Tag: gun violence

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Biden Announces Modest Actions On Guns

President Joe Biden announces modest steps intended to curb gun violence

President Joe Biden announces modest steps intended to curb gun violence President Biden announced a series of modest steps today aimed at curbing gun violence. “Gun violence in this country is an epidemic, and it’s an international embarrassment,” said Biden during his announcement. From the New York Times:

Mr. Biden said the Justice Department would issue a proposed rule to curb the proliferation of so-called ghost guns — kits that allow a gun to be assembled from pieces with no serial numbers. The intention of the rule would be to require that the components in the kits have serial numbers that would allow them to be traced and for the weapons to be legally classified as firearms, with the buyers subjected to background checks.

Mr. Biden also said he would require that when a device marketed as a stabilizing brace transforms a pistol into a short-barrel rifle, that weapon is subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act. The gunman in the Boulder, Colo., shooting last month used a pistol with an arm brace, making it more stable and accurate, he said.

Mr. Biden said the Justice Department would also publish model “red flag” legislation for states. The measure would allow police officers and family members to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from people who may present a danger to themselves or others.

With no serial numbers, ghost guns are virtually untraceable making them appealing to criminals and extremists who want weapons that don’t require background checks. Biden can’t unilaterally pass a red flag law without Congress approving it first. But providing a blueprint for such legislation might help pass such laws in states that want to enact similar laws. And speaking of Congress, the president did urge the lawmakers to pass a number of reforms including banning assault rifles, requiring background checks for guns purchased at gun shows and more. Read the full article here.

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Biden To Announce Executive Actions On Guns

President Joe Biden at the White House

President Joe Biden at the White House
President Joe Biden at the White House (photo: Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain)
Politico is reporting President Joe Biden will announce a set of executive actions to help curb gun violence on Thursday.

Biden will direct the administration to begin the process of requiring buyers of so-called ghost guns — homemade or makeshift firearms that lack serial numbers — to undergo background checks, according to three people who have spoken to the White House about the plans. He is expected to be joined at the event by Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Other executive actions remain unclear. But stakeholders have speculated that the president could announce regulations on concealed assault-style firearms; prohibitions on firearm purchases for those convicted of domestic violence against their partners; and federal guidance on home storage safety measures.

Read the full article here.

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17-Year-Old Charged With Murder Of Wisconsin Protesters

Kyle Rittenhouse (image via Twitter)
Kyle Rittenhouse, 17,  has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after opening fire on a group during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin last night, killing two people and injuring a third. From CBS News:

The post did not name the 17-year-old, who they said is an Antioch resident. But the Lake County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s office said Kyle Rittenhouse was in bond court this morning regarding being a fugitive from justice in Wisconsin, and is being held on no bond. He was due back in court for an extradition hearing on Friday.

Cellphone video that circulated on social media showed what appeared to be a White man with a semi-automatic rifle opening fire on a group of people during demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. The man with the gun is then seen walking toward responding police vehicles, at times with his hands in the air, as some police vehicles drive past him.

Sheriff David Beth said one victim was shot in the head and another in the chest, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The third victim’s wounds were not believed to life-threatening.

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More Mass Killings In 2019 Than Any Year Going Back To 1970s

The New York Times analyzed data from all mass shootings since Columbine and found four legislative measures that might have saved lives in some of the mass shootings

(photo: Maurício Mascaro/Pexels)
From Axios: A database compiled by AP, USA Today and Northeastern University finds more mass killings in 2019 than any year dating back to at least the 1970s, AP’s Lisa Marie Pane reports.

There were 41 mass killings — defined as four or more killed, excluding the perpetrator. (33 were shootings.)

James Densley, a criminologist and professor at Metropolitan State University in Minnesota, believes it’s partially a byproduct of an “angry and frustrated time” that we are living in: “This seems to be the age of mass shootings.”

Most of the mass killings barely became national news, failing to resonate among the general public because they didn’t spill into public places like massacres in El Paso and Odessa, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Jersey City, New Jersey.

Research going back to the 1970s shows no other year with as many mass slayings. The second-most killings in a year prior to 2019 was 38 in 2006.

The 211 people killed in this year’s cases is eclipsed by the 224 victims killed in 2017 — when Vegas had the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

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Teen Arrested After Making Threats To Shoot Gay Bar & Federal Agents

An Ohio teen From ABC News:

An Ohio teenager threatened to shoot federal agents, a Planned Parenthood and a gay bar and was found at a residence that had a gun vault and around 10,000 rounds of ammunition, according to police and court documents.

Justin Olsen, 18, was the moderator of an online chat where he made light of mass shootings and made the threats against all federal agents, the nonprofit, and an undisclosed gay bar, according to a police report from the Boardman Police Department.

After searching his father’s house in Boardman, a suburb south of Youngstown, FBI agents seized 15 rifles and 10 semi-automatic pistols, according to a criminal complaint. Investigators also observed an estimated 10,000 rounds of ammunition in one room and another 300 rounds of ammunition on the stairway leading to the second floor, according to the complaint.

When Olsen turned 18 in May, he apparently bragged online that he couldn’t “wait to start stockpiling weapons,” according to the police report. He also wrote that he was planning on buying an AR-15 parts kit after posting a photo of it, the police report said. The case began in February, when the FBI received a complaint about Olsen in Anchorage, Alaska, and traced his computer information back to Olsen’s address. Olsen is charged with aggravated menacing. He admitted the threats to the police, but said it was all a joke.

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House Committee To Consider 3 Gun Control Measures

(stock image via Unsplash)

Members of the House Judiciary Committee plan to return from their summer break early to consider three gun control bills in response to the latest rash of mass shootings.

Via Roll Call:

The committee announced Friday it will mark up a bill to outlaw large capacity magazines and other ammunition feeding devices, along with a bill that would prevent people who have been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime from owning a weapon.

And the committee also will consider a bill that would establish a grant program to encourage states to adopt laws that allow courts to take firearms away from people suspected of being a danger to the public, so-called red flag laws. That bill also would incorporate provisions from a similar bill that would allow federal courts to issue such protective orders.

Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., announced the panel also would hold a hearing on “military-style assault weapons” on September 25.

Even if the gun bills make it out of the House, don’t expect Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring any of the measures to the floor of the Senate any time soon without Trump’s clear support.

Although the Donald has indicated he might get behind “red flag” laws in the aftermath of recent gun violence.

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Hannity Wants Armed Guards Surrounding Schools & Shopping Malls

Fox News pundit Sean Hannity says the answer to gun violence is to have retired police, secret service or military service members surround schools and shopping malls.
Fox News pundit Sean Hannity

Fox News pundit Sean Hannity says the answer to gun violence is to have retired police, secret service or military service members surround schools and shopping malls.

“I’d like to see the perimeter of every school in America surrounded, secured by retired police — which you are — retired Secret Service — which you are — military, and I want guys to donate 15 hours,” Hannity told guest Dan Bongino last night. “I think we could cover every school, every hour, every day. Add a metal detector, and I think we’re going to have safer schools.

“Have one armed guard on every floor of every school, all over every mall, the perimeter, and inside every hall of every mall,” he explained. “Now, that gives us an instant response opportunity that we normally wouldn’t have.”

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Obama On Recent Shootings: “No Other Developed Nation Tolerates Levels Of Gun Violence That We Do”

President Obama issued a statement today regarding the twin mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.

President Obama issued a statement today regarding the twin mass shootings that occurred over the weekend.

After sharing condolences from his family for the victims of the attacks, Obama wrote, “No other nation on Earth comes close to experiencing the frequency of mass shootings that we see in the United State. No other developed nation tolerates the levels of gun violence that we do.”

He also called out those who say “tougher gun laws won’t stop all murders” because “the evidence shows that they can stop some killings.”

The former president also wrote of the accused El Paso shooter: “Troubled individuals who embrace racist ideologies and themselves obligated to act violently to preserve white supremacy.”

“We should soundly reject language coming of the mouths of any of our leaders that feeds a climate of fear and hatred or normalizes racists sentiments; leaders who demonize those who don’t look like us, or suggest that other people, including immigrants, threaten our way of life, or refer to other people as sub-human, or imply that America belongs to just one certain type of people,” said Obama in closing.

You can read the full statement below.

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Buttigieg: U.S. Is “Under Attack From Homegrown White Nationalist Terrorism”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaking in Las Vegas, NV

Mayor Pete Buttigieg told attendees at a labor union forum in Las Vegas Saturday that the United States is “under attack” by white nationalists carrying out deadly mass shootings across the country, and those white nationalists have become emboldened by Donald Trump.

Buttigieg was speaking at a forum in Las Vegas sponsored by the public-sector labor union AFSCME.

News of the recent mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart broke during the event.

Eschewing his prepared introductory remarks, Buttigieg addressed the tragedy head-on.

“America is under attack from homegrown white nationalist terrorism,” Buttigieg said in his opening remarks. “White nationalism is evil. And it is inspiring people to commit murder, and it is being condoned at the highest levels of the American government, and that has to end.”

When asked his thoughts on Trump’s position on white nationalists, Buttigieg said the president “at best condones and encourages white nationalism.”

Buttigieg also called for stricter gun control laws across the country.

“We are the only country in the world with more guns than people,” said the 37-year-old White House contender. “It has not made us safer. We can respect the Second Amendment (on gun rights), and not allow it to be a death sentence for thousands of Americans.”

Among several policies he shared that would help stem the tide of gun violence were:

• Implementing universal background checks for firearm purchases

• Banning the sale of high capacity magazines

• Allowing the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence

• Passing “red flag” laws that remove firearms from at-risk people, such as those convicted of domestic violence

Buttigieg also said there should be stricter regulations for military-style firearms often used in mass shootings.

“Weapons of war have no place in American neighborhoods,” said the Afghanistan war veteran.

Buttigieg addressed the lack of leadership on gun violence by the president today.

“Will the President of the United States leave his golf resort, go back to Washington, address the nation, condemn—in no uncertain terms—white nationalism, and call for the Senate to convene tomorrow to enact at least the most basic gun safety reforms that most Americans want?”

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New Zealand Parliament Bans Assault Weapons

Less than a month after a white supremacist loon shot up two mosques killing 50 people, New Zealand's lawmakers have banned most automatic and semi-automatic weapons.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Less than a month after a white supremacist loon shot up two mosques killing 50 people, New Zealand’s lawmakers have banned most automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

Additionally, components that modify existing weapons were prohibited as well.

From NBC News:

All but one member of New Zealand’s parliament voted Wednesday to change gun laws, less than a month after shooting attack targeting two Christchurch mosques that killed 50 people.

The gun reform bill passed 119-1 after its final reading in Parliament. It must now receive royal assent from the governor general before it officially becomes law.

Brenton Tarrant, 28, a suspected white supremacist, was charged with 50 murder charges after the attack on two mosques on March 15.

Around 250,000 people in New Zealand own a total of about 1.5 million weapons.