Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Some blame out-of-state guns brought from New Hampshire and Maine.
Despite it's relatively strong gun laws, Massachusetts has seen a rise in the number of firearm-related injuries over the past decade, according to the Boston Globe. In particular, murders involving guns have gone up (188 percent), but so have aggravated assaults (26.7 percent), armed robberies (20.7 percent) using guns. The leap in these types of crime has occurred even as Massachusetts tightened its gun laws in 1998, including a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, tougher licensing requirements and stricter rules on how guns are stored. Some are attributing the rise to the high number of guns brought in from out of state, especially from New Hampshire and Maine, which don't require a permit to buy a gun. "Those states alone …
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
See how many gun permits were issued in Burlington 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 50.4 percent in Burlington since 2008, according to state records. Ownership permits for smaller-capacity firearms have moderately fluctuated. '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. The numbers have emerged as state and federal officials have recently proposed new gun restrictions, and imposed others, in the wake of the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. BURLINGTON LEGAL GUN OWNERSHIP …
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…
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The governor also announced that he will couple the bill with increased support for mental health services.
Hooking on to the national and local momentum to tighten gun laws in the wake of last month's school shootings in Connecticut, Gov. Deval Patrick introduced new legislation Wednesday that seeks to strengthen gun control. At the same time, he announced plans to increase funding for mental health services. "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. Specifically, the bill seeks to: Patrick also announced Wednesday that he will propose a 3.3 percent increase in Department of Mental Health funding in the FY2014 budget he submits next week. That money …
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.
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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 …
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 — 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 …
Joe Deveau
10:30 am on Thursday, February 28, 2013
Don't forget more prisons. a 50 thousand bed facility would suit me. more ›