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After Newtown shootings, pro-gun measures also gain ground
2 hr ago By James Eng of MSN News
Since the Sandy Hook school massacre, five states have passed laws that strengthen gun restrictions, while 10 states have passed laws that weaken them.
States have passed more laws since the Newtown, Conn., school massacre that weaken gun restrictions than laws strengthening them, according to a tally by an anti-gun-violence group. But the group says a simple bill count doesn't tell the whole story.
As President Barack Obama continues to publicly exhort Congress and states to pass stricter gun-control legislation, gun-rights advocates have been pushing their own legislative agendas and have had successes.
Since the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 children and six adults dead, five states have passed seven laws that strengthen gun restrictions, while 10 states have passed 17 laws that weaken them, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data compiled by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a San Francisco-based group that backs stricter gun laws.
Those touting stricter firearms regulations have scored high-profile victories this year in a handful of states — most notably in New York, Colorado and Connecticut. Connecticut's measure, signed into law Thursday by Gov. Dannel Malloy, imposes sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines similar to the ones used by Adam Lanza, the Newtown gunman.
But gun-rights advocates have made inroads as well, though the law center says the measures have not been as sweeping. Among the examples cited by the Journal:
In Tennessee, employees with handgun permits can now carry their guns anywhere in their cars, including to work, provided they keep them locked up in their vehicles.
Arkansas passed laws allowing firearms in churches and on college campuses.
A new South Dakota law allows school boards to arm teachers and volunteers.
Kentucky shortened the process for obtaining a license to carry a concealed firearm.
Lawmakers in numerous states have also proposed bills aimed at overriding any new federal gun-control legislation. However, it's constitutionally doubtful whether such proposals could be implemented even if passed, since federal law trumps any conflicting state law.
Some gun policy experts said they weren't surprised that several states have passed measures since Newtown that are friendlier toward gun owners.
"The argument about guns has broadened out as people learn more about it. There was an initial reaction which was largely emotional and not based on facts, for the most part, and as people have calmed down and while there's still interest in the subject, they've done more research," Edward Leddy, a retired professor of criminology and sociology at St. Leo University and a former New York parole officer, told MSN News.
David Kopel, research director of the Independence Institute, which bills itself as a Colorado-based "free-market think tank," said the new gun laws reflect the prevalence of "monochrome" legislatures," where the state House, Senate and governorship are all controlled by one party.
"In terms of the number of anti-gun laws passed this year, it's happening almost exclusively in states under pure 'blue' control. And pro-gun reform is happening almost entirely in states that are pure 'red,'" said Kopel, who is also a constitutional law professor at the University of Denver.
"Pro-gun people are winning in the states that are their natural bases, and anti-gun people are winning in states that are their natural bases," he said.
Benjamin Van Houten, managing attorney for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said merely counting the number of gun bills passed misses the broader picture.
"The WSJ report focuses simply on the number of bills in the 'strengthen' and 'weaken' categories. However, it's important to understand that many of the new laws in the 'weaken' category are very minor pieces of legislation, especially when compared to the major legislative packages being adopted in states like Connecticut and New York," Van Houten told MSN News by email.
"Instead of just focusing on numbers, we also need to focus on the substance. New York, Colorado and Connecticut have adopted major reforms this year, backed by broad public support. No new legislation to weaken gun laws comes close to the significance of these efforts. And with states like Maryland and California still working on gun bills, we haven’t seen the end of major positive change in 2013," Van Houten said.
Kristin Goss, a Duke University professor of public policy who supports gun-control legislation, agreed that the measures passed in New York, Colorado and Connecticut are more sweeping than the gun-rights laws passed in other states. She characterized the latter laws to the Journal as "technical and incremental."
Kopel said the divergent paths taken by individual states appear to be following a political script.
"If Connecticut or New York or California or Maryland passes an anti-gun law, it's not exactly a stop-the-presses kind of thing," he said. "It's like the French parliament passing a resolution that says French cheese is superior to all other forms of food."
On the national level, meanwhile, gun-control proposals touted by the Obama administration face an uncertain future in Congress.
Obama on Wednesday visited Colorado, site of a movie theater mass shooting last year that left 12 people dead and 58 others wounded. He stepped up his call for background checks for all gun purchases and renewed his demand that Congress at least vote on banning assault weapons and limiting access to large-capacity ammunition magazines.
2 hr ago By James Eng of MSN News
Since the Sandy Hook school massacre, five states have passed laws that strengthen gun restrictions, while 10 states have passed laws that weaken them.
States have passed more laws since the Newtown, Conn., school massacre that weaken gun restrictions than laws strengthening them, according to a tally by an anti-gun-violence group. But the group says a simple bill count doesn't tell the whole story.
As President Barack Obama continues to publicly exhort Congress and states to pass stricter gun-control legislation, gun-rights advocates have been pushing their own legislative agendas and have had successes.
Since the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 20 children and six adults dead, five states have passed seven laws that strengthen gun restrictions, while 10 states have passed 17 laws that weaken them, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing data compiled by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a San Francisco-based group that backs stricter gun laws.
Those touting stricter firearms regulations have scored high-profile victories this year in a handful of states — most notably in New York, Colorado and Connecticut. Connecticut's measure, signed into law Thursday by Gov. Dannel Malloy, imposes sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large-capacity ammunition magazines similar to the ones used by Adam Lanza, the Newtown gunman.
But gun-rights advocates have made inroads as well, though the law center says the measures have not been as sweeping. Among the examples cited by the Journal:
In Tennessee, employees with handgun permits can now carry their guns anywhere in their cars, including to work, provided they keep them locked up in their vehicles.
Arkansas passed laws allowing firearms in churches and on college campuses.
A new South Dakota law allows school boards to arm teachers and volunteers.
Kentucky shortened the process for obtaining a license to carry a concealed firearm.
Lawmakers in numerous states have also proposed bills aimed at overriding any new federal gun-control legislation. However, it's constitutionally doubtful whether such proposals could be implemented even if passed, since federal law trumps any conflicting state law.
Some gun policy experts said they weren't surprised that several states have passed measures since Newtown that are friendlier toward gun owners.
"The argument about guns has broadened out as people learn more about it. There was an initial reaction which was largely emotional and not based on facts, for the most part, and as people have calmed down and while there's still interest in the subject, they've done more research," Edward Leddy, a retired professor of criminology and sociology at St. Leo University and a former New York parole officer, told MSN News.
David Kopel, research director of the Independence Institute, which bills itself as a Colorado-based "free-market think tank," said the new gun laws reflect the prevalence of "monochrome" legislatures," where the state House, Senate and governorship are all controlled by one party.
"In terms of the number of anti-gun laws passed this year, it's happening almost exclusively in states under pure 'blue' control. And pro-gun reform is happening almost entirely in states that are pure 'red,'" said Kopel, who is also a constitutional law professor at the University of Denver.
"Pro-gun people are winning in the states that are their natural bases, and anti-gun people are winning in states that are their natural bases," he said.
Benjamin Van Houten, managing attorney for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said merely counting the number of gun bills passed misses the broader picture.
"The WSJ report focuses simply on the number of bills in the 'strengthen' and 'weaken' categories. However, it's important to understand that many of the new laws in the 'weaken' category are very minor pieces of legislation, especially when compared to the major legislative packages being adopted in states like Connecticut and New York," Van Houten told MSN News by email.
"Instead of just focusing on numbers, we also need to focus on the substance. New York, Colorado and Connecticut have adopted major reforms this year, backed by broad public support. No new legislation to weaken gun laws comes close to the significance of these efforts. And with states like Maryland and California still working on gun bills, we haven’t seen the end of major positive change in 2013," Van Houten said.
Kristin Goss, a Duke University professor of public policy who supports gun-control legislation, agreed that the measures passed in New York, Colorado and Connecticut are more sweeping than the gun-rights laws passed in other states. She characterized the latter laws to the Journal as "technical and incremental."
Kopel said the divergent paths taken by individual states appear to be following a political script.
"If Connecticut or New York or California or Maryland passes an anti-gun law, it's not exactly a stop-the-presses kind of thing," he said. "It's like the French parliament passing a resolution that says French cheese is superior to all other forms of food."
On the national level, meanwhile, gun-control proposals touted by the Obama administration face an uncertain future in Congress.
Obama on Wednesday visited Colorado, site of a movie theater mass shooting last year that left 12 people dead and 58 others wounded. He stepped up his call for background checks for all gun purchases and renewed his demand that Congress at least vote on banning assault weapons and limiting access to large-capacity ammunition magazines.
