WASHINGTON — Tom Mauser stood inside the Capitol Thursday and demanded that Congress "think of the victims" and enact meaningful gun-control legislation. "How many more shootings will it take before bureaucracy and inconvenience are put aside in favor of the people — the victims?" asked Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was killed in the April 20 Columbine High shooting. "Let's not play political games," Mauser said. "Let's be straight with the American people." A... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Speaker J. Dennis Hastert said Thursday that he would not pressure House Republicans to vote for new restrictions on firearms, seemingly distancing himself from several Republican gun control proposals introduced this week. Hastert's decision not to push for a party-line position, coming in the wake of complaints from conservatives and moderates about the proposals, raised questions about whether the House would approve modest gun control measures... (GunPolicy.org)

The Washington region's biggest source of guns that are used in crimes is a drab, two-story brick house that sits along a decaying commercial strip in Prince George's County, according to federal law enforcement data. Nestled between a pest exterminator and a fast-food joint on Marlboro Pike in Forestville, Realco Guns is a tiny shop that gets crowded if more than three customers show up at once. A half-dozen display cases feature a modest inventory of knives,... (GunPolicy.org)

Cory Tucker, 18, walked into the Tanner Gun Show on Sunday at the Denver Merchandise Mart with $600 in cash. Half an hour later, Tucker walked out with a TEC-9 semiautomatic pistol similar to the one used in the Columbine High School shootings. And nobody broke any laws. "I was very surprised how easy it was," Tucker said Thursday. "No questions were asked." George Washington High School graduates Tucker, who purchased the gun, and David Winkler, 17, who went along,... (GunPolicy.org)

When Conyers, Ga. high-school student T.J. Solomon Jr. decided to take his troubles out on his fellow students at Heritage High School, the task of arming himself was not difficult. He broke into his parents' locked but glass-fronted gun cabinet to get a .22-caliber rifle and .357 Magnum revolver. That morning, he used the weapons to wound six students before aiming the muzzle of the pistol into his mouth and succumbing to the entreaties of a school administrator who... (GunPolicy.org)

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Conference of Mayors is urging House Speaker Dennis Hastert to press for swift passage of legislation requiring higher age restrictions for all firearms buyers and background checks for all customers at gun shows. The mayors' proposal, contained in a letter to the Illinois Republican, is more stringent than pending House legislation. Their plan includes raising the legal age of gun buyers from 18 to 21 and limiting purchases to one gun a... (GunPolicy.org)