Guns
Felons, fugitives bought guns amid backlog
More than 300 people banned from owning guns were able to buy them last year because the state police were overwhelmed with background check requests, police said Wednesday. People with histories of mental illness or convictions for violent misdemeanors, felons and fugitives were able to obtain and keep guns for three months or longer before…
Read MoreNavy base killer given security access despite crimes
The Virginian-Pilot reports that investigators are trying to figure out how Jeffrey Tyrone Savage, a 35-year-old truck driver with a violent criminal record, accessed the Navy’s largest base. Savage Monday night climbed aboard the guided missile destroyer Mahan, disarmed a guard and used the weapon to kill a sailor who tried to intervene. According to…
Read MoreWhen the right to bear includes the mentally ill
A New York Times investigation highlights a central, unresolved issue in the debate over balancing public safety and the Second Amendment right to bear arms: just how powerless law enforcement can be when it comes to keeping firearms out of the hands of people who are mentally ill. A vast majority of people with mental…
Read MoreMass killing data records not being kept up to date
“USA TODAY examined FBI data — which defines a mass killing as four or more victims — as well as local police records and media reports to understand mass killings in America. They happen far more often than the government reports, and the circumstances of those killings — the people who commit them, the weapons…
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Chemical safety data, post-9/11 veterans, NSA love interests
Back Home: The Enduring Battles Facing Post-9/11 Veterans | News21“In the 12 years since American troops first deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 2.6 million veterans have returned home to a country largely unprepared to meet their needs. The government that sent them to war has failed on many levels to fulfill its obligations…
Read MoreLaw Enforcement Can Sell Confiscated Guns
“For decades, weapons confiscated by police in Texas were supposed to be repurposed for law enforcement use — or else destroyed. Starting next month, Texans will be able to purchase some of them instead,” according to a Texas Tribune report.
Read MoreNevada chief justice orders courts review after potentially more than 2,400 ruled mentally ill not reported to gun database
“(A Reno Gazette-Journal) report this week found that Washoe District Court in Reno did not send 179 names to the Department of Public Safety’s database of people prohibited from possessing a gun. When the RGJ asked the department how many reports it had received from other courts in the state, the director said only 13…
Read MoreAlexandria Police Shield Information on Officer-Involved Shooting
“No video. No audio. No transcripts. The Virginia Supreme Court operates in a total blackout. The Alexandria Gazette Packet exposes the shocking lack of transparency at the commonwealth’s top court.”
Read MoreOverworked and Understaffed? How the Chicago Police Fight Gun Violence
“Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s new anti-gang strategy seems to be working, but it comes with a high price,” according to an article from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
Read MoreViolence reverberates through the city, even with decline in shootings, homicides
“It was just one scene in a city where gunfire has long been too common. In the first six months of this year, more than 1,000 people were shot in Chicago, according to a (Chicago) Tribune analysis.”
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