"Go ahead," Judge Willie Lipscomb tells the group of Detroit miscreants. "Look at your mirror image." The men, mostly young, stare through the sterile windows of the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office observation room. One shudders, one covers his eyes, another finds himself strangely fascinated by the grim work. It's a recent, bitterly cold Saturday morning and Lipscomb, a judge in Detroit's 36th District Court, is conducting another of his sessions to shock some... (GunPolicy.org)

"If ever there was a right time to promote peace in our community, the time is now." - Clementine Barfield, Save Our Sons and Daughters founder After 14 years of helping hundreds of grieving families who've lost a loved one to homicide, suicide, disease and natural death, Clementine Barfield, founder and president of the nonprofit, Detroit-based Save Our Sons and Daughters, says the organization is facing a new challenge Michigan's latest concealed gun legislation,... (GunPolicy.org)

To lead a national advocacy organization requires a robust constitution and a thick skin. Long hours, hate mail, public opprobrium: it all comes with the job. At best, your work is referred to as "narrow special interests." At worst, in the words of one TV huff-and-puff, you're "crazed militants." And just when the players in Washington have become known quantities, the minuet of democracy begins, and there are new faces and new agendas. This is the situation in which... (GunPolicy.org)

SACRAMENTO — In a recent letter to the 30,000 members of the Gun Owners of California, former state Sen. H.L. Richardson lamented the results of the November elections. "Things weren't that great for gun owners before Election Day," Richardson wrote, alluding to Democratic dominance of the Legislature. "But the net effect from November is, we have lost one more pro-gun seat and it will be just that much tougher for us." It's been tough for a while. Gun control... (GunPolicy.org)

If you were a gun-control supporter last spring, life was sweet. Al Gore and Bill Bradley were climbing over each other trying to prove their devotion to the issue. After a rash of school shootings, President Clinton was taunting the National Rifle Association ("I'm just trying to keep more people alive"), and Democrats had practically shut down Capitol Hill in a push for meaningful gun legislation. GOP aides worried that the issue would hurt them in November, and even... (GunPolicy.org)

ARLINGTON — A 13-year-old boy who walked out of a parent conference at Boles Junior High School Monday, saying he had to use the restroom and wanted a drink of water, fatally shot himself, police said. The seventh-grader was pronounced dead at Medical Center of Arlington, where his mother works as an intensive-care nurse. The 'Star-Telegram is withholding the teen-ager's name because of his age and the nature of the tragedy. About 4:10 p.m., about 15 minutes after... (GunPolicy.org)