Monday, January 28, 2013
The gathering coincided with similar rallies across the country Saturday.
About 200 people rallied in front of the State House Saturday morning to demand tougher gun laws, including bans on assault weapons and and background checks for all gun sales, according to Boston.com. The rally, organized by One Million Moms for Gun Control, coincided with gun-control rallies across the country. It happened a week after 700 gun-rights advocates demonstrated in front of the State House last week. U.S. Rep. Ed Markey and state Rep. David Linsky of Natick, both Democrats, addressed the crowd, asking them to contact their legislators and demand tighter gun control, in particular in light of what they called a "flood" of letters from gun-rights activists. Linsky, who filed a bill earlier this month aimed at closing loopholes…
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Warren is sponsoring three bills that would support gun control reform, a gun buyer background check, and making gun trafficking a federal crime.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and Senator Elizabeth Warren discussed gun violence prevention on Friday, championing reforms including a criminal background check on anyone buying a gun in the country. "Now is the time to turn words into actions, to line up supporters and to mobilize all Americans behind common sense gun reform," Menino said after walking to the podium with a cane at the Parkman House. Menino joked with Warren, calling her the "senior" senator of Massachusetts, then turned serious about three major points key to gun violence prevention: Warren said she's sponsored three bills being unveiled next week that support those three points. Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, is filing the Fix Gun Checks Act to close the gap in current …
Saturday, January 19, 2013
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy doesn't mince words: 'No matter what outrageous new tool they use, the NRA cannot make a straight-faced case that sport shooters need military-style weapons to enjoy their hobby.'
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) did not waste time ripping into the National Rifle Association and Apple on Tuesday for a newly-released app for iPhone and iPad that allows children as young as 4 to fire military-style weapons like M-16s and AK-47s. "The NRA seems intent on continuing to insult the families of the victims of Sandy Hook,” said Murphy in a press release. “How could they think it was a good idea to use the one month anniversary of the tragedy at Sandy Hook to release a game that teaches four year olds to shoot assault weapons? No matter what outrageous new tool they use, the NRA cannot make a straight-faced case that sport shooters need military-style weapons to enjoy their hobby." Here is the full text of Senator Murphy…
Friday, January 18, 2013
The bill looks to close loopholes in existing state laws, require mental health background checks, strengthen gun storage requirements and require liability insurance for gun owners.
- GOVERNMENT
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Friday, January 18
The following is a press release sent by the office of state Rep. David Linsky, D-Natick. State Rep. David P. Linsky announced today that he has filed “An Act to Reduce Gun Violence and to Protect the Citizens of the Commonwealth,” comprehensive gun violence prevention legislation aimed at closing loopholes in existing state laws, requiring mental health background checks, strengthening gun storage requirements, and requiring liability insurance for gun owners. “This bill is a comprehensive effort to reduce all types of gun violence – murders, intentional shootings, accidental shootings and suicides. There is not one solution to reducing gun violence – we can’t eliminate it – but there are a lot of common-sense steps that we can take to …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would tighten gun control laws in Massachusetts while increasing funding for mental health services and enhance background checks. Is this sensible, or reactionary?
Are new proposed laws regarding guns in Massachusetts and mental health services sensible and pragmatic steps, or reactionary measures that won't increase safety? Gov. Deval Patrick introduced new legislation Wednesday along those lines in the wake of the school shootings in Newtown, CT. "I am encouraged by the palpable consensus in our Legislature that the time for action is now. All of us must pull in the same direction to bring about real change in this state and across the country," Patrick said in a press release. The bill would require gun purchasers to undergo background checks at gun shows, reduce access to high-powered rounds of ammunition, and limit licensed individuals to purchasing a maximum of one gun per month. Punishments …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The governor also announced that he will couple the bill with increased support for mental health services.
Hooking on to the national and local momentum to tighten gun laws in the wake of last month's school shootings in Connecticut, Gov. Deval Patrick introduced new legislation Wednesday that seeks to strengthen gun control. At the same time, he announced plans to increase funding for mental health services. "I am encouraged by the palpable consensus in our Legislature that the time for action is now. All of us must pull in the same direction to bring about real change in this state and across the country," Patrick said in a press release. Specifically, the bill seeks to: Patrick also announced Wednesday that he will propose a 3.3 percent increase in Department of Mental Health funding in the FY2014 budget he submits next week. That money …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino writes about taking action against gun violence in the U.S.
- NEWS
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Wednesday, January 2
The following was submitted by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's office: As a parent and grandparent, I remain overcome with sadness, grief and outrage by the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. This unspeakable act of violence will forever imprint December 14, 2012 in our hearts and minds, and my heart goes out to the families impacted by this senseless tragedy and the many others we have recently witnessed across the United States. As a Mayor who has seen too many lives forever altered by gun violence, it is my responsibility to fight for action. Now is the time for that action. Each day in the United States, 33 people are murdered by guns. Our nation has been brought to a tipping point. Now is the time for a real dialogue on national gun…
Thursday, December 27, 2012
If you are licensed to own a gun, would you want your name and address publicized?
A news publication in New York is under scrutiny for publishing the names and addresses of gun owners in certain parts of the state. Less than two weeks after the tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., the New York Journal News earlier this week published the names and addresses of local gun owners in three New York counties. A story titled, "The gun owner next door: What you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood," highlights the names and addresses of residents who are licensed to own handguns through Freedom of Information Law requests, according to The Huffington Post. The Journal News reportedly requested the information from New York's Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, though the publication was only able to …
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Does the massacre at Newtown, CT, signal the need for a political debate on gun regulations?
Before officials had even held their first press conference Friday, Facebook was abuzz with status updates about the Newtown, CT, massacre. The statuses were split between those sending their condolences and those asking if the country would finally deal with the issue of gun control. Some fought back, asking for respect and mourning before political debate began. Others remained fierce in their belief that stricter gun control regulations would have prevented such a mass killing, saying the victims were shot multiple times and with semi-automatic weapons, according to Fox News. The guns were not illegal and were, in fact, owned by the shooter's mother. Among them were a semi-automatic .223 caliber bushmaster rifle and two handguns. …
Monday, December 10, 2012
A Massachusetts gun owners group is lobbying for passage of a bill that would confer lifetime gun licenses.
Way too much red tape. That's the complaint of the Gun Owners’ Action League of Massachusetts, a group that is urging passage of a law that would abolish the requirement of having to renew a gun permit every six years, according to the Boston Herald. For comparison, Massachusetts vehicle drivers' licenses need to be renewed every five years. But the league says local police cannot keep up with timely gun permit renewals, and legitimate gunowners go license-less until the cops get time to do the paperwork. The law now allows 40 days for turning around license applications. In Boston, almost 1,000 people have applied for gun permits so far this year, with waits running about 10 weeks, the Herald quotes police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca as …
Bob Samson
10:25 pm on Monday, January 28, 2013
Hundreds, thats all. more ›