Gun Control

Bloomberg's Gun Control Group Undeterred by Congressional Inaction

With Rep. Gabrielle Gifford alongside him, President Obama called it a "pretty shameful day for Washington." Nearly five months after the massacre at Sandy Hook, the gun control package making its way through Congress shut down in the Senate yesterday. Democratic politicians were unable to muster th ... More >>

Democrats Worried About Other Democrats With Bloomberg's $12M Ad Blitz

Yesterday, we reported on Mayor Bloomberg's announcement to spend $12 million on a campaign set forth by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns to counter the NRA in battleground states. The move is the largest yet from the Hizzoner to translate ideology into action on the topic of gun control and, in effe ... More >>

With His $12M Ad Blitz, Bloomberg Is Finally The Opponent The NRA Needed

The substance of this story was almost fit to print. We all know Mayor Bloomberg's stance on guns. He is a co-founder and head of Mayors Against Illegal Guns - a group of America's most powerful metropolitan leaders that all share a very strong stance on gun control. And he's backed his message wit ... More >>

"Day of Resistance" and The Case of The Rightbloggers Who Didn't Bark

Did you miss the Day of Resistance? Don't even know what it is? Well, it was a tea-party style throwdown last Saturday, in which thousands of your fellow citizens went packing in public to give Kenyan Pretender Obama the old cold-dead-hands salute. You might expect our friends the rightbloggers wo ... More >>

Gun Groups File Claim Against Gov. Cuomo's SAFE Act

Seriously, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Yesterday, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, along with other gun groups, notified Albany that it would be threatening to sue the state over the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act. The bill, passed by large mar ... More >>

Obama's Modest Proposals Drive Rightbloggers Gun Crazy

Last week President Obama, inspired by December's Newtown shootings, announced 23 executive actions, and proposed some legislation, to address gun violence. The actions are rather mild ("Require criminal background checks for all gun sales," "Nominate an ATF Director," etc.) and the legislation prob ... More >>

Texas AG Greg Abbott Wants You Gun-Owning, Freedom-Loving New Yorkers to Move to Texas

Yesterday, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott bought space for two separate ads running in Manhattan and Albany urging New York gun owners to relocate to Texas. This came after New York lawmakers, led by Governor Andrew Cuomo, passed the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms (SAFE) Act. Signed on ... More >>

New York Becomes First State To Pass Gun Control Bill After Newtown

Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address was entitled 'New York Rising.' What happened yesterday in Albany might explain why. In a 104-to-43 vote, the New York State Assembly officially passed the NY Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act on Tuesday afternoon. Th ... More >>

Obama Announces Gun Control Proposals, Signs 23 Executive Orders

Just before noon, President Barack Obama addressed the nation to propose wide-ranging reform to curb gun violence in the country. "While there is no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of ... More >>

Mayor Bloomberg, President Obama and the Politics of Gun Control [UPDATED]

UPDATED (1/15/13): On the one-month anniversary of Newtown, we heard yet more news about gun control from our Mayor and President. In Baltimore, Mr. Bloomberg attended a summit on the topic at John Hopkins University and, once again, called for more action on a national level. His speech outli ... More >>

Sen. Schumer to Walmart: Please Stop Selling Assault Weapons

This seems like a move ripped right out of Bowling For Columbine.   As Vice President Joe Biden and his team of gun control policy thinkers finish up their legislative package this week, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York has taken measures into his hand. According to the Daily News, the po ... More >>

The Gawker/Christine Quinn Gun Owner Database Debacle

We were a bit afraid that this would become a "thing." Two weeks ago, we reported on the Journal News, a newspaper based in White Plains, published the names and addresses of all the gun owners in and around New York City. As a result, readers and media folk alike flipped out, leading one blogger ... More >>

With Compromise In Sight, Gov. Cuomo Talks Gun Control In State Of The State Address

In recent weeks, we've been following the Governor's actions regarding gun control quite closely. After the Newtown tragedy, Cuomo proposed a handful of measures to hopefully curb gun-related violence; one of which would be the strictest magazine clip ban in the nation. However, the momentum hit a w ... More >>

Gov. Cuomo's Gun Control Push Already Hit A Wall In Albany

Did anyone expect this to go smoothly at all? Doubtful.Echoing sentiments from both President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg, we learned last week that Governor Andrew Cuomo planned on making gun control a top priority after the Newtown tragedy. His administration called for tougher background checks for ... More >>

What 'Meaningful Contributions' Could NRA Offer To The National Discussion On Friday?

As the horrific news came out of Newtown last Friday, the National Rifle Association went silent. Its Twitter was inactive, its Facebook shut off and no word came from the organization that was on everyone's mind this weekend. It witnessed its strongest political advocates bail, with Sen. Joe M ... More >>

After Gun-Control Talk Reportedly Banned on Fox News, Murdoch Turns to the Post

It appears that media mogul Rupert Murdoch may have some level of, dare I say, morality and compassion inside of him. A day after New York Magazine reported that higher-ups at Fox News directed producers and reporters to avoid engaging in gun-control talk, Murdoch's New York Post published an edit ... More >>

We Must Stop Pretending there are Two Sides to the Gun Control Debate

The argument against gun control should've gone out the window the moment 20-year-old Adam Lanza walked up to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and with completely legal firearms he plucked from his mother sometime before shooting her multiple times in the head, blew through a wa ... More >>

After Newtown, Rightbloggers Agree: Guns Don't Kill People, Everything Except Guns Kills People

After the gruesome murders of children and teachers by Adam Lanza in Newtown, Connecticut, apparently mostly performed with a Bushmaster AR-15 ("the civilian version of the military's M-16 and M-4," says the New York Times, "a logical choice for anyone whose goal is to kill a lot of people in a shor ... More >>

Is the Newtown Massacre the Mass Shooting That Starts Us Talking About Gun Control Again?

As Americans spent today digesting the brutal facts and gut-wrenching images of yet another school shooting today, a familiar cycle of grief and hand-wringing began afresh. Why? Who is to blame? Is there anything we can do to keep this from happening again? For decades, it has been the conventional ... More >>

Bob Costas, Jovan Belcher, and the Fear of Talking About Gun Control

In case you missed it, during the second half of December 2nd's Eagles-Cowboys game, NBC ran a story about the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Carolina Panthers and how the team had dealt with the suicide of their teammate Jovan Belcher after murdering Kasandra Perkins, his 22 year old girlfrie ... More >>

New York AG Takes On "Reciprocity" Gun Bill

As it currently stands, the Second Amendment guarantees U.S. citizens the right to own firearms. But each state is permitted to place its own restrictions on the types of firearms -- and the manner in which they're possessed -- that people are allowed to own.A bill making its way through Congress wo ... More >>

Concealed Weapons Not Protected By The Second Amendment: Court

Unlike some states (we're looking in your direction, Arizona), in New York it takes a little more than a trigger finger to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun -- under state law, a person needs to have "proper cause" to carry a concealed firearm."Proper cause" is defined as "a special need for ... More >>

Here Are Nine Ways Queens Pols Think They Can "End" Gun Violence

With a dramatic spike in shootings the past few months, it's officially the "Summer of the Gun" here in the Big Apple -- and elected officials in Queens think they have figured out a way to "end gun violence."The pols' nine-point plan probably won't "end" gun violence, but it's a start, and a great ... More >>

State Senator Malcolm Smith: An Illegal Gun Should Cost You 8 Years In Prison. About That...

As it currently stands, anyone caught with an illegal gun in New York is looking at a maximum of two years in prison. Two years, apparently, is chump change -- according to Democratic state Senator Malcolm Smith, anyway, who now wants to up the ante for those busted with less-than-legal firearms."We ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg, Gun Hypocrite: City Sells 28,000 Pounds Of Shell Casings To Georgia Ammo Store For Re-filling

A report was released earlier this week by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives showing that of the 8,793 guns seized in New York in 2011, only 1,595 were actually purchased here.Numbers like that fuel Mayor Mike Bloomberg's incessant call for other states to implement tougher reg ... More >>

New York's Tough Gun Laws Are Pretty Worthless: Report

Mayor Mike Bloomberg is on a crusade to rid the world of guns. Unfortunately, it's not doing a whole lot to keep guns out of the hands of thugs in New York City, according to a recently released report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.According to the report, 8,793 guns w ... More >>

Gun Bully Mike Bloomberg To Host Fundraiser For NRA Darling Scott Brown

New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has made it explicitly clear that he hates guns. For example, he recently urged cops across the country to go on strike in protest of the nation's lax gun laws. Additionally, he founded the organization Mayors Against Illegal Guns in an effort to get rid of loophol ... More >>

Would Stricter Gun Laws Have Done Anything To Prevent Colorado Killing Spree?

As the entire country tries to make sense of what happened in Colorado last week, the obligatory debate whenever one of these mass shootings occurs has commenced: would stricter gun laws have prevented 24-year-old James Holmes from marching into a sold out movie theater and shooting more than 70 peo ... More >>

After Batman Theater Shooting, Rightbloggers Rush to Defend What's Important: Guns, Themselves

Last week's terrible incident in Aurora, Colorado in which 70 people were shot, 12 fatally, at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises made many of us think about how awful these episodes of senseless violence are, how precious and fragile life is, and that we should stay close and be good to ou ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg on Aurora Shooting: What Are Obama, Romney Going To Do About Guns?

As developments emerge about an Aurora, Colo. shooting that left at least 12 dead and 50 injured, Mayor Michael Bloomberg -- long a staunch advocate of gun control -- has slammed both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney for failing to adequately address firearms issues. On the "The John Gambling Show with ... More >>

Gun Couture: Firearms Industry Gets 'Fashionable'

It's long been a big problem for the fashionable firearm owner: How to hide a handgun and look haute couture at the same time. Well, a report in today's New York Times has some great news for the tres chic ranks of the U.S.'s 7 million concealed carry permit holders. Clothing companies have start ... More >>

National Rifle Association Convention Attendees Talk Trayvon Martin; Bad Taste Ensues

The gun lobby has been quite busy... Shortly after news broke that New York pols get more cash from the National Rifle Association than any other state, self-professed Second Amendment enthusiasts spent a weekend full of firearms festivities (and fun) at their annual convention. Of course, attend ... More >>

NRA Calls Bloomberg "An Arrogant Bastard" for Anti-Gun Campaign

As the trial nears for the Trayvon Martin case, a firestorm of debate has spread across the nation surrounding the centerpiece "Stand Your Ground" law -- the legislation George Zimmerman has used as his defense. And now, the Hozziner is beginning to feel the flames from the nation's go-to gun-toters ... More >>

National Rifle Association *Hearts* New York: Report

New York might boast the most anti-gun mayor in the U.S., but that hasn't stopped the National Rifle Association from pouring more cash into Empire State campaign coffers than any other place in the county. The NRA has long done battle with Mike Bloomberg's demands for microstamping on bullet casi ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg Hates Guns. What Else Is New?

As you've probably heard, four New York City police officers were shot over the weekend during a shootout with a man in Brooklyn. As you've also probably heard, Mayor Mike Bloomberg hates guns -- and he's using the shootout as the latest anecdote to illustrate his point that gun laws need to be toug ... More >>

Andrew Cuomo Ditches Pataki-Era Gun Law. Fred Dicker Gushes

​Governor Andrew Cuomo's ditched a controversial gun law put in place by ex-Governor George Pataki -- and, as you probably expected, Fred Dicker, the New York Post's state capital bureau chief/captain of the Cuomo rah-rah squad, got the "exclusive" on the story.Dicker, as you also might imagine, i ... More >>

Would Stricter Gun Laws Have Prevented Trayvon Martin Shooting? Mayor Mike Sure Thinks So

​New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg yesterday said at a press conference that stricter gun laws could have prevented the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed Florida teen killed last month by a wannabe cop/neighborhood watch volunteer."Your heart just has to go out to the parents," Bloomberg said a ... More >>

Mike Bloomberg: Having An Illegal Gun In New York Isn't Quite As Bad If You're From Out Of State. Sorry, Plaxico

​Last week, we told you about a former United States marine who was sentenced to 10 hours of community service for possessing a gun that wasn't registered in New York state. We noted that Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who's led the charge in calling for stricter gun laws across the country (despite his ju ... More >>

After Cop Shooting, Mike Bloomberg Calls for Stricter Gun Laws

Last night, police officer Kevin Brennan was shot in the head in the Bushwick Houses in Brooklyn after he and his partners responded to a report of shots fired. Doctors at Bellevue Hospital successfully removed the bullet from the base of Brennan's skull, and as of last night, he was reported to be ... More >>

Mayor Mike Bloomberg Heckled At MLK Event

It wasn't exactly the warmest reception the mayor has ever received. Mike Bloomberg stopped by the House of Justice in East Harlem earlier today -- where apparently most local electeds that matter (or hope to matter) were making their MLK appearances. Folks in the audience packed tightly into one l ... More >>

Jewish Firearms Group Compares Bloomberg Gun Control to Genocide, Nazis

​A new inflammatory open letter from the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership advocacy group addressed to Mayor Michael Bloomberg argues that "'[g]un control' actually (and historically) means letting government, whether benign or ruthlessly evil, disarm certain sectors of society a ... More >>

It's Really Easy to Buy Gun Clips in New York

​State Senator Eric Adams of Brooklyn and the New York Daily News went on a secret stunt mission together in Albany, where they bought explosive gun magazines that can hold up to 30 bullets, even though the high-capacity clips were banned in 1994. Under the law, the big gun magazines, "used by ... More >>

Gun-Control Poll? We're Divided. But a Note to Liberals: Run for Your Lives!

Pew Research​This graphic shows the overall even split in opinion from the Pew Research Center poll about gun control. It's about 50-50. But read on for the detailed breakdown, touted today by the pretty rigorously nonpartisan and pro outfit. Just be warned: The poll, taken before assassin Jared L ... More >>

A Bloomberg Score Card: The Mayor's Hits and Misses

Sean Bell's Parents Endorse Aborn for D.A.

​The parents of Sean Bell, an unarmed man whom police fatally shot on the night of his bachelor party in 2006, endorsed Richard Aborn for Manhattan District Attorney today. In a press release put out by the campaign, Bell's parents said they threw their support behind Aborn after learning of h ... More >>

Update on the Damn Sotomayor Hearings

Yesterday Al Franken reminisced with Sonia Sotomayor about Perry Mason. Today Arlen Specter asks if she'd like TV cameras in the Supreme Court. Sotomayor tells John Cornyn she won't use foreign law to interpret the constitution. Tom Coburn asks her if she's worried that gun control would take t ... More >>

Justice is Duck-Blind

Gun-Ho for New York

The Georgia gun dealer who was sued by the city— and fell in love with us

Up in Arms

Israelis Flock to Buy Guns, Pack Heat at Services

Bullet Theory