Category Archives: US gun control

Backlash for JD Vance after calling school shooting a ‘fact of life’

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Republican vice-presidential candidate was criticized for tone-deafness after comments at campaign rally in Arizona

America’s ideological split over gun control has spilled over into the presidential campaign after JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, voiced regret that school shootings had “become a fact of life” in the US.

Vance’s comments – in the wake of the latest deadly shooting, at Apalachee high school in Georgia – ignited a political row after Democrats depicted them as evidence of a lack of empathy while Republicans claimed the remarks had been taken out of context.

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Georgia school shooting: teen suspect was interviewed over threats last year

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Officials say 14-year-old charged with fatally shooting four at Apalachee high school used assault-style rifle

The 14-year-old boy charged with fatally shooting two students and two teachers with an assault-style rifle at a high school in Georgia on Wednesday had previously been interviewed by investigators, with his father insisting the teenager did not have unsupervised access to the family’s guns.

The small city of Winder is in deep shock and mourning over the shooting at Apalachee high school, about 50 miles from Atlanta, as the victims who died were named.

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US judge derails Mexico’s $10bn trafficking suit against US gunmakers

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Lawsuit seeks to hold American manufacturers responsible for trafficking of firearms to drug cartels across border

A US judge has dismissed much of Mexico’s unprecedented $10bn lawsuit seeking to hold US gun manufacturers responsible for facilitating the trafficking of firearms to violent drug cartels across the US-Mexico border.

US district judge Dennis Saylor in Boston dismissed claims against six of the eight companies Mexico sued in 2021, including Sturm, Ruger and Glock, citing jurisdictional problems.

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The coach v the couch: key takeaways from the first Harris-Walz rally

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Harris praises Walz’s time as a football coach as her VP pick says he’ll debate JD Vance ‘if he’s willing to get off the couch’

Kamala Harris introduced her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, to supporters at a packed, energetic rally at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The event, which kicks off a week-long tour through the most politically competitive US states, marks a new chapter for the Harris campaign after securing enough delegates to be the Democratic nominee.

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Series of US mass shootings brings weekend of death and mayhem

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One dead and 34 wounded as incidents in New York, Alabama, Missouri and Ohio swell 2024 mass shooting tally

A series of mass shootings rocked the US early on Sunday, leaving at least one dead and 34 others wounded in just four cases reported in New York, Alabama, Missouri and Ohio.

The shootings came amid a broader spate of recent mass shootings, including the one at an Arkansas grocery store on Friday that left four dead and nine wounded – as well as another at a nightclub in Kentucky on Saturday that killed one and injured seven.

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Will ‘sigh of relief’ after US supreme court gun ruling be short-lived?

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Domestic abusers still may not possess guns, but first case decided since 2022 Bruen decision likely won’t be the last

The US supreme court decided to uphold a 30-year-old federal law prohibiting subjects of domestic violence restraining orders (DVROs) from possessing guns. In Friday’s 8-1 decision, justices – except Clarence Thomas – agreed that Zackey Rahimi’s constitutional rights were not violated when his guns were confiscated following a lengthy history of gun crimes and abuse against his then girlfriend and mother of his child.

While the ruling is not a surprise to many experts who heard the 7 November 2023 oral argument, it represents a small victory for those who advocate for protection orders like DVROs and work with survivors of domestic abuse.

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Three people dead and 10 injured in mass shooting at Arkansas grocery

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Shooting occurred at Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, a city of about 3,200 people 65 miles south of Little Rock

Three people were killed and 10 others were wounded – including at least two law enforcement officers – when a shooter opened fire on Friday at a grocery store in Arkansas, police said.

The shooting occurred on Friday morning at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. The suspected shooter was critically injured after being shot by police, Arkansas state police said. The wounded officers did not have life-threatening injuries.

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Arizona man allegedly sold firearms to undercover FBI agent to ‘incite race war’

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Indictment says Mark Adams Prieto recruited people at gun show to help carry out mass shooting targeting minorities

A firearms dealer in Arizona sold weapons to an undercover federal agent he believed would help him carry out his plan for a mass shooting targeting minorities, an attack that he hoped would “incite a race war”, according to a federal grand jury indictment.

Mark Adams Prieto was indicted Tuesday by the grand jury in Arizona on charges of firearms trafficking, transferring a firearm for use in a hate crime, and possession of an unregistered firearm.

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Joe Biden delivers gun safety speech hours after son’s firearms conviction

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President sought to rally support around issue but speech was briefly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters

Joe Biden, facing a backlash from young voters over the war in Gaza, has sought to rally support around the issue of gun safety just hours after his son Hunter was convicted of lying about his drug use to illegally buy a firearm.

Contrasted his record with election rival Donald Trump, the US president brought an audience that included many students to its feet at the Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund’s annual Gun Sense University conference in Washington on Tuesday.

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Trump’s gun license to be revoked following conviction, media reports say

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New York City police department to revoke Trump’s license after suspending permit to carry a concealed weapon in April 2023

Donald Trump’s license to carry a gun is expected to be revoked by the New York City police department now that he has been convicted of a felony, according to reports on Wednesday evening.

The former president once boasted that he was so popular with the electorate, “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose any voters.” He made the claim in January 2016 during the Iowa caucuses campaign.

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Uvalde families sue Instagram and Call of Duty maker over deadly school attack

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‘Unholy trinity’ of Instagram, Activision and Daniel Defense accused of ‘working to convert alienated boys into mass shooters’

Families of children who were killed in the 2022 Uvalde mass shooting have filed wrongful death lawsuits accusing Instagram, game maker Activision and weapons manufacturer Daniel Defense of enabling the massacre.

The suits were filed on the second anniversary of the school shooting, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed, and accuse the “unholy trinity” of Instagram, Call of Duty, and Daniel Defense of “working together to convert alienated teenage boys into mass shooters”.

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Tennessee passes bill to allow teachers to carry concealed guns despite protests

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State’s Republicans passed the bill, which the governor is now expected to sign, despite criticism from teachers and parents

Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill on Tuesday that would allow teachers to carry concealed handguns in schools despite protests at the state capitol.

House Republicans passed the bill, one of the biggest gun moves since a mass shooting in a Nashville Christian school left three children and three adults dead last year.

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E Jean Carroll, writer who bested Trump in court, surrenders gun to police

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Police were made aware of unlicensed gun after Carroll testified in court she kept a revolver by her bed

New York writer E Jean Carroll has handed over a gun to police that she was keeping, but without a license, during her long legal battles with Donald Trump after she sued him over sexual abuse, according to a new report.

Police in Warwick, New York, “took possession” of the firearm after discussing the matter with the former Elle magazine columnist, NBC News reported, citing a police report the TV network had obtained.

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Seven children, ages 12 to 17, wounded in Indianapolis mass shooting, police say

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Victims transported to area hospitals after police heard shots fired near Circle Centre Mall on Saturday night

Seven children between the ages of 12 and 17 were wounded in one of the US’s latest mass shooting, which erupted outside a shopping mall in downtown Indianapolis late Saturday night, authorities said.

Police officers patrolling the area heard shots fired near the Circle Centre Mall shortly after 11.30pm, said the deputy chief of the Indianapolis metropolitan police department, Tanya Terry.

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Arizona court rules Mexico can proceed with lawsuit against five US gun dealers

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Companies accused of facilitating gun trafficking and and of being responsible for bloodshed that their guns contribute to in Mexico

A trial court in Arizona has ruled that the Mexican government may proceed in its trailblazing lawsuit against five US gun dealers, who stand accused of facilitating gun trafficking across the border into Mexico.

Mexico argues that the companies’ marketing campaigns and distribution practices mean that they are legally responsible for the bloodshed that their guns contribute to.

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Wyoming governor vetoes bill on concealed carry of guns in public schools

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Bill vetoed by Republican Mark Gordon, who expressed concerns about separation of powers, also covers government meetings

The Republican governor of Wyoming, Mark Gordon, has vetoed a bill that would have allowed people to carry concealed guns in public schools and government meetings.

In his veto letter Friday night, Gordon said he had concerns the bill would exceed the separation-of-powers provision in the state constitution since any policy, further regulation or clarification of the law could only be implemented by the Wyoming legislature.

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Kamala Harris announces new office to implement ‘red flag’ gun control laws

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Vice-president launches national resource center at site of 2018 Florida school shooting where 17 were killed

The White House has announced a new national office to support states implementing “red flag” laws to combat gun violence, an initiative funded by the justice department.

Kamala Harris made the announcement on Saturday during a visit to Parkland, Florida, where she toured the site of the nation’s worst high school shooting, the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre that killed 17.

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Police had cause to detain gunman before deadly Maine shooting last year – report

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Before Robert Card killed 18 last year, police had opportunity to seize his guns and place him in custody after several incidents

Law enforcement should have seized a man’s guns and put him in protective custody weeks before he committed Maine’s deadliest mass shooting, a report found Friday.

An independent commission has been reviewing the events that led up to army reservist Robert Card killing 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston on 25 October, as well as the subsequent response.

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Gunman who killed 18 in Maine shooting had brain injury, study shows

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Brain tissue analysis showed degeneration in the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain

An army reservist who shot and killed 18 people in Maine last year had evidence of traumatic brain injuries, according to a brain tissue analysis by researchers from Boston University.

There was degeneration in the nerve fibers that allow for communication between different areas of the brain, inflammation and small blood vessel injury, according to Dr Ann McKee of Boston University’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) center. The analysis was released Wednesday by the family of the deceased gunman and military reservist, Robert Card.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Patrick Mahomes visits sisters injured in Super Bowl parade shooting

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Champion quarterback makes hospital visit to Madison and Melia Reyes, who were hit by gunfire in Kansas City mass shooting

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his wife, Brittany, visited two young sisters who were both shot in the legs during Wednesday’s parade for the reigning Super Bowl champions.

The Mahomeses on Thursday paid a call to 10-year-old Madison Reyes and Melia Reyes, age eight, at Children’s Mercy hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where they were recovering from surgeries.

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