Gun Policy News
US policy positions on gun control, gun rights
Americans Have Bought Record 17m Guns in Year of Unrest
30 October 2020
Guardian
Americans have bought nearly 17m guns so far in 2020, more than in any other single year, according to estimates from a firearms analytics company.
Gun sales across the United States first jumped in the spring, driven by fears about the coronavirus pandemic, and spiked even higher in the summer, during massive racial justice protests across the country, prompted by police killings of black Americans.
"By August, we had exceeded last year's total. By September, we... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump & Turnbull: US to Consider an Australian Model on Guns?
23 February 2018
New York Times
WASHINGTON — One of the most powerful moments during President Trump's meeting with survivors and relatives of the Florida school shooting this week came when a student pleaded with the president to do what Australia did after a similar tragedy.
As it happened, Mr. Trump had an opportunity on Friday to get a firsthand report on Australia's crackdown on guns when he hosted the country's prime minister at the White House. But both men quickly discounted any... (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)
Record Number of Gun Background Checks on US Black Friday
28 November 2016
The Trace (USA)
Hillary Clinton lost her bid for the White House, and the National Rifle Association's 2016 champion Donald Trump is almost certain to leave firearm regulations alone. But America's appetite for guns is more voracious than ever.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Instant Criminal Background Check System processed more background checks for gun transactions on Black Friday — 185,713 in total — than on any single day since the system launched nearly two... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Sales Soared, No Panic Buying on US 'Black Friday' [ES]
27 November 2016
CNN
[Translated summary: Buyers crowded gun shops during 'Black Friday' in the US. The law bans gun buying as a gift, so big discounts were the main factor boosting sales. Some gun dealers had stocked up before the elections in the hope of panic buying if Hillary Clinton won.]
Multitudes de compradores llegaron a las tiendas de armas durante el pasado viernes negro, el gran día del año para este negocio.
Ciertamente, las ventas de armas en el viernes negro no están... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Sales Boom in America's 'Black Friday' Shopping Spree
25 November 2016
CNN
The Black Friday weapon sales are not driven by the Christmas spirit since gun laws in many states prohibit buying guns for someone else. The sales are driven by sharp discounts.
Not far from New York City, hundreds of shoppers packed into RTSP, a gun shop and firing range in Randolph, New Jersey, lured by Black Friday discounts of 5% to 10% for guns, ammunition and accessories.
Dr. Joseph Feldman, a surgeon from neighboring Montville, was buying a $500 Sig Sauer... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump's Victory Has Fearful Minorities Buying Up Guns - NBC
23 November 2016
NBC News (USA)
After Donald Trump's win, Yolanda Scott is upgrading the crowbar she keeps in her purse to a small-caliber pistol.
Scott, an African-American, is one of many minorities who have been flocking to gun stores to protect themselves, afraid Trump's victory will incite more hate crimes.
"You feel that racists now feel like they can attack us just because the president is doing it," one gun shop owner told NBC News.
Gun store owners told NBC News that since November 8... (GunPolicy.org)
How America's Gun Violence Research Ban Hurt Science
23 November 2016
Huffington Post (USA)
In 1996, Congress passed the Dickey Amendment, effectively banning government research on gun violence. But these days, former Republican representative Jay Dickey sees his namesake amendment for what it was: A mistake.
"I wish we had started the proper research and kept it going all this time," Dickey told The Huffington Post last year. "I have regrets."
Now, a research letter published as part of a series on firearm violence in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine... (GunPolicy.org)
Arms Dealers Say Trump Election Will Likely Slow Gun Sales
22 November 2016
USA Today
On Nov. 9, the day after Donald Trump had been elected president, a customer walked into the Phoenix Tactical gun shop here not to make a purchase but to cancel one.
The customer had put a Glock pistol on layaway, but wanted to void the purchase because Hillary Clinton had lost the election and a pro-gun Donald Trump had emerged victorious, Phoenix Tactical owner Bryan Bryner said.
"He said: 'The threat is gone,' " Bryner said.
That change of heart reflects a new... (GunPolicy.org)
American Women Buying More Guns Than Ever, Claims Dealer
22 November 2016
Opposing Views (Canada)
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NCIS) numbers indicate that 2016 is on pace to have the highest number of background checks for guns on record.
Up until the end of October, NCIS conducted 22,206,203 firearm background checks, which is less than 1 million away from the record year of 2015, which ran 23,141,970 firearm background checks. With two more months left to report, 2016 will likely surpass 2015 when the November numbers come through.
NCIS... (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)
After Trump's Victory, Gun Sellers Rely On 'Black Friday' [FR]
21 November 2016
Les Echos (France)
[Translated summary: After the election of Donald Trump, one of the main American gun manufacturers, Smith & Wesson, saw its stock price fall by 15%. The reason is that gun enthusiasts were buying more firearms in case Hillary Clinton won. Now, sellers expect to recover during the 'Black Friday' but estimate that they have little chance of repeating the record numbers of last year.]
Il y a quelques semaines encore, nous étions dans une Amérique démocrate, ou le... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump Softens Gun Promises, Gun Rights Not a Priority [ES]
18 November 2016
Newsweek (USA)
[Translated Summary: During his presidential campaign Donald Trump promised to swiftly "unsign" the executive actions President Obama issued in January regarding background checks and to abolish gun-free zones at schools and on military bases. In addition, he promised to allow Americans to carry hidden handguns across all 50 states. However, after the election he softened his tone and it now appears that gun rights are mo longer a priority.]
A lo largo de sus casi 17... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Fuels Gun Paranoia in the Age of Trump - Chicago Tribune
18 November 2016
Chicago Tribune
There were plenty of agitated and even hysterical reactions to Donald Trump's election victory, but none more surprising than the one expressed in a direct mail letter I got a couple of days afterward.
"Our worst nightmare is staring us right in the face," it declared. "The attacks will be hitting everywhere, every day." It invited me to fill out a survey. "By answering this survey today, you're drawing a line in the sand — making it clear to politicians across... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Trump's Victory Just Wounded US Gunmakers
9 November 2016
Bloomberg (USA)
For all of President-Elect Donald Trump's warnings that Hillary Clinton was coming for America's guns, it turns out that it was his surprise victory that came with immediate pain for the firearm industry. Shares of gunmakers were tanking on Wednesday morning as investors prepare for a gun-friendly Trump presidency. The somewhat counterintuitive thesis goes like this: With the threat of stronger gun control laws fading under a Trump administration, fewer people will rush... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control Measures Expected to Win in Four US States
8 November 2016
Reuters
Gun control-related ballot measures in four states are expected to pass on Tuesday, opinion polls showed, after gun safety advocates poured a massive amount of money into backing the initiatives.
In Maine and Nevada, residents are voting on whether to mandate universal background checks for firearm sales, including private handgun transactions.
If those two measures pass, half of all Americans would live in states that have such expanded checks. Eighteen states and... (GunPolicy.org)
California to Pass Background Checks for Purchase of Ammo
4 November 2016
New York Times, Editorial
While Congress shamefully fails to face up to the toll of gun carnage, California's lawmakers and voters are forging ahead with innovative safety measures, including mandatory background checks for the purchase of ammunition, not just guns.
The focus on ammunition sales, for which there are no federal controls, is a creative addition to Proposition 63, a ballot initiative that polls indicate should pass on Tuesday. It is being watched as a barometer of the re-emergence... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Makers, FBI Data Point to US Firearm Sales Increase [ES]
4 November 2016
HispanTV (Iran)
[Translated summary: Due to the tense political climate, American firearm manufacturers report a strong increase in sales. A report by the FBI shows that gun sale background checks grew 18% in October. One of the main firearm manufacturers in the US, Sturm, Ruger & Co, registered an increase of 34% in sales in the third trimester of 2016.]
Los fabricantes de armas de fuego estadounidenses reportan un fuerte crecimiento de sus ventas de armas en el país por el tenso... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Buyers Stockpiling Firearms Ahead of Election Day
3 November 2016
Salon (US)
With just days left before American voters decide who will replace President Barack Obama, many in the nation's gun-owning public seem to be preparing for a dystopian future of jackbooted liberal government thugs prying guns — as the popular slogan goes — from their cold dead hands.
On Wednesday executives at the country's top firearms manufacturer said they're adequately prepared to meet demand from a postelection gun-buying surge if Democrats make significant... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Control Groups Aiming Their Money at State Ballots
2 November 2016
NPR (USA)
Gun control has been a minor theme of this year's presidential election, as Hillary Clinton promises to close "loopholes" in the background checks for gun purchasers, and Donald Trump pledges "unwavering support" for the Second Amendment.
The real battle over guns, though, has been waged at the state level this year — with a new emphasis on ballot initiatives.
Washington is a prime example. Like many western states, it has a tradition of permissive gun laws; there's... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Maker Sees Firearm Sales Soar as US Election Looms
2 November 2016
CNN
Sturm, Ruger (RGR) reported that sales jumped by a third, to $161.4 million, in the quarter ended Oct. 1 compared with the same period last year. Earnings rose 66%. The company's stock rose 2% in early trading Wednesday.
The company said sales are up across the industry, based on FBI data on background checks, which tend to rise and fall along with sales.
Sales were "likely bolstered by the political campaign for next week's election," Chris Killoy, the Sturm, Ruger... (GunPolicy.org)
Sudden Spike in US Gun Sales Down to 'Fear of Clinton Victory'
2 November 2016
Independent (UK)
One of the biggest manufacturers of hand guns and assault rifles in the United States is reporting soaring sales in the run-up to the presidential election as enthusiasts fear that a Hillary Clinton victory over Donald Trump could lead to restrictive new gun-control measures.
Sturm, Ruger, maker of AR-type assault rifles as well as an array of other rifles and pistols, said in an earnings call that sales rose by one third, to $161.4 million, in the quarter that ended 1... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton #2 Tim Caine: US Gun Violence Is a Public Health Crisis
1 November 2016
Time (USA)
In every elected office I have held over the past 20 years, gun violence has been a serious issue. When I was mayor of Richmond, Virginia, our city had one of the highest homicide rates in the country. When I was governor, our commonwealth experienced the worst campus shooting in U.S. history. And as I serve in the U.S. Senate and our country falls victim to one mass shooting after another, Congress has yet to pass any commonsense gun safety legislation. Like many... (GunPolicy.org)
Stricter Gun Control is America Is Inevitable, Says Researcher
1 November 2016
Guns (US)
It doesn't matter which candidate is elected the next leader of the free world next Tuesday, stricter gun control is inevitable — at least according to one onlooker.
Philip Alpers is the founding director of GunPolicy.org, an organization devoted to publishing facts and figures on gun violence and gun control. It's hosted by the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney in Australia. Alpers says it doesn't matter what Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump or Clinton, Stricter Gun Control Is Inevitable in America
31 October 2016
CNN, Opinion
It's impossible to run for President without having a firm position on gun control. For every candidate in every election campaign, it inevitably becomes a dividing line.
And 2016 is no different. At various stages, Donald Trump has held differing positions on the matter, but has been sufficiently in favor of protecting the second amendment to secure the support of the NRA. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, while claiming to respect the second amendment, has made clear that... (GunPolicy.org)
What Conservatives Get Right About Guns - Guardian US Expert
28 October 2016
GQ (US)
I grew up in Connecticut, firmly on one side of the gun culture war. My parents thought it was wrong even to let kids play with toy guns. But I made a vow to myself when I started covering this debate: I would not be one one of those New York City journalists who writes ignorant, condescending stories about "gun nuts."
As it expanded into the United States, the liberal British newspaper The Guardian did something most media outlets haven't done: it assigned a reporter... (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 Agency Badly Undercounts Children Killed with Guns [ES]
14 October 2016
Euronews (France)
[Translated Summary: The real number of children killed with guns is underestimated in US official statistics. According to research, between January, 2014 and June this year, there have been 326 deaths by accidental shooting related to children. Yet only 74 were documented by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the agency responsible for keeping count.]
Es la cara oculta de la proliferación de armas de fuego en Estados Unidos: el numero real de niños muertos por... (GunPolicy.org)
Landmark US Mass Shooting Gun Maker Law Suit Dismissed
14 October 2016
New York Times
A Connecticut judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack, delivering a blow to an ambitious effort to hold accountable the makers of the assault rifle used in the 2012 massacre before the case ever went to trial.
The judge, Barbara N. Bellis of State Superior Court, had surprised even some of the plaintiffs by allowing the case to move toward trial this year, despite a 2005 federal law that offers firearm... (GunPolicy.org)
326 US Children Unintentionally Shot, Killed in 2014-2016 [FR]
14 October 2016
Euro News
[Translated summary: In the US, between January 2014 and June 2016, there have been 326 fatal, but unintentional shootings and thousands of gun injury incidents involving children, according to a research by USA Today and the Associated Press. In 2014 the Centers for Disease Control only found 74 of those.]
C'est la face cachée du boom inédit du marché des armes à feu aux Etats-Unis : le nombre réel de morts par balle impliquant des enfants.
Bryson... (GunPolicy.org)
US Groups Push New Gun Control Evidence, Election Sways
11 October 2016
New York Times
With guns emerging as a major flash point in the presidential race and campaigns nationwide, gun-control advocates are spending tens of millions of dollars on a central message: Stronger firearms laws can reduce gun violence.
Although the National Rifle Association has long rejected that assertion, a growing body of evidence from academics, advocacy groups and others supports the link between gun restrictions and a reduction in violence.
The latest analysis comes out... (GunPolicy.org)
Shootings on US Campuses Doubled Over the Last Five Years
3 October 2016
New York Times, Reuters
Shootings on college campuses over the last five years have more than doubled since a similar period a decade earlier, according to a report released on Monday by a criminal justice reform organization.
The incidents have also grown more deadly, with three times as many people injured or killed during the most recent five-year period, the New York City-based Citizens Crime Commission said.
"It is now appropriate to call our nation's gun violence problem an epidemic,"... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Doesn't Spur Gun Sales as Much as Obama Did
25 September 2016
Washington Post
Few people have sold more guns than Barack Obama. In March of last year, we looked at the effects of his presidency on the gun industry, estimating that the gun industry had seen about $9 billion more in sales during Obama's presidency than might otherwise have been expected. That's an estimate, but it's clear that the past eight years have been a boon for gun manufacturers. Half of the guns in the United States are owned by 3 percent of adults, suggesting that people... (GunPolicy.org)
Criminal Gun Misuse in Australia Reveals Gun Law Limitations
16 September 2016
NRA Institute for Legislative Action
While anti-gun politicians like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama tout Australia's gun control laws as a model for the United States, recent reporting on crime in Melbourne from newspaper The Age revealed the limitations of Australia's stringent laws. According to the paper, "Despite Australia's strict gun control regime, criminals are now better armed than at any time since then-Prime Minister John Howard introduced a nationwide firearm buyback scheme in response to the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Sale Background Checks Rise to Record Number
6 September 2016
CNN
Guns are selling at unprecedented levels this summer, which means 2016 is well on its way to breaking the all-time record for background checks.
Background checks conducted by the FBI totaled 1,853,815 in August 2016, a 6% increase from August 2015.
That's the most checks ever in the month of August since the FBI started conducting background checks in 1998. In fact, every monthly tally this year has hit an all-time high, meaning that 2016 is on track to be the record... (GunPolicy.org)
What Trump Vs. Clinton Means for US Gun Control - Opinion
5 September 2016
Huffington Post (USA), Opinion
For the first time since 2000, the Presidential election promises to be pivotal for the politics of gun control. Both for supporters of stronger gun laws, and for "gun rights" partisans, the stakes could not be higher.
It was not long ago that the political death of gun control was accepted as an incontestible truth by pundits of every ideological stripe. For the Democratic Party, although much was made of the alleged impact of the gun issue on the Gingrich takeover of... (GunPolicy.org)
Australian Former Trade Minister Proposes Gun Levy on US
25 August 2016
Australian (Sydney)
If a President Trump rips up trade agreements and takes the US out of the World Trade Organisation, Australia and other nations should retaliate by imposing a "gun safety" levy on America matched to the level of massacres there, says former trade minister Tim Fischer.
The former Nationals leader and deputy prime minister will use a speech today to warn that a Donald Trump presidency would be a disaster for world trade.
"Donald Trump spells disaster not only re world... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump's Only Firm Remaining Ally is The NRA - NY Times
10 August 2016
New York Times
Donald J. Trump's candidacy has driven away throngs of Republican elected officials, donors and policy experts. But not the National Rifle Association.
With Mr. Trump increasingly isolated and hobbled by controversies of his own making, the powerful gun-rights group has emerged as one of his remaining stalwart allies in the Republican coalition: the institution on the right most aggressively committed to his candidacy, except for the Republican National Committee... (GunPolicy.org)
The NRA Accidentally Made a Great Case for Gun Control
19 July 2016
Nation (USA)
Cleveland —The National Rifle Association sent its top lobbyist, Chris Cox, onto the stage at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night. Keeping with the theme of the proceedings—scary people are coming to kill you—Cox told a little parable:
Imagine a young mother at home with her baby, when a violent predator kicks the door in. He's a three-time loser who was released from prison early because some politician wanted to show their compassion. What's she... (GunPolicy.org)
US Firearm Owners Defend Right to Use AR-15 Style Guns
27 June 2016
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Karen Butler still remembers the first time she picked up an AR-15-style rifle a decade ago.
"Quite honestly, I was scared of it," she recalls.
But as soon as she fired it, she became a fan.
"You know some of these people that are fearful, it's just because they don't have knowledge," she said. "We call it furniture — it's got all the accessories on it that make it look a little intimidating. But once you shoot it you realize it's so much fun."
Butler, of... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear, Loathing and Guns: Sensory Overload at NRA Death Mall
25 June 2016
Guardian
"A frightened population is obedient."
– Hunter S Thompson
"I'm not scared about going to jail. Somebody's got to do something to knock the fear out of these negroes."
– Muhammad Ali
At the 145th National Rifle Association annual meetings and exhibits, you could see and purchase replica flintlock muskets like the kind Daniel Boone used, "wardrobe" handguns the size of a cellphone, a carriage-mounted 1883 Gatling gun, historic firearms from the Renaissance down... (GunPolicy.org)
Second Day of Gun Control Protest in US Congress
23 June 2016
Newshub (New Zealand)
Chaos in the US House of Representatives has stretched into a second day after Republicans refused demands by Democrats, who staged a "sit-in", to bring up gun control legislation in the wake of the nation's worst mass shooting in modern history.
Scores of Democrats flooded the chamber for more than 14 hours, sitting on the floor and chanting in a "sit-in" protest, taking over the House even as the Republican leadership shut off television cameras and microphones as... (GunPolicy.org)
US Shop Sells 30,000 AR-15 Assault Rifles in Just One Week
22 June 2016
News (Australia)
Just when you thought you couldn't be any more dismayed by America's gun crisis, comes this depressing nugget of information.
Despite the fight for gun control making waves across the world in the week since a terrorist attack in an Orlando nightclub that left 49 dead and 53 wounded, one online gun shop has sold a whopping 30,000 AR-15 rifles.
Let me repeat that: 30,000 guns sold in ONE WEEK.
Hunter's Warehouse owner Tom Engle told Fox Business' Stuart Varney that... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Gun Problem Is Much Bigger Than Mass Shootings
21 June 2016
Guardian
A disturbed man with an AR-15-style rifle walked through a popular historic site in 1996, shooting up the cafe and gift shop. He left 35 people dead and 19 seriously injured.
The country's conservative leader pushed through immediate, sweeping changes to gun laws. Chief among them was a ban and mandatory buyback of more than 600,000 semiautomatic rifles and other long guns, which were then melted down. In all, one researcher estimates, the government ultimately... (GunPolicy.org)
US Senate Fails to Pass Four New Gun Control Measures
20 June 2016
Guardian
The US Senate failed to advance new restrictions aimed at curtailing gun violence on Monday, as lawmakers voted down four separate measures just one week after a terrorist attack in Orlando marked the deadliest mass shooting in the nation's history.
Democrats and Republicans had put forth competing amendments to both strengthen background checks and prevent suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms. But all four bills fell short of the 60 votes needed to clear a... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control and the Effect of the US 2nd Amendment
15 June 2016
The Conversation
The Second Amendment to the Constitution is a touchstone for the many people who identify with American society's enduring affinity for firearms. And every time there is an atrocity, such as the mass shooting in Orlando, debate inevitably settles on how this part of the Constitution effectively prevents the adoption of workable gun control measures.
But ironically, the Amendment played almost no substantial part in legal or constitutional jurisprudence involving gun... (GunPolicy.org)
US Debate: Would an Assault Weapon Ban Make a Difference?
13 June 2016
Guardian
In preparation for what would become the deadliest mass shooting in American history, Omar Mateen bought an .223 caliber AR-15-style assault rifle and a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, law enforcement officials said.
The shooters in December's San Bernardino terror attack also used AR-15-style rifles. So did the shooters in the 2012 attacks at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Critics call AR-15-style rifles the weapon of... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Rifle the Weapon of Choice in US Mass Shootings
13 June 2016
Malay Mail (Kuala Lumpur)
WASHINGTON — When Omar Mateen entered an Orlando, Florida, nightclub yesterday to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in US history, he wielded a weapon that has been used in massacres from California to Connecticut: a military-inspired semi-automatic rifle.
Though so-called assault rifles account for a small fraction of the United States' 30,000 annual gun deaths, they have been used in at least 10 mass shootings since 2011, according to a database compiled by... (GunPolicy.org)
Since 1934, US Gun Lobby Created Fear of the 'Slippery Slope'
8 June 2016
The Trace (USA)
For the first time in a decade, the firearms industry has become a primary target in the gun debate. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton regularly hammered Bernie Sanders during the primaries over his vote for a 2005 law that grants gun manufacturers and retailers broad immunity from liability lawsuits. And the families of Sandy Hook victims are now challenging that legislation in a lawsuit against Remington, the parent company for the... (GunPolicy.org)
Biggest US Gun Control Group Endorses Hillary Clinton
3 June 2016
New York Times
A major gun control group has endorsed Hillary Clinton, offering a lift to her campaign in a tighter-than-expected primary race in California and as she tries to pivot to a general election matchup with Donald J. Trump.
The group, Everytown for Gun Safety, announced its endorsement through a statement released early on Friday, the day after its National Gun Violence Awareness Day campaign.
"Gun Sense Voters have a champion in Hillary Clinton," John Feinblatt, the... (GunPolicy.org)
1934 US Firearm Law Shows How Well Gun Control Can Work
31 May 2016
New York Times, Opinion
For more than 80 years, the United States has enforced a tough and effective gun control law that most Americans have never heard of. It's a 1934 measure called the National Firearms Act, and it stands as a stark rebuke to the most sacred precepts of the gun lobby and provides a model we should build on.
Leaders of the National Rifle Association rarely talk about the firearms act, and that's probably because it imposes precisely the kinds of practical — and... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Violence: 'Ordinary' 4-Shot Shootings Alone Killed 462
26 May 2016
New York Times, Editorial
Only in America: A computer algorithm about guns has been created to predict who is most likely to be shot soon, or to shoot someone.
The Chicago Police Department, desperate to reduce gun violence by street gangs, authorized this unusual tool three years ago and has been using it to track and caution the most likely offenders.
It is a remarkable state of affairs that local governments must resort to such an approach to deal with the reality of gun mayhem. Yet it is... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump and Clinton on Guns, Race, Justice and Policing
21 May 2016
Guardian
For years seen as a losing battle, the push for gun control has become a central conflict of the 2016 presidential election, and part of a broader struggle between competing visions of policing, justice and racism in America.
Donald Trump, the presumptive nominee of the Republican party, has pledged that if elected he will eliminate "gun-free zones" and make it easier to carry a concealed firearm in all 50 states. National Rifle Association members cheered him on... (GunPolicy.org)
Sandy Hook Gun Lawsuit Can Learn From 'Big Tobacco' Fight
14 May 2016
CNN
Families of the victims in the 2012 massacre by shooter Adam Lanza in Newtown, Connecticut, are no longer united only in their grief. Some of them are also now part of a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit seeking accountability from the gunmaker, Remington.
At issue are what the families allege are the manufacturer's marketing strategies and other trade secrets on military-style weapons.
Although the trial is not set to begin until April 2018, the case is moving... (GunPolicy.org)
100s of Child Gun Deaths "Occasional Mishaps" - Gun Lobby
5 May 2016
Mother Jones (USA)
In an in-depth investigation in 2013, Mother Jones found that guns kill hundreds of children per year in the United States. Many die in homicides, and many others die in accidents—mostly when children themselves pull the trigger. The kids shooting themselves or others have often been as young as two or three years old. Invariably these "tragedies" result from adults leaving unsecured firearms lying around in their homes or, in some cases, in their cars.
Since our... (GunPolicy.org)
Twelve Straight Months of Record US Gun Sale Inquiries
4 May 2016
Washington Free Beacon
This April saw the most gun-related background checks of any April on record, making it the 12th month in a row to achieve a high water mark for gun sales.
The FBI ran 2,145,865 checks through the National Instant Background Check System last month, according to the agency's records. That represents more than a 400,000 increase over the previous record set in April 2014. Though the numbers represent the best April on record, the month also saw the fewest checks of any... (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)
Australian Gun Law Success Could Be Model for USA [FR]
28 April 2016
Euronews, Reuters
[Translated summary: Firearm legislation in Australia has changed dramatically since the Port Arthur massacre. 20 years later, there hasn't been another mass shooting, the number of firearm homicides has dropped and the probability of being killed by a firearm has been reduced by 72%.]
Ce jeudi 28 avril est un triste anniversaire pour l'Australie. Il y a 20 ans a lieu le massacre de Port Arthur en Tasmanie, lors duquel un homme de 28 ans tue 35 personnes et en blesse... (GunPolicy.org)
Tracking Flow of US Guns Used in Crime Is Inexact Science
28 April 2016
New York Times, Associated Press
SMYRNA — Adventure Outdoors is an 80,000-square-foot store with walls lined with long guns, cases packed with handguns and aisles jammed with all the accessories an avid outdoorsman would need: coolers, clothing, ammo. At the customer service counter is a government-issued poster that warns: "Don't lie for the other guy."
Store founder Jay Wallace said his staff is diligent about making sure buyers are legitimate and not fronting for someone who is legally prohibited... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia Data Shows Gun Controls a Huge Success
28 April 2016
Euronews, Reuters
SYDNEY – Australia on Thursday marked the 20th anniversary of a mass shooting which led to strict gun controls that have in turn led to a huge decline in gun murders, undermining claims in the United States that such curbs are not the answer.
The chances of being murdered by a gun in Australia plunged to 0.15 per 100,000 people in 2014 from 0.54 per 100,000 people in 1996, a decline of 72 percent, a Reuters analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics figures... (GunPolicy.org)
Lawsuit by Newtown Families Could End US Gun Sales
16 April 2016
Detroit News, Opinion
Perhaps the biggest threat ever to the Second Amendment is working its way through the state courts in Connecticut.
A judge there is allowing a wrongful death lawsuit to proceed against Remington Arms Co., which made one of the weapons used by Adam Lanza to kill 26 children and staffers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
The lawsuit, filed by nine victim families, claims Remington is liable for making and selling to the public a rifle unfit for civilian... (GunPolicy.org)
Court Refuses Immunity for US Massacre Gun Maker
14 April 2016
Newsweek (USA)
In a major blow to gun companies, a judge in Connecticut on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 10 families affected by the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School against the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle used in the shooting.
The three gun companies named in the case had argued for the lawsuit to be dismissed under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), or PLCAA for short. It's a 2005 federal law that provides... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Carefully Slants Vermont Gun Stats to Hit Sanders
13 April 2016
New York Times, Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- With New York's crucial presidential nominating contest looming, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is framing gun laws in Bernie Sanders' home state of Vermont as a primary culprit of violent crime in the Empire State.
Her latest offensive, however, depends on a narrow and arguably irrelevant use of federal gun data.
Speaking on Long Island, New York, this week, Clinton said that when Sanders is "challenged on his gun stances, he frequently says:... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Industry and the Making of American Gun Culture
7 April 2016
Washington Post, Book review
The Revolutionary War and its musket-loading militias. The frontiersmen and the dangers of the plains. The Wild West, with its righteous cowboys and soulless desperadoes. Patriotism and manhood. Personal protection and individual rights.
All of these elements form part of the mythology of firearms in America, a mythology historian Pamela Haag aims to shoot down in "The Gunning of America," a fascinating exploration of the major businesses and families that have... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Slams Sanders With Sandy Hook Gun Massacre
7 April 2016
Tampa Tribune (Florida), Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA -- Armed with a blistering tabloid cover, Hillary Clinton is pitting Bernie Sanders against the parents of children murdered in Sandy Hook, part of an effort to punch her way into the critical New York primary.
The inflammatory rhetoric underscores the importance of the April 19 New York contest to her campaign and the mounting frustration of Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, with the lingering primary battle.
That irritation spilled... (GunPolicy.org)
Sanders Admonished for Supporting Gun Maker Immunity
5 April 2016
San Francisco Chronicle
The air of collegiality between two of the Senate's most liberal members — Connecticut's Chris Murphy and Vermont's Bernie Sanders — is turning frosty over a Newtown wrongful death lawsuit.
Murphy admonished his colleague on Twitter Tuesday for saying that the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims shouldn't be allowed to sue the manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators in... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Fires Back to Gun Control in Wisconsin
29 March 2016
Washington Examiner
Hillary Clinton touted her record on gun control while speaking in Milwaukee Tuesday, a key area of distinction between her and Bernie Sanders ahead of the Wisconsin primary.
"The availability of guns has gone way too far and the fact that gun makers and sellers have immunity," Clinton said, trailing off before contrasting her vote against immunity for gun manufacturers immunity with Sanders' vote for it.
Gun control was a major issue during the Democratic primaries... (GunPolicy.org)
In US Hillary Clinton Endorses Gun Control Measures
17 March 2016
Chicago Tribune, Editorial
In 2008, Barack Obama bent over backward to defuse suspicions from gun owners and their chief lobbying group, the National Rifle Association. "I believe in the Second Amendment," he assured one audience. "I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away."
A lot of good it did him. The NRA ran ads saying he "would be the most anti-gun president in American history." Four years later, with that fear unrealized, NRA... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Debate Riddled with Wrong, Meaningless Numbers
15 March 2016
The Conversation
United States President Barack Obama continues to push for reform on gun control amid concerns that people will "become numb" to any further mass shootings, which he says are now happening on a weekly basis.
His comments followed a shooting in Kansas last month in which three people died and 14 were wounded.
But his attempts to do something have been frustrated by a Congress that reportedly has not approved any major gun-control legislation since the 1990s.
Instead,... (GunPolicy.org)
The Right to Sue the US Gun Industry - NY Times
4 March 2016
New York Times, Editorial
The world recoiled in horror in 2012 when 20 Connecticut schoolchildren and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a deranged teenager using a military-style assault rifle to fire 154 rounds in less than five minutes. The weapon was a Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle adapted from its original role as a battlefield weapon. The AR-15, which is designed to inflict maximum casualties with rapid bursts, should never have been available for purchase by... (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)
United States,Australia,Brazil,Argentina,United Kingdom
Australian Gun Expert Critiques America: You've Lost Control
10 December 2015
Washington Post, Opinion
Although we foreigners can offer no immediate solution to America's gun infestation, we can see how you lost control of the plague of armed violence. Outsiders are also perplexed to see that you've done so little to grant your citizens a basic human right — the freedom to live without fear of death by gunshot.
Historically, there's little mystery as to how it began. The early laws of each European empire relied on two pillars of gun safety: Firearm owners were... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Australia,United Kingdom,New Zealand,Canada
How a Conservative-Led Australia Ended Mass Gun Killings
4 December 2015
New York Times
In the continuing debate over how to stop mass killings in the United States, Australia has become a familiar touchstone.
President Obama has cited the country's gun laws as a model for the United States, calling Australia a nation "like ours." On the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton has said the Australian approach is "worth considering." The National Rifle Association has dismissed the policies, contending that they "robbed Australians of their right to self-defense... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia,United States,Canada,United Kingdom
US Political Debate About Australian-Style Gun Laws
20 October 2015
Sydney Morning Herald
Asked about Hillary Clinton's suggestion that the United States consider Australian-style gun laws, one of the country's leading gun industry champions laughed.
"You've got to ask yourself how much the NRA paid the Clinton Foundation to get her to say that," Richard Feldman, a former National Rifle Association lobbyist said.
"Forget gold, that comment is worth its weight in platinum."
Australia has been raised again in the US debate over guns in the wake of the... (GunPolicy.org)
United Kingdom,Australia,United States,Israel
Gun Control Advocates Envy Australia, Britain's Strict Laws
14 October 2015
Washington Times
Australia and Britain have been held out as examples of foreign countries that moved quickly to impose gun restrictions in the wake of national tragedies as the United States grapples with what — if any — policy reforms could prevent future mass shootings like the recent attack in Oregon.
Both countries saw a drop in gun-related crimes after imposing restrictions, though analysts debate whether the laws deserve credit.
But all sides agree the moves Britain and... (GunPolicy.org)
Argentina,Canada,Mexico,Australia,United Kingdom,Russia,China,South Africa,United States,Israel,Norway,Finland,Germany,Switzerland
Three European Countries Lead US in Mass Shootings: WSJ
3 October 2015
Wall Street Journal
The latest U.S. shooting that ended in the deaths of 10 people at an Oregon college last week is reigniting calls for tighter gun laws and prompting comparisons to gun violence in other countries.
President Barack Obama asked why Americans can't follow the example of the U.K. and Australia. They crafted laws that "almost eliminate mass shootings," he said. "We know there are ways to prevent it."
Adam Lankford, an associate professor at the University of Alabama... (GunPolicy.org)
Hillary Clinton Attacks 'Anywhere, Anytime' US Gun Culture
6 May 2014
Wall Street Journal
As Hillary Clinton mulls running for president in 2016, she has been careful to shy away from broad, sweeping policy declarations. But not Tuesday, when she delivered harsh criticism of gun culture in America and denounced the idea that "anybody can have a gun, anywhere, at any time."
Speaking at the National Council for Behavioral Health conference in Oxon Hill, Md., the former secretary of state didn't dispute Americans' right to own guns. But she said access to guns... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Culture 'Way Out of Balance': Rein It In, Says Hilary Clinton
6 May 2014
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday the nation's gun culture has gotten "way out of balance" and the U.S. needs to rein in the notion that "anybody can have a gun, anywhere, anytime."
The former secretary of state and potential 2016 Democratic presidential candidate said the idea that anyone can have a gun is not in the "best interest of the vast majority of people." But she said that approach does not conflict with the rights of people to own... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Press, Arms Dealers Talk Up US/Russia 'Ammo Shortage' Sales Panic
11 March 2014
Washington Examiner
American gun owners are gobbling up cheap Russian ammunition in huge quantities, worried that President Obama's tussle with Vladimir Putin over Moscow's grab for Crimea will result in new trade sanctions cutting off imports of bullets.
"We've seen an ammo-hoarding effect," said Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Gun Shop in Charlotte, N.C., one of the nation's biggest gun stores. "It's almost like milk and bread when it gets ready to snow: It's just a mass of people running... (GunPolicy.org)
US First Lady Highlights Youth and Gun Violence in Speech
23 July 2013
Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Michelle Obama is speaking out about the toll that gun violence is taking on young people, in a shift that shows the first lady's willingness to tackle new and polarizing issues as she shapes her second term.
A meeting with high school students from a poor, gang-infested neighborhood in Chicago, her hometown, led Mrs. Obama to put a new spin on the stalled legislative debate over whether to ban firearms or impose new background checks on people who want... (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)
Guns in America - The Business of Fear: Bernd Debusmann
30 July 2012
Reuters, Opinion
Mass shootings are good for the gun business. So are dark warnings from the principal gun lobby in the United States, the National Rifle Association (NRA), that President Barack Obama is leading a global conspiracy to seize an estimated 300 million guns now held by private citizens.
Whether this is true or not doesn't matter. As they say on Wall Street, perception is reality and the fears the NRA has managed to inspire since Obama's 2008 election have led to a boom for... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Africa,Americas,Asia,Europe,Oceania
Fact Check: Arms Trade Treaty Unlikely to Curb US Gun Rights - AP
28 July 2012
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Negotiators at the United Nations are working to put final touches on a treaty cracking down on the global, $60 billion business of illicit trading in small arms, a move aimed at curbing violence in some of the most troubled corners of the world. In the United States, gun activists denounce it as an attack on their constitutional right to bear arms.
"Without apology, the NRA wants no part of any treaty that infringes on the precious right of lawful... (GunPolicy.org)
Americas,Africa,United States,Asia,Europe,Oceania
US Senators to Block UN Gun Trade Treaty Over Right to Bear Arms
26 July 2012
Globe & Mail (Toronto) / AP
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of 51 senators on Thursday threatened to oppose a global treaty regulating international weapons trade if it falls short in protecting Americans' constitutional right to bear arms.
In a letter to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the senators expressed serious concerns with the draft treaty that has circulated at the United Nations, saying that it signals an expansion of gun control that would be... (GunPolicy.org)
Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,United States
US Gun Lobby Takes Aim at United Nations Global Gun Trade Treaty
9 July 2012
US News & World Report
Delegations from almost 200 countries convened at the United Nations this month to come up with a new treaty that would regulate international trade in conventional weapons. The effort, supported by the Obama administration, has very vocal opposition: the American gun lobby.
Proponents of the Arms Trade Treaty argue that inadequate controls over the international arms market result in armed violence against civilians by human rights violators, criminals, gangs,... (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)
Africa,Americas,Asia,Europe,Oceania,Somalia,United States,Russia,Egypt,Iran,Pakistan
A 'Bulletproof' Arms Trade Treaty Could Slow the Global Flow of Guns
8 March 2012
MediaGlobal News (New York)
Every day, according to Amnesty International, thousands of people are killed, injured, raped, and forced to flee from their homes as a result of armed conflict, armed violence, and human rights violations and abuses perpetrated using conventional arms.
As violence continues unchecked around the world, a coalition of humanitarian and health organizations is rallying support for a "bulletproof" global Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), to be discussed in July, that would stymie... (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)
Ukraine,North Africa,Niger,Algeria,Mali,France,United Kingdom,United States,Libya
Libya Warned Smugglers Are Looting Gaddafi's Guns
2 September 2011
Guardian (UK)
Libya must urgently secure weapons hoarded by the Gaddafi regime amid growing fears that smugglers are exploiting the chaos there to loot hundreds of portable missiles and other small arms, western officials have warned.
The US and Nato are pressing the National Transitional Council to make the issue a priority because of concerns that the trade has already begun, with reports that some African mercenaries who fought for Colonel Muammar Gaddafi are returning home laden... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Lets UN Do 'Dirty Work,' Drafting Onerous New Gun Ban Treaty
24 August 2011
Politico (Washington DC), Opinion
Not long ago, the gun control advocates Jim and Sarah Brady visited the White House. President Barack Obama reportedly told them that he was working on new gun control schemes "under the radar."
It's been said that guns have two enemies — rust and politicians. Rust never sleeps, and neither do those who would seek to restrict our constitutional rights. So let me tell you about a meeting you weren't invited to, where those people were planning an attack on our rights... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Africa,Americas,Asia,Europe,Oceania,Canada,Mexico
US Gun Lobby, Arms Makers Raise Alarm Over UN Global Gun Trade Process
5 August 2011
Fox News (USA)
A controversial U.N. proposed treaty aimed at regulating guns worldwide has been shrouded by confusion and misinformation.
Known informally as the 'Small Arms Treaty,' its detractors have charged the proposed agreement with secretly trying to take guns out of the hands of Americans and circumventing the 2nd Amendment.
While that is unlikely, a working draft proposal obtained by FoxNews.com contains language that some gun advocates say could have a real impact on... (GunPolicy.org)
Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,United States
US Senate Opposition Mounts to UN Arms Trade Treaty
26 July 2011
US News & World Report
Senate opposition is growing to President Obama's support for a United Nations effort that could bring international gun control into the United States and slap America's gun owners with severe restrictions.
At last count, 55 senators, including 10 Democrats, have signed letters to the president and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton saying they will oppose the Arms Trade Treaty . The treaty must win a two-thirds majority to win passage, meaning that approval appears... (GunPolicy.org)
Israel,United Kingdom,Russia,France,Oceania,Europe,Asia,Americas,Africa,China,United States
Productive Negotiations at the UN on Arms Trade Treaty [Fr]
18 July 2011
Courrier du Vietnam / AFP
[Translated summary: Member States of the UN "made significant progress" during the week of negotiations in New York for the adoption in July 2012 of the Arms Trade Treaty, said on July 15 Eric Danon, representative of France in the negotiations.]
Les États membres de l'ONU ont "beaucoup progressé" pendant une semaine de négociations à New York en vue de l'adoption en juillet 2012 d'un traité sur le commerce des armes, a déclaré le 15 juillet Eric Danon,... (GunPolicy.org)
China,Indonesia,East Asia,European Union,Russia,North Africa,United States
The Arms Trade Treaty, Several Hurdles Must be Overcome Before 2012
8 June 2011
United Nations News & Commentary
In a three-day meeting organized by the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) the European Union, and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, representatives of nearly 30 East Asian and Pacific countries are gathering with regional and international organizations to discuss the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT).
This is the latest in a series of regional meetings UNIDIR is conducting to develop concrete recommendations on the future Treaty and to assist States with... (GunPolicy.org)
Attorney General Grilled on US Assault Rifle Sales to Mexican Drug Cartels
3 May 2011
Daily Caller (Washington DC)
Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, was able to question Attorney General Eric Holder for the first time over the Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious scandal during a Tuesday morning hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. The scandal involves a sting operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in which American guns – including AK-47 assault rifles and military-grade,... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Exploiting Mexican Drug Wars to Push US, Global Gun Control
29 April 2011
Politico (Washington DC)
PITTSBURGH — John Bolton suggested Friday that Barack Obama is laying the foundation to push an ambitious gun control agenda if he wins a second term.
Trying to make his background relevant to an audience of gun activists, the former ambassador to the United Nations and dark horse presidential candidate accused the administration of using its own failures in the war against Mexican drug cartels as a pretext for more gun control.
"We can understand that, as he likes... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Refuses to Meet Obama, 'Dooming' Gun Policy Talks from the Start?
13 March 2011
New York Times
WASHINGTON — More than two months after the Tucson shootings, the administration is calling together both the gun lobby and gun safety groups to find common ground. But President Obama has no plans to take the lead in proposing further gun control legislation, aides say, and the nation's major gun rights group is snubbing the invitation.
On Tuesday, officials at the Justice Department will meet with gun control advocates in the first of what will be a series of... (GunPolicy.org)
One of Arizona's Top Exports is Guns for Mexico Drug Cartels, Say US Feds
26 January 2011
Wall Street Journal
PHOENIX — Federal officials said Tuesday they busted a network of gun buyers and smugglers planning to ship 700 guns to Mexican drug cartels embroiled in deadly turf wars.
Law-enforcement officials arrested 17 people named in a 53-count indictment unsealed Tuesday. Police were still searching for three other people named in the indictment.
"The drug cartels go shopping for their war weapons in Arizona," said Dennis Burke, U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona.... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA-led Gun Lobby Wields Powerful Influence Over Feds, US Politics
15 December 2010
Washington Post
Behind the scenes, federal agents in charge of stopping gun trafficking to Mexico have quietly advanced a plan to help stem the smuggling of high-powered AK-47s and AR-15s to the bloody drug war south of the border.
The controversial proposal by officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives calls for a measure strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association: requiring gun dealers to report multiple sales of rifles and shotguns to ATF.
The gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Russian Foreign Minister, Clinton Discuss Viktor Bout Gun Running Case
10 November 2010
Voice of Russia (Moscow)
November 20th will mark the deadline for the Russian businessman Victor Bout to be extradited from Thailand to the US on what Russia sees as false arms smuggling charges.
The upcoming handover would come three months after a ruling about it by a Thai high court.
Lower courts had dismissed the case as driven by politics and without foundation in available evidence.
Bout was detained in Bangkok in 2008 during a vacation.
According to the Bangkok daily 'Nation', his... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvania Gun Dealers, NRA Predict Defeat for 'Idiot, Puppet' Obama
26 October 2010
ABC News (Australia)
The final week of campaigning has begun in the US mid-term elections and Republicans appear confident of victory.
The fallout from the United States recession appears to be tipping the race against the Democrats.
At a gun show in Allentown, there are dozens of dealers, and hundreds of weapons for sale. A Glock 9mm costs $US499, and a Smith and Wesson 9mm is $US340, but dealer Dave Zeller says business has been slow.
"This past year, I think the bad economy finally... (GunPolicy.org)
US Reconsiders, Bans Import of a Million Military Rifles from South Korea
1 September 2010
Fox News (USA)
The South Korean government, in an effort to raise money for its military, wants to sell nearly a million antique M1 rifles that were used by U.S. soldiers in the Korean War to gun collectors in America.
The Obama administration approved the sale of the American-made rifles last year. But it reversed course and banned the sale in March – a decision that went largely unnoticed at the time but that is now sparking opposition from gun rights advocates.
A State... (GunPolicy.org)
Prominent Pro-gun New York Senator Swaps Sides in Gun Control Debate
13 August 2010
Associated Press
ALBANY, New York — New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand been endorsed for election by a leading gun control group two years after earning a top rating from the National Rifle Association.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence notes Gillibrand had been an NRA favorite when she was an upstate congresswoman in a Republican district. But the group says in less than two years as an appointed U.S. senator she has become a leader in sensible gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Flow of US Weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels Increasing Under Obama?
17 May 2010
Newsweek (USA), Blog
The Mexican military has discovered a major training camp run by the notorious Zetas drug cartel and stocked with an arsenal of military weapons, including 140 semi automatic assault rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition — all of them believed to be purchased in the United States, U.S. law enforcement officials tell Declassified.
The discovery last week of the training camp in the town of Higueras, just 70 miles south of the U.S. border in the state of Nuevo León,... (GunPolicy.org)
Nashville's Orthodox Jewish Gun Dealer an Obnoxious Right-wing Agitator?
17 March 2010
Nashville Scene (Tennessee)
The loud pop of a semi-automatic rifle shatters the quiet of a still winter day. The sun is shining through the motionless branches of bare trees in a large wooded area, reflecting off the sunglasses of a slender, dark-haired German. He takes aim once more, then fires.
Just a few yards away, a slightly round, white-haired man lifts his weapon to his shoulder and eyes the target in his scope. This man, however, could have come from a Central Casting file marked "Hasidic... (GunPolicy.org)
Shootings Kill Mexican Border City, American Guns Fuel Drug Cartel Wars
17 March 2010
Washington Post, Editorial
The brutal slaying of three people connected to the U.S. consulate in Juarez, Mexico, last weekend has called attention to a crisis that is getting too little attention and resources in Washington: Mexico's desperate battle against drug traffickers. For Juarez, and for the democratic government of Felipe Calderón, this has become a fight for survival -- a war as bloody and as important as those being fought in Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan. But though Mexican stability... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama, Clinton Join UN Treaty Push to Set Global Gun Trade Controls
18 February 2010
Defense News (USA)
The United States is working with other countries and the United Nations to impose uniform controls on international sales of conventional arms. But the U.S. State Department said it is likely to be years before an Arms Trade Treaty takes effect.
The United States is committed to pursuing a "robust treaty" that sets "the highest possible legally binding standards" for international sales of conventional weapons, U.S. Ambassador Donald Mahley said Feb. 18 in an address... (GunPolicy.org)
Is Barack Obama Really Anti-gun? No, He's Anti-gun Control
14 February 2010
Chicago Tribune, Opinion
Among the many groups that opposed Barack Obama's presidential race, few were more certain or vehement than gun-rights organizations. "Barack Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history," the National Rifle Association announced. "Obama is a committed anti-gunner," warned Gun Owners of America.
So it's no stunner that after a year in office, the president is getting hammered by people who have no use for his policy on firearms. The surprise is that... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Carefully Chose an African-American for Pivotal Court Case
30 January 2010
Chicago Tribune
From behind the wheel of his hulking GMC Suburban, 76-year-old Otis McDonald leads a crime-themed tour of his Morgan Park neighborhood. He points to the yellow brick bungalow he says is a haven for drug dealers. Down the street is the alley where five years ago he saw a teenager pull out a gun and take aim at a passing car.
Around the corner, he gestures to the weed-bitten roadside where three thugs once threatened his life.
"I know every day that I come out in the... (GunPolicy.org)
22 Prominent Gun Dealers Arrested in Arms Trade Plagued by Corruption
25 January 2010
United Press International
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Four Israeli business executives were arrested in Las Vegas, along with 18 Americans, Britons and other nationals, on charges of trying to bribe someone they thought was an African defense minister to obtain a $15 million arms contract.
The swoop on Jan. 19 was the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year undercover sting operation by the U.S. Justice Department.
It was the largest single investigation under the 1977 U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,... (GunPolicy.org)
2010, A Year for the Second Amendment - LaPierre
4 January 2010
Washington Post, Opinion
The Second Amendment faces a decisive year in 2010. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has called for new semi-automatic gun bans - despite their decade-long record of fraud and failure, and despite his own Justice Department's failure to fully or even half-heartedly prosecute federal firearm felonies.
Mr. Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have demonstrated their willingness to use cooked statistics to blame Mexico's violent drug war on Americans and their... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear, Fundraising Drive US Misinformation Attack on UN Gun Trade Treaty
5 December 2009
FactCheck.org (USA), Fact sheet
International Gun Ban Treaty?
Q: Has Obama found a "legal way around the Second Amendment"?
A: The administration's agreement to talk about writing a United Nations treaty to regulate arms exports and imports is a far cry from banning possession of firearms, which Obama says he doesn't want to do and the Supreme Court has said can't be done anyway.
FULL QUESTION
Is this correct?
Obama Finds Legal Way Around The 2nd. Amendment and Uses It. The Full Article Here... (GunPolicy.org)
Colorado Ballot Would Warn Obama, Oppose Global Gun Trade Treaty
4 December 2009
Washington Times
DENVER -- Former Rep. Tom Tancredo, best known for his tough stand in Congress against illegal immigration, has taken up a new cause since his retirement from the House last year: defending American gun owners against international treaties.
The Obama administration is moving forward on two treaties that Mr. Tancredo and other gun rights advocates see as a threat to the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. His response is a 2010 ballot initiative that would direct... (GunPolicy.org)
Colorado Lawmaker Promotes Ballot to Oppose Global Gun Trade Treaty
1 December 2009
Denver Post (Colorado)
Former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo has proposed a 2010 ballot measure that would recommend to Colorado's top elected officials that they oppose gun restrictions.
The Jefferson County Republican said he was prompted to act because the Obama administration has announced its intent to participate in negotiations on an international arms-trade treaty.
The treaty would regulate international trade — not domestic sales — but Tancredo argued Friday that gun owners had a right... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Backs UN Global Gun Trade Treaty, Abandons Bush Opposition
30 October 2009
Bloomberg (USA)
The Obama administration voted today to support United Nations-sponsored talks on a treaty to regulate the $55 billion-a-year trade in conventional weapons, reversing prior U.S. opposition to negotiations begun in 2006.
The General Assembly, consisting of all 192 UN member governments, adopted a resolution setting out a timetable for talks during the next two years on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty, including a UN conference to produce a final accord in 2012. The vote... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama, Clinton Stir 'Perfect Storm' at UN for Anti-US Gun Control Agenda
26 October 2009
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Blog
The folks at United Nations headquarters in New York City, and our "allies" at Number 10 Downing Street in London, must be rubbing their hands with glee. Gun control groups here and abroad likewise are at last quietly cheering. Why? After a decade and a half of pushing unsuccessfully to secure America's support for a legally-binding, international instrument to regulate the marketing, transfer and brokering in firearms, they are now on the brink of success. The process... (GunPolicy.org)
Costa Rica,United Nations,United States
Costa Rica's Arias Celebrates US Support for Global Gun Trade Treaty
20 October 2009
Daily News (Costa Rica)
President Oscar Arias is viewing the United States' interest in an Arms Trade Treaty as one more trophy to put on his wall.
The disarmament advocate celebrated a statement made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which announced the commitment of her country to the establishment of international standards for arms trading.
Arias said the U.S. interest "is encouraging" because it represents "a radical" change from previously held positions. But it is also... (GunPolicy.org)
United Nations,Africa,United States
US U-turn on Global Gun Trade Treaty 'Great News for Africa' - IANSA
16 October 2009
Xinhua
Africa campaigners against gun violence hail the U. S. decision to join the negotiations for a comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty.
In a joint statement issued in Nairobi, Kenya, the campaigners also urged governments to control deadly trade in weapons.
"The U. S. decision to support strong global controls on the arms trade is great news for Africa," said Joseph Dube, Africa coordinator for IANSA, the global movement against gun violence.
The campaigners said U. S.... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Backs Global Gun Trade Treaty Only If Any One Nation Can Veto It
15 October 2009
Washington Post
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced late Wednesday that the United States is prepared to begin negotiations on a global treaty regulating trade in conventional weapons but said Washington would sign the accord only if all other states agreed.
The move marks a shift in policy from the Bush administration, which staunchly opposed U.N. negotiations to regulate the $55 billion-a-year arms trade. The Obama administration hopes it can use... (GunPolicy.org)
Statement of US Support for UN Global Gun Trade Treaty by Hillary Clinton
14 October 2009
US Department of State (Washington, DC), Media release
Conventional arms transfers are a crucial national security concern for the United States, and we have always supported effective action to control the international transfer of arms.
The United States is prepared to work hard for a strong international standard in this area by seizing the opportunity presented by the Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations. As long as that Conference operates under the rule of consensus decision-making needed to... (GunPolicy.org)
US Reverses Stance on Global Gun Trade Treaty, But Pushes Veto for All
14 October 2009
Reuters
WASHINGTON — The United States reversed policy on Wednesday and said it would back launching talks on a treaty to regulate arms sales as long as the talks operated by consensus, a stance critics said gave every nation a veto.
The decision, announced in a statement released by the U.S. State Department, overturns the position of former President George W. Bush's administration, which had opposed such a treaty on the grounds that national controls were better.
U.S.... (GunPolicy.org)
Glock's Secret Path to Profits: Handgun Maker's Troubling Tale of Intrigue
10 September 2009
Business Week (USA) Cover Story
Gaston Glock, an Austrian manufacturer of shovels and knives, had an improbable dream: He would make a fortune selling handguns in America. In the early 1980s, Glock, a self-taught firearm designer, produced an innovative pistol for the Austrian military. He then devised a plan for promoting his invention in the U.S., the world's richest gun market. First, he'd persuade American police they needed a lightweight weapon with more ammunition than traditional revolvers.... (GunPolicy.org)
Battle of Goliaths: Michael Bloomberg, 450 US Mayors Defeat the NRA
5 August 2009
Washington Post
They've got 4 million followers.
He's got 16 billion simoleons.
This could get verrrrry interesting.
This being the stare-down between the National Rifle Association and Michael Bloomberg. Behemoth vs. behemoth.
Since the Reagan revolution, few lobbies have been mightier than the NRA. The Second Amendment defenders rarely lose on Capitol Hill, but lose they did just a few days ago, falling short in a sit-up-and-take-notice squeaker of a Senate vote on an... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear Over Obama's Gun Laws Sparks Massive Rush to Pack a Pistol
7 July 2009
Sunday Herald (Scotland)
NEW YORK — Last summer, the National Rifle Association ran adverts claiming that Barack Obama would "ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns" if elected. The campaign didn't do much for John McCain, but in every other respect it has been wildly successful: NRA membership is up 30% and gun control has disappeared from the administration's list of priorities.
Americans have gone on an extraordinary gun-buying spree. The best available measure of... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear and Fury Drive Gun Sales: US Gun Owners Will Shoot Gun Grabbers
21 June 2009
New York Times
BELLEVILLE, New Jersey — At the Bullet Hole, an Essex County gun store, and at Gun for Hire,across the street, where Anthony Colandro offers courses in firearm use, martial arts and personal safety, it's the best of times and the worst of times.
Worst of times? Just ask Manny Cerca, who for the past 27 years has run the Bullet Hole, a family-owned shop and firing range about five miles from Newark. Inside, there are deer heads on the walls, more than 300 handguns for... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun-smuggling Curbs 'Failing' on US-Mexico Border, Says GAO Report
19 June 2009
BBC News
The lack of a co-ordinated US strategy to combat the flow of illegal weapons into Mexico has fuelled drug violence there, a US government watchdog says.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO), in a report published on Thursday, says key US agencies have failed to work together.
Authorities in Mexico, which has seen a jump in drug-related murders, have long urged the US to tackle arms-smuggling.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in March that the US should... (GunPolicy.org)
Eight US Senators Push Clinton to Support Global Gun Trade Treaty
19 June 2009
Export Industry News (USA)
A bipartisan group comprised of eight senators is urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be a strong proponent of an international Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the interstate transfer of conventional weapons.
The second session of the United Nations' Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the Arms Trade Treaty is scheduled to convene at the United Nations July 13-17. The OEWG is tasked with creating international regulations on the export, import, and international... (GunPolicy.org)
New Data Emerges on Flood of Guns Smuggled Into Mexico from USA
18 June 2009
Christian Science Monitor
ATLANTA — Can new evidence that high-powered US firearms are fueling Mexican drug violence change the political course of gun control in Washington?
Not likely, a number of gun experts say.
The Government Accountability Office information that 87 percent of seized guns given to US authorities by Mexican officials come from the US shouldn't come as a surprise, says Bill Vizzard, a criminologist at the California State University in Sacramento. "We're the largest... (GunPolicy.org)
Armed Conservatism: More Americans Backing Political Belief With Guns
18 May 2009
Christian Science Monitor
PHOENIX — When Kirby Warner, a trusty Ruger pistol strapped to his hip, sat around and shot the breeze with his fellow gun owners here at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting this weekend, they weren't just chatting calibers and cartridges.
Nor did they stop at other tried and trusted fare, such as President Obama and gun control. This year, taxes, bailouts, and the general direction of the country was all on the docket. He remembers reading a sign at one... (GunPolicy.org)
New York's Gun Battle: Bloomberg Leads 340 US Mayors for Gun Control
18 May 2009
Gotham Gazette (New York)
Ten-year-old Naiesha Pearson was happily playing with other children at a Bronx playground during a Labor Day picnic on the day a bullet meant for someone else tore into her chest. Two men in their early 20s had gotten into an argument earlier in the day, and one of them decided to resolve it with gunfire. Naiesha was struck by one of the bullets. Her grandmother fainted, and fights broke out as onlookers tried to attack the shooter. Naiesha was taken to the Lincoln... (GunPolicy.org)
Feds Try to Stop Flow of Guns from Austin, Texas to Mexican Drug Cartels
15 May 2009
Austin American-Statesman (Texas)
The surveillance video showed two women leaving Cabela's in Buda and handing three guns they had just bought to a man, who then put the guns in the trunk of his black Lexus, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The purchase and handoff in November piqued the suspicions of Cabela's employees, who alerted federal firearms agents.
According to court documents, the agents soon identified the man as Humberto Fernandez, 47, who splits time between Mexico and the... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Rips Obama Bid to Ban Assault Weapons, Disputes 90% Figure
20 April 2009
Washington Times
A top National Rifle Association official said the Obama administration is using the increasingly violent drug cartels in Mexico as an excuse to push for reinstating the ban on assault weapons.
"They're trying to piggyback this whole phony issue on the back of the tragedy in Mexico," said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the gun-rights group, on CBS' "Face the Nation" program Sunday.
In a speech in Mexico last week, President Obama — who on the campaign... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Insists He Hasn't Backed Off on Plan to Ban Assault Weapons
17 April 2009
Reuters
MEXICO CITY — President Barack Obama stood alongside Mexico's Felipe Calderon on Thursday and promised to help his "courageous" fight against ruthless drug cartels waging turf wars along the joint border.
In his first trip to Latin America as U.S. president and fresh from his first big foray onto the global stage in Europe last month, Obama said Mexico and the United States both needed to strengthen and coordinate their drug war efforts.
Obama said he had not... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Hits US-Mexico Gun Running, But Assault Weapon Ban Too Hard
17 April 2009
New York Times
MEXICO CITY — President Obama, vowing to confront drug cartels that are "sowing chaos in our communities," called Thursday for the Senate to ratify a long-stalled treaty aimed at curbing illegal arms trafficking. But Mr. Obama also suggested that he would not press lawmakers to revive an expired ban on assault weapons.
On the first day of a four-day swing through Latin America that will also take him to Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Obama declared "a new era of... (GunPolicy.org)
Don't Expect US Deal with Mexico on Assault Weapon Ban - CNN Analysis
16 April 2009
CNN
President Obama visits Mexico with many issues on the table, but reinstating the ban on assault weapons in the U.S. isn't likely to be one on which the two countries can reach agreement.
Mexican officials say criminals use assault weapons from the U.S. in the violent border region.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., say reinstating the ban would stop the deadly flow of weapons across the border.
Under the... (GunPolicy.org)
UN Official Calls for US to Sign, Ratify Global Gun Control Protocol
14 April 2009
New York Times, Opinion
Mexican drug cartels are spreading fear and death on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. Over 1,000 people have been killed already this year, while 6,000 died in 2008. Some critics point to the current crisis as another failed campaign against drugs. They regard legalization as a way of removing drug cartels from the supply chain. But the solution lies in a tougher stance on guns, not a softer control of drugs. Otherwise a threat to public health (from increased... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexican Ambassador Says US Guns, Assault Weapons Fuel Drug War
13 April 2009
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Stopping the flow of money and weapons from the United States into Mexico is critical to dealing with the violent drug cartels creating havoc on the border, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S. said Sunday.
Mexican officials believe that 90 percent of the weapons seized there can be traced to the U.S., Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan said.
"The key issue right now is how can the United States help to shut down those guns and shut down that bulk cash that is... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Gets Gun-Shy: Dems Join NRA, Gun Lobby Strongest in Decades
11 April 2009
Newsweek (USA) Vol. 153 No. 16
On the morning of April 4, Richard Poplawski had a quarrel with his mother. It was over a dog urinating on a carpet. Mom called the police to have her 22-year-old son evicted from her house, a brick ranch with a dirty aluminum awning in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Two officers responded to the call, figuring it was a typical domestic dispute. Margaret Poplawski greeted them by saying, "Come and take his ass." But the younger Poplawski, who had been... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby's Ability to Intimidate Washington Politicians Undiminished
9 April 2009
New York Times, Editorial
It is impossible to view last week's killing of 13 people in Binghamton, N.Y., in isolation. It will soon be the 10th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School and the second anniversary of the mass shootings at Virginia Tech. In the last month, multiple shootings have claimed the lives of more than 50 Americans.
In this historical context, Binghamton is yet another reminder of America's terrible gun problem and a summons to lawmakers to insist on... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Sale Boom is Real: Fear Drives Hordes of Americans to Gun Shops
5 April 2009
Journal Gazette )Indiana)
There used to be a time when buying ammunition at Beber's Shot and Sinker in Auburn was no problem — there were rounds aplenty in stock.
There also was a time when the gun racks in the store on Ensley Avenue were stocked full with 100, maybe 125, firearms for sale.
Not anymore.
Now, co-owner Donald Beber said, the shop has about 25 or 30 guns for sale. People who used to walk in and trade or sell their firearms no longer come around for fear the government is about... (GunPolicy.org)
US 'Finally Paying Attention' to Flood of American Guns to Mexican Cartels
2 April 2009
Economist
EL PASO and MEXICO CITY — Arizona's attorney-general, Terry Goddard, says he started to worry about American guns ending up in the hands of Mexican drug traffickers two years ago. That was after a meeting in Cuernavaca with Mexico's attorney-general, Eduardo Medina Mora, who urged him and several of his counterparts from other American states to enforce the law banning the export of assault weapons that can be legally bought north of the border. Keen to help, Mr... (GunPolicy.org)
Myth of 90 per cent: Only Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Came from USA
2 April 2009
Fox News (USA)
You've heard this shocking "fact" before — on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it to reporters on a flight to Mexico City.
- CBS newsman Bob Schieffer referred to it while interviewing President Obama.
- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said at a Senate hearing: "It is unacceptable... (GunPolicy.org)
US Border Patrol, Feds Invest to Keep Arms Smugglers Out of Mexico
1 April 2009
Reuters
SAN DIEGO — New money to monitor U.S. traffic entering Mexico and detect gun smugglers will be spent on scanners for inspecting trucks as well as communication equipment, the U.S. government said on Wednesday.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters in San Diego that $400 million would be spent on infrastructure and equipment to improve security at New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and California border crossings.
Last week, the Obama administration... (GunPolicy.org)
Lax US Gun Laws Undermine Mexico's Efforts to Slow Flood of Weapons
31 March 2009
USA Today
MEXICO CITY — There is one gun store in Mexico. Only one. And not just anybody can shop here.
The "Directorate for Arms and Munitions Sales," as the store is called, is run by the Mexican army and occupies two rooms in an olive-green, heavily guarded building near the army's headquarters.
Prospective customers need a permit from the army that can take months to get. And once they buy a gun, there are reams of rules: how much ammunition they can buy each month; where... (GunPolicy.org)
US Begins Serious Searches for Guns, Drugs, Money at Mexico Border
28 March 2009
Reuters
LAREDO, Texas — Ending years of lax controls, the United States is stepping up checks of vehicles heading into Mexico to stop weapons and cash fueling a drug war south of the border. But local U.S. officials on the border are clamoring for even more help.
At Laredo, Texas, one of the busiest points for cross-border truck traffic between the two countries, U.S. customs agents have seized at least $5.5 million in suspected drug cash bound for Mexico and weapons in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Despite Pressure from Obama Camp, US Assault Weapon Ban Unlikely
27 March 2009
San Francisco Chronicle
In 1994, Sen. Dianne Feinstein used the tragedy of San Francisco's 101 California massacre to push a decadelong ban on assault weapons through Congress. But even the horror of Saturday's slayings of four Oakland police officers is unlikely to break through the bipartisan opposition that blocked the renewal of that ban in 2004.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and dozens of House Democrats have said they oppose... (GunPolicy.org)
US Inability to Prevent Gun Smuggling Kills Mexican Cops, Says Clinton
26 March 2009
New York Times
MEXICO CITY — Seeking to ease a cross-border relationship strained by drug trafficking, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here Wednesday and offered the clearest acknowledgment yet from an Obama administration official of the role the United States plays in the violent narcotics trade in Mexico.
"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," Mrs. Clinton said, using unusually blunt language. "Our inability to prevent weapons from... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Pushes US Assault Weapon, Curb on Gun Smuggling to Mexico
26 March 2009
BBC News
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pledging further effort to help Mexico in its anti-drugs campaign.
Mrs Clinton said the use of military-style assault weapons was a particular concern, and she would discuss reimposing a ban on their sale.
A previous US decision to lift a ban on such sales had been a mistake, she told the NBC television network.
Earlier on her visit she admitted that America's appetite for drugs was helping to fuel the violence.
Some... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Announces Push to Enforce US Gun Law, Ban Assault Weapons
25 March 2009
Agence France Presse
MEXICO CITY — The Obama administration wants to crack down on the sale of assault weapons that are arming Mexican drug cartels, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in an interview with NBC television.
Clinton late Wednesday called letting a previous US ban on the sale of assault weapons expire "a mistake."
"I think these assault weapons, these military style weapons, don't belong on anyone's street," said Clinton who pushed for the ban as a New York... (GunPolicy.org)
Drug Cartels Thrive on US Addicts, Guns: Curb Flow of Assault Weapons
25 March 2009
Miami Herald / McClatchy Newspapers, Opinion
TUCSON, Arizona — When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Mexico this week to discuss the drug-related violence that left 6,200 dead there last year and is spreading across the U.S. border, she should be told in unmistakable terms: Stop the trafficking of U.S. guns that is fueling the bloodshed.
Clinton is scheduled to go to Mexico on Wednesday amid an outcry by increasingly out-of-control Mexico-bashing hotheads on U.S. cable television — yes, I'm talking... (GunPolicy.org)
US-Russia Battle Heats Up Over 'Merchant of Death' Gun Dealer Bout
14 March 2009
Associated Press
BANGKOK — U.S. President George W. Bush's last meeting with the prime minister of Thailand was in August, a swan song moment before his departure. Yet he made time to bring up the issue of one man: Viktor Bout, also known as the Merchant of Death.
Bout, a Russian businessman who is thought to be the world's most notorious arms dealer, has been held in a Bangkok prison since he was arrested last March after a U.S.-Thai sting operation. The United States is desperate... (GunPolicy.org)
Nowadays US Democrats Show Little Appetite for 'Big Hassle' of Gun Control
3 March 2009
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association warned in a campaign ad that if Barack Obama were elected president he would try to take away hunters' guns and ammo. But with pro-gun Democrats a powerful force in Congress, it's already pretty clear there will be no messing with Americans' right to bear arms.
Twenty-two Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, joined Republicans last week in a Senate vote to negate the District of Columbia's tough gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Fresh New York Senator, NRA Poster Gal Bucks Gun Lobby on DC Vote
27 February 2009
Albany Times-Union (New York)
WASHINGTON — In her first vote on the issue since being appointed to the Senate, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., on Thursday voted to reject a measure that would expand gun rights.
The issue arose as part of legislation that would give Washington, D.C., a voting member of the House of Representatives. Before passing the D.C. vote measure, the Senate voted 62-36 to adopt an amendment that would expand gun rights in the nation's capital.
Gillibrand joined 32 other... (GunPolicy.org)
Mooted Revival of US Assault Weapon Ban Puts Democrats in Tough Spot
27 February 2009
The Hill (Washington DC)
Attorney General Eric Holder's push for the renewal of the assault weapons ban has put Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) between a rock and a hard place.
Gillibrand, who faces a possible primary fight from Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), had a 100 percent approval rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA) before her appointment this year to replace now-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Responding to questions from reporters on Wednesday, Holder noted... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Senator 'Expansive Describing Newfound Zest for Gun Control'
26 February 2009
New York Times
When Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand visited Nazareth Regional High School in Brooklyn recently to talk with students, the school's principal, Barbara Gil, received unusual instructions from the senator's staff.
In accepting her appointment by Gov. David A. Paterson last month, Ms. Gillibrand spoke at length, though a call from the president was imminent.
"They said, 'She's great, but she's a talker, so we're going to give you a sign if she's getting out of control,' "... (GunPolicy.org)
New US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Says 'I Keep 2 Guns Under My Bed'
15 February 2009
Newsday (New York)
WASHINGTON — New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who argues her pro-gun stance aims to protect hunters' rights and the Second Amendment, last week said she and her husband, Jonathan, keep two rifles under their bed to protect their upstate home.
Gillibrand said neither she nor her husband is a hunter, and in a general discussion of gun control said, "If I want to protect my family, if I want to have a weapon in the home, that should be my right."
The mother of two... (GunPolicy.org)
US Lawmakers Push Obama to Extradite Gun Runner Bout from Thailand
12 February 2009
Associated Press
WASHINGTON, DC — A Russian businessman known as the 'Merchant of Death' is a wanted man in Washington.
More than two dozen House lawmakers are pressing the Obama administration to make sure that Viktor Bout is extradited to the U.S. from Thailand where he was arrested a year ago for conspiring to arm Colombian rebels.
In a Feb. 11 letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the members of Congress say Bout's lawyers already have... (GunPolicy.org)
Pro-gun Pick for US Senate Seat Sparks Gun Control Battle in New York
26 January 2009
Sydney Morning Herald
The appointment of a pro-gun conservative to fill the Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton when she became Secretary of State last week has outraged New York's dominant progressive Democrats.
The Governor, David Paterson, unleashed a storm of protest and created the grounds for an enduring war within the state Democratic Party with his choice on Friday of Kirsten Gillibrand, a congresswoman from upstate New York, to replace Mrs Clinton.
At least one Democratic... (GunPolicy.org)
NYPD Owes Me for 3 Years' Work Buying 40 Illegal Guns, Says Informant
25 January 2009
Daily News (New York)
He helped cops get more than 27 illegal guns off the streets as a confidential informant, and got an award and $5,700 for his efforts.
But Russell Hicks claimed the NYPD stiffed him of thousands of dollars in gun-buy payments.
Hicks' complaints, cops said, are common in the murky world of police informants, where criminals, prostitutes and junkies often make a few bucks by turning on their own.
Hicks, though, does not fit the stereotype of a police informant.
He's... (GunPolicy.org)
US Attorney General-Elect 'Prime Target' for Supporting Gun Control
29 December 2008
Boston Globe
With Barack Obama anxious to take office, the public eager for fresh leadership, and the economy demanding urgent attention, the Senate is likely to defer to the president-elect and swiftly approve his Cabinet nominees, congressional aides and political analysts say.
But there will be one prominent exception: The confirmation hearing for Eric Holder, Obama's pick for attorney general, promises to be bruising, with Republicans determined to explore Holder's role in... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear of Obama 'Going British' on Guns Fuels US Weapon-Buying Spree
16 November 2008
Sunday Paper (Atlanta)
Last summer, not long after Democratic presidential primary candidate Hillary Clinton told the people of Scranton, Pa., about how she'd learned to shoot at her family's cottage, while her opponent Barack Obama was counting up his likely electoral college votes and Republican John McCain was talking about buying insurance across state lines, the U.S. Supreme Court quietly issued an interpretation of the Second Amendment that firmly protects the rights of individual... (GunPolicy.org)
Web-fed Gun Lobby Fury Led to Removal of US Rifle Company Founder
9 November 2008
Missoulian (Montana)
Defector. Traitor. Turncoat.
These qualifiers and others were recently applied to Dan Cooper, mostly by gun activists in cyberspace who spurned his much-publicized endorsement of President-elect Barack Obama.
Through that endorsement — and by donating $3,300 to the Obama campaign — Cooper, the founder of a Stevensville rifle dealership, broke factional ranks with fellow shooters and sportsmen. Opinions, judgments and hostile sentiments flared up within the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby 'Wackos' Force Pro-Obama Rifle Maker CEO to Resign
30 October 2008
USA Today
WASHINGTON — Montana gunsmith Dan Cooper has been ousted as chief executive of the rifle company that bears his name after pressure from gun owners who are angry that he is supporting Democrat Barack Obama.
Cooper, founder and part owner of Cooper Firearms, told USA TODAY in a story published Tuesday that he has voted for Republicans for most of his life, but he is backing Obama "probably because of the war. And also because the Republican Party has moved so far... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Maker Sacks CEO for Donating to Obama Election Campaign
29 October 2008
Los Angeles Times
Here's a juicy little story about guns, hunting and politics:
USA Today ran an article Tuesday stating that Dan Cooper, chief executive of Cooper Arms in Montana, donated $3,300 to Barack Obama's presidential campaign and had donated to his 2004 Senate campaign after being "dazzled by Obama's speech at that year's Democratic National Convention."
Cooper Arms makes hunting rifles, and hunting gun owners — who largely support Republican John McCain and do not... (GunPolicy.org)
Sales of Assault Weapons Spike as Texas Gun Owners Gird for Obama
27 October 2008
WFAA-TV News (Texas)
GARLAND — With nine days left until the election, people aren't only lining up to vote early; they are also apparently heading to sporting goods stores and gun shops as owners have reported an increase in business.
Gun owners have expressed concern that Barack Obama, if elected, will not only renew the ban on assault weapons, but also make it permanent.
"Not that people are fear-buying," said John Mannewitz, a manager at Target Master. "But, if there's something... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain: 'No Gun Control.' Obama: 'I Will Not Take Your Guns Away'
15 October 2008
Associated Press
BOSTON — John McCain supports background checks for buyers at gun shows and has his name on a law restricting special-interest group advertising, two positions strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association.
So how'd he end up with the group's presidential endorsement? By running against Barack Obama, whom NRA leaders accuse of wanting to put the firearms industry out of business.
"Hillary was right: You can't trust Obama with your guns," the association's... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Buys USA Today Ad, Uses Clinton's Words Against Obama on Guns
9 October 2008
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association is turning to Hillary Rodham Clinton to bolster its criticism of Barack Obama's positions on gun issues.
The NRA's Political Victory Fund planned a national newspaper ad Thursday reviving a Clinton mailing that accused Obama of waffling on gun issues. Clinton's campaign sent the mailing when the New York senator was challenging Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. It accuses Obama of changing his statements on... (GunPolicy.org)
Visiting Columbine High: Gun Control Now a Silenced Issue in America
29 August 2008
National Post (Toronto)
The long, low halls of Columbine High School are lined with blue lockers and crimson history, decked with hand-drawn posters for Bible Study and the Knitting Club, cruised by laughing teens in Hollister and Aeropostale, then eerily silent when the classroom doors swing closed. We are nine years removed from the mass murder-suicide that happened here, and 10 miles south of a national political gathering at which the quieting of America's guns has never been... (GunPolicy.org)
US 'Gun Show Loophole' Sales Thwart Gun Violence Reduction - JAMA
13 August 2008
Journal of the American Medical Association / JAMA. 2008;300(6):640-641.
Last spring, a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of US mayors who want more stringent regulation of firearm sales, unveiled a television commercial featuring clips from speeches by the 3 leading presidential candidates. In these clips, Sen Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, NY), Sen Barack Obama (D, Ill), and Sen John McCain (R, Ariz) said they oppose a "gun show loophole" that allows individuals to purchase firearms without a background check.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Journal of the American Medical Association / JAMA. 2008;300(6):640-641.
Gunman Barges Into Arkansas Democratic Headquarters, Kills Chairman
13 August 2008
Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — A man barged into the Arkansas Democratic headquarters Wednesday and fatally shot the state party chairman before speeding off in his pickup. Police later shot and killed the suspect after a 30-mile chase.
Police identified the suspect as 50-year-old Timothy Dale Johnson of Searcy, a town about 50 miles northeast of Little Rock. They didn't know a motive. However, moments after the shooting, Johnson pointed a handgun at a worker at the nearby... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Firearm Lobby, Dealers Talk Up Gun Demand, Cite Fear of Obama
28 July 2008
American-Statesman (Texas)
Austin-area firearms dealers may have the Democrats to thank for brisk sales this summer.
The prospect that the next presidential administration might favor new gun-control laws has gun enthusiasts bringing dollars and concerns to local firearms stores ahead of the November election.
Lately, some Central Texans have been talking about laws from the 1990s — passed under a Democratic president and Congress — that restricted semiautomatic rifles, governed the sale... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Vows to Spend $15m to Keep Obama Out of White House
3 July 2008
Telegraph (UK)
The National Rifle Association, long feared by Democrats as the most powerful lobby group in US politics, announced that it will spend $40 million during the campaign, $15 million specifically to persuade gun owners to vote against the Democratic party candidate.
The issue of gun rights has been catapulted to the centre of the general election this year, with the Supreme Court last week upholding the second amendment of the Constitution's right to bear arms, and... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Plans to Spend $15m Opposing Barack Obama in US Election
30 June 2008
Politico (Washington, DC), Web Page
The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year's presidential campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court.
"Our members understand that if Barack Obama is elected president, and he has support in the Senate to confirm anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, [the District of Columbia v. Heller decision] could be taken away from us in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Conservatives Could Now Find it Harder to Whip Up US Election Gun Fear
27 June 2008
Salon (USA), Web Page
WASHINGTON — "God, gays and guns" have been pretty good to Republicans over the last few campaigns. The Karl Rove playbook says not to worry if the war in Iraq has been a disaster or the economy is tanking — just fire away at your opponent's liberal views on a few wedge issues and then waltz your way into Washington.
To listen to John McCain's campaign, Thursday's 5-to-4 landmark Supreme Court ruling overturning a law banning handguns in Washington, D.C., played... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain Launches Anti-Obama Broadside Over 'Sacred' Right to Guns
27 June 2008
Agence France Presse
WASHINGTON — Republican John McCain opened fire with a full-bore political attack on Democratic White House rival Barack Obama after the Supreme Court upheld individuals' right to bear arms Thursday.
McCain, bidding to taint Obama's candidacy among gun-owners and rural voters, used the historic ruling to highlight how the Democrat's view of the US constitution's second amendment on gun rights had evolved down the years.
But Obama said the Supreme Court had backed... (GunPolicy.org)
Hillary Clinton No Longer Favours Handgun Registration, Owner Licensing
31 May 2008
Billings Gazette (Montana)
HELENA — Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton told Montana reporters Friday that she no longer favors national handgun registration and licensing, even as she supports such measures in her adopted state of New York.
"What I came out for was the New York law," the U.S. senator said in a noon conference call Friday. "I don't think there is any contradiction between defending Second Amendment rights and trying to keep guns out of the hands of"... (GunPolicy.org)
Missouri Dealer Sells 30 Vehicles in 'Buy Car, Get Free Handgun' Promotion
22 May 2008
Reuters / Tales from the Trail
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — A Missouri car dealer has a message for Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama: Midwesterners love their guns.
Mark Muller, the owner of Max Motors in Butler, Missouri south of Kansas City, on Thursday said sales have soared at his auto and truck business since launching a promotion this week that promises buyers a $250 credit for a handgun or a $250 gas card with every purchase.
Every buyer so far "except one guy from Canada and... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Fronts for Republicans, Fails its Members, Says Moderate Rival Group
21 May 2008
Herald-Leader (Kentucky), Column
Last weekend's National Rifle Association convention in Louisville could easily have been mistaken for a Republican campaign rally.
"If either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is elected president, the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be at risk my friends — and have no doubt about it," John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, told the crowd.
Former Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee also spoke, with Huckabee making — and later... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Control's Political Backers Not Confident of Gains, Even in 2009
20 May 2008
The Hill (Washington DC)
Lawmakers who favor gun control are not optimistic about next year even though Democrats may be running Congress and the White House.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), the sponsor of legislation that would reinstate the expired federal assault weapons ban, dismissed the idea that her bill might pass in the 111th Congress.
"It's a pro-gun House, a pro-gun Senate and [Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) or Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)] won't want to deal with it," McCarthy... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Fears Disaster for American Gun Owners if Democrat Wins Election
19 May 2008
Herald-Leader (Kentucky)
LOUISVILLE — Using Kentucky as a stage, a string of high-profile speakers at the National Rifle Association's 137th annual meeting painted the 2008 presidential race as a showdown over the right to bear arms.
But the fall election also could prove to be a key test of the NRA's political muscle.
The group focused much of its meeting this weekend on gearing up its members, especially the 60,000 who traveled to Louisville, to defeat the Democratic nominee in November,... (GunPolicy.org)
'Sense of Siege' as US Gun Owners Voice Fear of Presidential Candidates
19 May 2008
Toronto Star (Ontario)
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — They stood in long lines to pay homage to icons such as Ted Nugent and Oliver North, they got emotional during a tribute to their fallen hero, Charlton Heston, and they vowed to fight to the death for their cherished right to bear arms.
But there was a sense of siege hanging over the annual National Rifle Association convention here this weekend.
It didn't all stem from booth after booth advertising firearms as the best method of dealing with... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Weighs In on White House Race, Targets Obama, Clinton
18 May 2008
Agence France Presse
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — The powerful US gun lobby has painted the 2008 presidential race as a showdown over the right to bear arms, but the election could also prove to be a key test of its political firepower.
At its annual meeting in Kentucky this weekend, the National Rifle Association focused most of its energy on gearing up its members to defeat the Democratic nominee in November, whether it is Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
NRA leaders warned that both risk... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain Says He Doesn't Own a Gun, Then Strongly Courts US Gun Lobby
17 May 2008
New York Times
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Senator John McCain reached out to the National Rifle Association on Friday and warned 6,000 people at the group's annual convention that a President Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton would put the rights of "law-abiding" gun owners at risk.
In a speech in one of two states where political primaries are to be held on Tuesday, Mr. McCain mocked Mr. Obama before the gun lobbying group he has tangled with in the past, but whose endorsement he... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain Shows Strong Pro-Gun Side, Tries to Mend Fences with Gun Lobby
17 May 2008
Washington Post
LOUISVILLE — Sen. John McCain, once derided as one of the "premier flag-carriers for the enemies of the Second Amendment" by the National Rifle Association, enthusiastically embraced the group's pro-gun agenda at its annual convention here Friday.
In front of a crowd of about 6,000 people who gave him two standing ovations, McCain also mocked Democratic Sen. Barack Obama as a liberal, anti-gun politician and made a direct appeal to the "bitter" voters Obama said were... (GunPolicy.org)
Trying to Mend Fences with US Gun Lobby, McCain Attacks Democrats
17 May 2008
Los Angeles Times
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Sen. John McCain, working to mend a frayed relationship with some of the Republican Party's most dedicated foot soldiers, went to the National Rifle Assn.'s annual conference here Friday to assure wary members he is a friend of the 2nd Amendment.
The Arizona senator and presumptive GOP presidential nominee may still have some work to do.
McCain, who asked to speak to the group despite past battles with the organization over restrictions on... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain Tells US Gun Lobby Members They Should Fear Obama and Clinton
16 May 2008
Los Angeles Times
Sen. John McCain moved to mend some political fences today, reaching out to reassure gun rights supporters that he will make a better president than his possible Democratic opponents.
At a stop at the annual meeting of National Rifle Assn. in Louisville, Ky., McCain acknowledged that he had differed with the group on some forms of gun regulation and on campaign financing. But the presumptive GOP presidential nominee insisted that he was a better choice that either Sen.... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain Says Obama and Clinton Threaten Americans' Right to Bear Arms
16 May 2008
Reuters
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Republican presidential candidate John McCain warned gun owners on Friday that his Democratic opponents Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would threaten their right to bear arms, as he sought to rally conservatives' support in the November election.
The right to bear arms in the Constitution's second amendment is considered sacred by many U.S. gun owners. Both Obama and Clinton tout their support for it, although they also say ways must be... (GunPolicy.org)
McCain Courts US Pro-gun Lobby, Visits Gun Shop Before NRA Speech
16 May 2008
Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Courting his sometime critics within the gun lobby, John McCain told the National Rifle Association on Friday that Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton would both undermine the rights of gun owners.
"If either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama is elected president, the rights of law-abiding gun owners will be at risk my friends — and have no doubt about it," the Republican nominee-in-waiting told a crowd of several thousand.... (GunPolicy.org)
US Mayors Air Gun Control TV Ads Just as McCain Courts NRA in Kentucky
15 May 2008
New York Times / City Room, Blog
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition founded by Mayors Michael R. Bloomberg of New York and Thomas M. Menino of Boston, announced today that it was placing a television advertisement in Kentucky, which is holding Democratic and Republican presidential primaries on May 20. But anyone who expected the nonpartisan group to take a stand that could affect the fortunes of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama or John McCain is likely to be disappointed.
The ad is intended... (GunPolicy.org)
Only John McCain 'Has a Pro-gun Record of Any Kind,' Says US NRA Chief
14 May 2008
Courier-Journal (Kentucky)
America's largest gun-rights lobby expects up to 70,000 people to gather for its annual convention that opens this week in Louisville, an event that will include an address by Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
The Courier-Journal sat down yesterday with Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Association's executive vice president, to discuss the presidential election, gun laws and other issues.
Question: What are the NRA's concerns as you... (GunPolicy.org)
US NRA Chief Stresses Common Ground with Republican John McCain
13 May 2008
Washington Post / AP
LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — A top official of the National Rifle Association said Republican John McCain has been a reliable ally of gun owners despite divisions with the powerful lobbying group on some issues.
"We've had our disagreements, everybody knows it," NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday. "I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on those. We're not foolish enough to ignore the vast areas of agreement... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Rifle Cop Killing, Easy Access to Guns Has Philadelphia Reeling
6 May 2008
Philadelphia Inquirer, Editorial
The cold-blooded killing of Philadelphia Police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski is yet another sad reminder of the violence that rages on the streets, thanks to the easy access of guns and a disregard for human life.
Sgt. Liczbinski should be celebrating his 40th birthday today with his wife and three children. Instead, his family is preparing for his funeral.
Sgt. Liczbinski was gunned down Saturday while trying to stop a band of thugs fleeing from a harebrained bank robbery... (GunPolicy.org)
Nashville Gun Dealer Applauds Mayors Trying to Close Gun Show Loophole
27 April 2008
City Paper (Nashville)
A national movement among urban mayors against illegal guns and the so-called "gun show loophole" has made its way to Knoxville and Memphis. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean said he is exploring joining that cause.
Over 250 mayors from 40 states have signed on to the coalition, which seeks to cut down on the illegal purchasing and selling of guns. The first battlefront is eliminating the so-called "gun show loophole," which allows individual gun owners to sell to other... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Owners, Bowlers Back Clinton: Beer Drinkers Back Obama - Poll
21 April 2008
Editor & Publisher (USA), Poll
NEW YORK — Apparently, the presidential race — at least in Pennsylvania — is no longer just about who leads among men, women, church-goers or union members.
In a poll released this past weekend by McClatchy Newspapers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and MSNBC, gun owners, bowlers and even beer drinkers are playing a part. The Mason-Dixon poll, which questioned 625 "likely Pennsylvania voters" on April 17-18, found Hillary Clinton favored by more hunters, bowlers and... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's 9yrs on Board of 'Pro-gun Control' Joyce Foundation Dissected
19 April 2008
Politico (Washington, DC)
Barack Obama's presidential campaign has worked to assure uneasy gun owners that he believes the Constitution protects their rights and that he doesn't want to take away their guns.
But before he became a national political figure, he sat on the board of a Chicago-based foundation that doled out at least nine grants totaling nearly $2.7 million to groups that advocated the opposite positions.
The foundation funded legal scholarship advancing the theory that the Second... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton, Obama Campaign for Tough, Untrusting Crowd of US Gun Owners
18 April 2008
Chicago Tribune
ALBURTIS, Pennsylvania — Their passion is on display, table by table, row by row.
Six-shooter revolvers, World War II-era rifles, plastic automatics, AK-47s, knives as long as your forearm, Nazi memorabilia, sniper scopes, hunting shotguns, bullets, shells, stickers ("If You Come In This Door, You Will Be Killed").
It's a drizzly, chilly morning in this tiny eastern Pennsylvania town, but the muddy parking lot outside the low-slung cinder block community center for... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Executive Wayne LaPierre Blasts Obama, Clinton in Tennessee Visit
18 April 2008
Kingsport Times-News (Tennessee)
KINGSPORT — National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre took aim Friday night at Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's recent comment that people in small-town America are "bitter about their lives and that's why they cling to their guns and their religion."
LaPierre, speaking to about 200 people at an event organized by the Tennessee Conservative Political Action Committee, claimed Obama's remark was a peek into how "the elites"... (GunPolicy.org)
Democrat Hopefuls in 'Silly Spectacle' as They Compete for US Gun Vote
17 April 2008
Wall Street Journal, Opinion
Imagine an election race of Pat Robertson versus James Dobson, each of them appearing at organic grocery stores and Starbucks throughout Massachusetts, with each candidate insisting that he alone deserves the vote of gay-marriage advocates. An equally silly spectacle is taking place these days in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, West Virginia and Kentucky, as Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama compete for the pro-gun vote.
Mr. Obama supports the Second... (GunPolicy.org)
Hunters & Shooters Endorse Obama: Group Says He Supports Gun Rights
16 April 2008
Raw Story (USA)
Less than a week after coming under fire for saying small-town Pennsylvanians "cling to" gun rights, Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of a pro-gun association that has backed Democratic candidates in the past.
The American Hunters & Shooters Association said Obama's views of the 2nd Amendment have been unfairly criticized and its endorsement comes as Obama's opponents are characterizing him as an "elitist" and condescending towards gun-owners.
The group sets... (GunPolicy.org)
Baltimore, Boston, New York Mayors in US Election TV Ads for Gun Control
16 April 2008
Baltimore Sun
Mayor Sheila Dixon appears in a TV ad that's running around the country. In it, she's identified as a Barack Obama supporter. But the Illinois senator isn't likely to welcome the gesture.
Appearing in the same ad are Jacksonville, Fla., Mayor John Peyton, who backs John McCain, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, who's in Hillary Clinton's camp. All three mayors urge the presidential candidates to support closing a loophole that allows felons to buy guns at gun shows. So... (GunPolicy.org)