Friday, February 1, 2013
Since the Newtown school tragedy, 14 Massachusetts mayors have joined the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino hosted the Massachusetts delegation of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition today as they continued their push on Congress to enact national legislation that will decrease gun violence. “Earlier this week, I asked the City of Boston to stand with us on guns and say enough is enough,” said Menino at the Parkman House on Beacon Street. “As Mayors, we have a responsibility to our residents to do all we can to make our neighborhoods safer. Today, we’re calling on every community in Massachusetts to stand with us. We must keep the pressure on Congress to take swift action.” Menino praised the Massachusetts federal delegation for signing onto the Fix Guns Check Act, which would require background checks for …
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…
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 2, 2013
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino writes about taking action against gun violence in the U.S.
- NEWS
-
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 …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
A local Iraqi war veteran sounds off on gun control.
- OPINION
-
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Below is a letter to the editor written by Jamaica Plain resident and U.S. Marine Liam Madden: Like many people I know, and public figures I've seen recently, the killings in Newtown's Elementary school have made me reconsider my position on gun control. As a hunter, a veteran, and a dyed-in-the wool radical, I write this to show fellow gun owners, and more importantly, fellow American's distrustful of an armed government with an unarmed populace, that the logic I espoused for most of my life is bankrupt. Until last week my stance on the 2nd amendment was essentially, "Our government can't be trusted with the monopoly on lethal power. As such, the right to resist tyranny embedded in our constitution justified the tragic deaths that would …
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 …
William Dawes
4:35 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013
Pro-Second Amendment organizations that will fight for your rights are: 1. Gun Owners Action League of Massachusetts. http://www.goal.org/ 2. National Association for Gun Rights http://www.nationalgunrights.org/ 3. Gun Owners of America http://gunowners.org/ 4. Oathkeepers http://oathkeepers.org/oath/ more ›