When Andrew Niccol wrote and directed the feature film "Lord of War", the story was partly inspired by the life of Viktor Bout, a Russian businessman suspected of using his air cargo company as a cover for arms dealing. While he succeeded in trading arms all over the planet – and especially in war-torn nations like Sierra Leone and Liberia - for two decades without technically breaking any international laws, Bout was finally arrested in 2008 in Thailand, as part of... (GunPolicy.org)

Could the Tucson shooting rampage been avoided had Arizona made it harder for would-be gun owners to get a pistol permit? Maybe. Robert Spitzer, political scientist and author of "The Politics of Gun Control," joined Terry Gross for Thursday's episode of NPR's "Fresh Air" to explain. "Mental health information is gathered on a state-by-state basis, and state practices vary widely. So in the state of Arizona, [accused killer] Jared Loughner didn't need to get a permit... (GunPolicy.org)

Standing over a table of handguns similar to those recently seized by police, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake urged Baltimore residents Friday to help her lobby to increase jail time for those caught with illegal guns. "We all know we need to do more," Rawlings-Blake said, as she called for state legislators to change current laws, which "support our culture of tolerance." The city has seen a drop in gun crime in recent years. Last year ended with 223 homicides — the... (GunPolicy.org)

The new line coming from the White House -- first from senior advisor David Plouffe, then from political advisor David Axelrod -- is that President Obama will "address" the issue of gun control at some point. Exactly what Obama will do isn't clear, though Plouffe mentioned as an example the president's support for renewing the assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004 and made it illegal to manufacture the type of high-capacity clip used in the Tucson, Ariz., mass... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee on Friday rejected a request from Democrats to hold hearings related to gun safety in the aftermath of the shootings in Tucson earlier this month. All 16 Democrats on the committee, which has jurisdiction over firearms laws, sent a letter to Rep. Lamar Smith, the Texas Republican who recently took charge of the panel, asking him to convene hearings on the use of high-capacity magazines and improving... (GunPolicy.org)