According to Main Justice on Aug. 4th: President Barack Obama might soon nominate the chief of the Chicago office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to lead the Justice Department agency, The Washington Post reported. Special Agent in Charge Andrew Traver would be the bureau’s first Senate-confirmed director, if approved. Temporary appointees [...]
The NRA is about to lose yet another fight — this time hoping to stop Elena Kagan’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. But Ms. Kagan’s confirmation is all but certain. The NRA is simply using the Senate’s vote as yet another shameless opportunity to throw it’s weight around. According to the Los Angels Times [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Violence Policy Center). For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Contact: Marty Langley, 202-822-8200 x109, mlangley@vpc.org Washington, DC–A Florida mass shooting that resulted in the murder of four women, an innocent 17-year-old gunned down by a 61-year-old man in a case of mistaken identity, [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from GunFreeKids.org). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Andy Pelosi (914-629-6726), email: andy@gunfreekids.org (June 28, 2010, New York) – Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments. The Court considered the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, where [...]
Supreme Court Stills Holds that Common Sense Gun Laws Are Constitutional and Can Be Enacted to Save Lives and Protect Communities For Immediate Release Contact: Thom Mannard, Executive Director, ICHV tmannard@ichv.org Scott Vogel, Communications Director, States United to Prevent Gun Violence scott@supgv.org (June 28, 2010, Chicago) – The Supreme Court extended the scope of the [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus). For Immediate Release Contact: Andy Pelosi, 914-629-6726, andy@gunfreekids.org (June 26, 2010, New York) – The University of Colorado (CU) Board of Regents voted yesterday to appeal its campus gun ban to the State Supreme Court. In April of [...]
There is a founding and governing principle that holds that civilian government controls the military, not the other way around. It was made crystal clear today when President Obama relieved Gen. Stanley McChrystal from overseeing the war in Afghanistan after the general made disrespectful and disparaging remarks in Rolling Stone magazine about the President, Vice [...]
Advocacy and Community Spotlight New Yorkers Against Gun Violence’s Legislation Gains Momentum: Microstamping Legislation, Passed In Assembly, Now Voted Out Of Senate Committee. Click NYAGV’s page or the Coalition To Stop Gun Violence’s online resource, to learn more about microstamping; and see this New York Times editorial, “Albany’s Chance To Be Tough On Crime.” Arizona [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus). Contact: Andy Pelosi, 914-629-6726,andy@gunfreekids.org, Scott Vogel, 773-329-5589, scott@supgv.org 154 Individual Colleges and Universities In 33 States Now Part of Effort to Keep Guns Off College Campuses (June 10, 2010, New York) – The Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona, [...]
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel published a MUST-READ article on June 5th about the appalling lack of effective regulations on gun sellers. This brilliant article was written by the Sentinel’s John Diedrich, one of the country’s most professional and gifted journalists writing about the gun industry and violence in America. (Photo: Rick Wood: A clerk works behind [...]
According to a news brief on the New York Times on June 2: Federal authorities are investigating the origin of one of the largest gun seizures ever on the Mexico border: a cache of 147 assault rifles with banana clips and bayonets discovered in a truck being driven down a residential street in Laredo on [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Violence Policy Center). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 2, 2010 CONTACT: VPC Press Office, 202-822-8200 x110, press@vpc.org Washington, DC–States with higher gun ownership rates and weak gun laws have the highest rates of overall gun death according to a new analysis by the Violence [...]
Proponents for “openly carrying” loaded guns in public revealed their true colors in Arizona on May 30th. Neo-Nazi members and racists showed up at a peaceful immigration rally carrying loaded handguns and rifles and said their weapons were not for show and would use them if necessary. Such threatening hate speech is beyond the pale [...]
According to Milwaukee ABC (WISN) Channel 12 reported on May 26th: MILWAUKEE — A gun rights activist is free from jail and is still allowed to carry a gun despite charges that he shot two men. Jesus Gonzalez was released from jail on a $100,000 cash bond. He’s not allowed to have contact with the [...]
(Photo by David Molnar / The Republican. As his father, Sean Connery snaps a photograph, left, Devin Connery of Lunenburg, fires a Heckler & Koch Universal Machine-Pistol at the Machine Gun Shoot and Firearms Expo sponsored by the Westfield Sportsman Club and C.O.P. Firearms and Training on Sunday. According to the Associated Press on May [...]
David Corn of Mother Jones posted a strong critique of President Obama’s complete lack of leadership on supporting a ban on military-style semiautomatic assault rifles. Corn’s piece on May 21, is a must-read. David Corn When Mexican President Felipe Calderon addressed the US Congress on Thursday, he called for the United States to reinstate the [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence). OHIO COALITION AGAINST GUN VIOLENCE For Immediate Release: May 14,2010 Contact: Toby Hoover: info@ohioceasefire.org Toledo, OH– The NRA’s homepage for its annual convention in Charlotte, NC on May 14-16th says it all (http://www.nraam.org/index.html) “Note: North Carolina State law prohibits [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Violence Policy Center). Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck Featured Speakers at NRA Convention Washington, D.C.–This weekend, Tea Party advocates Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck will be featured speakers at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention being held in Charlotte, NC. Palin will be speaking [...]
Gun Lobby Enabling Terrorism By Blocking Efforts to Close the ‘Terror Gap’ New York Times Editorial: The Gun Lobby’s Long Shadow. Congress, for example, is cowering before the gun lobby insistence that even terrorist suspects who are placed on the “no-fly list” must not be denied the right to buy and bear arms. Suspects on [...]
(Mayor Bloomberg’s essay was originally posted on the Huffington Post on May 5th). It’s amazing but true: we can prevent terror suspects from boarding an airplane, but the FBI doesn’t have the power to block them from buying dynamite or an AK-47. I believe strongly that they should. And so do the 500 mayors who [...]
According to the Chicago Tribune on April 28, 2010: The Illinois Senate on Wednesday sent Gov. Pat Quinn a bill backed by Mayor Richard Daley that would increase penalties for certain crimes involving guns. The proposed change in state law would mandate a sentence of at least one year in prison for a person convicted [...]
The AP reported on April 27th: LAS VEGAS (AP) — Ian Deutch survived a recent tour of duty in Afghanistan, identifying Taliban targets for artillery strikes. But he didn’t make it through his second day back on the job as a rural Nevada sheriff’s deputy. Deutch was gunned down Monday by a man wielding an [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence). FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2010 MEDIA CONTACTS: CSGV: Ladd Everitt, (202) 701-7171, leveritt@csgv.org ROOT: Kenny Barnes, (202) 431-6646, kennysr@rootinc.org NRA Has Deliberately Misled Congress About Substance of D.C.’s Current Gun Laws Washington, D.C.—Yesterday, U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Violence Policy Center). For Immediate Release: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Contact: Marty Langley, Violence Policy Center, 202-822-8200 x109, mlangley@vpc.org Washington, DC–Concealed handgun permit holders have killed at least nine law enforcement officers in addition to 152 private citizens (including 15 shooters who killed themselves [...]
State Advocates Update Heeding God’s Call: Pennsylvania Church Members Hold Vigil On Good Friday Protesting Gun Violence — Also See Bishop Peggy Johnson’s Reflections On Vigil: Many of our pastors bury young people on a regular basis who have died from gun violence. It is just too easy to do nothing and in doing so…it [...]
Ed Schultz slammed Fox “News”, right-wing zealots, and gun extremists for peddling conspiracy theories that President Obama is “disarming” Americans of their guns. In fact, as Schultz points out, President Obama received an “F” on a report card from the Brady Campaign on the President’s policies with respect to the gun issue. Watch Video:
(We are pleased to post the following guest commentary from Mark Karlin, editor of BuzzFlash.com on April 21st). BUZZFLASH EDITOR’S BLOG BY MARK KARLIN The politically charged gun movement in America that began when right wing ideologues took over the NRA in the ’70s (in what was called “The Revolt at Cincinnati”) has been pathological [...]
(Photo from ‘open carry’ gun protest in Virginia, April 19th 2010) GunGuys.com Editorial It is deeply disturbing that gun proponents chose the solemn 15th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing to organize anti-government rallies and urge attendees to carry loaded handguns and assault rifles in public to demonstrate their anger at the Obama administration and [...]
The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence posted the following video from the “open carry” gun protest at Fort Hunt, Virginia on April 19th, the 15-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing — proof of the sheer extremism of the “open carry” movement.
(People pause at a memorial for victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Va. Friday marks the third anniversary of the shootings, where 32 people plus the shooter died. Jeanna Duerscherl/The Roanoke Times/AP). On April 16th, the Christian Science Monitor quoted Andy Pelosi, Director of the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, about [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from Protect Minnesota, a campaign by Citizens for a Safer Minnesota). For Immediate Release: April 16, 2010 Contact: Joan Peterson, Protect Minnesota, (218) 428-6570 Heather Martens, Executive Director, Citizens for a Safer Minnesota, csm@endgunviolence.com (St. Paul, MN) – Three years after the horrific shooting tragedy at [...]
(We are pleased to post the following guest commentary from Cathie Whittenburg, Director of New England Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. Send comments or questions to necpgv@gmail.com). Patriot – A person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interest. Paranoid – Exhibiting or characterized by baseless and extreme fear or distrust [...]
On April 10th, Columbus, Ohio’s NBC Channel 4 covered an ‘open-carry’ gun protest on the steps of the state capitol:
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus). For Immediate Release Contact: Andy Pelosi, 914-629-6726, andy@gunfreekids.org John Johnson, 319-389-7382, johnwjohnson@mchsi.com (April 15, 2010, New York) – Three years ago on April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, armed with two semiautomatic handguns and several hundred rounds of ammunition, [...]
(On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m., an explosion ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Okla. At the time, it was the worst terrorist attack ever undertaken on American soil. The blast killed 168 people – 19 of them children – and injured hundreds). (We are pleased to post the [...]
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart posted a must-see video on April 12th, about the “open carry” handgun movement, including an interview with Paul Helmke, the President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. WATCH DAILY SHOW VIDEO The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c Open Carrier Discrimination www.thedailyshow.com [...]
Is the gun lobby going to wage a political war now with the United States Air Force, claiming the service is denying soldiers and airmen their “Second Amendment rights”? And since the NRA routinely says that registering firearms is the first step to confiscating all guns, is the gun lobby accusing the Air Force of [...]
(We are pleased to post the following guest commentary from Josh Sugarmann, Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center. Mr. Sugarmann’s essay was originally posted on the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence’s “Insights” section on its website). March 10, 2010 Since its inception, the Violence Policy Center (VPC) has approached gun violence as a broad-based [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence). For Immediate Release Contact: Thom Mannard (312) 341-0939, cell (847) 997-3020, tmannard@ichv.org ISRA Uses Lobby Day to Press For Dangerous Carrying Concealed Weapons Law That Threatens Public Safety (March 10, 2010, Chicago) – The Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence [...]
The Philadelphia Inquirer published an editorial on March 4th about the Supreme Court’s new Second Amendment case, McDonald v. City of Chicago, about the city’s handgun ban. A gun-rights decision by the Supreme Court two years ago threatened to make it more dangerous to walk the streets of Washington. Now the top court’s conservative voting [...]
Oral Arguments to Supreme Court On Chicago’s Handgun Ban Supreme Court Releases Transcripts Of Oral Arguments In McDonald v. City of Chicago. Analysis: Second Amendment Extension Likely. The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed poised to require state and local governments to obey the Second Amendment guarantee of a personal right to a gun, but with [...]
(We strongly urge you to read Josh Sugarmann’s new piece on the Huffington Post published on March 1st. Sugarmann is the Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center in Washington, DC.) Tomorrow “Sport Shooting Ambassador Award” winner Antonin Scalia will hear oral arguments in McDonald v. Chicago, a case that will decide whether the opinion [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence). For Immediate Release Contact: Thom Mannard (312) 341-0939 / cell (847) 997-3020, tmannard@ichv.org Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence Says Communities Must Have the Right and Authority to Enact Sensible Gun Laws to Save Lives and Protect Public Safety (March [...]
According to the Washington Post on March 1st: As a member of the Junior ROTC, teenager Antonin Scalia toted his rifle on the subway ride back and forth to Queens. As a hunter, he speaks lyrically of stalking wild turkeys. And as a justice, he may have reached the pinnacle of his more than two [...]
According to the Associated Press on Feb. 25th: AUGUSTA — Lawmakers in Maine, home of one of the nation’s most-visited national parks, are considering whether to override a new federal law that allows guns in the sanctuaries. A law that took effect Monday lets licensed gun owners take firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges [...]
(We are pleased to post the following guest commentary from Mark Karlin, editor of BuzzFlash.com). Once our National Parks were a refuge of nature and tranquility, but that part of the American Dream just got shot full of holes by the NRA. Attached to the so-called credit card reform bill that went into effect on [...]
According to the Associated Press on Feb. 24th: LITTLETON, Colo. — The gunman was walking through a middle school parking lot and taking shots at students with a hunting rifle as terrified teenagers ran for their lives. He had just wounded two students and seemed ready to unleash more violence when a math teacher named [...]
States United to Prevent Gun Violence www.supgv.org Contact: Scott Vogel (312) 243-8980, scott@supgv.org For Immediate Release: February 23, 2009 Merger Will Better Coordinate and Leverage Resources to Advance Life-Saving State Agendas (Chicago) – Two gun violence prevention organizations, Freedom States Alliance and States United to Prevent Gun Violence are joining forces to strengthen state-level advocacy [...]
(We are pleased to post the following press release from the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus). Contact: Andy Pelosi, 914-629-6726, andy@gunfreekids.org John Johnson, johnwjohnson@mchsi.com (February 19, 2010 CROTON FALLS, NY) – A Northern Illinois University student was shot by a fellow student in the early morning hours of Friday, Feb. 19, outside a student [...]
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