Problems viewing this email? View it on our blog. The GVP Report - June 18, 2013 |
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► Since Newtown, some states have strengthened their gun laws, some have weaken them. CNN presents a state-by-state summary of key parts of new gun laws. ► Think Progress looks at Eight Inspiring Moments Since the Newtown Massacre including when the late Senator Frank Lautenberg cast one of his last votes which was for background checks. ► Marie Claire gathered seven women who lived through Newtown, Aurora, and other mass shootings. In these incredibly emotional and moving interviews, they reveal the truth about life after unthinkable trauma - and explain how they are taking action to prevent more tragedies. ► The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies issued a new report Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence detailing the main areas where more research is needed. The report will be used by the Center for Disease Control as it looks to start funding research on firearms. ► Center for American Progress issue brief, Recommendations for Executive Action to Combat Illegal Gun Trafficking and Gun Crime. The recommendations are actions President Obama can take that do not require approval by Congress. ► A new report, Way of the Gun: Estimating Firearms Traffic Across the U.S.-Mexico Border from IGARAPE Institute at the University of San Diego, finds that a significant proportion of U.S. licensed firearm dealers are dependent on the illicit Mexico market and a sizeable and growing percentage of US firearms are destined for Mexico. ► The Times Herald, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Under the Gun: Fight for Stiffer Straw Purchase Penalties Continues. Plymouth Police Chief Joseph Lawrence talks about his efforts to strengthen laws aimed at reducing gun trafficking.
► ► Sheila Durkin Dierks, Daily Camera, Boulder, CO, Continue the Gun Conversation. We concentrate on the tragic matter of mass murders. But a far greater number of lives have been taken, ruined forever, wounded one or two victims at a time. ► Jason Cherkis, Huffington Post, Americans Tell Their Stories About Guns, Violence and the Aftermath. Huffington Post set up a voicemail account for people to share stories about how gun violence touched their lives. Listen to their powerful stories. ►Justin Peters, Slate.com, After Newtown, We Vowed to Take Gun Control Seriously. Why Has Nothing Changed? In the last six months the gun control debate has been generalized, the faces of the victims fade, making it harder to remember why gun control once seemed so urgent. ► Paul Appelbaum, The Hill's Congress Blog, Don't Arm People in a Mental Health Crisis. Looks at how the proposed Crassley-Cruz amendment not only fell short on background checks but would actually have weakened the system and make it even easier for people with serious mental illness to buy firearms during periods of crisis. ► Stacie Borello, Opposing Views, Toddlers Killed More Americans Than Terrorist Did This Year. In the last five months there have been at least eleven deaths where the shooter was 3 to 6 years old. ► Rev. Al Sharpton, National Action Network, George Zimmerman Trial: Advocacy and Action Brought Us Here. As the Travyon Martin murder trail begins we are reminded of what was involved in getting here. For those who think that protests and marches are outdated or unnecessary, guess again. ►
► NRA goes after Senator Manchin over guns compromise. The NRA launched a TV ad against the Senator after he co-sponsored a background check measure with Sen. Toomey. ► Free gun initiative begins in Houston neighborhood. The Armed Citizen Project is giving away free shotguns to single women and residents of neighborhoods with high crime rates. ► NRA-backed Kansas law bans government lobbying on gun issues; critics say it stifles debate. Many questions about the new law remain. Could a government agency print a pamphlet about gun safety without running afoul of the law? And is this the next initiative the NRA will push from state to state? |
► Arizonans for Gun Safety, Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence, New Hampshire Project for Safer Communities, CeaseFirePA, and Moms Demand Action were some of the groups participating in "We Stand With Newtown" events across the country. ► Robyn Thomas & Juliet Leftwich, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, op-ed After Newtown, Gun Control is Making Gains, State by State.
► CeasefirePA held a rally at the Capitol in Harrisburg to urge passage of three bills, including a ban on large capacity ammunition magazines. ► Ladd Everitt, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, appeared on The Diane Rehm Show, Effort to Reignite Gun Control Six Months After Newtown. ► Heather Martens, Protect Minnesota, urged supporters to focus on the "successes" that came out of the disappointing legislative session.
23-year-old John Zawahri was described as an angry young man with a fascination with guns. Zawahri killed his father and brother, burned down their house and headed to Santa Monica College, armed with a ballistic vest, an AR-15 assault rifle and a duffel bag filled with 1,300 rounds of ammunition. Zawahri killed two people and wounded another before being shot and killed by police. After Zawahri was turned down for a gun purchase two years ago, he began purchasing parts from stores around the country and ultimately assembled his own rifle in a configuration that made it an illegal assault rifle in California. |
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Since Newtown
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
NRA loses two federal court battles
The GVP Report - June 4, 2013 |
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► The NRA lost two court battles this week. A federal appeals court unanimously upheld an Obama administration requirement that gun dealers in Southwestern border states report when customers buy multiple assault rifles. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a Texas state law that forbids most people between 18 and 20 from obtaining permits to carry concealed handguns. The court held that the goal of "curbing gun violence by keeping handguns out of the hands of immature individuals" serves a public safety interest. ► ► A petition drive to overturn Maryland's new, tough gun laws has failed. Opponents of the law did not turn in an initial batch of signatures by the deadline at midnight on Friday. ► The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights will launch an investigation into whether Stand Your Ground/Shoot First laws have a racial bias. The Commission will look to see if there is a bias in the assertion or the denial depending on the race of the victim and the race of the defendant. Recently two shooters in Alabama escaped liability because of the Shoot First law. ► A Governing Index survey has found strong support for universal background checks among state and local government officials. But support of other measures tracks closely based on gun ownership among public officials. ► Newly obtained testimony from executives at firearms manufacturers show that gun makers saw no role in curbing improper sales. An executive for Taurus International testified that "I don't even know what a gun trafficker is." ►
► Frank Cerabina, Cox Newspapers, There are reasons no guns are allowed at Disney World - they're called kids. Recently, a man's licensed handgun fell out of his pants during a ride. Not knowing it was gone, he left it behind, where another patron found it. ► Mary Plouffe, Bangor, Maine, Bangor Daily News, If we changed the smoking culture, we can change the gun culture. In 50 years we have changed a cultural norm around smoking, the way we did it may offer lessons for changing the gun culture we now face. ► Claudette Konola, Citizen Telegram, Grand Junction, Colorado, Our national will survive gun regulation. We have a bunch of paranoid, treasonous men running around "open carrying" guns, and the NRA wants the response to gun violence to be focused on mental health. Am I the only one who sees the irony in that? ► Alec MacGillis, New Republic, This is How the NRA Ends: A bigger, richer, meaner gun control movement has arrived. The narrow defeat of the background-check bill, it turns out, was not the end of hopes for gun reform, but the beginning. ► Aaron Blake, Washington Post, Democrats still aren't being ruthless about gun control. Joe Baca, D-California, has an 'A' rating from the NRA, was unseated in November by another Democrat, is seeking a return to Congress in a neighboring district and is being supported by some Democratic members of the House who are also strong supporters of gun control. ► Matthew Parkete, The Daily Beast, The NRA is Wrong: The Myth of Illegal Guns. What if Jared Loughner had to go out into the streets and risk his life to obtain his weapon? It would have been an ordeal for him to buy illegal weapons simply because he was not immersed in lawlessness. ►
► Some of the U.S. Senators who voted to kill a background check bill are now trying to tell their constituents they actually support background checks. Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) touted his co-sponsorship of an NRA-backed bill and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) put out a misleading pro-gun ad. ► Adam Kokesh has cancelled an armed march on Washington, D.C. Instead he is urging his supporters to bring down the entire federal government and called for gun activists to form a secessionist "army". ► In December, the NRA blamed mass shootings, in part, on Hollywood movies saying "Isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography?" But now the NRA has published a list of the 10 "coolest gun movies" ever praising, among other things, a movie hero who's an "almost unstoppable" "killing machine." ►Gun activists in Colorado turned in petition signatures to set up the first recall in state history. The effort is against Democratic Senate President John Morse in response to his support of a series of strong gun laws signed into law this year. |
► ► New Yorkers Against Gun Violence joined Moms Demand Action to demonstrate against Senator Ted Cruz and denounce his stance against common sense gun laws. ► Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence joined gun violence survivors to deliver petitions to two Indiana Congresswomen calling on them to support background checks. ► Mayors Against Illegal Guns shifts its strategy to local politicians and takes the campaign for stricter gun laws to state capitals across the country. ► Rob Eshman reports on the recent Women Against Gun Violence event. Speakers included Tucson shooting survivor Daniel Hernandez. ► Tom Mauser, Colorado Ceasefire, speaks out against the Colorado sheriffs' lawsuit against new state gun laws.
#SixMonthsNoAction by Congress. Join in sharing this message together at the same time - automatically. Go to Thunderclap to sign up. Contact your members of Congress to let them know that six months and no action is too long to wait for stronger gun laws.
41-year-old Michael Melrose, of Orient, Ohio, shot and killed two people while robbing them of a number of guns. Melrose knew the couple, 62-year-old Eugenia Anderson and 68-year-old Harry Butler, had performed odd jobs for them and lived just a few houses away. Eugenia managed to call 911 during the robbery. Police arrived to find Melrose leaving the residence with an armful of long guns he had stolen. When deputies ordered him to drop the weapons, he pulled out a handgun and shot himself dead. Eugenia was found dead of gun shot wounds. Harry died en route to the hospital. Police said there were a variety of firearms in the home and that robbery appeared to be the motive for the murders. |
