Thursday, January 17, 2013
President Barack Obama's proposals for new gun control measures have everyone talking. But do you know how many of your neighbors might be armed?
In the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, President Barack Obama has made several new proposals for increased gun control. That got us thinking. How many Marblehead residents have a gun license? The answer: 849, if you're talking about the most common type of gun license. In bureaucratic-speak, that's the "Resident Class A Large Capacity License to Carry Firearms." According to the Globe, it's the only Massachusetts license that lets individuals carry a concealed weapon and own any type of legal gun. To put that 849 person figure in context, Marblehead's population is 19,808 according to the 2010 Census. That means about 4 percent of Headers have the most common type of gun license. Since 2008, the number of people with a gun …
Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would tighten gun control laws in Massachusetts while increasing funding for mental health services and enhancing background checks. Is this sensible?
Are new proposed laws regarding guns in Massachusetts and mental health services sensible and pragmatic steps? Or are they knee-jerk 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 require gun purchasers to undergo background checks at gun shows, reduce access to high-powered rounds of ammunition, and limit the number of weapon sales by licensed dealers to not more than one gun…
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Does the massacre at Newtown, Conn., 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, Conn., 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. …
Tuesday, December 11, 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 as …
Anne Sweeney
2:37 am on Monday, January 21, 2013
What has President Obama done to curtail and revamp the rating systems. Young kids have access to the most horrific violence through the internet. All the new movies have killing and guns as their main draw ? Continuous Gun Violence over the Main Stream Media has to stop, if the problem is to be addressed in a civil fashion. GUN VIOLENCE in the movies and in Video Games, need enforcement in the … more ›