<h1><center>Guns can change the way you think</center></h1>

CeasefireUSA: The GVP Report - February 3, 2015
In The News ► Mother Nature Network, Guns really do change the way you think. Owning a firearm, holding one or even simply looking at a picture of one has an effect on your brain. ► Violence Policy Center, States with Weak Gun Laws and Higher Gun Ownership Lead Nation in Gun Deaths. Analysis of 2013 data finds Alaska and Louisiana have the highest gun death rates in the nation, while Hawaii and Massachusetts have the lowest. ► The gun that was used to wound two New Hope, Minnesota police officers had been auctioned off by the Duluth Police Department. The gun had been confiscated by the Duluth Police, then sent to an online auction site where it was bought by a straw buyer for the shooter. ► Parents of Aurora shooting victims ask media outlets to stop using the name of mass shooters. "The quest for notoriety and infamy is a known, motivating factor for people that want to commit mass killings or copycats. All we're asking is after the initial identification of a mass killer refer to them as the 'shooter' or 'defendant.' It's not that difficult." ► AlJazeera America, Guns in Schools: Psychologists say defense measures could traumatize kids. Schools are still the safest place for children. Metal detectors and security guards have been shown to increase students' fear of crime and cause them to feel less safe at school. This report is part of a seven-part series examining the issues surrounding school shootings. ►Missouri and Kansas lawmakers propose anti-gun violence bills. In a rare show of bi-state and bi-partisan unity Rep. Stacey Newman, a Democrat from MO and Rep. Barbara Bollier, a Republican from KS, will present legislation to focus on domestic crimes and gun violence prevention. ► St. Petersburg, Florida man builds gun range in yard, neighbors outraged.  21-year-old Joseph Carannate told reporters "I don't want to have to go to a gun range, when I can just go outside my door." Police say the range is not against the law despite being in the middle of a residential neighborhood.  ► Virginia state Senate panel advances gun violence prevention bill. Two days after rejecting a bill that would prohibit gun possession for anyone convicted of stalking, assault and battery or sexual battery, a Senate committee reconsidered and approved an amended version of the bill. ► TSA seized a record 2,212 firearms from carry-on luggage in 2014.  83% of the guns were loaded. Guns included an assault rifle with two loaded magazines discovered at DFW and a 94-year-old man with a loaded .38 caliber revolver clipped to his belt at LGA. Community Support ► Democracy Now,  Black Lives Matter: New Film on Jordan Davis Captures Family's Struggle to Convict White Vigilante. Amy Goodman talks with Jordan Davis' parents and discusses the new film "3 1/2 Minutes." ► Daily Kos, Rep. Robin Kelly introduces H.R. 224 and the NRA doesn't like it one bit.  The bill would require the U.S. Surgeon General to submit to Congress an annual report on the effects of gun violence on public health and the status of actions taken to address such effects.  ► Melissa Harris-Perry Show, Do open carry laws make people less safe? Panelists discuss a Florida case involving an African American man who was tackled to the ground for carrying a gun even though he had a permit and whether open carry laws make people more or less safe. ► Vox.com, 10 Things I Wish People Understood About Suicide. Suicide is often impulsive. If the impulse is thwarted, and the person survives, they overwhelmingly report being glad they lived. Physical and conceptual barriers to suicide have been shown to work. ► Sputniknews.com, Hip-Hop organization wants Google to stop showing gun ads on rap videos. The Hip-Hop Chess Federation wants Google, YouTube and U.S. Concealed Carry Association to stop ads for guns and gun paraphernalia to selections frequented by teens in general and minority youth specifically. "There must be higher standards of ethics." ► Slate.com, The Myth of the Good Guy With A Gun. The NRA is wrong: Owning a gun is far more likely to harm you than protect you. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that guns leave everybody less safe, including their owners.  ► McGill International Review, Who Do You Protect?: Police Brutality and Gun Control. There should be a clear separation of labor: those who fight crime and those who create a safe environment. Leave the gun slinging to those who are specially trained for it while the regular police make sure everything else is under control. ► Greeley, Colorado Tribune,Arming school staff is a dangerous answer to a serious problem.  It is not worth the risk of increasing the odds of someone getting shot at Frontier Academy for the unlikely chance a staff member could stop a crazy person brandishing a gun. ► Time.com, Go Inside the Lives of Families Affected by Gun Violence. Carlos Javier Ortiz spent eight years documenting the effects of gun violence on communities in Chicago and Philadelphia. His work appears in his newest book, We All We Got. The Bronx Documentary Center will show Ortiz's work until March 22, 2015. What the Gun Lobby is Doing ►  Bill would allow Texas teachers to kill students. A Texas state rep has introduced a bill that authorizes instructors to use deadly force in defense of the educator's person or in defense of students. Teachers would also have the right to use deadly force in defense of school property. ►  A new Alaska Republican wants gun control for EPA agents. The senator wants to ban police officers who work for the Environmental Protection Agency from carrying firearms in an effort to start "to limit the federal government in terms of some of its power and authority, but also in terms of oversight." ► Proposed firearm bills in Nevada would do away with the need for a permit in order to carry a concealed weapon, allow guns on college campuses, and do away with the current requirement that Las Vegas residents register their handguns.		Blogs Joan Peterson, Common GunSense, Supporting our own terrorists and lone wolf killers Josh Sugarmann, Violence Policy Center, Behind Closed Doors in Vegas, Militarized Gun Industry Sells, Sells, Sells Shannon Watts, Moms Demand Action, When It Comes to Kids and Guns, There's No Such Thing as an "Accident" Mikeb302000, Gun Control in Italy Cathie Whittenburg, Ohh Shoot, 2 injured when gun falls out of man's fanny pack in grocery store Advocacy ► Newtown Action Alliance, GunFreeKids, CT Against Gun Violence want NSSF to stop their aggressive marketing of semiautomatic weapons. ► Shira Goodman, CeaseFirePA, asks Philadelphia City Council to keep measure that prohibits people subject to protection-from-abuse orders from gun possession.  ► Americans for Responsible Solutions, So Congress wants to get something done? Here are 10 ways Congress can reduce gun violence. ► Toby Hoover, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, Lake school board muzzles gun violence prevention voices. ► Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Virginia Senate votes down guns in schools, moves forward with background check bill. ► Colleen Daley, Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence, Illinois is losing its battle with gun violence. Here's how to change that. ► Lawdragon recognizes Jonathan Lowy, Brady Campaign legal director, among top 500 lawyers in America. ► Miranda Viscoli, New Mexicans for Gun Safety, Let's close gun show loophole in New Mexico. ► Center for American Progress, How Gun Violence Affects Women in Nevada ► New Yorkers Against Gun Violence appoints Hudson Valley coordinator to assist with outreach, education and advocacy efforts. ► Otis Smith, founding member of Arizonans for Gun Safety, died recently.  After his daughter was killed by a stray bullet Smith led the crusade to pass 'Shannon's Law' that prohibits firing a gun within a municipality. ► Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Gun Law Trendwatch: A roundup and analysis of the latest state firearms legislation. ► Washington Ceasefire brings the smart-gun debate to Seattle. Techies and activists gather to discuss the next big step in firearm safety. Worst of the Week 22-year-old Jerquan Dickson, of York, Pennsylvania, was arrested for allegedly shooting a 15-year-old boy who hit his car with several snowballs.  Dickson is accused of getting out of his car and chasing a group of children into an alleyway. One teenager was shot in the right arm and left thigh. His injuries were nonlife-threatening. Dickson was arrested and charged with felony aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.