WASHINGTON — President Clinton tonight proposed a nationwide system to regulate all future handgun purchases that would rely on the states to issue licenses with photographs but only to prospective buyers who could show they had no criminal records and had passed gun safety courses. White House officials said the proposal, already embodied in several bills in Congress, was intended to put handgun ownership on a similar footing with state licensing of drivers and... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Tom Mauser, silent and stoic, stood Thursday as a personal symbol of gun violence when he was recognized by President Clinton during the State of the Union address. "People need to see the faces of victims like me-people who have been impacted by gun violence," Mauser, whose son, Daniel, was killed in the Columbine rampage, said before the speech. "If people can see our faces, it helps to remind everyone how many of us are touched by gun... (GunPolicy.org)

President Clinton's proposal for handgun licensing ran into a barrage of opposition in the Republican-controlled Congress but was welcomed by Democratic gun control advocates as a defining anti-crime issue for the November elections. Clinton's proposal, included in his State of the Union address without advance notice, would require that anyone who seeks to buy a handgun would first have to obtain a license with photo identification showing he or she had passed a... (GunPolicy.org)

Libertarians are cheering for Brass Roots, a Michigan gun rights organization founded by the 1994 Libertarian Party candidate for the U.S. Senate, Jon Coon. The group has sued the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Detroit Housing Commission and Detroit Police Chief Benny Napoleon to stop a federal gun buyback program from going forward in Detroit. If implemented, the scheme would pay $50 to anyone in Detroit who surrenders a firearm to... (GunPolicy.org)

MADISON, Wisconsin — Gun manufacturers and dealers would have limited immunity from lawsuits when the weapons they market are used to injure or kill people under a bill an Assembly committee has endorsed. The state Assembly Judiciary and Personal Privacy Committee on Thursday voted 5-4 along party lines to recommend passage of the bill. Supporters of the bill said it is necessary to stop what they consider frivolous lawsuits. "Those of you who want to overturn the... (GunPolicy.org)

DETROIT — After losing thousands of dollars in a day of gambling at Detroit's new casinos, off-duty police Sgt. Solomon Bell tried one last high-stakes hand of blackjack. He lost. The officer stood, cried out "Noooooo!," drew his gun and put a bullet in his head as other gamblers scrambled for safety. The death, believed to be the first suicide inside a gambling hall in the U.S., has highlighted concerns about casino gambling in a city pinning much of its hopes for... (GunPolicy.org)

OAKLAND, California — Some officials in Oakland and San Francisco want their cities to become the first in the nation to ban the sale of "ultracompact handguns," weapons that can slip into a pocket and still pack the power of a police officer's gun . "We know that criminals look for weapons they can hide, yet we still allow them to be sold and brought onto our streets," San Francisco Supervisor Alicia Becerril said at a news conference at Oakland City Hall... (GunPolicy.org)

DENVER — Bills aimed at strengthening Colorado's gun laws in the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre passed their first test late Thursday in the Republican-controlled state legislature. The House Judiciary Committee approved measures that would require background checks for all purchases at gun shows, prohibit gun sales to people under age 21 and ban straw purchases, which occur when a person buys a gun for another who is legally barred from owning a... (GunPolicy.org)