1. VICTORY! Colorado Chapters, Coalition, and eActivists Get Law Enforcement Bill Passed
2. VICTORY! Brady Campaign and Illinois Coalition See Four Key Bills Pass First Committees
3. VICTORY! California Chapters Get Priority Bill through First Committee
4. FIGHTING BACK! eActivists and Million Mom March Chapters Thwart NRA Bills at State Level
5. FIGHTING BACK! Brady Law Enforcement Relations Lines Up Opposition for "Tiahrt" Provisions
6. FIGHTING BACK! Brady Campaign's Priority Bill in Pennsylvania Gets Attention at Statewide Public Hearings

After successful lobbying from advocates, coupled with emails from constituents, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed into law HB 1174, an important bill that will keep in place an already existing database of those permitted to carry concealed handguns in public. The new law will provide law enforcement with an important tool to keep guns out of criminals' hands, including domestic violence offenders, by maintaining a statewide database of those permitted to carry loaded, hidden handguns in public. The gun lobby opposed HB 1174 despite strong objections from Colorado law enforcement.

An unprecedented coalition of gun violence prevention advocates, victims and leaders from public health, law enforcement, and the faith community have helped to pass all of four of our priority bills out of policy committees. The priority bills consist of requiring a background check on all buyers of handguns, banning high capacity ammunition clips, banning .50 caliber sniper rifles, and requiring reporting of lost and stolen firearms. Advocates are keeping up the pressure to ensure that these legislative priorities keep moving.

In California, the Crime Gun Identification Act (AB 1471) passed the Assembly Public Safety Committee on a vote of 5-2 on April 24. The Crime Gun Identification Act will enable law enforcement to better solve crimes committed with handguns and reduce illegal gun trafficking by requiring that, starting in 2010, new semi-automatic handguns be equipped with technology to allow police to match bullet shells found at a crime scene to the handgun that fired the bullets. This technology, known as "microstamping" would substantially enhance law enforcements ability to quickly identify and link shell casings found at a crime scene to the individual semi-automatic handgun from which it was fired.

Activists and lawmakers alike have stood up against dangerous, NRA-supported state legislation around the country. Our victories are spreading against two terrible pieces of legislation that pose serious risks to public safety: "Shoot First" and "Guns in the Workplace."

So far in 2007, 12 states have introduced Guns in the Workplace bills and only one has been passed! In nine of these states (California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Texas, Utah), the bill was defeated or failed due to adjournment.

A total of 14 states have introduced Shoot First legislation in 2007, and in six of these states (Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, West Virginia) the bills have been either defeated or failed due to adjournment. Of the remaining eight states, only three have passed the bill and had it signed by their respective governor (North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas). Most of the other states where Shoot First bills are currently pending have seen limited progress as the message continues to spread about the danger these bills pose.

Brady Law Enforcement Relations (LER) has orchestrated a national effort to organize law enforcement opposition to the "Tiahrt Provisions" -- provisions in recent Appropriations bills that weaken ATF's ability to enforce the nation's gun laws against corrupt or unscrupulous gun dealers. Working with Chapters and allied organizations, including States United and the Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the list of opposing individuals and organizations is impressive: 10 national law enforcement organizations; 20 state law enforcement organizations; and 193 individual law enforcement executives from 37 states.

High profile leaders from across the state testified in favor of the one-handgun-a-month bill at a series of field hearings on gun violence held by the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee. Testifiers included State Police Commissioner Col. Jeffery Miller, Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, and members of the domestic violence prevention and gun violence prevention communities.