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…
Saturday, January 12, 2013
The Vice President has been meeting with parties on both sides of the gun control debate, as well as mental health advocates, as he crafts proposals in response to the Dec. 14 Newtown school shooting. And the NRA responds.
Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce sweeping policy changes to gun laws and mental health care on Tuesday, two weeks earlier than expected. The recommendations, at the request of President Barack Obama, are a response to the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that claimed the life of 20 first-graders and six educators. According to a report by the Huffington Post, Biden's proposals are likely to address the availability and access to certain types of guns and ammunition and tackle the issue of data collection and background checks. While Connecticut State Police continue their investigation into the Newtown shooting, authorities have identified a 20-year-old man, Adam Lanza, as the shooter. Police said Lanza, …
Friday, December 21, 2012
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre said.
In an amazing Friday morning press conference, the National Rifle Association broke its weeklong silence following the horrific shooting of 26 people at a school in Newtown, CT and called for a surge of gun-carrying "good guys" around American schools. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for a new kind of American domestic security revolving around armed civilians, arguing that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." "We care about our president, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents," LaPierre said. "Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol Police officers. Yet, when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American family, our …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
National group issues statement about preventing future tragedies after shooting that killed 28, including the gunman, in Connecticut.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
After days of silence, the National Rifle Association has released a statement on the tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., saying it will make "meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again." In the release, the organization begins to explain its silence, saying: "Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting." Critics had called out the group in the days following the shooting: As citizens and legislators began to fall on either side of a debate about what, if at all, should be done about gun laws, many wondered why the group was absent from the conversation. Like many Americans, Patch readers have …
Joe Deveau
10:30 am on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Don't forget more prisons. a 50 thousand bed facility would suit me. more ›