USA Today Feb 6, 2012
Brady gun-control organization gets new president
Youth anti-violence advocate Daniel Gross has been elected to head the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center, the Washington-based organization promoting gun control plans to announce Monday. Gross is cofounder and executive director of the Center to Prevent Youth Violence and was elected to the Brady post by the organization's board of trustees. He replaces former Brady president Paul Helmke, former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., who announced in June he would step down on July 10. Helmke's resignation followed a five-year commitment he'd made to serve the organization starting in 2006. Gross spoke with USA TODAY over ...read the full article


Washington Post Feb 6, 2012
Republicans in Virginia push conservative agenda, with bills on guns, gays
Less than a month into the General Assembly session, Republicans have passed bills expanding gun rights and rolling back abortion rights, gay rights and -- at least as Democrats see it -- voting rights. Dozens of other bills remain in the works. Although it's no surprise that Republicans would go after those issues, the speed with which they have gotten them past floor votes has surprised some Richmond observers. "There's a pent-up demand,'' said former lieutenant governor John Hager, a Republican who presided over the state Senate for four years. "It says who's in charge." Republicans have not gotten everything they wanted -- ...read the full article


State Journal-Register Feb 6, 2012
Judge upholds Illinois law against carrying firearms in public
A federal judge in Springfield has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Illinois law prohibiting the carrying of loaded guns in public. U.S. Judge Sue Myerscough wrote in an opinion issued Friday that the Second Amendment is narrow and merely gives citizens the right to possess lawful firearms in the home. Four citizens and the Second Amendment Foundation Inc. and Illinois Carry -- both pro-gun lobbying groups -- filed suit in May 2011. They argued that Illinois laws that prohibit people from carrying guns in public, whether concealed or not, violate the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Myerscough, however, found no constitutional problem ...read the full article


United Press International Feb 6, 2012
Brady gun-control group elects president
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the largest gun-control organization in the United States, announced Monday it elected a new president. Youth anti-violence advocate Daniel Gross, who co-founded and is executive director of the Center to Prevent Youth Violence, was elected to succeed Paul Helmke, a lawyer and former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., who stepped down July 10, as head the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center, the center said in a release. "Jim and I have known Dan ever since he founded CPYV. Dan personally understands that there are too ...read the full article


Tucson Citizen Feb 6, 2012
Brady gun-control group gets new president
Youth anti-violence advocate Daniel Gross has been elected to head the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center, the Washington-based organization promoting gun control plans to announce Monday. Gross is cofounder and executive director of the Center to Prevent Youth Violence and was elected to the Brady post by the organization's board of trustees. He replaces former Brady president Paul Helmke, former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., who announced in June he would step down on July 10. Helmke's resignation followed a five-year commitment he'd made to serve the organization starting in 2006. Gross spoke with USA TODAY over ...read the full article


Think Progress Feb 5, 2012
Bloomberg: ‘You’d Think That If A Congresswoman Got Shot In The Head,’ That Would Change Congress’ Views On Guns
Appearing on Meet the Press this morning, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed bewilderment at the many lawmakers in Washington who continue sabotage existing gun laws: BLOOMBERG: You'd think that if a congresswoman got shot in the head, that would have changed Congress' views. I can tell you how to change it, just get Congress to come with me to the hospital when I've got tell tell somebody that their son or daughter, their spouse, their parent is not going to come home again. This past, this week, even though the murder rate in New York is ...read the full article


Reuters Feb 4, 2012
Fuzzy numbers on guns
(Reuters) - The conventional wisdom is that gun sales have increased dramatically since the election of Barack Obama because people fear gun rights will be curtailed. But as it turns out, there are no completely accurate measures of either gun purchases or gun ownership. The gun industry's trade group, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), tracks gun sales by looking at the number of new requests to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). A check is required whenever someone buys a gun from a licensed dealer. Sign up for news & weather email alerts from WHNT NEWS 19! NSSF then ...read the full article


Washington Post Blog - On Faith Feb 4, 2012
Not pretty in pink: Komen has a trust gap
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the nation's largest breast cancer charity, has had tremendous success in getting the color pink to be a nationally recognized symbol to raise breast cancer awareness. But a huge trust gap has opened up for Komen after the charity decided to pull funding for Planned Parenthood for breast cancer prevention, screenings and education. With a spreading backlash, and a precipitous decline in donations to the charity , founder Nancy Brinker issued an apology and said the charity has reversed its decision about Planned Parenthood funding. Sort of. The problem is, this is a self-excusing ...read the full article


Washington Post Feb 4, 2012
Lax U.S. gun laws enable killing in Mexico
DO AMERICA'S failed gun policies contribute to the terrible violence in Mexico? Alejandro A. Poire Romero makes a compelling case that the answer is yes. Law enforcement officials in both countries acknowledge that 70 to 80 percent of the traceable guns seized in Mexico can be tracked to the United States. Mr. Poire Romero, a top Mexican national security and criminal justice official, offers additional evidence that the United States has been an enabler of the violence. In 2005 roughly one-third of the seized guns were assault weapons. Today, according to Mr. Poire Romero, assault weapons represent 60 to 65 percent of ...read the full article


US Department of State Feb 2, 2012
Black History Month 2012: Astrid Dorelien
Astrid Dorelien is a 2010 Presidential Management Fellow in the Office of the Haiti Special Coordinator (S/HSC). As a foreign affairs officer in S/HSC, Astrid is the principal point of contact for health, labor, and economic affairs. She also works closely with the Deputy Coordinator for Assistance to oversee the U.S. Government's food and economic security programs in Haiti. Astrid came to the State Department from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in August 2011, where she worked in the Office of Healthcare Programs and the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement. Astrid brings with her to the State ...read the full article