Thursday, April 4, 2013
Protesters urged lawmakers not to pass Gov. Patrick's proposed gun control bill.
Taking aim at Democrats, the media and others they say are attacking the Second Amendment, hundreds of gun rights activists gathered on the Boston Common Wednesday afternoon to rally to fight a bill that would tighten gun control. "Every time the government passes new gun control laws it creates a problem," Ying Li, an engineer who participated in the 1989 pro-democracy protests centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, told the crowd. The rally was organized by the Gun Owners' Action League and was partly in response to new gun control measures being considered at the State House, including Gov. Deval Patrick's bill to limit firearm purchases to one a month, reduce access to high-powered rounds of ammunition and require background checks…
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Rep. Tom Conroy (D-Wayland) weighs in on the topic of gun violence and gun control.
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Tuesday, February 5
Let’s start with some interesting facts: For the past 20 years, an average of over 30,000 people have been killed in the United States each year with guns. That’s 600,000 people in total. At present, an estimated 50 million American households own approximately 250 million guns, with the number of firearms purchased rising 4 million annually, according to Gallup polls and the National Rifle Association (NRA). Juxtaposing these two sets of statistics suggests that most gun owners are responsible gun owners. It also proves that our country is awash in guns. Aside from the prevalence of guns in our society, there are clearly significant problems with gun use. Over 4,000 people in the U.S. have been killed by guns since Newtown, at a pace of…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
See how many gun permits were issued in Wayland over the past five years.
The Beretta 92 pistol. The SPAS-12 shotgun. These are examples of the types of large-capacity firearms for which permits have increased 28 percent in Wayland since 2008, according to state records. "Large-capacity" firearms are defined by the state of Massachusetts as semi-automatic handguns or rifles with the capacity of more than 10 ammunition rounds in their magazines and shotguns capable of having more than five shells. Ownership permits for smaller-capacity firearms in Wayland have decreased over the same period of time -- from five permits in 2008 to two permits in 2012. The number of machine gun permits in Wayland has also decreased -- by one -- since 2008. It is important to note that Massachusetts law only allows these permits to …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The governor unveiled legislation Wednesday to strengthen gun laws in Massachusetts while increasing funding for mental health services. 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, Conn. "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, among other things: Punishments for crimes involving guns would also sharpen, with tiered punishments for possessing different weapons on school property and giving police the authority to arrest without…
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Does the massacre at Newtown, Conn., signal the need for a political debate on gun regulations?
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Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Before officials had even held their first press conference Friday, Facebook was abuzz with status updates about the Newtown, Conn, tragedy. 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. Those…
Friday, December 14, 2012
Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), dean of the New England Congressional delegation, issued the following statement after the fatal school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
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Friday, December 14, 2012
Rep. Markey's statement: “Today’s news of the horrific school shooting of students, teachers and staff is shocking and horrifying, and my deepest condolences go out to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives today in such a senseless and tragic event. As we learn more about the situation at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we remember how precious life is and how we at our best when we come together as a nation to support each other in our time of grief. Our collective heart breaks as we consider the family members who are being given the worst news imaginable, and we turn our thoughts and prayers to all of the people of Newtown affected today in the hopes for a full and speedy recovery. “How many more innocent people have …
Monday, December 10, 2012
A Massachusetts gun owners group is lobbying for passage of a bill that would confer lifetime gun licenses — no renewals necessary.
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 …
Friday, August 24, 2012
A gunman opened fire this morning near the Empire State Building, the latest in this summer's gun carnage. What do you think the response should be?
Yet another one. In the most recent mass shooting this morning, police say a gunman opened fire just outside the Empire State Building in New York City just after 9 a.m. Sources told the New York Daily News a dispute erupted between co-workers at a business in the Empire State Building. They say the shooter casually walked away from the scene; witnesses pointed him out to the police and he was then shot dead by police. Earlier this month, a lone gunman — an Army veteran and labeled as a white supremacist — allegedly opened fire and killed six people and wounded three others at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. He also was shot and killed by police. Possible involvement by others is still being investigated. Last month, a lone gunman …
StatisticsNotEmotion
7:31 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Middlesex Country has a firearms injury rate of 2 per 100,000 residents. Boston, Brockton, and Springfield all have 30+ per 100,000. Please see http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/injury-surveillance/wriss-residents-94-07.pdf Why would one impose additional highly restrictive laws on a specific group of citizens (LTC-A license holders in MetroWest) when they are not the problem? It is almost … more ›