Exclusive: 2 million mentally ill people missing from national gun check system February 11, 2011 — The issue of gun control leapt back into the national discourse in the wake of January's Tucson massacre. But one of the most shocking gaps in the effort to prevent people prohibited by law from purchasing firearms continues to fly beneath the radar. Records of at least two million dangerously mentally ill individuals whose names should already be in the nation's criminal background check system remain missing.
State House Proposal Targets Gun Ban for Parks: Lawmakers Seek Return to Earlier 'Status Quo' February 04, 2010 — Robert Proudman, representing the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., said between 1 and 2 million people hike the trail every year. Yet during the past 40 years, there have only been eight murders — two of which involved guns — along the 2,200-mile-long trail stretching from Georgia to Maine.... “I believe allowing firearms on the Appalachian Trail is unnecessary, possibly dangerous and, simply put, a bad idea,” Proudman said. “Perhaps most important, we don’t want the culture to change.”
Looser Rules on Concealed Weapons Advance February 02, 2010 — The measure alarmed the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police, which sent its lobbyist, John Thomas, to the Senate Judiciary Committee to try to kill the measure. "SB 1102, if enacted into law, will take Arizona back to the Wild West," he said, "with no consideration of officer safety."
Beyond the NRA's absolutism December 10, 2009 — NRA leaders, meet your members. It turns out that the people in the ranks actually are much wiser than their lobbyists... In his survey of 832 gun owners, including 401 NRA members, [pollster Frank] Luntz found that 82 percent of NRA members supported "prohibiting people on the terrorist watch lists from purchasing guns." Sixty-nine percent favored "requiring all gun sellers at gun shows to conduct criminal background checks of the people buying guns," and 78 percent backed "requiring gun owners to alert police if their guns are lost or stolen."
Editorial: Mistakes and failures create a recipe for tragedy December 03, 2009 — Without a gun, Clemmons is a coffee shop patron fueled by an apparent hatred for police officers. He goes into a delusional rant about the criminal justice system and is arrested for disorderly conduct. But put a gun in his hand and – well – we all know the horrific consequences.
Editorial: Crazy about guns December 01, 2009 — That "gun-show loophole" should have been closed years ago because it would protect the public while doing nothing to restrict law-abiding citizens' right to bear arms, but the gun lobby has successfully resisted every attempt at reform. Americans could stand to be less gun-crazy and more willing to stop crazy people from getting guns.
Editorial: A Deadly License November 22, 2009 — Florida hands out so many concealed handgun permits that the state bureaucracy can't keep up with the demand. So it should surprise no one that Florida leads the nation in the number of killings committed by holders of concealed handgun permits.
Editorial: The Horror At Fort Hood November 07, 2009 — "It is always a shock — and a cause for deep sadness — when a gunman fires malevolently at crowds of innocent people. We have seen it far too often..."
Editorial: Closing Loophole Has Wide Support October 21, 2009 — "At the moment, the state government is complicit in a large number of no-questions-asked transactions at gun shows at civic centers and other public venues throughout Virginia... The current law caters to a small percentage of the population who put their own personal convenience ahead of the safety of the general population. It's time for the legislature to stop easing the way for criminals to acquire guns."