Manchin: Zero support for assault weapons ban
March 6, 2013

CHARLES TOWN – Sen. Joe Manchin said in an interview Tuesday that groups running ads indicating that he supports sweeping gun control measures are not being truthful.

“Let me make it very clear: the only thing I’m working on is a criminal and mental background check,” Manchin said. “Anything else people have heard is basically a lie. They are just trying to get people excited and scared.”

Political pundits have wondered in recent weeks where centrist Democrats from Blue Dog states, like Manchin, will stand on an assault weapons ban and a bill limiting magazine capacity that are expected to be introduced during this congressional session.

Manchin said he is opposed to such measures himself and thinks they would not make it through the Senate.

House panel advances local gun ordinance repeal
March 7, 2013 | Filed under: latest headlines | Posted by: sojstaff

CHARLESTON (AP) — West Virginia would void local and county-wide gun laws under a measure endorsed Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee, advancing it toward a vote by the full House of Delegates.

A non-unanimous voice vote approved the bill, which would make clear that only the Legislature can regulate firearms or ammunition.

The measure would strike down any ordinances inconsistent with state law, including several adopted in the 1990s by Charleston, the state’s largest city and its capital. Those limit handgun purchases to one per month, and require the buyer to wait 72 hours before receiving the weapon...

...A Republican, Jones also cited how sponsors of Tuesday’s bill include such Democrats as House Majority Leader Brent Boggs and Judiciary Chairman Tim Miley. In a state with high rates of gun ownership, Jones questioned whether that party was seeking to outmaneuver GOP lawmakers on the issue.

Bill suggests anger management classes for those purchasing ammo

The bill was filed less than a week ago and it would require anyone buying ammunition to take a two-hour anger management course.

Sen. Audrey Gibson of Jacksonville wrote the bill.

"You have to use your driver's license to purchase cold medications these days, but there is no mechanism for using a driver's license or no database on how much ammunition is out there."

My dear General Eisenhower:

I am taking the liberty of writing to you to ask you to help my husband and I to start a group of fellow Americans joining together to build a Bomb Shelter at Eldorado Country Club. I know you are building there this summer and so are we. Our home is on the second green and we had originally thought we would build a shelter for ourselves. This seems selfish and I thought perhaps we could ban [sic] together and ask for a piece of land and make this a community project that might also set a good example.

A letter from you endorsing this idea if you think it a good plan is all we would need to start the idea into a reality.

My husband asked me to remember him to you; he sang at both your inaugurations.

Thank you for your consideration of our idea.

Very Sincerely yours,

Mrs. Allan Jones.

September 19, 1961

... I enclose a letter from Mrs. Allan Jones, who proposes that all of us at Eldorado join together to build a bomb shelter, apparently on the theory that this would be a good example for others as well as a possible refuge for those of us who might be living there during a catastrophe. So far as I am personally concerned, I am not sure whether I would really want to be living in this country of ours should [we] ever be subjected to a nuclear bath. But even if I were persuaded that the building of a shelter would be good, I would most certainly insist that it would have to be ample to take care of all of the caddies, the workmen on the golf course, together with everybody that works in the clubhouse, including waitresses, maids, janitors and all the rest. Certainly, I do not want to offend the lady, but I wonder whether you could give me your opinion of how to answer her.

Westford Selectmen Withdraw Proposal To Ban Assault Weapons

WESTFORD (CBS) – A thunderous round of applause and a standing ovation greeted the news Wednesday night that a proposed town bylaw to restrict some assault weapons was going to be officially withdrawn.

The overwhelming majority of the close to 400 people who packed a special meeting of the Westford Board of Selectmen opposed the idea.

The man who originally proposed it told the crowd the debate had not gone as he had hoped...

...“I thought there would be a [negative] reaction,” Jeffries said. “But I also thought maybe some other towns in Massachusetts might have also tried something similar and none of them did. So it left us isolated as the only ones.”

Crime soared with Mass. gun law
By Jeff Jacoby
| Globe Columnist

February 17, 2013

IN 1998, Massachusetts passed what was hailed as the toughest gun-control legislation in the country. Among other stringencies, it banned semiautomatic “assault” weapons, imposed strict new licensing rules, prohibited anyone convicted of a violent crime or drug trafficking from ever carrying or owning a gun, and enacted severe penalties for storing guns unlocked.

“Today, Massachusetts leads the way in cracking down on gun violence,” said Republican Governor Paul Cellucci as he signed the bill into law. “It will save lives and help fight crime in our communities.” Scott Harshbarger, the state’s Democratic attorney general, agreed: “This vote is a victory for common sense and for the protection of our children and our neighborhoods.” One of the state’s leading anti-gun activists, John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence, joined the applause. “The new gun law,” he predicted, “will certainly prevent future gun violence and countless grief.”...

...The 1998 legislation did cut down, quite sharply, on the legal use of guns in Massachusetts. Within four years, the number of active gun licenses in the state had plummeted. “There were nearly 1.5 million active gun licenses in Massachusetts in 1998,” the AP reported. “In June [2002], that number was down to just 200,000.” The author of the law, state Senator Cheryl Jacques, was pleased that the Bay State’s stiff new restrictions had made it possible to “weed out the clutter.”...

...Since 1998, gun crime in Massachusetts has gotten worse, not better. In 2011, Massachusetts recorded 122 murders committed with firearms, the Globe reported this month — “a striking increase from the 65 in 1998.” Other crimes rose too. Between 1998 and 2011, robbery with firearms climbed 20.7 percent. Aggravated assaults jumped 26.7 percent...

Mass. police chiefs sued over gun license limits

By DENISE LAVOIE
AP Legal Affairs Writer / February 12, 2013

BOSTON (AP) — Six Massachusetts residents, backed by a gun-rights group, are suing four police chiefs, claiming restrictions they place on gun licenses violate their Second Amendment rights.

A state law allows police to issue licenses to carry guns with restrictions limiting their use for sporting reasons, hunting or target practice. The federal lawsuit filed by Commonwealth Second Amendment Inc. claims those restrictions prevent gun owners from using or carrying handguns for protection.

The suit says policies on when to issue restrictions vary widely from town to town. Some communities refuse to issue licenses to carry guns without restrictions, while others issue some license without restrictions, but only if the applicants establish that they have a pronounced need to carry a gun, the lawsuit says. Still other towns issue licenses without restrictions.

‘‘Massachusetts’ (license to carry) scheme results in otherwise-qualified, law-abiding citizens of Massachusetts being denied the right to carry a firearm for self-defense, while other, similarly situated residents of Massachusetts are permitted to exercise their right to bear arms to protect themselves,’’ the lawsuit states...

Sheriffs’ Response to NY SAFE Act

Following passage of the SAFE Act by the State Legislature and approval by the Governor, the Sheriffs now have had the opportunity to review the language of the new law and wish to make our comments available. The Sheriffs of New York state support many of the provisions of the SAFE Act, and believe that they will enhance public safety and help to shield citizens from gun violence. However, there are also some parts of this new law that need clarification, and some that we think should be reconsidered and modified to meet the concerns of the law enforcement community and the public at large.

We have identified the following six provisions of the new law which we believe are helpful and will increase the safety of our citizens. These include:

•Assault weapon ban and definition of assault weapons. We believe that the new definition of assault weapons is too broad, and prevents the possession of many weapons that are legitimately used for hunting, target shooting and self defense. Classifying firearms as assault weapons because of one arbitrary feature effectively deprives people the right to possess firearms which have never before been designated as assault weapons. We are convinced that only law abiding gun owners will be affected by these new provisions, while criminals will still have and use whatever weapons they want....

• Reduction of ammunition magazine capacity. The new law enacts reductions in the maximum capacity of gun magazines. We believe based on our years of law enforcement experience that this will not reduce gun violence. The new law will unfairly limit the ability of law‐abiding citizens to purchase firearms in New York. It bears repeating that it is our belief that the reduction of magazine capacity will not make New Yorkers or our communities safer.


•Five-year recertification of pistol permit status and registration of existing assault weapons. The new law delegates to the State Police the duty to solicit and receive updated personal information of permit holders every five years in order to maintain these permits. Further, the law requires owners of certain existing firearms now classified as assault weapons to register these with the State Police within one year. The recertification and registration conflict with Sheriffs’ duties regarding issuance of pistol permits. All records should be maintained at the local, and not the state level. This information should be accessible to those who are responsible for initial investigation of permit applications. Pistol permit information should be maintained in one file at the local level, and forwarded to a statewide database for law enforcement use. It bears repeating that it is our belief that pistol permit and any registration information required by the law should be confidential and protected from FOIL disclosure.

Guns fly off the shelves
Worry about new controls spurs sales in New England

By Callum Borchers and Todd Wallack
Globe Staff / January 29, 2013

Gun manufacturers and retailers throughout New England are struggling to keep up with surging demand as buyers, worried their options may soon be limited, snap up firearms and ammunition.

Shops say they have sold out of many popular gun models, including variations of the AR-15-style rifle used in last month’s mass shootings in Newtown, Conn. Some retailers have resorted to capping the number of bullets customers can buy in an effort to preserve dwindling inventories, or taken to marking up prices.

The sharp increase in sales is fueled by the looming prospect of greater controls on firearms. Proposals to further restrict or regulate ownership are pending nationally and in Massachusetts.

The surge in purchases can be gauged by the wave of background checks required for prospective gun buyers. Nine of the 10 busiest days for background checks ever recorded by the FBI were in the past two months. In December alone, the agency performed 25,251 checks for would-be buyers in Massachusetts — an increase of 73 percent from a year earlier...