1. New Hampshire Million Mom March Chapter, Brady Members, and StoptheNRA eActivists Successfully Kill Shoot First Bill; Seven States Have Seen Bill Die
2. Virginia Bill to Infringe on Doctors' Right to Discuss Firearms Defeated in Senate Committee
3. Denver Million Mom March Chapter Works with Local Activists to Protect Colorado Background Check and Defeat Use of Deadly Force Bill
4. Wisconsin Brady Members and StoptheNRA eActivists Put Pressure on Key Votes; Governor's Veto on Concealed Carry Upheld Despite Attempts to Override
5. Brady Campaign Fights "Guns in the Workplace" Legislation around the Country
6. Brady Stands with ATF and Law Enforcement at Congressional Hearings

The New Hampshire House voted by a wide margin to defeat a bill that would have made it legal for a gun owner to shoot and kill another person if they feel threatened -- even in a public place. In addition to the work on the ground of the New Hampshire Million Mom March Chapter, eActivists sent more than 873 emails to members of the State House expressing their outrage over the bill. The bill failed in a 194-138 vote.

The New Hampshire bill was a replica of one passed in Florida last year, and is called a "Shoot First" bill because it would have eliminated a citizen's duty to avoid a threat by walking away or seeking refuge in a safe place and, instead, allows the gun user to "shoot first" to eliminate the threat, even if they are in a public place. The New Hampshire victory adds to the list of states that have defeated, tabled, or adjourned on Shoot First bills this year: Indiana, Iowa, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The Virginia Senate Health and Education Committee defeated a bill that would have banned pediatricians from discussing with or asking their patient's parents whether there is a gun in the home. Unbelievably, this bill passed in the House of Delegates 88-11, but the Senate Committee stopped the bill in its tracks due in large part to the outcry from the Virginia medical community and Voices for Virginia's Children, who were supported by the gun violence prevention groups in the state, including the Virginia Million Mom March Chapters of the Brady Campaign. The bill cannot be brought up again this session.

A coalition of gun violence prevention advocates, law enforcement, and domestic violence groups defeated an attempt by the gun lobby to weaken the Brady background check law in Colorado. The Greater Denver Million Mom Chapter and Colorado Ceasefire activated their members, generating heavy email and phone traffic into members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The gun lobby's bill failed 5-2.

And then, just nine days later, activists handed the NRA another defeat -- this time in the House Judiciary Committee. Testimony by the Colorado District Attorney's Council, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, the Colorado Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Colorado Ceasefire, and the Greater Denver Million Mom Chapter helped defeat HB 1246, a bill to expand the allowable use of deadly physical force from homes to cars and hotel rooms.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle's veto of SB 403, a bill that would have allowed virtually anyone to carry a loaded, hidden gun in public, was upheld! The bill also contained language that would have allowed guns in the workplace. As a spokesperson for Governor Doyle said, "The Governor is more than happy to stand up to the NRA when it comes to protecting kids and keeping guns off of playgrounds and out of shopping malls." This victory would not have been possible without the courage of State Representatives Steinbrink and Van Akkeren, who voted to stand with the Governor to protect our communities. These two votes were the difference in making the Governor's veto stand.

One of the NRA's top priorities for 2006 has been to pass a bill in all 50 states that would have forced businesses to allow guns on their privately held, business-owned property, whether they wanted to or not. But, fortunately for workers' safety, the NRA has not been very successful. In 2006, "Guns in the Workplace" bills were introduced in only 11 states, and have already been defeated, tabled, or adjourned in Georgia, Indiana, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

In Florida, where the NRA has concentrated a lot of its effort, the bill was tabled multiple times in various committees, bowing to pressure from the business community and activists. In addition to the work of the Florida Retail Association and the Florida Chamber of Commerce, our Florida Million Mom March Chapters and the Florida Coalition to Stop Gun Violence made phone calls and visits to Tallahassee, plus our StoptheNRA eActivists sent more than 22,000 emails to the Committee members and to their own state representatives.

The Brady Campaign fought back against the NRA's attacks and stood with law enforcement at two hearings held by a U.S. House Subcommittee on what the National Rifle Association has called the "heavy-handed enforcement tactics" of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives" (ATF) at gun shows in Virginia.

Though the intent of the NRA was to get their Congressional allies to bash the ATF, the hearings seriously backfired on the gun lobby. For example, the hearings revealed: (1) that ATF's visible presence at gun shows had sharply reduced the presence of gang members at the shows; (2) that licensed dealers would prefer more, not less, ATF scrutiny of unlicensed sellers at gun shows; and (3) that 25 cases were recommended for prosecution, yielding 19 convictions so far, from the ATF's work at the gun show.

The NRA's mantra has been "We don't need new gun laws; we need to enforce the laws we have." Yet, when ATF is successful in aggressively enforcing existing laws, it becomes an occasion for the NRA to flex its muscles and try to make sure it never happens again. The Brady Campaign is proud to stand with the ATF and all of law enforcement across the country.