Gun safety vs gun control

A red flag law, a waiting period for gun purchases, licensing requirements, and numerous other gun controls did not prevent the July 4, 2022, Highland Park attack. Mike Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety lists Illinois as the state with the sixth most stringent gun laws in the country. Moreover, Gabby Giffords gun control group gives Illinois a grade of A- on gun control. Illinois has a red flag law, a waiting period for gun purchases, gun owner licensing, domestic violence gun laws, “open carry regulations,” and numerous other gun controls. The gun owner licensing is done via Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards. Only those with a FOID card can legally buy and possess a gun in Illinois and the process for acquiring a FOID card includes a background check. The Illinois State Police listed the process for buying a gun in Illinois: • Buyer must possess a valid FOID card. Cook County has an “assault weapons” ban that also bans “high-capacity” magazines. … [Read more...] about Highland Park Attack Occurred Despite Stringent Gun Controls

On Wednesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) argued that the Senate gun legislation “paves the way in the future to look at” other gun control provisions. Host Anderson Cooper asked, “Well, there [are] probably a lot of people who wanted this to — obviously, you said you wanted this to go farther in terms of gun safety or gun control. What do you say to those who say that this doesn’t go far enough and that this may make it harder to try to get further changes in the future?” Klobuchar responded, “We have worked on this for decades. And after Parkland, I sat across from Donald Trump at the White House, along with a number of senators, he said he was going to do something about background checks. I still have the piece of paper, eight times, nine times, he said it…nothing happened. After Sandy Hook, nothing happened. And when you talk to the families who have been working on this for so long, they understand how difficult this has been, how disappointing … [Read more...] about Klobuchar: Senate Gun Bill ‘Paves the Way’ for Other Gun Control Measures

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and thirteen other House Republicans crossed the aisle and voted with Democrats to pass gun control by 234-193 on Friday. The measure on which the House voted was Sen. Cornyn’s gun control package, which passed the Senate Thursday night by a vote of 65-33, with 15 Republican Senators caving on gun control. Reuters reports that the Democrat-led House followed suit, passing the gun control package on Friday. Every House Democrat voted for the gun controls, as did 14 Republican House members. The gun control package expands background checks for some gun buyers, uses taxpayer money to incentivize states to enact red flag laws, and broadens the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) prohibited purchasers list by using domestic violence statutes to cover dating relationships. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) praised the gun control package, saying, “The legislation … includes several strong steps to save lives, not only from horrific mass … [Read more...] about Rep. Liz Cheney, Other Republicans Vote to Pass Gun Control

President Joe Biden signed a gun control package Saturday, noting that he was pleased to sign it but “there’s much more work to do.” Fox News reports Biden signed the legislation and said , “This bill doesn’t do everything I want. It does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives. I know there’s much more work to do. And I’m never going to give up.” The New York Times quoted Biden as saying , “God willing, it’s going to save a lot of lives.” Breitbart News noted that the gun control package, pushed by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), expands background checks for some gun buyers, uses taxpayer money to incentivize states to enact red flag laws, and broadens the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) prohibited purchasers list by using domestic violence statutes to cover dating relationships. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) It also focuses on straw purchases and gun trafficking, two things that had nothing to do with Uvalde, Buffalo, … [Read more...] about Joe Biden Signs Gun Control Law: ‘There’s Much More Work to Do’

Denmark has some of the most stringent gun controls in the world, yet numerous people were shot and some killed Sunday at the Field’s shopping mall in Copenhagen. Danish police confirmed multiple people were shot at the mall and that “several” have been killed, Breitbart News reported . Police inspector Søren Thomassen said , “We know that there are several dead…[and] several injured,” according to the Associated Press. The University of Sydney’s GunPolicy.org categorizes Denmark’s gun control as “restrictive,” and they note that “the right to gun ownership is not guaranteed by law.” An ambulance and armed police outside the Field’s shopping center, in Orestad, Copenhagen, Denmark, Sunday, July 3, 2022, after reports of shots fired. (Olafur Steinar Gestsson /Ritzau Scanpix via AP) Moreover, Denmark requires would-be gun owners to first get a license from the government. Only licensed individuals may own or transfer a gun and ammunition. Also, even with a … [Read more...] about ‘Restrictive’ Gun Controls Failed to Prevent Copenhagen Attack

The Los Angeles Times ran a column Monday in which an Oakland gun club leader suggests California liberals get “uneasy when it comes to the idea of black folks being armed.” The gun club leader, Nathan W. Jones, made his comment just days after the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) struck down New York’s proper cause requirement for concealed carry permit issuance. SCOTUS struck down New York’s requirement on June 23. On June 24 both California and New Jersey reacted to the ruling by striking certain concealed carry permit requirements in their states. The LA Times notes that Jones, leader of the Black Gun Owners Association, believes SCOTUS’s pro-2A ruling comes at a time when black Americans have awoken to the need to carry guns for self-defense. Jones said, “I had visions of mobs dragging people through the streets, and something just kind of switched. … We can’t rely on anybody else to come and save us. It has to be us.” But Jones makes clear that he is not sure how … [Read more...] about Oakland Gun Club Leader: California Liberals ‘Uneasy When It Comes to the Idea of Black Folks Being Legally Armed’

Gabby Giffords’ gun control group, called Giffords, is spending $10 million in hopes of helping pro-gun control congressional candidates win at the polls in six states this November. Politico reports the six states Giffords is targeting are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. These states are “key battlegrounds that will determine whether Democrats keep their majority.” Giffords’ managing director Robin Lloyds noted that the money will be used to target pro-2A Congressional members who voted against the recent gun controls President Joe Biden signed into law. Lloyd said, “This investment will absolutely be used to support champions who voted for the bill and in other cases we’ll be able to shine a light on the fact that their elected representative did not vote for this bill.” Breitbart News reported that the legislation Biden signed was negotiated in the Senate by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). It expands background checks for people 18-20 years … [Read more...] about Gabby Giffords’ Gun Control Group Spending $10 Million to Win Congressional Seats in Six States

Chicago White Sox’s Liam Hendricks criticized United States gun policy on July 4, claiming it is easier to get a firearm than it is a to get driver’s license. Hendricks told NBC White Sox, “I had to take a driving test when I [came] over [to America]. I won’t have to take a test if I want to get a gun. That’s stupid. Whoever thought that was a great idea is an idiot.” Hendricks, who is from Australia, said of America, “There is a lot of things that are good over here but, if you look at the negatives … I can walk into a store as a non-American and buy a handgun, in certain states, and that baffles me.” The United States has had background checks on retail gun sales since 1998. Those checks include a requirement that the would-be buyer complete an ATF Form 4473, which is a background check form asking criminal and mental history questions. Once the form is filled out a phone call is placed to the FBI to verify there is no criminal history in the would-be buyer’s record, and … [Read more...] about White Sox’s Liam Hendricks Claims Getting Gun Easier than Getting Driver’s License

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) stated that Republican senators supporting the Senate gun legislation over opposition from the NRA “sort of paves the way for even more progress in the future, now that we have broken this logjam.” And “That’s maybe the legacy of the bill in the long run.” Murphy stated, “[F]or 30 years in Washington, the NRA got everything they wanted, and if the NRA opposed a bill, it was essentially dead letter. That’s not the case any longer and that is because, over time, citizens have organized, and especially in the wake of Uvalde, when senators went home, they heard loud and clear from their constituents that this time, doing nothing could not be an option. The fear and the anxiety was just palpable in this country. So, yes, the NRA is opposed to this bill and there are going to be somewhere between 15 and 20 Republican senators that are going to vote for it, which I think sort of paves the way for even more progress in … [Read more...] about Dem Sen. Murphy: Senate Gun Bill Getting GOP Support Paves ‘the Way for Even More’

It happened fast. Just like everything else in Trumpland. On January 10th, CNN published an explosive story: a dossier alleging President-elect Donald Trump had been embarrassingly compromised by the Russian government had been circulating among high-ranking government officials and journalists for months. But CNN, along with a number of other organizations that had access to the dossier, stopped short of publishing it. Their reasoning? They couldn’t confirm any of the file’s salacious details or damning allegations. An hour later, BuzzFeed went ahead and published the documents. BuzzFeed described the dossier’s allegations as “unverified” and pointed out some obvious errors that suggested sloppy work, such as misspellings and easily debunked claims, but didn’t weigh in on the truthfulness of its most damning charges. Journalists quickly weighed in on the ethics of publishing a document containing such allegations without proof of their veracity, many harshly condemning … [Read more...] about BuzzFeed vs. Trump