Do You Own a Gun? Why Your Kid’s Doctor Needs to Know

'Do you have guns in the home?" It's a standard question pediatricians ask patients and their parents, an entry into a conversation about storage and safety. "Of course not — we don't believe in that," answered one mother who came to our practice with her 7-year-old. Her son looked up from his iPad and grinned. "But Bobby's dad has a really cool gun! Bobby showed it to me last week." "What do you mean?" his mother asked. "A toy gun?" "No, a real one!" he boasted,... [Washington Post, Opin...

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Missouri: Bill Would Allow Concealed Guns on Campuses

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri -- A House committee has passed a bill that would allow concealed guns on college campuses. The Columbia Daily Tribune (http://bit.ly/1Y3S5Og ) reports that the House Emerging Issues Committee passed the bill with an 8-3 vote Wednesday, winning unanimous support from Republicans. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Jered Taylor, R-Nixa, would repeal the current guns-on-campus ban and replace it with language allowing people with concealed weapon... [San Francisco Chronicle,...

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US Rules Pacific Island Gun Ban Violates 2nd Amendment

America's heated gun debate has reached a remote Pacific territory, with a court overturning a ban on handguns in the Northern Marianas after ruling it breached the US constitution's second amendment. In a ruling greeted with dismay by the island territory's leaders, the US district court found the right to bear arms enshrined in the second amendment also applied to the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). "The second amendment … [is] the law of the... [Guardian, Agence Fran...

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Pacific Islands Rush to Replace Gun Laws Trashed by US

Lawmakers in the US commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are moving to enact "sweeping" gun control legislation, days after a court struck down its ban on handgun possession. For decades the Pacific islands' laws have prevented handgun ownership and imposed strict regulations on other firearms. But on Monday, a US district court with jurisdiction over the territory ruled that the prohibition violates the US constitution's second amendment, which guarantees the... [BBC News, via GunPo...

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California Should Lift NRA Veil Which Hides Gun Violence

Bang, bang, we're dead. More than 196,000 people died of gunshot wounds in the United States between 2009 and 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An additional 400,000 suffered nonfatal gunshot wounds from 2009 to 2013 (the last year for which that data is available). Nearly 600,000 victims in all, from toddlers picking up unattended guns to suicides to domestic violence casualties to those killed in mass shootings. Why is the United... [Los Angeles TImes, Edi...

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Clinton Fires Back to Gun Control in Wisconsin

Hillary Clinton touted her record on gun control while speaking in Milwaukee Tuesday, a key area of distinction between her and Bernie Sanders ahead of the Wisconsin primary. "The availability of guns has gone way too far and the fact that gun makers and sellers have immunity," Clinton said, trailing off before contrasting her vote against immunity for gun manufacturers immunity with Sanders' vote for it. Gun control was a major issue during the Democratic primaries... [Washington Examiner,...

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‘Allow Guns at US Republican Convention’ Call Had a Twist

In a presidential campaign season where "gun-free zones" have been a favorite target for Republican candidates, a Change.org petition sought to push conservatives on how dearly they hold their Second Amendment principles. The letter called for the Republican Party to allow the open carry of firearms at its nominating convention this July, which will be held in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena. The arena bans all weapons, which the petition argued put "all attendees at... [The Trace (USA), via ...

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Smartphone-shaped Guns Soon on Sale in America [FR]

[Translated summary: A Minessota company developed a gun that looks like a smartphone and fits in a pocket. It can be charged with two bullets and it will be on sale in mid 2016.] Les Américains vont bientôt pouvoir acheter un pistolet ayant la forme d'un téléphone intelligent et chargé de deux balles, qui pourra facilement se glisser dans la poche d'un pantalon. «Ingénieusement conçu pour ressembler à un smartphone, il s'ouvre et est prêt à tirer dès... [TVA Nouvelles (Québec), Agence Fran...

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Different Approach to Reduce Violence in Latin America

Reducing violence is not about controlling violent neighborhoods or even about controlling violent people. It is about inducing people to control themselves. That's it. The best policing comes when no police are required. The question is how to achieve this in Latin America, the most violent region in the world and home to countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela, each with homicide rates similar to war zones. The answer may be unsettling. Many instances of... [Americas Quarterly,...

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Gun Lobby Puts Guns in Fairy Tales to Recruit Children [FR]

[Translated summary: The US pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, is re-writing fairy tales by making their characters use firearms in an attempt to recruit children at an early age.] Pour recruter des adeptes dès l'enfance, les lobbyistes pro-armes de la National Rifle Association (NRA) ont trouvé la solution : réécrire les contes de fées en armant le petit Chaperon rouge pour qu'il plombe le derrière du grand méchant loup. Vous rappelez-vous... [Terrafemina, via GunPolicy.org]

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