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The NRA is falling apart, one bad shot at a time
Posted on July 2, 2019 Leave a Comment
The National Rifle Association is facing several self-made crises all at once, and it couldn’t happen to an organization that deserves it more. Consider: Its finances are a mess. The group is losing both members and revenue. At the end of 2018, the NRA reported losing $55 million in revenue. Gun sales are continuing their […]
Waffle House shooting shows why all states need ‘red flag’ laws
Posted on May 1, 2018 Leave a Comment
By now, most people know the details about the Waffle House mass shooting near Nashville, which killed four people. But still unresolved is the question about the legal status of the alleged shooter, Travis Reinking, possessing guns. That’s why every state needs to enact “red flag” laws. State and local officials in Illinois revoked the […]
How Parkland school shooting is shifting electoral landscape
Posted on April 10, 2018 Leave a Comment
We won’t know the full extent until after the midterm elections, but gun violence is sure to be a key factor driving people to the polls this year. And for once, the numbers are likely to favor those in favor of common-sense gun safety laws, not those backing the positions of the National Rifle Association. […]
Voices of black and brown youth: ‘We march for our lives every day’
Posted on April 3, 2018 Leave a Comment
The 800-plus #MarchForOurLives events around the country and the world are still resonating. The speeches from survivors of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School in Parkland, Florida, moved us all, and some of those those teens are now household names. For me, though, nothing resonated more than the voices of African-American […]
Kids will lead on gun reform when lawmakers won’t
Posted on March 14, 2018 1 Comment
As we look at video and photos of the hundreds of thousands of students who walked out of class to fight for gun reform, we can be thankful that they’re not afraid to step up. Hundreds of students at our local suburban school in Illinois, Oak Park and River Forest High School, joined with others […]
Gun reform will be up to states — for now
Posted on March 5, 2018 1 Comment
The new energy in the fight for common-sense gun safety laws is being felt nationwide. But given the current makeup of Congress, it’s highly unlikely that anything meaningful will pass in 2018. Some states, however, are looking to succeed where Congress is failing. Laws are starting to be passed, one by one, area by area. […]
Watch out, NRA: There’s new momentum in gun reform fight
Posted on February 26, 2018 1 Comment
Something is definitely different in the movement for stronger gun safety laws this time around. The impetus comes from the honest and heartfelt pain, anger, and eloquence of the teenagers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 of their classmates and teachers were killed by an expelled student with an AR-15 […]
GOP baseball practice shooting: Just another day in America
Posted on June 15, 2017 3 Comments
What’s the correct response to the shooting of a group of Republicans practicing for the annual charity baseball game between congressional Republicans and Democrats? Damned if I know. The shock has yet to wear off: A Democrat, a Bernie Sanders supporter with a history of attacking Donald Trump on social media and of criminal domestic […]
Orlando shooting creates big profits for gun makers
Posted on June 20, 2016 Leave a Comment
After the horrific mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., that killed 49 and wounded 53, at least one group came out ahead—U.S. gun manufacturers. The day after the attack at the Pulse nightclub, multiple news organizations reported sharp rises in the price of stock in the gun industry even on a day when other stock prices […]
Hillary Clinton gambles on gun control
Posted on October 5, 2015 Leave a Comment
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton apparently has decided that the shooting at an Oregon community college that killed nine people is the last straw, and she’s proposing several measures to combat gun violence. The proposals — to institute universal background checks and to close the gun show and internet sales loopholes, among others — […]