<h1><center>Nevada could put background checks on ballot soon</center></h1>

CeasefireUSA: The GVP Report - November 25, 2014
In The News ► Nevadans for Background Checks have turned in the largest number of signatures ever gathered for a ballot initiative in Nevada. The initiative would require background checks for all gun sales. If the Legislature fails to pass the bill this year it will go directly to voters as a ballot measure in 2016. ► Jay Leno cancels appearance at SHOT Show.  Leno was scheduled to speak at the National Shooting Sports Foundation gun industry trade show in Las Vegas but cancelled after pressure from gun violence prevention groups.  Leno said he was unaware that the NSSF was a pro-gun lobbying group based in Newtown, CT. ► A new report from the CT Office of the Child Advocate concludes that Sandy Hook killer Adam Lanza's anti-social and emotional problems began presenting in grade school but teachers failed to notice. It also noted that "access to guns is relevant to an examination of ways to improve the public health." ► Guns may soon have wireless networked chips embedded to log their every action.  Some TX and CA police departments have already ordered the guns but fierce aversion from some gun owners has curtailed the making of a consumer version of the smart chips. ► The Hidden Scars of Chicago's Guns.  PTSD affects many victims of violent crime in the city, but few seek help. With about 2,000 shootings and more than 300 murders in the city each year, the strain on those who survive - victims and perpetrators - can be great. ► In a new study in Journal of Black Studies, The Role of Media in the Disparate Response to Gun Violence in America, Wanda Parham-Payne finds that the media portrayals of gun violence depend on race, leading to often very disparate policy responses. ► A massive, high-volume gun trafficking ring from Florida to New York City has been broken up by police. Eight people were arrested. Police allege that the suspects funneled firearms from Florida, a state with lax gun laws, to New York City, often using Chinatown buses. ► Viraj Pandit, M.D., a researcher at the U. of Arizona presented research to the American College of Surgeons showing that states with tight regulations on the purchase and control of guns have fewer injuries and deaths from firearms. "Strict firearm legislation may help to reduce firearm-related injuries and mortalities, and help to reduce the years of life lost," said Pandit. ► New research from Stanford University confirms that right-to-carry gun laws are linked to an increase in violent crime. This debunks earlier claims that more guns lead to less crime. Professor John Donohue and his colleagues have provided the most convincing evidence to date that right-to-carry laws are associated with an increase in violent crime. 2014 National Vigil for All Gun Violence Victims As we near the 2nd anniversary of the Newtown shooting, please join us this December for National Vigils and Events in Washington, D.C. and around the country.   To host an event in your state click here. To attend the Thursday, December 11th vigil at the National Cathedral in D.C. click here.  To upload a photo of a loved one lost to gun violence click here. To apply for a special stipend to go to D.C. click here.  To make a donation to support the vigil click here. Community Support ► John Richie, director of the award-winning documentary Shellshocked, on the effect of gun violence on New Orleans teenagers, has a new project, 91 Percent. The figure comes from a Jan. 2013 national poll that found 91 percent of Americans favor background checks on people buying guns. ► David Katz, M.D., Public Health as Political Prisoner. If a foreign government took the U.S. Surgeon General hostage, I'm confident we'd be pretty upset.  Yet our own political system has managed to hold Dr. Vivek Murthy's nomination hostage. ► Los Angeles Times editorial, A sane gun law is under fire in San Diego. Until an appeal court struck down the law, CA counties had the option of restricting applicants for concealed weapons permits if there was a "good cause." Now, the same court has ruled that the state of CA has no standing to appeal that decision. ► Shawn VanDiver, A Navy Vet's Case for Gun Control. A former Navy weapons instructor lays out the simple steps lawmakers can take to make us all safer. ► Maria Konnikova, The New Yorker, Is there a link between mental health and gun violence? Mental illness is easy to blame, easy to pinpoint, and easy to legislate against in regards to gun ownership.  But that doesn't mean that it is the right place to start in an attempt to curtail violence. ► Richard Gibson & Joshua Caruso, Cleveland, OH,  The time is now to halt the flow of illegal guns. Operation Samson II, led by ATF and Cleveland police, was successful. It proved that, with the right focus and resources, law enforcement can investigate criminal patterns and identify who in the county is distributing crime guns, and arrest and prosecute those who break the law. ► Delaware County, PA, Daily Times editorial, Brad Fox law a start in curbing gun violence.  Staci Dawson just became the first person in the state to be sentenced under a law that mandates harsh penalties for people who make straw gun purchases; that is, they illegally purchase guns for felons who cannot buy them. ► Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, Silencers: Florida's latest sideshow distraction in guns. Each and every year, the NRA pushes some new issue - regardless of significance - designed solely to gin up controversy and swell its membership rolls. ► Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, notes that because of ivory sales, more elephants are dying than can be born and African terrorist groups use ivory to gain capital. The Obama administration is working to ban all non-antique ivory sales. "It makes total sense!" said Stewart. "Elephants get preserved, terrorists get denied funding, what kind of asshole would be opposed to it? Oh, an NRAsshole." What the Gun Lobby is Doing ►  Rob Cox, BreakingViews, Good news for guns is bad for gunmakers. Colt Defense warned of a possible default. Freedom Group saw its debt ratings cut by Moody's. Sturm Ruger and Smith & Wesson have taken a beating in the stock market. Their problem is that weapon sales are driven by fear. ► 21 states want a court to overturn Maryland's post-Sandy Hook assault weapons ban. The law is among the nation's strictest. It was challenged by opponents shortly after passage and was upheld by a federal judge. That decision is currently being appealed. 21 states have joined in a filing last week. ► Right-wing media falsely claim that museums need to give up their guns. Media outlets are misleadingly promoting the report that a Washington state museum will have to return firearms on display following passage of the background check initiative.		Blogs Joan Peterson, Common GunSense, Gun safety = being safe from domestic shootings Dan Gross, Brady Campaign, Gun violence prevention taking a page from the Freedom to Marry playbook Walmart Shootings, So far in 2014 there have been: 74 shootings, 12 dead, 35 injured Cathie Whittenburg, Ohh Shoot Blog, 13-year-old shot & killed when gun unintentionally discharges in motel room next to his Our America It's very clear what kind of America the gun extremists want.  They want guns everywhere - in our schools, in our parks, in our family restaurants, even in our places of worship. Now it's time that we let everyone know what kind of America we want!  We want to hear from you about your vision of America.  Please, tell us your stories, your values and your ideas Advocacy ► Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus and Mom's Rising deliver more than 20,000 signatures to the governor's office to ban guns from college campuses. ► Edmund Smith, Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence, lte IndyStar, NRA leader's rhetoric causes concern. ► Everytown for Gun Safety and the Black Caucus of Health Workers co-sponsored a panel at the American Public Health Association conference in New Orleans titled What We Don't Know Can Kill Us. ► Lois Galgay Reckitt, Maine Citizens Against Handgun Violence, op-ed Bangor Daily News, We agree that some shouldn't have guns. Let's act on it for domestic violence victims' sake. ► Brady Campaign and New Jersey Million Mom March urge the New Jersey Superior Court to make the state enforce the law that mandates handguns include technology to limit their use to specific people. ► Jeri Bonavia, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, comments on the 100th Wisconsin gun homicide this year and points to steps individual gun owners and society can take to increase gun safety. ► Moms Demand Action delivers more than 72,000 petitions to Harris Teeter's headquarter asking the company to ban openly carried guns in its stores. ► Rex Berry, Oklahoma GunSense, talks about why Oklahoma college campuses should remain gun-free. ► Shaina Harrison, director of youth programming for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence is featured in a new documentary, "No Control." ► Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and the American Independent Institute three-part series chronicling the state of the pro-gun movement. Worst of the Week 46-year-old Jon Holzwarth, of Lake Stevens, Washington, was at home watching his 3-year-old son and his neighbor's 4-year-old grandson when he heard a loud boom. He ran to the bedroom where the children were playing and found his son had been shot in the mouth. The boy was airlifted to Seattle for treatment. Holzwarth is an online gun retailer.  A sign on his front door reads "We don't dial 9-1-1" and has a cutout of a pistol dangling below. In 2010 Holzwarth testified before the city council saying that responsible people with concealed-weapons permits enhance public safety. "When seconds count and police are minutes away, you need people like me who are mentally stable and know how to handle a gun," he said.