Tuesday, April 16, 2013
A law that would make it mandatory for people buying guns at gun shows and online gun shows to have a background check is being debated in the Senate this week. Do you agree or disagree with the move?
Senate Republicans and Democrats seem to have reached a deal on a law that would allow background checks on private gun sales at gun shows and online gun purchases, according to a story by The Hill. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) told a reporter with TheHill.com that he didn't think background checks fell into the category of gun control. A reporter with the New York Daily News called the deal "watered-down." But Fox News reported it is unclear whether there are enough supporting votes to pass the bill, which would require 60 votes and at least some of those votes coming from Republicans. Under current law, gun buyers who make their purchases at licensed gun dealers have to comply with background check laws, but those who buy guns at shows …
Saturday, January 19, 2013
With more than 300 comments between two stories, Patch readers are up in arms over the guns or no guns debate surrounding schools. If President Barack Obama's kids are constantly protected, some say, everyday American's should be as well.
Last year marked the deadliest year in mass shootings in United States history, with incidents at an elementary school, movie theater and religious temple leaving hundreds of people dead or injured. The recent rash in mass shootings has ignited passionate debates and sparked hundreds of comments on Patch among those who are both for and against tighter gun control laws. Two stories in particular generated more than 300 comments: One on President Barack Obama's proposed gun control measures and one on an ad by the NRA that referred to the president's children. On Wednesday, Obama proposed a comprehensive gun policy reform that included a series of executive actions. Under the proposals the president is recommending: The package will cost…
Hundreds of armed gun owners are expected to show up at the state Capitol as part of nationwide movement to support gun ownership.
Updated at 5:20 p.m. Saturday with crowd estimate A conservative group is hoping that tens of thousands turn out nationwide to show their support for gun ownership with their pocketbooks and picket signs the day before President Barack Obama is sworn in for a second term. The group, a coalition brought together for the event, declared Saturday as "Gun Appreciation Day." The hope is Americans nationwide will show their support for gun ownership by turning out en masse at gun stores, ranges and shows from coast to coast. “The Obama administration has shown that it is more than willing to trample the Constitution to impose its dictates upon the American people,” said Gun Appreciation Day Chairman Larry Ward in a press release. In Wisconsin, …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Obama unveiled a number of recommendations based off work done by a task force, and also issued 23 executive actions that don't require congressional approval.
Following a series mass shootings last year, President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed comprehensive gun policy reform that included a series of executive actions. The set of proposals is based on a month-long review by a task force spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden. The proposals address giving addtional tools to law enforcement, school safety, mental health and the availability of dangerous firearms and ammunition. Under the proposals the president is recommending: The package will cost about $500 million, reported the Huffington Post. Obama said in a Wednesday press conference that most Americans agree with universal background checks. He also said that more than 40 percent of gun purchases are done without background checks. …
National Rifle Association injects President's children into gun debate. Does that go too far?
The National Rifle Association is stoking ire from both the left and right today after it released an ad that injects President Obama's children into the guns-in-schools debate. "Are the President's kids more important than yours," the ad asks. "Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed security at their school?" The 30-second commercial appears on the NRA's website and is apparently running on the Sportsman Channel. "They are out of step, out of the mainstream, totally out of sync with what’s going on in our society, and quite frankly after seeing that, I think some of the people who run that thing are sick," said Mika Brzezinksi, co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe. "I really do…
Friday, January 4, 2013
Recent mass shootings have opened the door for a gun regulation debate, but there doesn't appear to be much in common between the two sides.
In late October, “Saturday Night Live” spoofed the second presidential debate, in which Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney fielded questions from a town hall audience. One question: “I was wondering what either of you would do to keep dangerous assault weapons such as AK-47s off the street?” Mock Mitt answered first: “Ah, nothing.” Bogus Barack backed him up: “I would also do nothing.” The exchange, a condensed take on the candidates’ actual noncommittal responses to a similar question, drew derisive laughter from the SNL crowd. The lack of political will on the issue of gun violence had become, in some people’s eyes, a national joke. And then a gunman with an assault rifle murdered 26 people, mostly little children, at an …
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Patch users spoke often, and sometimes eloquently, in response to our poll question about gun ownership. We've compiled some of the best opinions here.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Discussion on gun control, ownership and use has come to the forefront locally and nationally. Vote in our poll on the matter, and participate in the comments.
Three high-profile shooting deaths in the Milwaukee area since August — coupled with mass shootings in Aurora, CO and Newtown, CT — have heightened the national dialogue on gun ownership and control. It’s also increased the interest in Americans of owning guns. Sellers across the country reported surges in business following the Newtown elementary school shooting, and the head of the National Rifle Association called for armed security in schools. Meanwhile, Democrats plan to introduce federal legislation to ban production of high-capacity magazines, according to the Huffington Post. Have recent events made it more likely you would own a gun for personal safety? Or have they squelched any notion of owning one? Finally, have events and …
Friday, December 21, 2012
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre said.
In an amazing Friday morning press conference, the National Rifle Association broke its weeklong silence following the horrific shooting of 26 people at a school in Newtown, CT and called for a surge of gun-carrying "good guys" around American schools. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for a new kind of American domestic security revolving around armed civilians, arguing that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." "We care about our president, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents," LaPierre said. "Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol Police officers. Yet, when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American family, our …
There are many factors when it comes to tragedies such as the one in Newtown. But there is no doubt in my mind that the biggest impact we can make is in regards to guns. Changes need to be made. They need to be made now!!
It’s the Guns, Damnit A friend of mine recently stated, “We’ve seen technological advances, but the stupidity factor has risen along with it. We run 21st century problems through a brain chemistry that, in evolutionary terms, hasn’t advanced in 50,000 years.” Technology, media, and entertainment all play a role in how we have reached this point. It is almost as if the clothes on our backs are growing while we remain the same size. We can invent something to take care of just about anything but we cannot count on any machine, program or device to power our human evolution. Mental illness is also an important factor when it comes to quality of life. We need to eliminate the stigma and increase the funding. We need awareness equal to any …
Jim C
2:58 pm on Monday, May 6, 2013
Shooting is a great recreation, also I absolutely enjoy target shooting be pellet guns or my duty weapon.... I encourage anyone against firearms to go and try it before you decide its not for you. Like Mom and Dad said. You have to try one before you decide... Some countries have mandatory military service and they all take the rifle home. The have little, to none gun crimes... It is obvious to … more ›