THE LEGISLATURE’S PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE will hear public testimony on firearms bills on Wednesday. In roughly equal numbers, the 68 bills before the Committee would either tighten gun control in […]
Guns
Posted inGuns
Gun violence prevention program needs to engage community
LAST YEAR, when the National Rifle Association told physicians advocating for increased gun control to “stay in their lane,” the move backfired for the organization by inspiring emergency room doctors […]
Posted inNews Analysis
Did Liss-Riordan overstep on Second Amendment?
FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS about American’s constitutional right to bear arms are roiling the Massachusetts Democratic primary for US Senate. After mass shootings, a distressingly occurrence in American politics, the debate typically […]
Posted inPolitics
Markey challenger backs repealing Second Amendment
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AFTER DEADLY MASS shootings in Texas and Ohio over the weekend, Democratic US Senate candidate Shannon Liss-Riordan went beyond the usual demands for gun control on […]
Posted inGuns
Boston doctors seek different approach to gun violence
DOCTORS AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL launched the new Center for Gun Violence Prevention on Monday, with a slew of Massachusetts elected officials on hand to support the effort. Clinicians will […]
Posted inGuns
Does attention to shooting miss the mark?
YESTERDAY’S DAYTIME FATAL SHOOTING of a taxi driver near the Prudential Center in Boston was the top story among local media outlets throughout the day and it’s the lead front-page […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Guns
Holding Steven close
RONALD ODOM TALKS about his son’s death like it was yesterday because, for the soft-spoken retired letter carrier, it still feels that way. But this fall will mark 12 years […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Guns
Police-worn body cameras not panning out
AS MORE AND MORE POLICE DEPARTMENTS adopt policies to have officers wear body cameras to record interactions with the public, the research evidence continues to build on the effects of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Mass. should embrace 21st century gun control measures
MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN a progressive leader in common-sense gun control. The Commonwealth requires permits for gun purchases, maintains an assault weapons ban, restricts magazine capacity, and mandates universal background checks […]
Posted inGuns
Students interrupt WBUR gun violence event
“I APPRECIATE EVERY LEGISLATOR and law enforcement in the room, but none of you dodge bullets for a living.” That was said by a parent at WBUR’s CitySpace on Monday […]
Posted inPolitics
Teacher union backing of Weymouth Republican riles new super PAC
A SCHISM WITHIN the Democratic Party that has long divided teachers unions and education reform advocates is playing out in unusual fashion this fall in a state Senate race — […]
Posted inOpinion
Baker is bystander, not leader, on gun legislation
VOTERS NEED TO KNOW Charlie Baker is not a gun violence prevention leader. Everytown for Gun Safety recently endorsed Baker in the Massachusetts gubernatorial race, calling Baker a leader on gun […]
Posted inGuns
Senate passes ‘extreme risk’ gun bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE BOTH BRANCHES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE have now signed off on bills that would create a new judicial process designed to temporarily take guns away from […]
Posted inGun ownership
How the ‘red flag’ gun bill came to be
House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Rep. Marjorie Decker of Cambridge hosted a rally of sorts at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School on Wednesday where they pledged to push for […]
Posted inOpinion
Arming doctors with a tool to save lives
“It is the curse of humanity that it learns to tolerate even the most horrible situations by habituation” – Rudolf Virchow, MD OVER THE COURSE of 1,000 days spanning 2014 […]
Posted inGuns
Stun guns, tasers protected by 2d Amendment
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE POSSESSION OF stun guns and tasers is protected by the Second Amendment, the Supreme Judicial Court concluded on Tuesday, “reluctantly” scrapping the state law banning […]
Posted inGun ownership
Judge upholds assault weapons ban
STATE HOUSE NEWS A federal judge ruled the state’s 1998 assault weapons ban did not violate the Second Amendment and also upheld Attorney General Maura Healey’s 2016 decision to notify […]
Posted inThe Download
And the young shall lead
When little movement occurred to change gun laws following the 2012 slaughter at Sandy Hook Elementary School, it was easy to become cynical about the idea that the country would […]
Posted inThe Download
The kids are all right
It’s always hard to know a particular moment in time is the turning point in a debate. In hindsight, marking the point is easy but in the midst of a […]
Posted inGun ownership
House bans ‘bump stock’ devices
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE HOUSE LAWMAKERS on Wednesday moved rapidly, and some critics said rashly, to ban any device that could be used to increase the rate of discharge of […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Guns, State House News Service
Feds crack down on Lawrence drug network
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THIRTY PEOPLE WERE ARRESTED Tuesday on gun, drug, and immigration charges in a sweep that brought down a Lawrence-based network that Acting US Attorney William Weinreb […]
Posted inGuns
Healey cracks down on more gun sales
ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY continued her crackdown on the sale of illegal guns in the state by forcing a Worcester gun dealer to stop selling illegal handguns and pay $35,000 […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Crime and punishment
Nobody thinks teenagers should be carrying guns on the streets of Boston. Jail may be the best—or only—way to deal with many of those carrying and shooting guns there. But was it the right thing to do in this case?
Posted inGun ownership, Guns, State House News Service
Mass. mayors back AG on assault weapons
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY faced a barrage of criticism in the weeks following her announcement of stepped up enforcement of the state’s assault weapons ban, but […]
