If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again, and again. US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat running for president, and US Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, on Thursday introduced the Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act, a bill the sponsors say, “includes and builds upon Congressional Democrats’ strongest gun safety […]
Gun ownership
Posted inThe Download
Gun control redux
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. And again, and again. US Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat running for president, and US Rep. Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, on Thursday introduced the Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act, a bill the sponsors say, “includes and builds upon Congressional Democrats’ strongest gun safety […]
Posted inOpinion
Still at it after 25 years
LIKE MANY PEOPLE, I remember where I was and what I was doing on December 14, 2012, when news broke that a shooter had taken the lives of 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. And, like many in the wake of the sadness and horror, I thought this […]
Posted inPolitics
Markey challenger backs repealing Second Amendment
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER DEADLY MASS shootings in Texas and Ohio over the weekend, Democratic US Senate candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan went beyond the usual demands for gun control on Tuesday to call for the repeal of the Second Amendment. The Brookline labor attorney suggested that anything less than abolishing the Constitutional right to own […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Helping survivors after homicide
FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS of victims, each homicide enthralls their lives, almost paralyzing them from day-to-day activities. All it takes is one homicide for it to impact dozens of lives. A few weeks ago, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Attorney General Maura Healey called on elected officials across the country to support a national initiative […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mass. should embrace 21st century gun control measures
MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN a progressive leader in common-sense gun control. The Commonwealth requires permits for gun purchases, maintains an assault weapons ban, restricts magazine capacity, and mandates universal background checks for the private sale of firearms. On top of these measures, applicants for gun licenses have to take a gun safety course, and the licensing […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker is bystander, not leader, on gun legislation
VOTERS NEED TO KNOW Charlie Baker is not a gun violence prevention leader. Everytown for Gun Safety recently endorsed Baker in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, calling Baker a leader on gun violence prevention. We, student organizers from March For Our Lives: Boston, strongly disagree. After the Parkland shooting, many lawmakers spoke out in favor of Extreme […]
Posted inGuns
Senate passes ‘extreme risk’ gun bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOTH BRANCHES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE have now signed off on bills that would create a new judicial process designed to temporarily take guns away from dangerous individuals. The bill (H 4539), which the Senate approved on a voice vote Thursday, would allow family or household members to petition the courts […]
Posted inGun ownership
Voters give green light on “red flag” gun law
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo announced this week the House would take up the so-called “red flag” gun safety bill. The move ended months of speculation and growing pressure from outside the building. The proposed legislation would “allow a judge to temporarily seize guns from someone who might pose a danger to themselves and others.” Eight states […]
Posted inGun ownership
How the ‘red flag’ gun bill came to be
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Rep. Marjorie Decker of Cambridge hosted a rally of sorts at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School on Wednesday where they pledged to push for passage of legislation that would allow a family member, roommate, or law enforcement official to petition a court to bar someone from owning a firearm […]