ALBANY, GA (WALB) -Georgia has a serious gun theft problem. In fact, The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives says only Texas and Florida had more thefts from licensed gun dealers last year.

Jason Sheffield and his family having been running pawn shops in Albany for more than 20 years, and have done several things to improve security over the years.

Firearms account for about 30 percent of sales at Dawson Rd. Jewelry and Pawn, and when the store is closed, owner Jason Sheffield makes sure those guns are securely stored.

He says after a few break-ins years ago, they installed bars on the windows.

http://www.walb.com/story/25198571/how-gun-dealers-keep-firearms-out-of-the-hands-of-crimminals

The emphasis on guns has largely eclipsed the other duties the ATF was originally charged with, she said.

“We virtually have no alcohol investigations and very little tobacco investigations,” Strong said. “Sometimes we do up on the East Coast as it relates to tax laws. But our bread and butter is working gun crimes.”

That job is made more challenging by the fact that, unlike laws against things like conspiracy or drug trafficking, no firearm-trafficking law exists in this country — something many people don’t realize, she said.

As a result, ATF goes after “straw purchasers,” legal buyers who purchase the guns for someone else, typically criminals. The guns frequently wind up associated with crimes here or in Mexico. ATF agents try to catch straw buyers lying on purchase forms, she said.

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_450a05b0-c05f-11e3-ac90-001a4bcf6878.html

NEW YORK, April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Seldom has a sentence in the English language proved more divisive and controversial than the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. While both the pro- and anti-gun movements frequently take to the airwaves with equally strident and dogmatic representatives, it may surprise some to find that, in fact majorities of Americans – across party lines, no less –agree on the middle ground that gun ownership should be legal – but not without some restrictions.

Percentage favoring stricter gun control on the rise

From 1998 to 2010, the percentage of Americans favoring stricter gun control fell steadily from 69% in 1998 to 45% in 2010. In the four years since that low point, this trajectory appears to have begun a reversal, rising for the first time, to 51%.

The vast majority of Democrats favor stricter gun control (76%, vs. 3% who say less strict and 14% who say neither), as does a plurality of Independents (47%, vs. 20% and 25%, respectively). Republicans, meanwhile, are split evenly between feeling gun control should be stricter, less strict and neither (30% each).

Looking specifically at laws related to control of hand guns, 52% of Americans feel such laws should be stricter while 17% say they should be less strict and 22% say neither. Though the percentage favoring stricter laws represents only a slight rise from 50% in 2010, this is again the first time since 1998 that this percentage has not declined.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/77-of-americans-feel-firearm-rights-should-come-with-some-restrictions-14-favor-no-limitations-253328021.html

As the Daily News recently reported, gun manufacturer Black Rain Ordnance has produced, with great fanfare and borderline glee, a modified AR-15 assault rifle that complies with the strict gun law pushed through by Gov. Cuomo in 2013, the SAFE Act.

Proudly labeling the firearms “New York Compliant” rifles, the company’s website boasts 17 different models that hold the state legal maximum of 10 bullets.

While billed by Black Rain Ordnance as an in-your-face response to what the company says is New York’s “continual trampling of the Second Amendment,” that’s just marketing hype aimed at those unhappy with the law.

“Make a political statement, buy our gun!” would be one translation.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/assault-weapon-gambit-backfires-article-1.1749862#ixzz2yRKmUnF5

Defying conventional wisdom, at least two candidates for House of Delegates are running campaign ads calling for tougher firearms laws, in light of legislation passed last month repealing municipal gun regulations (SB317).

Frequent political candidate Thornton Cooper, running in the 35th District Democratic primary, is airing a radio spot in which he vows to introduce legislation to prohibit firearms in the South Charleston Community Center and other municipal facilities.

The state Senate unanimously passed SB317. In the House of Delegates, five members voted against the legislation.

“I think what the Legislature did was absolutely ridiculous, and they should be ashamed of themselves,” Cooper said Wednesday. “I think cities should be able to make the decision on whether to have guns on city-owned property. I don’t know why that’s so hard to accept.”

http://wvgazette.com/article/20140409/GZ01/140409193/1101#sthash.uWwtcgoA.dpuf

The NRA's extreme political views can be infuriating to even sensible supporters of the Second Amendment, particularly when they reek of hypocrisy. Here's a handful of examples that show how the organization's stances don't often line up:

1. Defending the "Rights" of the Dangerous

This week, Thomas King, a board member for the NRA as well as the president of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, said that he didn't want to attend a pro-gun rally in his state because he considered the event "contentious and threatening."

"I just don't want to be a party to anything that may happen," King said ominously. Despite feeling that his safety is in jeopardy for being around these gun owners, he plays a major role in preventing any restrictions from being placed on his comrades' right to bear arms. Does he not see the irony there?

2. Blame Hollywood!

After every tragic mass shooting in this country, NRA spokespeople have insisted that guns are not the problem, the problem is movies that glamorize gun violence.

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/22867-five-hypocrisies-of-the-nra

The Florida Sheriffs Association is the latest victim of NRA bullying.

I wrote last week about what happened to the Florida National Guard's lawyer who told a Florida Senate committee that it wasn't a good idea to allow all the state's legal gun owners -- most of whom haven't bothered to be trained to carry concealed weapons -- to carry concealed weapons after evacuating their homes during a state emergency, such as a hurricane.

"People aren't thinking clearly," Army Capt. Terrence Gorman told the Florida Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee. "And when they aren't thinking clearly, they probably shouldn't have a weapon shoved into the back of their pants. Especially when you're talking about thousands of people that have to be evacuated."

Gorman's testimony temporarily stalled the NRA-inspired Senate Bill 296, and angered its chief lobbyist Marion Hammer so much that she went straight to Gov. Rick Scott's office to complain about the lawyer's testimony.

http://www.ctpost.com/opinion/article/Cerabino-Despite-objections-from-sheriffs-group-5377463.php

(Reuters) - The U.N. Arms Trade Treaty took a major step forward on its eventual entry into force on Wednesday as 18 countries, including five of the world's top 10 arms exporters, delivered proof of its ratification to the United Nations.

Exactly one year ago, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the treaty, which aims to regulate the $85 billion arms industry and to keep weapons out of the hands of human rights abusers and criminals.

The treaty will enter into force once 50 countries have presented proof of ratification to the United Nations. With the latest 18 countries, there are now 31 ratifications out of 118 signatories, or 19 short of the number needed for the treaty to take effect.

The Arms Trade Treaty aims to set standards for all cross-border transfers of conventional weapons ranging from small firearms to tanks and attack helicopters. It would create binding requirements for states to review cross-border contracts to ensure that weapons will not be used in human rights abuses, terrorism, violations of humanitarian law or organized crime.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/02/us-arms-treaty-un-idUSBREA3126920140402

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April 7, 2014 | When a mass shooting occurs, conservative media rush to blame mental health, video games, a lack of armed people present, and even liberal values -- anything but the fact that the shooter was able to get a gun.

But the single proximate factor in all mass shootings, and in all gun violence really, is that it is easy for dangerous people to access high-powered firearms. Lack of access to firearms typically makes it difficult for would-be mass murderers to carry out their plans. For instance, experts say mass stabbings are extremely rare in the United States. To the contrary, 69 percent of all homicides are committed with a gun. Of 37 public mass killings since 2006, 33 involved firearms, while the Boston Marathon bombings, an incident involving a car, and two cases of arson accounted for the other four incidents.

Furthermore, academic research has linked the easy availability of firearms to homicide. According to numerous studies, "where there are more guns, both men and women are at higher risk for homicide, particularly firearm homicide." Compared to other high income nations which typically more strongly regulate the availability of firearms, the United States' gun homicide rate is 19.5 times higher, leading to an overall homicide rate that is 6.9 times higher. Research has also shown, "across developed countries, where guns are more available, there are more homicides. These results often hold even when the United States is excluded."

Following the April 2 shooting at Fort Hood that left three victims dead and 16 others wounded, conservative media have refused to acknowledge the role of easy access to firearms in shootings and have instead claimed mass shootings are caused by video games, mental health problems, the "culture war," and by a deficiency in the number of firearms carried by the general public.

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/how-right-wing-loons-and-pro-gun-nuts-blame-everything-guns-mass-shootings