background checks

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Surgeon General: Gun Violence Is a Public Health Emergency

Vivek Murthy's official advisory is likely to be controversial

(Newser) - The US surgeon general on Tuesday declared gun violence a public health crisis, driven by the fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country. The advisory issued by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation's top doctor, came as the US grappled with another summer weekend marked by...

New Rule Closes 'Gun Show Loophole'
New Rule Closes
'Gun Show Loophole'
Apr 11, 2024 8:32 AM CDT

New Rule Closes 'Gun Show Loophole'

It means more sellers will have to conduct background checks

(Newser) - Thousands more firearms dealers across the US will have to run background checks on buyers when selling at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores, according to a Biden administration rule that will soon go into effect. The rule aims to close what is known as the "gun...

Former NRA Chief Tricked Into Addressing 'Lost Class'

He delivered commencement speech to chairs representing victims of gun violence

(Newser) - The words of former NRA president David Keene and gun rights activist John Lott echoed over a sea of empty white chairs at a stadium in Las Vegas earlier this month. The men, who thought they were rehearsing graduation speeches to deliver to students at the private online high school...

In 2020, Background Checks Blocked Most Gun Sales Ever

As firearm sales surged in US

(Newser) - The number of people stopped from buying guns through the US background check system hit an all-time high of more than 300,000 last year amid a surge of firearm sales, according to new records obtained by the group Everytown for Gun Safety. The FBI numbers provided to the AP...

Suspect in Boulder Shootings Passed Background Check

Owner says his shop then sold the defendant a weapon last week

(Newser) - The suspect in the Boulder mass shooting cleared the required background check before buying a gun last week at a Colorado shop, the store's owner said. The state Bureau of Investigation then approved the sale, the Denver Post reports. "We are absolutely shocked by what happened, and our...

House Takes Action on Gun Laws
House Takes Action
on Gun Laws
Mar 11, 2021 12:25 PM CST

House Takes Action on Gun Laws

2 bills would expand background checks, but passage in Senate will be difficult

(Newser) - Emboldened by their majorities in the House and Senate, Democrats are making a new push to enact the first major new gun control laws in more than two decades—starting with stricter background checks, per the AP . The House passed two bills Thursday to require background checks on all firearms...

Residents Won't Fund Cops. Now, Untrained Volunteers

Oregon town to be policed by locals without training, who can ID criminals by 'way they dress'

(Newser) - A small town in Oregon plans to have a volunteer watch group monitor security cameras for criminals since residents refuse to raise taxes to fund a police force. Sheriff's deputies patrol Cave Junction, a town of 2,000 along US 199, during regular work hours Monday to Friday. At...

Big-Name CEOs to Congress: You Need to Act Now

Heads of Twitter, Uber, others write letter asking for tougher gun laws

(Newser) - The CEOs of nearly 150 companies are stepping into the nation's gun debate, imploring Congress to expand background checks and enact a strong "red flag" law. In a letter sent to the Senate on Thursday, CEOs from businesses including Airbnb, Twitter, and Uber asked Congress to pass a...

As Trump Flips on Background Checks, an 'Audacious' Plan

March for Our Lives' bold proposal calls for an assault weapons ban, raising gun-buying age

(Newser) - Student activists who survived the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Fla., are responding to more recent mass shootings in a bold way: with a full-blown gun-control proposal. "It's nothing like anyone else is proposing. We are really setting audacious goals," March for Our Lives board member Tyah-Amoy...

House Passes First Major Gun Control Measure in Almost 25 Years

Bill requires background checks for all gun sales

(Newser) - The Democratic-controlled House on Wednesday approved a measure requiring federal background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, the first major gun control legislation considered by Congress in nearly 25 years. Democrats called the 240-190 vote a major step to end the gun lobby's grip on Washington and begin...

Florida Failed on Background Checks for an Entire Year

All concealed weapon permits were approved for over 12 months

(Newser) - Florida failed to perform national background checks on thousands of applications for concealed-weapon permits for over a year, the Tampa Bay Times reports. According to a year-old state investigation , in February 2016 the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services stopped using a national database to approve such applications. The...

Sessions Wants to Get Tough on Background-Check Liars

He calls for 'swift and aggressive' prosecution

(Newser) - The Justice Department's response to the Parkland mass shooting is apparently going to involve tougher enforcement of existing laws instead of calls for new ones. On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said federal prosecutors have been told to "swiftly and aggressively" pursue people banned from owning firearms who...

Trump Backs Beefing Up FBI Database on Gun Buyers

Bipartisan bill is in the works

(Newser) - President Trump offered support Monday for an effort to strengthen the federal gun background check system. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president spoke on Friday to GOP Sen. John Cornyn about a bipartisan bill designed to strengthen the FBI database of prohibited gun buyers, the AP reports. "...

FBI Wants Guns Back After Bad Background Checks

The feds issued more than 4000 orders last year to seize guns from those who shouldn't have them

(Newser) - The FBI sent out 4170 requests in 2016 to retrieve guns from people who never should have been able to purchase them, an increase of more than 1000 over the year before. USA Today reports that the FBI sent requests to agents from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms...

Black Friday Broke Background-Check Record

The previous record was set last year

(Newser) - On Black Friday this year, American shoppers may have bought record numbers of a perennial favorite: guns. The FBI says it had 203,086 requests for background checks on Friday, smashing the previous single-day record of 185,713, which was set on Black Friday last year, USA Today reports. The...

Kimmel: 'Window Into Hell' Opened in My Hometown

He, Sen. Chris Murphy call for stronger gun laws

(Newser) - Sunday night's atrocity in Las Vegas has renewed calls for stronger gun laws—starting with stricter background checks. Sen. Chris Murphy said he's planning to introduce a new bill to strengthen background checks for gun buyers, even though they might not have stopped Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock,...

Senate Democrats Are Filibustering for Gun Control

'I am prepared to ... talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can'

(Newser) - Senate Democrats, led by Connecticut's Chris Murphy, launched a surprise filibuster Wednesday morning to pressure Republicans on gun control, Politico reports. “I am prepared to stand on the Senate floor and talk about the need to prevent gun violence for as long as I can," Murphy tweets...

Senate Rejects Additional Gun Control Measures

The polarizing vote came one day after a shooting in California left 14 people dead

(Newser) - A polarized Senate voted Thursday against expanding background checks for more gun purchases, rejecting the proposal a day after the latest US mass shooting left 14 people dead in California. Thursday's mostly party-line 50-48 vote, which followed the Senate's defeat of other firearms curbs, underscored that political gridlock...

Obama May Use Power to Change a Gun-Control Rule

He's weighing new rules for high-volume private dealers: report

(Newser) - President Obama's next executive action may be to expand background checks for some gun buyers—based on whom they're buying from. Obama, who reacted with emotion to the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College and will visit Roseburg, Ore., on Friday, is "seriously considering" new rules that...

New Obama Gun-Control Plan Surprises NRA

Policy could put 4.7M more Americans in background-check system

(Newser) - A new plan to issue background checks on millions of potential gun-buyers has caught the NRA off guard, the Los Angeles Times reports. Responding to an executive order from President Obama, the Social Security Administration is devising a policy that could add millions of its beneficiaries to the National Instant...

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