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| This week saw the publication of survey data compiled by Harvard Injury Control Research Center’s Deborah Azrael, Matthew Miller, and Lisa Hepburn, that should finally lay to rest the long-debunked factoid that 40 percent of firearms sales occur without a background check. The report, titled, “Firearm Acquisition Without Background Checks: Results of a National Survey,” and published in Annals of Internal Medicine, found that only 22 percent “of gun owners who reported obtaining their most recent firearm within the previous 2 years reported doing so without a background check.” However, rather than celebrate these new findings, gun rights supporters should remain skeptical of this data and even more so of the way its release was handled. |
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| President Obama is working hard to make his last days in office count. Unfortunately for the nation, his concern as usual is partisan politics, not good governance. |
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| At times the obstinance of some gun control supporters marvels even their most seasoned observers. Such is the case with Boston University School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea, whose continued promotion of his own deeply flawed research in the face of criticism from gun rights supporters and condemnation from more established anti-gun researchers brings to mind the enduring work of Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf, or the behavior of a mule. |
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| Do you look back on your college years and remember the impassioned debates, when disagreements over the Periodic Table of Elements, theories of supply and demand, or the status of Pluto as a planet could sever friendships and result in otherwise well-adjusted academics coming to blows? |
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| President-elect Trump has nominated Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as Attorney General of the United States! That’s great news for all of us who cherish our right to keep and bear arms. But Sessions is being attacked for his support of the Second Amendment and law enforcement. On Tuesday, January 10, the battle over the confirmation of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General begins when the Senate Judiciary Committee holds its first hearing. |
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| Tuesday morning around 4:30 a.m., Colgin was asleep inside his Tanglewood home when he heard the sound of glass breaking. That’s when he grabbed the gun and began walking down the hall toward the living room. “So I come up to the corner, and I look through the glass in the grandfather clock,” Colgin demonstrated to Eyewitness News. “That’s how I can make out who it was.” Colgin says the man’s head and shoulders were already inside his home through the broken glass window. As soon as Colgin made sure it wasn’t a neighbor who needed help, he made a move. “So, I took two steps out, aimed, and boom! He went straight out window.” |
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| Last week, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Privacy Office began mailing letters like this one to certified Firearm Safety Instructors. The letter states that on October 14, 2016, DOJ inadvertently disclosed the name, date of birth, and California Driver’s License and/or Identification Card numbers of potentially every single DOJ certified Firearm Safety Instructor in California to an unknown requestor. DOJ allegedly discovered the breach on October 27—well over two months ago—but is just now notifying individuals. |
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| On Wednesday, January 4, the New York State Legislature began its 2017 Legislative Session. Several gun control bills had already been introduced by the end of the first day, and dozens more are expected by the end of session. |
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| State Sen. Linda Stewart and state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, both Democrats, introduced legislation Thursday for lawmakers to consider in the upcoming 2017 session; the bills (SB 254 / HB 167) both include a detailed list of specific guns and “parts that convert a firearm into an assault weapon”– such as large-capacity magazines — which would be prohibited under their proposed law. |
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| Firearms enthusiasts are facing delays getting a new type of state concealed carry permit meant to speed up gun shopping, South Dakota authorities said Thursday.The “gold card” law went into effect Sunday, but state and local authorities said that permits currently can’t be issued because required federal fingerprint background checks can’t be completed. |
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| Recent changes to the New York State firearms laws now require pistol permit owners in New York to recertify their status every five years, according to the New York State Police.The new regulations, part of the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act passed in 2013, include deadlines for firearm owners based on the date that they originally were issued their license. |
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| Now the country’s interior ministry is pushing a constitutional change that would let citizens use guns against terrorists. Proponents say this could save lives if an attack occurs and police are delayed or unable to make their way to the scene. To become law, Parliament must approve the proposal; they’ll vote in the coming months. |
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| The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) is supporting Legislative Bill 68, a state preemption law that would ensure Nebraskans don’t inadvertently violate the law as they travel through the state. This problem is the result of local gun ordinances that are more restrictive than state laws and those of neighboring communities. LB 68 would eliminate this confusing patchwork of laws by ensuring that state gun law preempt local ordinances. |