Washington Post Sep 8, 2008
Editorial: The House's Stickup
HOUSE DEMOCRATS make much of their support for the right of the District to self-government. Too bad they are willing to sacrifice this basic tenet of American democracy to the political self-interests of members cowed by the powerful gun lobby. How else to explain a planned vote on legislation so extreme it would strip the District of all power to regulate guns? Since appeals for home rule don't appear to be persuasive these days, let's hope that concern about safety and security in the nation's capital kills this bad bill. H.R. 6691 is the latest effort by the National Rifle Association ...read the full article


Boston Globe Sep 6, 2008
Editorial: More needless carnage
ANOTHER DEADLY combination of too many guns and too little mental healthcare has exploded in Washington state, where a 28-year-old man allegedly killed six people on a two-hour shooting rampage Tuesday. The tragic story could get lost in the week's focus on presidential politics, but the presidential campaign is precisely where these issues should be debated. The suspect, Isaac Zamora, has been described by his mother as "desperately mentally ill." He had just completed a six-month jail term on cocaine possession charges in rural Skagit County, and had been living in nearby woods. Between suicide attempts, thefts, drug abuse, and threats ...read the full article


ABC News Sep 5, 2008
Capitol Police Arrest Man With Weapons Cache
A man arrested near the U.S. Capitol with a small cache of weapons and explosives in his vehicle is facing charges for carrying a deadly weapon and possessing an unregistered firearm and ammunition, according to U.S. Capitol Police. Department spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said that at approximately 10:45 a.m. ET, a white male driver, later identified as Christopher Shelton Timmons, 27, approached a Capitol Police officer for directions at 2nd and Independence Ave., SE, near the Library of Congress. The officer noticed a rifle case in the vehicle and proceeded to search it. Police say they found one AK-47 type rifle, two ...read the full article


Seattle Times Sep 4, 2008
Shooting-rampage suspect described as deeply troubled
On good days, Isaac Zamora could be charming, warm, creative. He could be strange, too -- aimlessly walking the streets alone at all hours, causing trouble by grabbing a fistful of paper towels from the gas station and letting them trail out his window as he drove off. But most recently, however, Zamora was scary, say family and friends. In some ways, residents of his close-knit neighborhood in rural Skagit County were living under Zamora's shadow. Over the past decade, he showed increasing signs of serious mental illness, ranging from suicide attempts to auditory hallucinations, from smashed windshields to outright threats. He ...read the full article


New England Journal of Medicine Sep 4, 2008
Guns and Suicide in the United States
This past June, in a 5-to-4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court struck down a ban on handgun ownership in the nation's capital and ruled that the District's law requiring all firearms in the home to be locked violated the Second Amendment. But the Supreme Court's finding of a Second Amendment right to have a handgun in the home does not mean that it is a wise decision to own a gun or to keep it easily accessible. Deciding whether to own a gun entails balancing potential benefits and risks. One of the risks for which ...read the full article


Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sep 3, 2008
Deputy, 5 others die in shooting rampage
MOUNT VERNON -- Six people were killed, including a Skagit County sheriff's deputy, in a Tuesday afternoon shooting rampage apparently ignited by a man police had previously identified as mentally disturbed. Two people also were wounded in what appears to be a series of shootings in several Skagit County locations, authorities said. The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Isaac Zamora, was arrested following the shooting spree. Among the wounded was a State Patrol trooper who was grazed in the arm during a high-speed chase down southbound Interstate 5. His injuries were not considered life threatening. Reached at her home by telephone, Zamora's mother said ...read the full article


Newsweek Magazine Sep 1, 2008
Silence On A ‘Terror Gap’
Sen. John McCain portrays himself as a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights. But does that extend to gun rights for suspected terrorists? His campaign won't say where he stands on a bill to eliminate a gun-control loophole that even the Bush administration wants closed: a gap in federal law that inhibits the government from stopping people on terrorist watch lists from buying guns. The bill was inspired by an official audit covering a five-month period in 2004 which found that, because of the loophole, the Feds had to greenlight 35 out of 44 cases where a gun buyer was ...read the full article


Hartford Courant Aug 31, 2008
Editorial: A Handgun Horror
Jason and Rebecca Matteau are living a parent's worst nightmare. On Thursday morning, their 2-year-old son, Wyatt, found a loaded handgun in the family's apartment in the Jewett City section of Griswold and fatally shot himself. It's hard to imagine the heartbreak of the Matteau family. Jason Matteau, a gun enthusiast, obviously adored his son. His page on Myspace.com features a photo of Wyatt, a smiling little boy with blond hair and blue eyes, sitting on his father's lap with his infant sister, Sara. On his Myspace profile, Mr. Matteau listed his greatest fear as: "Losing my son." Connecticut law is clear ...read the full article


ABC News Aug 29, 2008
'We Sell Guns! Criminals and Terrorists Welcome': New Anti-Gun Billboard Sparks Outrage Among Gun Rights Groups
"We Sell Guns! No ID Required. No Background Checks. Criminals and Terrorists Welcome!" That's the slogan on a new 250-foot billboard that a gun control group unveiled on the Massachusetts Turnpike last week, sparking outrage among some gun rights activists. The National Rifle Association has called the billboard "sensationalistic," saying that the gun control lobby is "way out of line" to use terrorists in a post- 9/11 world to boost their chances of passing gun control laws. "This billboard is a glaring example of just how low the gun control movement will stoop," a NRA spokesman told ABC News. "It has been ...read the full article


Waco Tribune Aug 27, 2008
Editorial: Gun-free for good reason
Legal or illegal? Harrold Independent School District teachers, if they have a conceal-carry permit and are cleared by the school board, can come to school armed. The district says it's legal. Others point to a law that says armed campus personnel must be commissioned peace officers. Whatever the case, it's ill-advised. For one thing, schools are among the safest places to be. Saturation coverage of isolated school shootings has created the false impression that children aren't safe at school. They are. For another thing, the proliferation of concealed guns raises the possibility of firearms accidents, thefts and vigilante-type actions that short-circuit the legal process. These ...read the full article