia Essig told Fox News... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Gun Control Is Dead in America: Democrats Have Ceded to the NRA
11 January 2011
Salon (USA)
As the immediate shock of the mass shooting in Arizona subsides and the conversation turns to gun control, it's becoming increasingly clear that there is little chance that new anti-gun measures will pass the Republican-dominated Congress.
But a picture is also coming into focus of a gun control movement that has been on the retreat for at least a decade, facing setbacks not only in Congress, but also in the courts and in public opinion polls, and of a Democratic Party... (GunPolicy.org)
In Arizona, the Republicans' 'Lunacy Notion' of Packing Heat Didn't Work
10 January 2011
Washington Post, Opinion
The horror in Arizona exposes the lunacy of the notion, popular among Republicans, that a heavily armed populace can stop a deranged gunman.
After the horror at Virginia Tech, in 2007, gun advocates -- overwhelmingly Republicans -- advanced the idea that the massacre might have been cut short if students had been allowed to carry weapons. School policy at Tech forbids students, visitors and most others to have weapons on campus. The Tech massacre even gave rise to an... (GunPolicy.org)
New Hampshire Lawmakers Prioritise Guns in Statehouse Over Economy
10 January 2011
Concord Monitor (New Hampshire), Editorial
For some New Hampshire lawmakers, happiness is a gun warmed by carrying it close to the body. With the state facing a whopping deficit, and despite promises of a laser-like focus on cutting spending, the House's Republican majority chose as its first action to repeal the ban on packing heat in the State House.
New Hampshire is an "open carry" state, which means that an adult can walk the streets with a six-gun on his hip or a shotgun under his arm. But perhaps so as... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona, a State Deeply in Love With Firearms, Promotes Hidden Handguns
10 January 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
BEAUTIFUL, vast, rugged and unforgiving, Arizona's postcard landscape is matched by the frontier mentality of many of its populace: not so much lawless, but deeply conservative, and wedded to the idea that happiness truly is a warm gun.
Its border with Mexico is porous, regularly and easily traversed. Phoenix, its largest city, has become a waypoint for drug and human trafficking.
The state has also been hit hard by the recession, which has helped make it a centre for... (GunPolicy.org)