Guns
New rule to close ‘gun show loophole’ finalized by Biden administration
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Thursday finalized a new rule that would require anyone selling a gun to obtain a federal license and conduct background checks. The rule aims to close what’s known as the “gun show loophole.” Gun merchants who sell online, by mail or at flea markets and gun shows until now […]
Mexico is suing U.S. gun-makers for arming its gangs, and a court could award billions in damages
The government of Mexico is suing U.S. gun-makers for their role in facilitating cross-border gun trafficking that has supercharged violent crime in Mexico. The lawsuit seeks $10 billion in damages and a court order to force the companies named in the lawsuit – including Smith & Wesson, Colt, Glock, Beretta and Ruger – to change […]
Nation’s first Gen Z congressman discusses gun violence at UNLV
Six weeks after the mass shooting that claimed the lives of three UNLV faculty members, a group of students gathered to share their experiences and highlight the need for more federal policy action. “You don’t think it will happen to you until it does,” said Ketzia Jimenez, a third-year UNLV sociology student who was at […]
Nevada earns a B- for its gun safety laws
In the six years since the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, Nevada has significantly strengthened its gun safety laws, earning the state a B- score, according to an analysis on gun safety laws. On Tuesday, Giffords Law Center released its annual Gun Law Scorecard, which ranks all 50 states and assigns them a […]
Gun violence as a public health crisis explored by U.S. Senate Democrats
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Tuesday discussed how to treat gun violence as a public health crisis, in hopes of building upon last year’s federal gun safety legislation. “Across the country, gun violence is a public health epidemic,” Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, the chairman of the committee, said in his opening remarks. […]
U.S. Supreme Court considers case dealing with gun rights and domestic violence
WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices during Tuesday’s oral arguments seemed to lean toward upholding a federal law that prevents the possession of firearms by a person who is subject to a domestic violence protective order. Liberal and conservative justices appeared to side with the Biden administration’s position that the 1994 federal law is in […]
Maine’s political leaders have a complicated record on gun safety reforms
The mass shooting in Lewiston on Wednesday that claimed the lives of 18 people is drawing attention to Maine’s weak gun laws, with advocates and lawmakers arguing for firearm safety measures to prevent another tragedy. Many of Maine’s political leaders have a complicated history on the issue, though, often opposing large-scale reforms and working with gun […]
Lombardo vetoes trio of gun control bills
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo on Wednesday vetoed a trio of gun control legislation passed by Democrats. Assembly Bill 355 would have raised the age of possessing semi-automatic firearms from 18 to 21, Senate Bill 171 would have prohibited people convicted of hate crimes from possessing a firearm, and Assembly Bill 354 would have prohibited bringing […]
Armed and afraid: The high price of fear
A teenage boy rings the wrong doorbell and is shot in the face. A 20-year-old woman is fatally shot when she and her friends pull into the wrong driveway. Two cheerleaders are shot when one accidentally gets into the wrong car. And a 6-year-old is shot when kids chase a basketball into a neighbor’s yard. These tragic events seem incomprehensible. But we got […]
Republican rhetoric sounds old and lame to a generation taught how to play dead in school
Following a school shooting in Nashville last month, hundreds of protesters gathered in the Tennessee capital demanding lawmakers act to address the out of control gun violence that once again unnecessarily took innocent lives. In response, the Tennessee’s Republican-controlled state House took the historic and extraordinary action of expelling two Black Democratic lawmakers for joining their constituents in […]
Partisan divide portends doom for gun bills
Americans are fed up with the frequency of mass shootings, according to recent polls, especially the slaughter of children in their own classrooms. But are their lawmakers equally incensed? Before a word of testimony had been uttered Thursday on three bills championed by Democrats and intended to put a dent in gun violence, Assembly Republicans […]
We need to look at gun manufacturing, not just gun ownership
There is a familiar pattern after the mass shootings that have become a well-known feature of American life. The initial shock and grief gives way to demands for greater regulation of gun ownership by Democrats, while Republicans dismiss such measures and blame mental illness instead. But if we actually want to do something about it, […]