CeasefireUSA: The GVP Report - January 19, 2016 |
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► ► Part of the recent executive actions from the President includes improvements to the NICS background check system. Obama is asking the team that fixed Healthcare.gov to work its magic on the background check system. ► Internet gun sales and background checks explained. Sometimes guns purchased online require a background check. Sometimes they don't. Here's how to know the difference. ► A new report from Violence Policy Center finds there have been more than 800 deaths at the hands of Concealed Carry Killers since 2007. ► A new study, Violent Death Rates: The US Compared with Other High-income OECD Countries, 2010, finds that the US accounts for 82% of all gun deaths among 23 high-income countriesand the gap between gun deaths in the US and other nations is getting wider. ► ► A new report from the Center for American Progress looks at The Harmful Effect of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. The federal law, enacted in 2005, grants broad immunity from liability to gun manufacturers and dealers in federal and state courts. ► The Government Accountability Office has released a report on firearms trafficking to Mexico. The report finds that 70% of the guns seized in Mexico originated in the U.S. and that high-caliber firearms make up half of all the guns seized and traced.
Stand with President Obama, take the pledge to "not campaign for, vote for, or support any candidate who does not support common-sense gun reform."
► ► Mike Weisser, Mike the Gun Guy, Is Obama correct when he calls gun violence an 'epidemic?' He sure is. In 2001, all gun deaths and injuries totaled 92,031. By 2013, gun deaths and injuries had increased to 117,146. ► Evan Defilippis & Devin Hughes, The myth behind defensive gun ownership. Guns owners are far more likely to see their weapons harm a family member than be heroes warding off criminals. ► Dave Perry, Aurora Sentinel, Aurora Subway robbery vigilante is a good guy with a gun but bad news for the public. No doubt the 26-year-old had the best of intentions when he pulled out his gun and shot at a fleeing robbery suspect. But it was a horrendously bad decision and a crime that was equally as dangerous and more insidious. ► John Quaintance, The New Yorker, The Second Amendment: Original Intent. A satirical look at James Madison and Thomas Jefferson discussing the meaning of the Second Amendment. ► William Porter, Denver Post, You may know gun safety, but do the parent's of your child's playmate? "I would rather be safe by asking than sorry I didn't. I would rather create an uncomfortable relationship than attend an unfortunate funeral." ► Adam Winkler & Cara Natterson, There's a simple way to reduce gun violence: Raise the gun age. People under 25 are responsible for a disproportionate amount of America's gun violence. Nearly 50% of all gun homicides are committed by people younger than 25. Mass shooters are often young, too. ► Lonnie & Sandy Phillips, Empty chair filled with meaning for parents of gun violence victim. The empty chair at the President's State of the Union address represents our loved ones taken by gun violence. It symbolizes the enduring suffering and resolve we understand all too well. ► Time.com, What it's like to own guns in a country with strict gun regulation. People who love to shoot in Australia look at the situation in America with dismay. All these mass killings are giving our sport a bad name. It's making everybody fear people like me, where they should have no fear. ► Norah Vawter, I know what everyday gun violence means. I was shot by a stranger when I was 4. My mom was shot, too, saving my life. She was left paralyzed and died 20 years later.
► NRA again leaves out millions in political spending from tax forms. After failing to disclose $33.5 million in political activity from 2008 to 2013, the NRA failed to disclose another $25 million in political spending to the IRS in 2014. ► U.S. Senate sets hearing on President Obama's executive actions. Sen. Shelby has asked Attorney General Lynch to testify at a Jan. 28 hearing on the president's actions. Shelby considers the actions "executive overreach." ► Texas gun owners worry that open carry is backfiring. On an online forum, concealed carriers claim that a new law is leaving them unwelcome at more private businesses. ► Wayne LaPierre wants to debate President Obama - he should debate 1999 Wayne LaPierre first. 1999 LaPierre was an adamant background check supporter. Today he has positioned himself as a virulent opponent of expanding background checks. |
► Virginia Center for Public Safety held its 24th Annual Vigil & Advocacy Day. They were joined by Virginia Governor McAuliffe, the Coalition Against Gun Violence and others. ► Jeremy Brigham, Iowans for Gun Safety, op-ed, The caucus experience. ► Linda Finn, Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, points to loopholes in state gun laws that could be closed. ► Edmund Smith, Hoosiers Concerned About Gun Violence, talks about how lax gun laws in Indiana fuel gun violence in Chicago. ► Gabrielle Giffords, Americans for Responsible Solutions, op-ed, We can no longer wait for a Congress in the gun lobby's grip to act. ► Dr. Jonathan Metzl, Safe Tennessee Project, joins Melissa Harris Perry show to talk about the extent of Second Amendment rights. ► New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, applauds Albany's new firearm safe storage law. ► Hollye Dexter, Women Against Gun Violence, talks about how gvp advocates are getting around the gun lobby. ► Jeri Bonavia, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, calls bill to allow concealed weapons on school grounds "ridiculous." ► Jordan Royer, Washington Ceasefire, op-ed, It's time to get passionate about gun violence prevention.
► Jeffrey Lott, Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence, "We think the President is doing the right thing." ► Tom Mauser, Colorado Ceasefire, talks about Obama's new executive actions. ► Julia Wyman, States United to Prevent Gun Violence, talks with CKNW radio about the White House ceremony & more. ►North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, applauds the President's actions.
Two members of the American militia movement, Charles Carter and Vincent Smith, co-organizers of the "Paul Revere 2016 Final March to Restore America," got into a drunken dispute over a gun. Smith shot Carter in the head, killing him. |
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Guns Are Our Shared Responsibility
Guns Are Our Shared Responsibility
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
President Obama works to address our epidemic of gun violence
CeasefireUSA: The GVP Report - January 5, 2016 |
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► ► A handful of armed militiamen have occupied a federal facility near Burns, Oregon as part of a protest on behalf of two local ranchers. Here's what you need to know to make sense of this situation. ► The Trace looks back at the most powerful sentences about gun violence prevention published in 2015. ► Violence Policy Center's new report, State Firearm Death Rates Ranked by Rate, 2014, finds that states with weak gun laws and higher gun ownership lead the nation in gun deaths. ► The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence's new report, 2015 Gun Law State Scorecard, reveals a strong correlation between smart gun laws and fewer gun deaths. ► Washington state King County Superior Court Judge upheld Seattle's new tax on gun and ammunition sales. The judge dismissed the NRA's lawsuit seeking to block the tax. ► The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Florida law that prohibits doctors from asking patients questions about gun ownership, ruling that the law does not violate doctors' First and 14th Amendment rights. ► Virginia Attorney General Herring announced the state will no longer recognize out-of-state concealed handgun permits from 25 states because the states have lax concealed gun permitting laws compared with Virginia. ► IBT Times special report, Bullets Beyond Recall: Defective Guns Outside US Government's Reach. Unlike virtually any other consumer product sold in the US the federal government has no authority to force the recall of potentially defective firearms. ► Gun deaths in your district: What have your elected representatives done? Find out how many people near you have died from guns in 2015, where your congressional representatives stand on the issue and how much money they're received from the gun lobby. ► This is what gun violence looks like: 6-year-old Toshia Kinebrew, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was shot outside her apartment in July 2015. The shooting left her paralyzed. Her medical bills have surpassed $1 million and her recovery and treatment are far from over.
Here is a list of resources on how you can get involved, get informed and take action. 10 Resolutions to #EndGunViolence in 2016
► ► Timothy Johnson, Media Matters, What 2016 holds in store for guns, the NRA, and the Presidential election. Gun safety has emerged as a major campaign issue for 2016. The NRA will use the issue to try to swing the elections and stop new legislation. ► Mat Thompson, Salon.com, I have given away my guns: I'm a Texan and a hunter, but I won't be part of gun culture any more. I was raised to be a responsible gun owner and until we can pass common-sense gun laws, I just don't feel responsible in owning a gun. ► Trinity Wall Street church presses Cabela's to stop selling high-capacity firearms. The church filed a shareholder resolution to be voted on at Cabela's annual 2016 meeting. The church raised a similar complaint at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. last year. ► Gary Gutting, NY Times, Guns and Racism. Perhaps we just haven't realized the extent to which gun violence is destroying urban black communities. But once we realize this, our passion for justice and hatred of racism should galvanize us to action. ► Mike Weisser, Mike the Gun Guy, Where do crime guns come from? Not necessarily from where you think. Hundreds of thousands of guns are stolen every year. We can't have a substantive conversation about reducing gun violence without asking how to prevent the theft of guns. ► Delphine d'Amora, Mother Jones, 6 signs the NRA is losing its stranglehold on gun policy. In schools, communities, states, and even in the federal government, people are taking action to curb the gun violence epidemic. ► Christopher Hooks, Texas Monthly, Why the mock mass shooting matters. A small group of gun rights protesters put on a "fake mass shooting" at the University of Texas at Austin. The protesters were hugely outnumbered by counter-protesters. ► A. J. Somerset, Alternet.org, The disinformation gunmakers want you to believe about women and guns. The popular ideas about women and guns exist chiefly in the minds of men with guns.
► There's something funny about the NRA's tax filings.... A New York Post review of the NRA's tax forms finds years that were littered with information gaps and apparent falsehoods. ► U.S House and Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would give government funds to gun violence prevention research. The omnibus government funding bill keeps in place the 17-year-old ban on money for the CDC and the NIH to do research on guns. ► Stag Arms gun manufacturer pleads guilty to violating federal firearms laws. Owner Mark Malkowski pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to a felony count of possession of machine guns not registered to the company. He will pay a $100,000 fine and not be permitted to own, operate or manage a firearms company. ► Gun Owners of America: An introduction to the country's most controversial gun group. How Larry Pratt and the small lobbying group has made a name for itself by pulling at the NRA's right flank. |
► Leah Gunn Barrett, New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, lte NY Times, Gun laws work. It's a tragedy that Congress won't listen. ► Jennifer Thorne, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, objects to the proposed "Guns Everywhere Bill" before the state legislature. ► Amanda Gailey, Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, op-ed, Reasonable limits could reduce mass killings. ► Joshua Horwtiz, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, coauthored a chapter, Preventing Gun Violence: Decreasing Access to Firearms during Times of Crisis, in the new book Gun Violence and Mental Illness. ► New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence supports proposed state bill to require background checks on all guns sales at gun shows. ► Ralph Fascitelli, Washington CeaseFire, comments on uptick in state concealed weapons permits and gun sales.
► Fritz Walker, CeaseFirePA, op-ed, Close our firearm background check loophole. ► Heather Martens, Protect Minnesota, argues that "it's a fantasy that's being peddled to people that they can stop mass shootings and terror attacks if they just carry guns around." ► Moms Demand Action, #GroceriesNotGuns, applauds Texas grocery stores that have opted out of the new open-carry gun law. ► Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence applauds the unanimously approved resolution by the Skokie Village Board calling on Illinois to license firearms dealers. ► Po Murray, Newtown Action Alliance, talks with Guns.com for report Newtown, CT: Gun Control Ground Zero. ► Gray Sackett, Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah, warns that gun buyers who think guns will help them be safe in their homes are actually putting themselves at risk.
The first child shooting of 2016 happened on January 1st, just after midnight. A 9-year-old girl was shot in the arm while walking out of church in Orlando, Florida. Police say the incident was possibly the result of celebratory gunfire. The girl was treated at the scene. |
