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https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/12/the-gun-control-debate-after-parkland

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Parkland school shooting : stoneman Douglas students prepare to confront memories as they return to classes. 

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Parkland school shooting : stoneman Douglas students prepare to confront memories as they return to classes. 

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For some students, going back to class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is like being forced to repeatedly board a downed airplane.

"It's just really hard to think about," David Hogg, a senior who has become one of the more outspoken survivors, told NBC News on Tuesday. "Imagine getting in a plane crash and having to get back on the same plane again and again and again and being expected to learn and act like nothing's wrong."

On Wednesday, the school will resume classes with a half-day schedule as Broward County attempts to return to normal. Hogg says he feels sick heading back to class knowing the only change at his school since gunfire rattled the South Florida community on Valentine's Day will be the 17 people who won't be there when he returns.

"It's a disgusting idea to think about," Hogg, 17, said of the lack of legislative action on school safety and gun control. "Literally nothing's changed except that 17 people are dead."

Stoneman Douglas students are now joining the growing ranks of American schoolchildren who have had to learn how to cope with haunting memories after their campuses became the site of a national tragedy.

When it happened at Colorado's Columbine High School in 1999, Austin Eubanks, now 36, struggled to return to any semblance of the normal life he knew before the shooting.

Related: Parkland shooting victim Maddy Wilford speaks out following hospital release

While inside Columbine's library, Eubanks, who was 17 years old at the time, was shot in the hand and knee - and his best friend was killed right next to him.

Eubanks said he later tried to return to the Columbine campus in his senior year but painful reminders of the massacre just months earlier surrounded him.

"My senior year I tried to go back, and I had just lost a best friend. I had been one of the students who was injured, and not only that, at the time they had not done the remodel on Columbine yet. All they did is take plywood and they made a wall where there used to be the entrance to the library," Eubanks said.

Every time he passed the plywood, he was reminded that it masked "where, at the time, the worst school shooting in U.S. history occurred," he said.

Eubanks said he numbed himself from the pain of Columbine by taking drugs, which led to a years-long addiction he has since overcome. As someone who has first-hand experience overcoming the trauma of school shootings, he urged the students of Stoneman Douglas to work through their pain rather than run from it.

Related: Florida officer Scot Peterson defends response to Parkland shooting

"Speak up about it," Eubanks said. "That's the most important part, because what happened for me is it was difficult, I didn't want to do it so I detached. I detached from community. I detached from connection and I didn't go through the healing that I know a lot of the student body did in the senior year that I missed."

Eubanks has since become the chief operating officer of Foundry Treatment Center in Colorado, which deals with trauma and addiction. As the students of Stoneman Douglas return to campus, he says it's important they do not disassociate from the events that occurred just two weeks ago.

Dr. Daniel S. Schechter, director of stress, trauma, and resilience in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University Langone Health, agreed.

"It's important to deal with the stress when they're confronted with scene of the crime to be able to link themselves to present moment, which we use with people who have experienced bad things," Schechter said, adding that grounding exercises are often used in situations where trauma has been experienced.

Schechter said it's impossible to know which students will or won't be susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder as they return to campus, but that it's important for students to be present in the moment as they confront the memories at school.

Related: FBI says it's trying to rebuild trust after botched Parkland tip

As students in Parkland prepared to confront the memories left on the Stoneman Douglas campus, Florida Gov. Rick Scott announced on Tuesday a $500 million investment in school safety and mental health as part of an action plan announced last week.

Stoneman Douglas students will return to campus starting at 7:40 a.m. ET and will be dismissed at 11:40 a.m. ET. This schedule is currently projected to last until March 2, according to the Broward Schools website.

While some students remain anxious about returning to the scene of the shooting, others students say they feel ready.

Daniel Duff, 14, a freshman, returned to Stoneman Douglas on Sunday for an orientation in his fourth-period drama class. He said being back on the campus and talking with teachers has reassured him.

"I wasn't too sure about going back," he said, but added that orientation had made him "more ready."

Duff said teachers told him that students would initially take eight 20-minute classes and that each session would focus on discussing the incidents on Feb. 14 and healing. Duff said he was told classes would not immediately go back to the standard curriculum.

I am grateful to the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for sharing their story with me today. We had an important discussion about how to keep our kids and our schools safe. pic.twitter.com/s3w9KC4vwC
- Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) February 27, 2018

Debbie Duff, Daniel's mother, said she doesn't feel anxious "at all" about her son returning to Stoneman Douglas, but said she anticipates it might be an emotional day for the students. She said the teachers and staff have worked hard to reach out to students through email and texts in the days they've been away and are continuing to make the transition as smooth as possible.

"I don't have any worries about our school feeling unsafe," Debbie Duff said. "I have overheard some people say they don't want to go back because they don't feel safe. That's not my concern."

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Stoneman Douglas students prepare to confront memories as they return to school

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For some students, going back to class at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is like being forced to repeatedly board a downed airplane. "It's just really hard to think about," David Hogg, a senior who has become one of the more outspoken survivors, told NBC News on Tuesday.

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GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) - A shooting at a Maryland high school Tuesday wounded three people, including the shooter, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.

Authorities said the situation was "contained" as deputies and federal agents converged on the crime scene.

St. Mary's County Sheriff spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Yingling said three people hurt, including the shooter. She didn't know the extent of their injuries, but said all three were taken to hospitals and none were killed.

The Baltimore Sun reported that a student said the shooting happened around 8 a.m. Terrence Rhames, 18, told the Sun that he heard a gunshot and saw a girl fall as he ran for an exit. "I just thank God I'm safe," Rhames said. "I just want to know who did it and who got injured."

This latest shooting comes as lawmakers nationwide are under pressure to take action against gun violence following the Valentine's Day killings of 17 people at a Florida high school by a teenager with an assault weapon. Maryland's Senate joined the House Monday night to ban bump stocks, which enable a semi-automatic rifle to mimic a fully automatic weapon.

Outside the school, a line of about 20 school buses formed on the street in front of the building. Ambulances, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles crowded the parking lot and the street. No students or parents could be seen outside at midmorning.

The St. Mary's County Public Schools said the situation was "contained" after the shooting at Great Mills High School, which has about 1,600 students and is near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, about 65 miles (104 kilometers) southeast of Washington.

Agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined deputies at the scene. The county sheriff said parents or guardians should stay away, urging them to go instead to Leonardtown High School to reunite with Great Mills students there.

Many students across the country are calling for effective gun controls, leading up to Saturday's March For Our Lives rally in the nation's capital against gun violence in schools. Threats against schools have proliferated as well, and Great Mills High has not been immune.

Just last month, the school's principal, Jake Heibel, told parents in a letter posted on the local news site The Bay Net that two students were interviewed after they were overheard mentioning a school shooting, and they were found to pose no threat. Heibel said the school increased its security nevertheless after social media posts about a possible school shooting "circulated quite extensively."

Also last month, St. Mary's County Sheriff's office said it arrested two teenage boys for "Threats of Mass Violence" and a 39-year-old man on related charges after the teens made threats about a potential school shooting at Leonardtown High School, a high school about 10 miles from Great Mills. Police said they obtained a search warrant that led to them finding semi-automatic rifles, handguns and other weapons, along with ammunition.

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Sheriff official: 3 injured in Maryland high school shooting

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GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) - A shooting at a Maryland high school Tuesday wounded three people, including the shooter, a sheriff's spokeswoman said. Authorities said the situation was "contained" as deputies and federal agents converged on the crime scene. St. Mary's County Sheriff spokeswoman Cpl. Julie Yingling said three people hurt, including the shooter.

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https://mises.org/wire/shootings-why-dont-schools-have-better-security

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/new-gun-policies-wont-stop-mass-shootings-but-people-can/amp/https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nationalreview.com/2018/02/new-gun-policies-wont-stop-mass-shootings-but-people-can/amp/

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In a country familiar with scenes of students being evacuated during shootings, the massacre that claimed the lives of 17 people at a South Florida high school on Wednesday unfolded in particularly heartbreaking and harrowing fashion on social media.

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, many of whom barricaded themselves in classrooms to stay safe, began frantically texting parents and loved ones and posting to social media to plead for help as accused gunman Nikolas Cruz, 19, made his way through the school with his AR-15 rifle, multiple magazines of ammunition and grenades.

Other students recorded videos-showing classmates either hiding beneath desks, screaming in fear or raising their hands in the air as first responders arrived-as the incident was happening. Some of those videos were posted to Snapchat and later shared with news outlets on Twitter.
NIKOLAS CRUZ CHARGED IN FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTING
Since so many images and videos were posted online, the FBI set up a special website where they can be shared with law enforcement as investigators try to piece together what took place at the school. Many of the videos and tweets ended up being shared widely as news spread.

One student's awful message to a parent: "If I don't make it I love you and I appreciated everything you did for me."

A sophomore at the high school named James Harrison texted his stepfather, "I love you," and said he was "really scared." He also asked his stepfather to call the police and not to call him, because he needed to stay silent.

"I just couldn't believe it because there were so many shots that I heard and I was so scared and I was so anxious because I didn't know what was going on," Harrison, who was reunited with his family, told Fox News after the shooting.

A parent told Fox News "all the kids are posting videos on social media" and parents are trying to deal with how to handle the added trauma of seeing the moments relived in posts online.

Another student took a video as a SWAT team entered the classroom, telling students to put their hands up and their phones away.

The day after the rampage, the hashtag #GunReformNow was trending on Twitter, as people voiced their opinions-pro and con-on the topic.

Christopher Carbone is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @christocarbone.

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How the Florida high school shooting unfolded on social media

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In a country familiar with scenes of students being evacuated during shootings, the massacre that claimed the lives of 17 people at a South Florida high school on Wednesday unfolded in particularly heartbreaking and harrowing fashion on social media.

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The findings suggest the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, has shifted public opinion on gun laws in a way other recent mass shootings have not.

Overall, 70% now say they back stricter gun laws, up from 52% who said so in an October poll not long after a mass shooting in Las Vegas killed 58 people. Just 27% oppose stricter laws. Support for stronger gun laws has not been that high in CNN polling since a December 1993 survey conducted just after the Brady Bill was signed into law.

Public support for stronger gun laws has fluctuated over the years, peaking at 70% backing for stronger laws in 1993 and in the new poll and bottoming out at 44% support in a CNN/ORC poll in September 2014. Bumps in support for tighter laws following mass shootings have rarely lasted, but they have also rarely been as large as the shift seen in this poll.

The new poll also finds a deepening intensity of support for stronger gun laws. A majority, or 52%, say they "strongly" favor stricter gun laws, well above the previous high mark of 37% in polling back to 2013. Strong support outpaces strong opposition by a nearly four-to-one margin, a massive increase compared with the 36% who were strongly in favor of such a move and 27% who strongly opposed the idea in the October survey.

Overall support for stricter laws includes a majority of those who live in gun-owning households (57%) as well as majorities across gender, race and age categories. Nearly all Democrats (93%) back stricter laws, as do a majority of independents (64%) and a plurality of Republicans (49% vs. 46% who oppose them).

At the same time, an increasing share say they are very or somewhat worried they or a family member will become a victim of gun violence. Almost six in 10 say so now (57%), compared with 44% in June 2016 after a mass shooting in Orlando. Worries now are higher among parents of children under 18, of which 62% say they are worried vs. 55% among non-parents. Among those who are at least somewhat worried about becoming a victim of gun violence, 80% back stronger gun laws; that slides to 56% among those expressing less concern.

There is widespread support for several specific changes to gun laws, including 87% who back laws to prevent convicted felons and those with mental health problems from owning guns; 71% who support preventing people under age 21 from buying any type of gun; 63% who support a ban on the sale and possession of high-capacity or extended ammunition magazines (up from 54% in October, a new high in CNN polling); and 57% who back a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of rifles capable of semi-automatic fire, such as the AR-15, which was used in both the Parkland and Las Vegas shootings (up from 49% in October).

Support for raising the age at which a person can purchase any type of gun -- an idea supported by some prominent Republicans -- crosses party lines (86% of Democrats, 67% of independents and 61% of Republicans back that change), as does support for keeping guns away from convicted felons and those with mental health problems (90% of Democrats and Republicans favor that, along with 84% of independents). There is also broad cross-party opposition to an outright ban on gun ownership (93% of Republicans, 87% of independents and 83% of Democrats oppose that idea).

But on the other proposals tested in the poll, there are sharp partisan divisions that reflect those in the public conversation around gun laws that has emerged since Parkland, particularly on a ban on weapons such as the AR-15. That proposal -- one that Florida Sen. Marco Rubio described in a Tweet as "well outside the mainstream" -- has the support of 80% of Democrats and 53% of independents, but just 34% of Republicans. Likewise, limiting the number of guns an individual can own garners 69% support among Democrats vs. just 23% among Republicans. And while backing for a ban on high-capacity magazines has grown across party lines, there remains a 34-point spread between Democrats (82% support) and Republicans (48% support) on the question.

In addition to a shift toward support for stronger gun laws, there is optimism in the poll that such changes would be effective. A majority, 56%, say stricter gun laws generally would reduce the number of gun-related deaths in the country, 42% that they would not. That tilted the opposite way in October after the Las Vegas shootings, with 51% doubting that outcome, as well as in June 2015 after the shooting deaths of nine people during a Bible study group in Charleston, South Carolina, when 60% said such a change would not reduce gun-related deaths.

Similarly, 59% think stricter background checks would prevent those with mental health problems from owning guns (36% say that they would not).

Gun owners are more skeptical on both accounts (61% say stronger laws would not reduce gun-related deaths, and 44% say more comprehensive background checks would not prevent those with mental health problems from obtaining guns), as are Republicans (almost three-quarters say stronger laws would not reduce gun-related deaths, and 48% say they wouldn't keep guns away from the mentally ill).

More generally, almost two-thirds, 64%, say that government and society can take action that will effectively prevent shootings like the one in Parkland. That is higher by far than the share to say so in CNN polls after mass shootings in Las Vegas (47%), Orlando (46%), Charleston (35%), Newtown, Conn. (46%) and Tucson (33%). Majorities across party lines say they feel effective action can be taken, including 79% of Democrats, 59% of independents and 52% of Republicans.

Overall, about half, 46%, say they have a favorable view of the National Rifle Association, while 49% hold an unfavorable view. That's the worst rating for the organization in CNN trends since 1995. And those with a "very unfavorable" view outweigh those with a "very favorable" one by a 31% to 21% margin.

The CNN Poll was conducted by SSRS February 20-23 among a random national sample of 1,016 adults reached on landlines or cellphones by a live interviewer. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, it is larger for subgroups.

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cnn poll: seven in 10 favor tighter gun laws in wake of parkland shooting - cnnpolitics

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CNN Poll: Seven in 10 favor tighter gun laws in wake of Parkland shooting

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The findings suggest the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, has shifted public opinion on gun laws in a way other recent mass shootings have not. Overall, 70% now say they back stricter gun laws, up from 52% who said so in an October poll not long after a mass shooting in Las Vegas killed 58 people.

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In observation reports from February 17 to 24, deputies described Nikolas Cruz's activities, demeanor and behavior.

Throughout the week, Cruz was segregated from other inmates due to his high-profile status. He started in the infirmary and was transferred to a different cell on February 23.

On February 24, a deputy noted that Cruz had a visit with an unidentified family member. Jail visitation logs indicate that his younger brother visited him on the 22nd and 24th, along with Rocxanne Deschamps, who took the boys in after their mother died.

Otherwise, Cruz's defense attorneys and physicians visited him, according to the observation reports.

Deputies outlined Cruz's movements and interactions in brief one-liners and checked boxes throughout their shifts. His lawyer cautioned against reading too much into the notes.

"They are snippet observations from corrections officers and are not clinical impressions made by his treating psychologist or psychiatrist at the jail. They don't show a complete picture. They are generated because Mr. Cruz has a high-profile case and is on suicide watch," Chief Assistant Public Defender Gordon Weekes said in a statement.

Here are some highlights from each day:

February 17

Cruz is housed in a single-man cell in the infirmary, three days after the massacre in Parkland. Deputies described his appearance as relaxed and his behavior as cooperative.

He showered at 1 p.m. and ate his entire meal.

February 18

Still in isolation, Cruz drank juice and refused a meal in the morning, one deputy said.

Another deputy described Cruz as "lying on his back staring at the ceiling." His reactions were "calm" and "slow" when a doctor or nurse asked him questions.

The next deputy took notes on his communication in an "attorney/doctor interview." The deputy described Cruz as "very engaged, responsive" and "talkative." He leaned forward in his chair and nodded "yes" and "no."

February 19

One deputy described the inmate as "cooperative when asked to do something."

Another said he was "well-groomed" and had a "quiet demeanor." "He follows commands" and "talks softly," a deputy noted. His thinking appeared "logical."

Another deputy noted that Cruz did not make eye contact and "often sits with a blank stare, appears to be in thought."

He cooperated with verbal orders and was "guarded" when questioned by medical staff. "Speech is slow and sometimes slurred," the deputy noted.

Cruz finished his entire meal that night, showered and brushed his teeth, the deputy wrote. "In bed frequently but does not appear to sleep," the deputy said.

February 20

More of the same comments from three deputies about the inmate's appearance, behavior and thinking:

"Well-groomed, calm/quiet demeanor."

"Follows commands, talks softly and very little."

"Follows commands and responds to questions."

"Appears slower than normal in his movement," a different deputy said.

"Appeared to break out in laughter both during and immediately following his professional visit at 1848 hours and later at 1910 hours."

February 21

Another day in which deputies described Cruz as "unremarkable" and "relaxed" as he sat in his cell.

"Seems coherent. Minimal interaction during shift," a deputy said in a report logged at 6:30 a.m.

"Ate very little of his food ... slept most of the time. However, appeared restless for part of night."

Another deputy noted that he "avoids eye contact" and "looks downward with a blank stare."

"Inmate nods his head as a response initially but uses normal speech when prompted."

On this day, he ate his entire meal and took his medication, another deputy wrote. Later in the evening, another deputy described him as restless, "tossing and turning while laying down."

February 22

Hours later, another deputy described Cruz at 2:48 a.m. as "restless" and "tossing from time to time."

"A lot of tossing and turning," another deputy said at 3:36 a.m.

"Restless, tossing from time to time his bunk, staring at ceiling," a deputy wrote in a report logged at 11:20 a.m.

Otherwise, deputies reported he ate most of breakfast and all of his lunch: 4 slices of bread, 1 apple, 1 jelly, 1 peanut butter cookies, 1 bag of cookies, juice.

A deputy described his communication with his attorney as "engaged, conversating, understanding what was being said."

February 23

The next day, Cruz was moved to another unit.

One deputy noted he "avoids eye contact" and "looks downward with blank stare." Another said he has "good eye contact with people speaking to him."

He ate all of his lunch and refused to come out of his cell for recreational time.

While speaking to his attorneys, he appeared to be "coherent," a deputy said. "Inmate was also observed smiling and giggling."

February 24

More of the same: relaxed, unremarkable, well-groomed. "Made good eye contact when given verbal orders," a deputy wrote in a report logged at 7:02 a.m.

He ate his entire breakfast, took a shower and brushed his teeth. He was "given time to walk outside his cell and did so."

"Had a family visit per command staff," another deputy wrote.

He requested to read a Bible before another restless night of sleep, another deputy said.

"(Twists) and turns in bunk, does not sleep, stares at wall in deep thought, eyes closed, appears to be resting, not asleep."

CNN's Rosa Flores and Kevin Conlon reported from Parkland, Florida, and Emanuella Grinberg reported and wrote in Atlanta. CNN's Chuck Johnston also contributed to this report.

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what nikolas cruz's life is like in jail  - cnn

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Rosa Flores, Kevin Conlon and Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

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What Nikolas Cruz's life is like in jail

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In observation reports from February 17 to 24, deputies described Nikolas Cruz's activities, demeanor and behavior. Throughout the week, Cruz was segregated from other inmates due to his high-profile status. He started in the infirmary and was transferred to a different cell on February 23.

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Last February, Trump signed a bill making it easier for people with mental illness to buy guns

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Last February, Trump signed a bill making it easier for people with mental illness to buy guns

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It did not attract a ton of attention at the time (nothing does these days) but about a year ago on February 28, 2017, Congress passed and Donald Trump signed a law revoking an Obama-era regulatory initiative that made it harder for people with mental illness to buy a gun.

Yet despite this effort to roll back even a very modest effort to restrain the ability of seriously incapacitated people from obtaining deadly weapons, this morning Trump tweeted that there were "so many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed," implying that someone should have done something to report him.

So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2018

But it's Trump's party - and Trump himself - who have consistently prevented the federal government from doing anything about this kind of situation. The Obama-era gun regulation wouldn't have had a massive impact on gun violence in the US since it's estimated that it would only affect about 75,000 people. And disability rights groups had their own objections to the bill so some liberal groups joined with the National Rifle Association in urging Trump to reverse it.

But anything that makes it easier to obtain a gun, the research suggests, will likely worsen gun violence. After all, America already has some of the weakest gun laws in the developed world - and repealing a rule that made it a little tougher for some people to buy a gun likely makes that worse.

The rule tasked the Social Security Administration with turning over information to the FBI

The vote was part of a larger suite of Congressional Review Act measures that passed early in the Trump administration. The CRA allows Congress to overrule recently enacted regulatory initiatives passed by the executive branch. CRA bills can't be filibustered, but they do need to be signed by the president.

Consequently, the CRA is rarely used since the president isn't going to sign a measure blocking his own regulations. But in the first year of the Trump administration, the CRA was used to reverse a whole suite of final-year Obama regulations. These reversals mostly made life easier for polluters but also let Internet Service Providers sell your web browsing data to advertisers and made it easier for people with severe mental illness to buy guns.

Specifically, what Obama did was order to Social Security Administration to take the list of people who were deemed so severely mentally ill that they are unfit to handle their own disability benefits and forward it to the FBI. The FBI was then supposed to incorporate that list in the background checks used to disqualify people from gun ownership.

This is obviously an extremely narrow measure that wouldn't have had enormous impact one way or the other - it just represented Obama's limited capacity to do anything on guns in the face of relentless congressional opposition.

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Last February, Trump signed a bill making it easier for people with mental illness to buy guns

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It did not attract a ton of attention at the time (nothing does these days) but about a year ago on February 28, 2017, Congress passed and Donald Trump signed a law revoking an Obama-era regulatory initiative that made it harder for people with mental illness to buy a gun.

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By now the story is familiar but no less heartbreaking. On Valentine's Day, a former student walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, pulled an AR-15 out of his duffle bag and began shooting. Students hid in closets and played dead. When it was over 17 people were killed -- 14 of them students. In the hours that followed, there were vigils and a string of lawmakers offered their "thoughts and prayers." Then, something different happened. The students of Stoneman Douglas gathered in living rooms and in front of cameras, declaring never again. In less than a month, the teens did what few thought possible, they changed gun laws in Florida and ignited a national movement. We wondered how a generation with a notoriously short attention span plans to hold the nation's attention. You'll hear from them later. But we begin with another classmate who hasn't been seen or heard from since the shooting.

"He told me, 'Dad I got shot.' I just said, 'keep talking to me, ok, don't go. Don't leave me, keep talking to me.'"

This is Anthony Borges. He is 15 years old and should be at soccer practice. But when we met him on Tuesday, he was struggling to breathe. He'd just come off a ventilator the day before. Anthony's father Roger told us his son has had eight surgeries already. Another is being scheduled. He was shot five times just outside his classroom at Stoneman Douglas High.

Sharyn Alfonsi: He was face to face with the shooter?

Roger Borges: Yeah. He got shot in the leg, and he tried to shut the door.

Sharyn Alfonsi: He tried to shut the door?

Roger Borges: In that moment he received another in the back.

The Borges family is from Venezuela. Roger wanted the world to see what happened to his son.

Sharyn Alfonsi: He called you, right?

Roger Borges: Yeah he called me right at the moment he laid down on the floor and he told me 'Dad I got shot'. I just said keep talking to me -- ok -- don't go-- don't leave me-- keep talking to me.

Sharyn Alfonsi: And where was he shot?

Roger Borges: Right here. Right here.

One shattered his thigh bone. Another damaged a lung and liver.

Roger Borges: That's a miracle for me.

Sharyn Alfonsi: This is a miracle that he's still alive?

Roger Borges: Yeah.

Sharyn Alfonsi: That he is not number 18

Roger Borges: No. No.

Roger, a handyman, is now praying for another miracle: help paying his son's medical bills. Stories like Anthony's unfold quietly in hospitals after every mass shooting. But what happened in Parkland is different. Instead of retreating into their gated neighborhoods, and asking for privacy or saying it was "too soon" to talk about guns, Parkland decided it was exactly the right moment to talk about guns. It was the students who stepped forward first and said never again. You've probably heard a lot from them over the last month, but we were surprised about what they had to say about the fate of the gunman.

Sharyn Alfonsi: The Florida prosecutor announced today that he's gonna seek the death penalty against Nikolas Cruz. And I just wanna get your thoughts on that. Emma?

Emma Gonzalez: Good.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Good why?

Emma Gonzalez: Good that he's seeking the death penalty for Nick Cruz.

Cameron Kasky: I don't wanna think about Nick Cruz. I think the more we think about him, the more he wins. That being said, in a way I disagree with Emma. Let him rot forever.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Let him rot in jail.

David Hogg: I wanna see him rot forever as Cameron just said, but when we pursue the death penalty, this will be kept in the media for much longer.

Jaclyn Corin: I just don't want him to get what he wants. I want him to suffer no matter what.

Alex Wind: The death of one person, as terrible of a person as he is, cannot outweigh the death of the 17.

"I was born months after Columbine. I'm 17 years old, and we've had 17 years of mass shootings."

Alex Wind, a self-described theater geek, Jaclyn Corin, the junior class president, student reporter David Hogg, and senior Emma Gonzalez started what they call the never-again movement in Cameron Kasky's living room. In the hours after the attack, filled with grief but fueled with anger and armed with their phones, the teenagers got to work. First, they set off a firestorm of tweets, many aimed at lawmakers. They said yes to almost every interview request and used social media to organize a student-led protest at the state capitol. In three weeks, they'd convinced Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott to defy the National Rifle Association, something that hasn't happened in Florida in 20 years.

Sharyn Alfonsi: The new Florida law raises the age to buy a rifle to 21. It introduces a three-day waiting period on gun sales, and it makes more money available for mental health services. Give us a grade on what's been accomplished.

Cameron Kasky: C.

David Hogg: I was gonna say C-minus.

Jaclyn Corin: We can't praise them for doing what they've done because that wouldn't have stopped what happened at our school.

Cameron Kasky: That being said the Florida bill is much more impressive than that embarrassing Stop School Violence Act that they're pushing in D.C. which is just a bunch of hot air, fluff. Doesn't use the word gun once when all these tragedies, again, the one thing that has linked them together is the gun.

On Saturday, they're hoping a half million people will join them to march in Washington. They want Congress to ban military-style rifles along with the kind of high-capacity magazines that were used in , and at .

Sharyn Alfonsi: I know I can't help but think. "Sandy Hook happened. Those parents made it their life's mission to try to get some real change. What makes you think that you guys could do more? That this could be different?

Alex Wind: The thing about it is we are the generation that's had to be trapped in closets, waiting for police to come or waiting for a shooter to walk into our door. We are the people who know what it's like first-hand.

Cameron Kasky: We're the mass shooting generation.

Sharyn Alfonsi: "We're the mass shooting generation."

Cameron Kasky: I was born months after Columbine. I'm 17 years old, and we've had 17 years of mass shootings.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Raise your hands if there are guns in your house.

Cameron Kasky: I feel safe because my father has a gun in the house that he can use to protect our family. My family lives on the principle that there are some guns that are made to protect your family from anyone who might come in and try to hurt them, and there are some guns that are made for war.

Emma Gonzalez at rally: We need to pay attention to the fact that this was not just a mental health issue. He wouldn't have hurt that many people with a knife!

Three days after the shooting, Emma Gonzalez accepted an invitation to speak at a rally. The five-foot-two 18-year-old had to stand on boxes to be heard. Her speech was seen millions of times and ignited the passion of students around the country. She now has more than a million Twitter followers, ten times more than Florida's governor.

Sharyn Alfonsi: So why was it you? Why do you think you broke through?

Emma Gonzalez: It might've been my hair.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Oh, come on.

Emma Gonzalez: Very honestly, it just might have been my hair.

Sharyn Alfonsi: I don't think it was the hair.

Emma Gonzalez: I think it was a little bit the hair. Like, you know, just iconically you think of the picture and you think of a bald girl.

Sharyn Alfonsi: What do you think about this issue of arming teachers?

Emma Gonzalez: It's stupid.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Why?

Emma Gonzalez: First of all, they have-- Douglas ran out of paper for, like, two weeks in the school year, and now all the sudden they have $400 million to pay for teachers to get trained to arm themselves? Really? Really? If you have-- if you're a teacher and you have a gun, do you keep it in a lockbox or do you carry it on your person? If the teacher dies and a student who's a good student is able to get the gun are they now held responsible to shoot the student who's come into the door? I'm not happy with that.

Emma's mother Beth watched as her daughter became one of the most recognizable faces in one of the most polarizing debates in the country.

Beth Gonzalez: I'm terrified. It's like she built herself a pair of wings out of balsa wood and duct tape and jumped off a building. And we're just, like, running along beneath her with a net, which she doesn't want or think that she needs, you know?

Sharyn Alfonsi: What is happening to her life?

Beth Gonzalez: It's insane. Somebody said, "Please tell Emma we're behind her," which I appreciate. But we shoulda been in front of her, I should've been in front of her. We're all adults, we shoulda dealt with this 20 years ago.

Sharyn Alfonsi: It's a lot to ask of these kids.

Beth Gonzalez: They're asking it of themselves. Some are like, you go girl. But I'm like, what are we doing?

The Douglas students inspired a walkout at nearly 3,000 schools for 17 minutes this past Wednesday. One minute for every life lost in Parkland. They allowed us into their newly donated headquarters. We agreed not to reveal the location.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Why are we being secretive?

Emma Gonzalez: People have sent us a lot of death threats. And I, for one, am paranoid about a bomb being thrown in the window.

David Hogg: The fact that I'm getting death threats, Emma's getting death threats, Cameron's getting death threats, it shows the polarized state that America's in.

Manuel Oliver: The victims are being represented by people that could've been the victim, all right?

Manuel and Patricia Oliver's son was murdered in the shooting. Joaquin was 17 years old and considered one of the most well-liked kids in school. Oliver still coaches Joaquin's basketball team. He knows these kids.

Sharyn Alfonsi: What is it that these kids can do that adults haven't been able to do in the past?

Manuel Oliver: These kids have their cell phones on their hands all day. And and we as parents we criticize that a lot 'cause we ignore the power of that. The difference between this tragedy and others, if you ask me, is that this generation is used to get answers right away. You think they're gonna wait for six months or a year for anybody in Congress or anybody that needs to make the right call?

Sharyn Alfonsi: They're hardwired to do things quickly.

Manuel Oliver: Absolutely. Right away.

The students have already received more than $3 million in donations, most of it from Hollywood.

Sharyn Alfonsi: You guys have gotten checks from big names. George Clooney. Oprah Winfrey. Michael Bloomberg's gun control group is helping you. The Women's March people are helping you. How do you make sure those people aren't using you for their specific agendas?

Cameron Kasky: Well, we don't let them. You see, that's the thing. We all remember everybody has an agenda.

Sharyn Alfonsi: These are people with decades of experience. Are they giving you guidance?

Cameron Kasky: I can't get a hotel room on my own. I'm 17 years old. Of course, we have people helping us with that. I can't get the city permits for ten blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC. We allow them to help where they can, but we make sure that we are calling the shots. And everybody who tries to call the shot for us, we respectfully say, "That's not what this is about."

Sharyn Alfonsi: Have you had to do that? Have you seen people trying to push back on you guys?

Cameron Kasky: Politicians have asked us to endorse them. Nope. You can support us all you want, but if you think you can get your hands on our movement? It's just not gonna happen.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Have you turned people away who have offered money?

Cameron Kasky: Yes.

Sharyn Alfonsi: And why have you turned them away?

Cameron Kasky: Because they said, "Here's some money if you do this." The second we get an "if," sorry. It's gone.

During our interview, Alex had to leave early for a theatre performance. Cameron, for a family dinner. They are trying to live their teenage lives, and protect them.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Did you ever think, "I don't wanna get into this. This is a nasty fight that I don't wanna be in the middle of"?

Emma Gonzalez: I mean, I have no choice.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Well, you do. You don't have to.

Emma Gonzalez: No I don't.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Why?

Emma Gonzalez: I have no choice because there were-- there were CNN cameras there. My speech was broadcast all over the country in, like, four seconds, and I had no idea they were going to be there. I'm not upset at that. I'm just never going to be the same person again.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Do you think you'll be able to go back to your life?

Emma Gonzalez: I hope so. I don't know. It feels like it's been a year.

Sharyn Alfonsi: It does.

Emma Gonzalez: It really has.

Sharyn Alfonsi: It's been a month.

Emma Gonzalez: It's been less than a month.
Produced by Guy Campanile, Andrew Bast and Lucy Boyd. Associate producers, Gilad Thaler, Alicia Alford, Hannah Fraser-Chanpong and Gisela Perez.

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Students calling for change after the Parkland shooting

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By now the story is familiar but no less heartbreaking. On Valentine's Day, a former student walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, pulled an AR-15 out of his duffle bag and began shooting. Students hid in closets and played dead. When it was over 17 people were killed -- 14 of them students.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/19/opinion/parkland-gun-control-shootings.html

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Inside the building, wounded victims lay bleeding in hallways and classrooms, according to 911 calls from students and teachers that were released on Wednesday by the Coral Springs Police Department. Those calls were the second batch of recordings made public from the shooting.

"They're all bleeding," a sobbing girl whispered to an emergency operator. "They're going to die."

News organizations including The New York Times had petitioned for the release of the surveillance video footage, and Judge Jeffrey R. Levenson of Broward County Circuit Court ordered that it be made public by noon Thursday.

Sheriff Scott Israel said that the video showed the deputy doing "nothing" as the gunman killed 14 students and three educators, and wounded 17 more people. One wounded student remains in the hospital.

"He never went in," the sheriff said of Mr. Peterson in a news conference on Feb. 22. "There are no words," said Sheriff Israel, who described himself as "devastated, sick to my stomach" after watching the video. Office policy requires deputies to try to confront a gunman as quickly as possible, without waiting for backup.

Sheriff Israel later defended his "amazing leadership," despite Mr. Peterson's inaction and other questionable decisions by his command staff, which set up a perimeter around the school before it was clear that the shooting was over, instead of moving in on the gunman.

Mr. Peterson was suspended and then resigned his post. In a statement released by his lawyer, he said that he thought the gunfire originated from outside the building, and reacted accordingly by waiting for the suspect there. But a detailed timeline based on radio dispatches and surveillance footage, released last week by the sheriff's office, suggested that he came to believe the shots might be coming from inside.

In one of his first communications, he said, "Be advised we have possible, could be firecrackers, I think we have shots fired, possible shots fired by the 1200 building." Later, he said, "We also heard it's by- inside the 1200 building."

Mr. Peterson also told other law enforcement officers who raced to the school to stay outside. Coral Springs officers, the first to arrive on the scene, pushed into the building anyway. By then, the gunman had already fled.

Mr. Peterson's lawyer, Joseph A. DiRuzzo III, did not respond on Thursday to requests for comment on the video.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former Stoneman Douglas High student, was later arrested about two miles from the school. He has been charged with 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the shooting.

The law enforcement response to the shooting was also hampered by the failure of Broward County's police radio system. The sheriff's office was unable to connect its radio transmissions with those of the Coral Springs police, who operate on a separate system.

Coral Springs police radio recordings released on Wednesday suggest that Mr. Peterson failed to give clear information to the first arriving officers about where the shooting had taken place. Officer Tim Burton is heard to say that he had his rifle and was standing outside the building with Mr. Peterson, "getting info." But what was relayed on the radio was that the gunman might have been spotted outside in a parking lot.

"We don't know where he's at," an exasperated officer said on radio.

The radio dispatches show that the police knew quickly that they were looking for a white male wearing a burgundy Junior R.O.T.C. shirt. Officers described coming across bodies, bleeding students and bullet-pocked windows.

Coral Springs officers tried to find the gunman using the video surveillance system at the school. But they later realized they were watching the video on a 20-minute delay, according to the department. The delay had led them to believe mistakenly that the shooting was still happening. Why they were not watching live video images, when that feature was available, remains unclear.

Eventually, officers spotted Mr. Cruz on the recorded video, running out of the west side of the freshman building with other students. A Coconut Creek police officer saw him about an hour after the shooting, walking down a residential street.

"I have the suspect, Nikolas Cruz," Officer Michael Leonard said on radio. Then he yelled to Mr. Cruz, "Stand by right there. Do not move!"

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marjory stoneman douglas high school (parkland  fla)

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video recordings  downloads and streaming

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Parkland Shooting Surveillance Video Shows Deputy Remained Outside

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Inside the building, wounded victims lay bleeding in hallways and classrooms, according to 911 calls from students and teachers that were released on Wednesday by the Coral Springs Police Department. Those calls were the second batch of recordings made public from the shooting. "They're all bleeding," a sobbing girl whispered to an emergency operator.

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Introduction

The debate over gun control in the United States has waxed and waned over the years, stirred by frequent mass shootings in civilian settings. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and young adults in the United States. In particular, the ready availability of assault weapons and ammunition has provoked national discussion after multiple mass shootings of school children, most recently in Uvalde, Texas. However, Congress has repeatedly been unable to pass meaningful gun legislation in the wake of these tragedies despite broad public support for new restrictions.

Recent years have seen some of the worst gun violence in U.S. history. In 2021, guns killed more than forty-five thousand Americans, the highest toll in decades; and the upward trend is on track to continue.

Many gun control advocates say the United States should look to the experiences of wealthy democratic peers that have instituted tighter restrictions to curb gun violence.

United States

Gun ownership in the United States is rooted in the Second Amendment of the Constitution: "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."

The United States, with less than 5 percent of the world's population, has 46 percent of the world's civilian-owned guns, according to the most recent report by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey (2018). It ranks number one in firearms per capita. The United States also has the highest homicide-by-firearm rate of the world's most-developed nations. Many gun rights proponents say these statistics do not indicate a causal relationship.

However, the right to bear arms is not unlimited. The U.S. Congress and state legislatures have authority to enact controlling legislation, and the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld some firearms restrictions, such as bans on concealed weapons and on the possession of certain types of weapons, as well as prohibitions on the sale of guns to certain categories of people. The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits individuals under eighteen years of age, convicted criminals, the mentally disabled, dishonorably discharged military personnel, and others from purchasing firearms. In 1993, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act mandated background checks for all unlicensed individuals purchasing a firearm from a federally authorized dealer.

But some gun laws have not survived judicial review. For instance, in 2008, the Supreme Court struck down a Washington, DC, law that banned handguns, the court's first ruling on the Second Amendment in nearly seventy years.

Federal law provides the basis for firearms regulation in the United States, but states and cities can impose further restrictions. Some studies have indicated that states with more restrictive gun laws, such as California or Hawaii, have lower incidences of gun deaths, although researchers say more analysis is needed.

In recent years, Congress has debated changes to existing gun laws, typically in the immediate aftermath of a high-profile mass shooting, such as that in Las Vegas in 2017 (sixty people killed), or in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 (seventeen killed). But in almost every instance, legislation has failed to garner enough support. Ill-fated bills have proposed measures including an assault weapons ban, expanded background checks, and a prohibition on firearm sales to people on federal terrorism watch lists.

As of mid-2022, there were no federal laws banning semiautomatic assault weapons, military-style .50 caliber rifles, handguns, or large-capacity magazines. There was also no federal requirement for those purchasing a gun to have any firearm safety training. There was a federal prohibition on assault weapons and on large-capacity magazines between 1994 and 2004, but Congress allowed these restrictions to expire.

Meanwhile, gun violence has surged amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As of June 2022, guns have killed some nineteen thousand people in the United States this year. The majority of those were in acts of suicide. Mass shootings-those with at least four victims-were occurring at a rate of at least one per day.

Canada

Gun ownership is also relatively high in Canada, at about thirty-five firearms per hundred residents (ranking fifth globally), but the country does not struggle with a similar level of gun violence. As in the United States, Canada's national government sets gun restrictions that the provinces, territories, and municipalities can supplement. And like its southern neighbor, Canada's gun laws have often been prompted by gun violence. In 1989, a student armed with a semiautomatic rifle killed fourteen students and injured more than a dozen others at a Montreal engineering school. The incident is widely credited with driving major gun reforms that imposed a twenty-eight-day waiting period for purchases; mandatory safety training courses; more detailed background checks; bans on large-capacity magazines; and bans or greater restrictions on military-style firearms and ammunition.

Firearms in Canada are divided into three classes: nonrestricted weapons, such as ordinary rifles and shotguns; restricted, such as handguns and semiautomatic rifles or shotguns; and prohibited, such as automatic weapons. It is illegal to own a fully automatic weapon unless it was registered before 1978.

Changes to the law in 1995 required individuals to obtain a license to buy guns and ammunition, as well as register all firearms. However, in 2012, the requirement to register nonrestricted guns was dropped, and related public records were expunged. Following another mass shooting, at a Quebec City mosque in 2017, the government passed a bill to again require nonrestricted firearms to be registered and allow background checks to consider events from more than five years in the past. In 2020, after a gunman killed twenty-two people in Canada's deadliest mass shooting, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a ban on "assault-style" firearms.. The legislation also required those who owned now-prohibited firearms to either participate in a buyback program or comply with a strict storage regime.

Australia

The inflection point for modern gun control in Australia was the Port Arthur massacre of 1996, when a young man killed thirty-five people and wounded nearly two dozen others. The rampage, perpetrated with a semiautomatic rifle, was the worst mass shooting in the nation's history. Less than two weeks later, the conservative-led national government pushed through fundamental changes to the country's gun laws in cooperation with the various states and territories, which regulate firearms.

The National Agreement on Firearms [PDF] all but prohibited automatic and semiautomatic assault rifles, mandated licensing and registration, and instituted a temporary gun buyback program that took some 650,000 assault weapons (about one-sixth of the national stock) out of public circulation. Among other things, the law also required licensees to demonstrate a "genuine need" for a particular type of gun and take a firearm safety course. After another high-profile shooting, in Melbourne in 2002, Australia's handgun laws were tightened as well. Many analysts said these measures were highly effective, citing declines in gun-death rates and gun-related mass killings.

Following an uptick in gun sales in 2017, however, Australian gun control advocates warned against the easing of gun laws in some states and territories. The gun safety discussion was also influenced by the suspected murder-suicide of a family of seven in Western Australia, the country's worst mass shooting in two decades. Today, Australia has more guns in circulation than before the Port Arthur massacre, although the number of people who own them has fallen over the same period.

Israel

Military service is compulsory in Israel, and guns are a part of many Israelis' daily lives. Much of the population has indirect access to an assault weapon by either being a soldier or a reservist or a relative of one. By law, most eighteen-year-olds are drafted into the military, psychologically screened, and provided at least some weapons training after high school. After serving typically two or three years in the armed forces, however, most Israelis are discharged and subject to civilian gun laws.

The country has relatively strict gun regulations, including an assault-weapons ban, a requirement to register ownership with the government, and a limit of one gun per owner. To obtain a gun license, an applicant must be an Israeli citizen or permanent resident; speak at least some Hebrew, Israel's official language; and pass a health screening. The minimum-age requirements vary: twenty-seven years old for citizens with no military or national-service experience, twenty-one for those who have served, and forty-five for permanent residents who are not citizens. Applicants must also show genuine cause to carry a firearm, such as self-defense or hunting.

United Kingdom

Modern gun control efforts in the United Kingdom (UK) have also been precipitated by extraordinary acts of violence that sparked public outrage. In 1987, a lone gunman armed with two semiautomatic rifles and a handgun went on a six-hour shooting spree roughly seventy miles west of London, killing more than a dozen people and then himself. In the wake of the incident, known as the Hungerford massacre, Britain introduced the Firearms (Amendment) Act, which expanded the list of banned weapons, including certain semiautomatic rifles, and increased registration requirements for other weapons.

A gun-related tragedy in the Scottish town of Dunblane in 1996 prompted Britain's strictest gun laws yet. A man armed with four handguns shot and killed sixteen schoolchildren and one adult before committing suicide in the country's worst mass shooting to date. The incident sparked a public campaign known as the Snowdrop Petition, which helped drive legislation banning handguns, with few exceptions. The government also instituted a temporary gun buyback program, which many credit with taking tens of thousands of illegal or unwanted guns out of supply.

A large majority of police officers in the UK do not carry firearms, setting them apart from counterparts in the United States and other countries. Guns are limited to specially trained police units that respond to particular emergencies or deploy for certain types of operations. Supporters of the policy say the unarmed officer symbolizes policing of the public by consent as opposed to by force.

Norway

Gun control had rarely been much of a political issue in Norway-where gun laws are viewed as tough, but ownership rates are high-until a right-wing extremist killed seventy-seven people in attacks in Oslo and at an island summer camp in 2011. Though Norway ranks fourteenth worldwide in gun ownership, according to Small Arms Survey, it placed near the bottom in gun homicide rates. (The U.S. rate is roughly forty-four times higher.) Most Norwegian police, like the British, do not carry firearms.

In the wake of the tragedy, some analysts in the United States cited the rampage as proof that strict gun laws-which in Norway include requiring applicants to be at least eighteen years of age, specify a "valid reason" for gun ownership, and obtain a government license-are ineffective. Other gun control critics have argued that had other Norwegians, including the police, been armed, the gunman might have been stopped earlier and killed fewer victims.

After the massacre, an independent commission recommended tightening Norway's gun restrictions in various ways, including by prohibiting pistols and semiautomatic weapons, but changes were not made. In 2018, the Norwegian parliament approved a ban on semiautomatic firearms, which took effect in 2021.

Japan

Gun control advocates regularly cite Japan's highly restrictive firearm regulations in tandem with its extraordinarily low gun death rate. Most years, fewer than one hundred Japanese die from gun violence in a country of 125 million people. Most guns are illegal in the country and ownership rates, which are quite low, reflect this.

Under Japan's firearm and sword law [PDF], the only guns permitted are shotguns, air guns, guns with specific research or industrial purposes, or those used for competitions. However, before access to these specialty weapons is granted, one must obtain formal instruction and pass a battery of written, mental, and drug tests and a rigorous background check. Furthermore, owners must inform the authorities of how their weapons and ammunition are stored and provide their firearms for annual inspection.

Some analysts link Japan's aversion to firearms with its demilitarization in the aftermath of World War II. Others say that because the overall crime rate in the country is so low, most Japanese see no need for firearms.

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The United States is witnessing another year of record gun violence, raising domestic and international scrutiny of its comparatively loose gun laws and placing pressure on lawmakers to enact meaning...

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Two more thoughts about gun control: one practical and immediate, the other more abstract and academic, though with a practical fork in its tail. The practical comes from a recent discussion with my father, about, of all things, shooting raccoons. The Gopnik family seat, such as it is, is nowhere near Manhattan, Upper West or East Side, but rather a farm in remote rural Ontario, where my parents live surrounded by crops, animals, and pests-and indeed by farmers who need and use rifles. When I was talking to my father there last weekend, we discussed a recent raccoon infestation, and how he had called on a neighbor with a rifle to hightail it over to shoot the five unfortunate masked marauders beneath the back porch. (My dad buried them afterward, further proof that English professors can be eminently practical people.) My dad is actually a pretty good shot, and could have done it himself-but he had not finished the paperwork for his gun.

What onerous tasks are involved in getting a gun for the necessary work of rural life in Canada? Well, you have to do that paperwork, fill out an application for a license, take a gun-safety course, and then you have your raccoon-shootin' rifle for the grim work of keeping off pests. (There are some other "controls"; if you have a longstanding dispute, for instance, your spouse is informed.) Does anything in this interfere with the liberty of the individual or the exigencies of rural life? No one disputes that there are sane reasons for ordinary people to need a rifle. But there is no imaginable, meaningful sense in which Canadians, or Australians, are "less free" when it comes to guns because they have to take a safety course before they use one. People who really need guns-and many, my folks among them, do-can get them and use them safely, while there are hedgerows, so to speak, against impulsive purchases or unsafe or frankly homicidal use.

What we can learn from Canada is how to legislate common sense without violating anyone's liberty-unless you imagine that anyone's liberty depends on having as many weapons as he wants whenever he wants them. Perhaps no existing gun law could have been explicitly designed to stop the shotgun killer of the Navy Yard. But to repeat the central truth of modern criminology: building low barriers against violent crime has a disproportionate effect in ending it. Make something difficult and you begin to make it impossible. You don't have to back-engineer every law to cover every past criminal circumstance; you just have to sensibly craft laws to discourage the next one.

While in Canada, I also had a chance to read a helpful new academic book about gun control farther south, "Reducing Gun Violence in America," which I urge on all who want to catch up on the scientific news on the subject. (Though the gun lobby will find its subtitle-"Informing Policy with Evidence and Analysis"-utterly alarming.) The book, just out from the Johns Hopkins University Press, is an anthology of studies, condensing and summarizing the actual state of our knowledge about the subject of gun violence in this country-what real, tested social science shows, not the "three million marauders have been stopped just by the sight of my revolver!" anecdotes. It also makes some simple recommendations.

In particular, there are four ideas agreed to by all the academic researchers involved in the project. First, fix the background-check system by doing small things such as giving the F.B.I. ten days, instead of three, to complete them; prohibiting "high-risk" individuals from getting their hands on guns (anyone with a restraining order filed against him for a threat of violence, for example); and accelerating federal legislation to keep the violent and mentally ill from having guns. Second, make the A.T.F. more effective through such simple measures as getting the agency a director. Third, encourage research on "personalized" guns and gun triggers. Fourth, ban assault weapons, carefully defined, and with them magazines that fire more than ten rounds. And finally-radical idea-fund research on what actually works to end gun violence.

None of these things may pass Congress next week, or even next year, nor are they even remotely "Canadian" in impact-but they define a common-sense agenda whose promotion will, at a minimum, once again expose the irrational savagery of the gun lobby. "Reducing Gun Violence in America" also provides Mayor Bloomberg, who wrote the foreword, a chance to lay out four things that the President could do on his own, even in the face of our fanatic Congress. They are, in order, to appoint that A.T.F. director at last; order every federal agency to submit the relevant data on gun violence to the national background-check database ("Every missing record is a potential murder in the making"); have the Justice Department prosecute criminals who lie during background checks (seventy-six thousand such cases were referred to the D.O.J. by the F.B.I. in 2010, but fewer than four dozen prosecuted); and to stop supporting the "Tiahrt order," which, unbelievably, prevents the A.T.F. even from releasing information about gun traffickers and how they operate. (More broadly, the good departing Mayor suggests that the whole mechanism by which Congress actively prohibits scientific research on gun violence could be short-circuited by a determined President.) These seem like minimal acts-little more than gestures, perhaps-but eminently doable and even politically practical. What are the President's opponents going to do? Hate him more?

Justice Stevens, in his eloquent, essential dissent in the Supreme Court's "Heller" case, shows that the history of the Second Amendment "makes abundantly clear that the Amendment should not be interpreted as limiting the authority of Congress to regulate the use or possession of firearms for purely civilian purposes." In other words, no form of gun control like those proposed by the Johns Hopkins authors is even remotely in violation of the Constitution properly understood. But Stevens was on the losing side; Heller, decided in 2008, affirmed our embrace of gun madness, by a vote of 5-4. There was once a time when the Supreme Court sought to decide hard cases only with strong majorities. These days, with a highly politicized Court, huge decisions-who will be President? Can a health-care law, duly passed by Congress, survive Justice Scalia's hatred of broccoli?-are routinely determined on 5-4 votes. To restore some balance to gun laws in America might require a fifth Justice who, like Justice Stevens, can read and reason. Meanwhile, a thousand smaller sanities may save the day, or at least a few lives.
Photograph by Mark Ovaska/Redux.

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Two more thoughts about gun control: one practical and immediate, the other more abstract and academic, though with a practical fork in its tail. The practical comes from a recent discussion with my father, about, of all things, shooting raccoons.

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Many people help honor the lives of victims and support their families by donating through websites such as GoFundMe

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Many people help honor the lives of victims and support their families by donating through websites such as GoFundMe

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Stoneman Douglas School Shooting in Parkland, Florida: Help the Victims

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Support the victims and families of the Majory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Give direct financial relief to those affected by this horrific mass shooting.

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New York Times article about the parkland shooting

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New York Times article about the parkland shooting

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/us/surveillance-video-parkland-shooting.html

(And video)

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Youtube Video with comment: “I’m going to be a professional school shooter”

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Youtube Video with comment: “I’m going to be a professional school shooter”

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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xJwCjFU3ESk&rdm=34lglk49g&noapp=1&client=mv-googlehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xJwCjFU3ESk&rdm=34lglk49g&noapp=1&client=mv-google

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It was another sign of how smartphones and social media have changed how people learn about and understand major events almost as they are happening. The shooting Wednesday, in which a teenage gunman killed 17 people, stands out as a particularly raw example of the immediate and uncensored way in which these scenes unfold.

For a country in which school shootings have become a regular occurence, the social media videos provided an important vantage point that isn't otherwise available, said Alfred Hermida, director of the graduate school of journalism at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

"What it does is highlight the intensity of the event," Hermida said. "Because if you're seeing video taken by somebody caught up in the middle of something as it happens, it's much more visceral and emotional than a TV reporter standing outside a building saying, 'Three hours ago inside this building, this happened.'"

The ubiquity of smartphones combined with evolving social media platforms have steadily made it easier to record and distribute first-hand accounts of breaking news events. Twitter may have emerged first as a social media platform for breaking news, but Snapchat took the lead on Wednesday.

The role of social media, smartphones and citizen journalists in breaking news events has been the subject of heated debate among experts. First-hand accounts spread quickly, so may include inaccurate information. Misinformation spread on social media has found its way into Google and Facebook during breaking news events.

Karen North, a professor of digital social media at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism in Los Angeles, said that first-person video can help people understand what it is like to experience tragic events.

"There is an overwhelming desire to try to step in the shoes of others to try to figure out what it would be like if I were there," she said. "Social media postings allow us to step inside of that experience."

But, she said, problems arise when videos from fast-moving crisis situations are posted unfiltered onto social media platforms when there are still unanswered questions, even though it's important to document.

"Then that becomes public entertainment at that point," she said.

Jennifer Grygiel, an assistant professor of communications at Syracuse University and a social media expert, said social media companies should provide more context, framing and warning labels when tragedies are captured using their platforms.

"It's almost reality TV of school shootings," she said. "This could be causing emotional harm to everyone who is consuming this without warning."

Grygiel also said social media tends to underplay the gravity of these events.

"It's being normalized in a strange way and not being presented in its seriousness," she said.

Snapchat in particular has taken steps to address these issues. The company employs a team of journalists that work to find and substantiate content uploaded to its platform in times of breaking news.

On Thursday, Snapchat's Maps feature, launched in June 2017, provided a new way for videos to be uploaded, checked and distributed almost as events happen. Less than a week ago, the company made its Maps feature available on desktop, in part as a tool for journalists.

Snapchat has sought to counter these problems in two ways: by limiting who can contribute to breaking news events, and by hiring journalists to make sure the videos that surface are vetted. Its Maps feature only pulls uploads from a geo-targeted area, limiting what reporters and the public can find.

Snapchat declined to comment.

Twitter has also been working to improve how it presents information during breaking news. The platform streamed local TV news outlets covering the shooting on Wednesday alongside its regular timeline - a first for the company. Google has also been working to filter out misinformation related to searches during breaking news.

Other tools, such as the ability to livestream via smartphone, have made social media a powerful force in breaking news events - a prospect that Hermida noted can also influence which events get covered, and which do not.

"The downside of that is that certain events get way more attention than other events because they're prominent on social media," Hermida said.

Hermida said tragic events that happen in places where people don't have smartphones to capture in-the-moment content can end up getting downplayed.

"The technology also shapes the news agenda, and the availability of these first-person videos will shape how those people cover it." he said.

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Screams and gunshots: Snapchat and smartphones have changed what the public sees and hears during school shootings

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It was another sign of how smartphones and social media have changed how people learn about and understand major events almost as they are happening. The shooting Wednesday, in which a teenage gunman killed 17 people, stands out as a particularly raw example of the immediate and uncensored way in which these scenes unfold.

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A California teacher who also serves as a reserve police officer accidentally fired a pistol inside his classroom while teaching about gun safety and injured three students, according to reports.

Dennis Alexander was teaching public safety awareness in his administration of justice class at Seaside High School when he fired a semi-automatic handgun and hit the ceiling, KSBW reported.

Teachers are not permitted to possess firearms in California schools.

The errant bullet ricocheted off the ceiling, sending out fragments that injured three students, including a 17-year-old who was struck in the neck, the boy's dad, Fermin Gonzalez, told the station.

Seaside police said in a statement that no one suffered serious injuries.

Alexander had just told the class that he wanted to make sure his gun wasn't loaded when it went off, leaving the children stunned, Gonzales said.

"It's the craziest thing. It could have been very bad," Gonzales said, adding that the teacher was about to demonstrate how to disarm a person.

Alexander, a reserve cop in the Sand City Police Department, has apologized for his ballistic blunder.

He was placed on administrative leave at Seaside High School and the police force as the investigation is conducted.

"I have concerns about why he was displaying a loaded firearm in a classroom. We will be looking into that," Sand City Police Chief Brian Ferrante told KSBW.

Gonzales complained that no one at the school checked to make sure the children were unhurt before the school day resumed.

The 17-year-old's parents were shocked when he came home with a blood-soaked shirt and a neck wound.

"He's shaken up, but he's going to be OK," Gonzales told KSBW. "I'm just pretty upset that no one told us anything and we had to call the police ourselves to report it."

Ferrante said Alexander - who also is a Seaside City Council member - has been a reserve officer for the past 11 years, and described his track record as "positive and professional."

Seaside Police Chief Abdul Pridgen said he doesn't know if Alexander had ever brought a firearm to the school before.

"We're looking into any violation of city ordinance or the penal code and we'll determine whether or not there are any applicable charges," Pridgen told the Mercury News.

Monterey Peninsula schools chief PK Diffenbaugh said: "I think a lot of questions on parents' minds are, why a teacher would be pointing a loaded firearm at the ceiling in front of students."

The frightening incident occurred amid a national debate over whether to arm teachers in the wake of the school shooting that left 17 dead in Parkland, Florida.

On Wednesday, students across the nation planned to walk out of their classrooms to raise awareness about gun violence and safety.

One KSBW Facebook fan wrote: "This is clear example why teachers shouldn't have a gun. Accidents happen, even to people with experience."

Another person added: "Oh great.. .Ya let's give ALL the teachers guns. What could possibly go wrong?"

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Teacher accidentally fires gun in class while teaching about gun safety

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A California teacher who also serves as a reserve police officer accidentally fired a pistol inside his classroom while teaching about gun safety and injured three students, according to reports. Dennis Alexander was teaching public safety awareness in his administration of justice class at Seaside High School when he fired a semi-automatic handgun and hit the ceiling, KSBW reported.

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Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island signed an executive order on Monday to keep guns away from people who pose a danger to themselves or others. Credit Credit Jennifer McDermott/Associated Press

It is not just in Florida where the mass shooting at a high school is prompting lawmakers to take up gun control legislation. The same thing is happening across the country, from Washington to Vermont.

What was one of the deadliest school shootings in modern American history prompted Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island to sign an executive order on Monday to establish a policy to take guns away from people who pose a danger to themselves or others.

"If the federal government won't act, states need to do more to prevent the gun violence that has become far too common," Ms. Raimondo, a Democrat, said in signing the measure.

Many of these measures to address gun violence come as students around the nation, accustomed to inaction in Congress, have begun protesting. The most vocal have been the survivors of the shooting, which left 17 dead in Florida on Feb. 14.

Still, not all states are moving to toughen gun laws. Some states are considering action to loosen regulations. Here is a roundup of what states are considering doing or have already done.

Governor Raimondo's move by executive order was the first of its kind. Five other states - Connecticut, California, Washington, Oregon and Indiana - have passed similar "extreme risk" laws, sometimes known as "red flag" laws, having done so either in the legislature or by voter referendum. Since the Florida shooting, a dozen others are considering similar measures.

Rhode Island has also joined with Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York in a coalition to combat gun violence. The group plans to create a multistate database to trace and intercept guns used in crimes or transported across state lines.

Lawmakers have proposed a package of gun measures that defy the powerful National Rifle Association, but fall well short of the more restrictive measures, like an assault weapons ban, favored by the shooting's survivors.

Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, proposed raising the minimum age to buy assault rifles to 21 and called for a raft of measures he said could keep mentally ill or violent people from purchasing weapons and keep schools safer. Republicans in the House and Senate, who appear supportive of Mr. Scott's proposals, also called for a three-day waiting period on the purchase of those weapons, which already exists for those who wish to buy handguns.

Mr. Scott proposed $450 million in new funding for school security and $50 million in mental health funding and called for a law enforcement officer to be posted in every public school.

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Gov. Rick Scott of Florida speaking on Friday in Tallahassee, Fla. Credit Audra Melton for The New York Times

Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, has done an about-face in his rural state, where hunting is a major pastime and which has some of the most lax gun laws in the country. Even after the shooting, he told the Vermont publication Seven Days that he saw no need for changing laws. "I believe our gun laws are balanced," said Mr. Scott, who has a 93 percent rating from the N.R.A.

But shortly after, a student at a Vermont high school was accused of planning a mass shooting. Mr. Scott said he was "jolted" by the prospect of such a disaster so close to home.

"The reality of how close we came to a devastating tragedy underscores the threat of violence that faces the entire country," he said. "As a result, I've been asking myself, 'Are we doing everything we can to protect our kids?'"

Now, he said, "Everything should be on the table at this point."

The State Senate is expected to pass two measures this week to tighten gun controls. The Senate Judiciary Committee last week unanimously passed one bill - to allow law enforcement to remove guns from people considered at extreme risk of harming themselves or others.

The committee was divided on the second, more controversial bill - an expansion of background checks - but in an unusual step, appeared ready to allow it to move to the Senate floor without a committee vote. The State House is likely to take up the two measures later next month.

The day after the shooting, Oregon's House passed a bill making it illegal for people convicted of domestic violence or those with restraining orders against them to possess weapons, even if they are not married to, do not live with, or do not have children with their victims.

One of the three Republicans who joined Democrats in voting for the bill said pressure from groups like the N.R.A. made him want to "crawl under my desk in the fetal position," according to The Oregonian. The State Senate passed the bill late last week; Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, is expected to sign it.

"It took the voices and outrage of youth devastated by gun violence to hold decision makers' feet to the fire," she said in a statement.

A bill filed in Washington State on Friday would raise the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun with "tactical features" to 21, which the bill's sponsors said would align rules to buy those guns with existing rules for handguns. It would also make the sale of those weapons subject to state and federal background checks.

The bill would also create a program to allow students to report threats or potentially violent activity anonymously to the attorney general's office and would require the state to give grants to school districts for emergency response systems.

Lawmakers in Washington are also working on a ban on bump stocks, which accelerate the rate of fire on semiautomatic firearms. The legislation passed the Senate in January and the House on Friday, with a final Senate vote remaining.

Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, has appointed a committee to propose concrete actions and urged it to make its recommendations quickly.

Meanwhile, several bills, some restricting access to guns and some expanding it, are pending in the Statehouse.

Michael J. Madigan, the House speaker, said he would schedule votes this week on two gun-related bills that were filed before the shooting. One would require gun dealers to be licensed, much like car dealerships or beauty salons. The other, similar to the "extreme risk" laws in other states, allows a judge to bar a person from possessing weapons if family members or law enforcement officers ask the court to do so.

Mr. Madigan said lawmakers this week would also introduce legislation to raise the minimum age to purchase military-style assault rifles to 21.

Some bills loosening gun restrictions have advanced in the state since the Florida shooting, according to The Indianapolis Star. A Senate committee last week advanced a bill that would do away with a $125 fee for a lifetime license to carry a handgun, and would increase from four years to five years a permit that exempts holders from background checks when purchasing a handgun.

In the House, a committee passed a bill last week allowing people to carry weapons at churches that share property with schools, as long as they are working for or attending the church, and the church does not prohibit weapons. This month, before the shooting, the measure was passed by the full Senate.

The state is considering legislation to lower the age at which people can carry hidden, loaded guns in public to 18 from 21, while also requiring anyone under 21 to get a permit, including for carrying their weapons on college campuses. The State House passed the measure earlier this month. It is now before the State Senate.

The House has passed a measure that the N.R.A. calls "self-defense" legislation. It would let people carry guns on the grounds of schools or churches. The Senate is considering a bill to repeal the permitting process to allow law-abiding citizens to carry a weapon without having to get a concealed-carry permit.

After the shooting, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, a Republican, sent a letter to Mike Morath, the Texas Education Agency commissioner, ordering safety information to be distributed to all schools, and asking him to take steps to ensure that all schools have completed safety audits and that all have a multihazard emergency plan in place.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: After Shooting, Some States Tighten Rules on Guns; Others Ease Them. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

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What Are States Doing About Gun Violence After the Florida Shooting?

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It is not just in Florida where the mass shooting at a high school is prompting lawmakers to take up gun control legislation. The same thing is happening across the country, from Washington to Vermont. What was one of the deadliest school shootings in modern American history prompted Gov.

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See both sides of the argument.

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History of Gun Control Laws
Gun control laws are just as old or older than the Second Amendment (ratified in 1791). Some examples of gun control throughout colonial America included criminalizing the transfer of guns to Catholics, enslaved people, indentured servants, and Native Americans; regulating the storage of gun powder in homes; banning loaded guns in Boston houses; and mandating participation in formal gathering of troops and door-to-door surveys about guns owned.

Guns were common in the American Colonies, first for hunting and general self-protection and later as weapons in the American Revolutionary War. Several colonies' gun laws required that heads of households (including women) own guns and that all able-bodied men enroll in the militia and carry personal firearms. Read more history...

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

The Second Amendment is not an unlimited or individual right to own guns.

Further, the Second Amendment was intended to protect the right of militias to own guns, not the right of individuals to own guns. Former Justice John Paul Stevens, in his dissenting opinion for District of Columbia et al. v. Heller, wrote, "the Framer's single-minded focus in crafting the constitutional guarantee 'to keep and bear arms' was on military use of firearms, which they viewed in the context of service in state militias," hence the inclusion of the phrase "well regulated militia."

Michael Waldman, President of the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, stated there is nothing about an individual right to bear arms in the notes about the Second Amendment when it was being drafted, discussed, or ratified; the US Supreme Court declined to rule in favor of the individual right four times between 1876 and 1939; and all law articles on the Second Amendment from 1888 to 1959 stated that an individual right was not guaranteed.
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Pro 2

More gun control laws would reduce gun deaths.

Approximately 50% of unintentional fatal shootings were self-inflicted; and most unintentional firearm deaths were caused by friends or family members.

Five women are murdered with guns every day in the United States. A woman's risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute. During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 5,364 US soldiers were killed in action between Oct. 7, 2001 and Jan. 28, 2015; between 2001 and 2012 6,410 women were killed with a gun by an intimate partner in the United States.

Researchers found that a "general barrier to firearm access created through state regulation can have a significant deterrent effect on male suicide rates in the United States. Permit requirements and bans on sales to minors were the most effective of the regulations analyzed."

Gun licensing laws were associated with a 14% decrease in firearm homicides, while increases in firearm homicides were seen in places with right-to-carry and stand-your ground-laws.

More gun control leads to fewer suicides. When US gun ownership goes down, overall suicide rates drop; meanwhile, each 10 percentage-point increase in gun ownership is linked to a 26.9% increase in the youth suicide rate. In Indiana and Connecticut, after "red flag" laws to remove guns from people who may pose a threat were enacted, gun suicides decreased by 7.5% and 13.7% respectively, while suicides by other means did not decrease during the same time. A person who wants to kill him/herself is unlikely to commit suicide with poison or a knife when a gun is unavailable.

The US General Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that 31% of total accidental shooting deaths could have been prevented by installing safety devices on guns: 100% of deaths per year in which a child under 6 years old shoots and kills him/herself or another child could be prevented by automatic child-proof safety locks; and 23% of accidental shooting deaths by adolescents and adults per year could be prevented by loading indicators showing when a bullet was in the chamber ready to be fired.

Marjorie Sanfilippo, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Eckerd College who has researched children's behavior around guns, stated, "We put gates around swimming pools to keep children from drowning. We put safety caps on medications to keep children from poisoning themselves.... [B]ecause children are naturally curious and impulsive, and because we have shown time and again that we cannot 'gun-proof' them with education, we have a responsibility to keep guns out of the hands of children."
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Pro 3

The presence of a gun makes a conflict more likely to become violent.

The FBI found that arguments (such as romantic triangles, brawls fueled by alcohol or drugs, and arguments over money) resulted in 1,962 gun deaths (59.9% of the total).

An editorial published in the American Journal of Public Health noted, "gun-inflicted deaths [often] ensue from impromptu arguments and fights; in the US, two-thirds of the 7,900 deaths in 1981 involving arguments and brawls were caused by guns." A study published in the same journal found that "the weapons used [in altercations]... were those closest at hand." And thus, according to another study, "[r]ather than confer protection, guns kept in the home are associated with an increase in the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance."

Common sense gun control laws can decrease the likelihood of a violent situation turning deadly. President Ronald Reagan and others did not think the AR-15 military rifle (also called M16s by the Air Force) should be owned by civilians and, when the AR-15 was included in the assault weapons ban of 1994 (which expired on Sep. 13, 2004), the NRA supported the legislation. A Mother Jones investigation found that high-capacity magazines were used in at least 50% of the 62 mass shootings between 1982 and 2012.When high-capacity magazines were used in mass shootings, the death rate rose 63% and the injury rate rose 156%.
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Pro 4

A majority of adults, including gun owners, support common sense gun control such as background checks, bans on assault weapons, and bans on high-capacity magazines.

According to a Feb. 20, 2018 Quinnipiac Poll, 97% of American voters and 97% of gun owners support universal background checks. 67% support a nationwide ban on assault weapons, and 83% support mandatory waiting periods for gun purchases.

As much as 40% of all gun sales are undocumented private party gun sales that do not require a background check (aka the "gun show loophole").

53% of all adults surveyed approve of high-capacity magazine bans. 89% of adults with a gun in the home approve of laws to prevent the purchase of guns by the mentally ill, and 82% approve of banning gun sales to people on no-fly lists.

77% of Americans support requiring a license to purchase a gun.

Don Macalady, member of Hunters against Gun Violence, stated, "As a hunter and someone who has owned guns since I was a young boy, I believe that commonsense gun legislation makes us all safer. Background checks prevent criminals and other dangerous people from getting guns."

Many would like to see the U.S. enact more laws like other countries, citing the fact that countries with restrictive gun control laws have lower gun homicide and suicide rates than the United States. Both Switzerland and Finland require gun owners to acquire licenses and pass background checks that include mental and criminal records, among other restrictions and requirements. In 2007 Switzerland ranked number 3 in international gun ownership rates with 45.7 guns per 100 people (about 3,400,000 guns total). In 2009 Switzerland had 24 gun homicides (0.31 deaths per 100,000 people) and 253 gun suicides (3.29 deaths per 100,000 people). Finland ranked fourth in international gun ownership rates with 45.3 guns per 100 people (about 2,400,000 guns total). In 2007 Finland had 23 (0.43 deaths per 100,000 people) gun homicides and 172 gun suicides (4.19 deaths per 100,000 people).
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Con 1

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution protects individual gun ownership.

The Second Amendment of the US Constitution reads, "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."

Lawrence Hunter, Chairman of Revolution PAC, stated, "The Founders understood that the right to own and bear laws is as fundamental and as essential to maintaining liberty as are the rights of free speech, a free press, freedom of religion and the other protections against government encroachments on liberty delineated in the Bill of Rights."
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Con 2

Gun control laws are discriminatory and infringe on citizens' rights

Current gun control laws are frequently aimed at inner city, poor, black communities who are perceived as more dangerous than white gun owners. Charles Gallagher, Chair of Sociology at LaSalle University, stated that some gun control laws are still founded on racial fears: "Whites walking down Main Street with an AK-47 are defenders of American values; a black man doing the same thing is Public Enemy No. 1."

Background checks and micro-stamping are an invasion of privacy. Background checks require government databases that keep personal individual information on gun owners, including name, addresses, mental health history, criminal records, and more. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) worried that Senator Harry Reid's 2013 proposed background check legislation (the bill failed 54-46) would have allowed the government to keep databases of gun purchases indefinitely, creating a "worry that you're going to see searches of the databases and an expansion for purposes that were not intended when the information was collected." Micro-stamping similarly requires a database of gun owners and the codes their personal guns would stamp on cartridge cases. Senators Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote that they would oppose any legislation that infringes "on the American people's constitutional right to bear arms, or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance."

Gun control laws infringe upon the right to self-defense and deny people a sense of safety. The police cannot protect everyone all of the time. 61% of men and 56% of women surveyed by Pew Research said that stricter gun laws would "make it more difficult for people to protect their homes and families." Nelson Lund, Professor at George Mason University School of Law, stated, "The right to self-defense and to the means of defending oneself is a basic natural right that grows out of the right to life" and "many [gun control laws] interfere with the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves against violent criminals." A Pew Foundation report found that 79% of male gun owners and 80% of female gun owners said owning a gun made them feel safer and 64% of people living in a home in which someone else owns a gun felt safer. Even Senator Dianne Feinstein, a gun control advocate, carried a concealed gun when her life was threatened and her home attacked by the New World Liberation Front in the 1970s.

Gun control laws, especially those that try to ban "assault weapons," infringe upon the right to own guns for hunting and sport. In 2011, there were 13.7 million hunters 16 years old or older in the United States, High-powered semiautomatic rifles and shotguns are used to hunt and in target shooting tournaments each year. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, "So-called 'Assault weapons' are more often than not less powerful than other hunting rifles. The term 'assault weapon' was conjured up by anti-gun legislators to scare voters into thinking these firearms are something out of a horror movie... [T]he Colt AR-15 and Springfield M1A, both labeled 'assault weapons,' are the rifles most used for marksmanship competitions in the United States. And their cartridges are standard hunting calibers, useful for game up to and including deer." According to a Feb. 2013 Pew Research report, 32% of gun owners owned guns for hunting and 7% owned guns for target or sport shooting.
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Con 3

Gun control laws simply do not work.

Gun control efforts have proved ineffective. According to David Lampo, Publications Director of the Cato Institute, "there is no correlation between waiting periods and murder or robbery rates." Banning high-capacity magazines will not necessarily deter crime because even small gun magazines can be changed in seconds.The "gun show loophole" is virtually nonexistent because commercial dealers, who sell the majority of guns at shows and elsewhere, are bound by strict federal laws. According to a Mar. 10, 2016 Lancet study, most state-level gun control laws do not reduce firearm death rates, and, of 25 state laws, nine were associated with higher gun death rates.

Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders (9.97 gun homicides per 100,000 people) compared to the United States that had 9,146 gun homicides (2.97 per 100,000 people). The country has only one legal gun store (the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales), compared to at least 63,709 legal gun stores and pawn shops in the United States as of Feb. 10, 2014. Mexico's gun store is on a secure military base and customers must present a valid ID, go through a metal detector, and turn over cellphones and cameras to guards. To actually buy a gun, customers have to show proof of honest income, provide references, pass a criminal background check, prove any military duties were completed with honor, and be fingerprinted and photographed. If allowed to purchase a gun, the customer may buy only one gun (choosing from only .38 caliber pistols or lower) and one box of bullets. Between 2006 and 2010, Mexico's one gun shop sold 6,490 guns, yet as of 2012, Mexicans own about 15,000,000 guns, or about 13.5 guns per 100 people.

The main reason gun control doesn't work is because laws will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns or breaking laws. Of 62 mass shootings in the United States between 1982 and 2012, 49 of the shooters used legally obtained guns. Collectively, 143 guns were possessed by the killers with about 75% obtained legally. A Secret Service analysis found that of 24 mass shootings in 2019 at least 10 (42%) involved illegally possessed guns.

The logical conclusion is that gun control laws do not deter crime; gun ownership deters crime. A study in Applied Economics Letters found that "assault weapons bans did not significantly affect murder rates at the state level" and "states with restrictions on the carrying of concealed weapons had higher gun-related murders." While gun ownership doubled in the twentieth century, the murder rate decreased. Journalist John Stossel explained, "Criminals don't obey the law... Without the fear of retaliation from victims who might be packing heat, criminals in possession of these [illegal] weapons now have a much easier job... As the saying goes, 'If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.'"

More gun control is not needed; education about guns and gun safety is needed to prevent accidental gun deaths. 95% of all US gun owners believe that children should learn about gun safety. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute, Inc (SAAMI), stated, "Whether in the field, at the range or in the home, a responsible and knowledgeable gun owner is rarely involved in a firearms accident of any kind." According to Kyle Wintersteen, Managing Editor of Guns and Ammo, studies show that "children taught about firearms and their legitimate uses by family members have much lower rates of delinquency than children in households without guns" and "children introduced to guns associate them with freedom, security, and recreation-not violence." [82] [85] [154]
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Con 4

Gun control laws give too much power to the government and may result in government tyranny and the government taking away all guns from citizens.

57% of people surveyed by Pew Research in Feb. 2013 said that gun control laws would "give too much power to the government over the people."

The NRA's Wayne LaPierre stated, "if you look at why our Founding Fathers put it [the Second Amendment] there, they had lived under the tyranny of King George and they wanted to make sure that these free people in this new country would never be subjugated again and have to live under tyranny."

Concurring, Alex Jones, radio host, stated, "The Second Amendment isn't there for duck hunting, it's there to protect us from tyrannical government and street thugs... 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms!"

Marco Rubio (R-FL), US Senator, speaking about gun control laws during his 2016 presidential campaign, stated, "If God forbid, ISIS visits our life, our neighborhood, our school, any part of us, the last thing standing, the last line of defense could very well be our ability to protect ourselves."
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Did You Know?

1. A Pew Foundation report found that 79% of male gun owners and 80% of female gun owners said owning a gun made them feel safer, and 64% of people living in a home in which someone else owns a gun felt safer.

2. The US General Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that 100% of deaths per year in which a child under 6 years old shoots and kills him/herself or another child could be prevented by automatic child-proof safety locks.

3. The Centers for Disease Control listed firearms as the #12 cause of all deaths between 1999 and 2015, representing 1.3% of total deaths. They were also the #1 method of death by homicide (67.3% of all homicides) and by suicide (51.9% of all suicides).

4. Mexico has some of the strictest gun control laws in the world and yet, in 2012, Mexico had 11,309 gun murders (9.97 gun homicides per 100,000 people) compared to the United States that had 9,146 gun homicides (2.97 per 100,000 people).

5. Carrying a concealed handgun in public has been permitted in all 50 states since 2013, when Illinois became the last state to enact concealed carry legislation.

6. Five women a day are killed by guns in America. A woman's risk of being murdered increases 500% if a gun is present during a domestic dispute.

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Proponents say the Second Amendment is not an unlimited right to own guns. Opponents say the amendment protects individual gun ownership.

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https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/national/fbi-warned-cruz-professional-school-shooter-plans-months-article-1.3822163?source=imageshttps://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/national/fbi-warned-cruz-professional-school-shooter-plans-months-article-1.3822163?source=images

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These are the victims of the Florida school shooting | CNN

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A football coach, an athletic director and young, fresh-faced students were among the 17 people killed by a gunman at a high school in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/us/nikolas-cruz-death-penalty.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/us/nikolas-cruz-death-penalty.html

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Accused Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz showed a fixation with weaponry, allegedly posting a series of disturbing posts on Instagram about guns and knives before authorities say he shot and killed at least 17 people in a rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. You can see some of his posts below, but be aware that they are troubling.

A fuller picture of the suspect, who is in custody, is emerging from his social media posts. The scene at the school was horrific and labeled by the Florida governor as an act of "pure evil"; one girl told WSVN7-TV: "People were halfway down the stairwell, it just stopped, the alarm stopped. And we heard gunshots coming from the first floor, the second floor and people were running upstairs. We all got upstairs and into our classroom. As (my teacher) was closing the door he was actually shot and killed right there." Twelve of the victims were slain inside the high school, authorities said.

Nick Cruz had at least two Instagram pages. The Instagram pages show a fixation with guns and knives. In one, the profile picture includes a MAGA hat. Authorities say that he committed the massacre with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Fifteen other people were wounded in what is Florida's worst school shooting ever. (You can read tributes to the victims here.)

The Daily Beast reported that, according to Ocean Parodie, 17, "Cruz always had his hair short and had a penchant for wearing patriotic shirts that 'seemed really extreme, like hating on' Islam...The suspected gunman would also deride Muslims as 'terrorists and bombers.'" Parodie also told Daily Beast: "I've seen him wear a Trump hat."

In another, the page contains a photo of a dead toad and the caption, "These things killed my dog. So I kill them pretty much. #killingtoads." His Instagram profile contained the word: "Annihilator."

It couldn't be more blatant; on one of the Instagram pages, there is a series of photos of weapons with a message about shooting being a form of "group therapy" for him. The 19-year-old accused school shooter went by the handle cruz_nikolas on one of the pages. The shooter is accused of stalking the halls of the high school right before classes were to be dismissed; U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said Cruz pulled a fire alarm, threw smoke bombs, and shot people confused by the chaos.

On the page with the MAGA hat, the accused school shooter went by the handle @nikolascruzmakarov; MAGA stands for the slogan "Make America Great Again" and is President Donald Trump's campaign motto. Makarov is the name of a Russian-made pistol.

Some news sites initially gave the suspect's name as Nicolas de Jesus Cruz or Nicolas Cruz. He is also called Nick Cruz by some people who knew him.

Cruz is a former student at the Florida high school that has a student body of several thousand, according to The Miami Herald. He was previously expelled from the school. Broward Sheriff Scott Israel described a scene of carnage and tragedy; in addition to the 12 people killed inside the high school, two other people were found deceased outside the building, one victim was dead in the street, and two people made it to the hospital but died there.

Some of those who knew Cruz told the news media that they were aware of his fascination with weaponry - an obsession he amply displayed in public through the social media platform. One student told WSVN: "He's been a troubled kid, and he's always had a certain amount of issues going on. He shot guns because he felt it gave him, I guess, an exhilarating feeling."

Cruz was open about his intentions to amass an arsenal. For example, in 2016, Cruz's page posted a photo of a shotgun and the caption said he wanted to buy it: "I plan on getting this but I need more information on it so if someone could give advice on how much I'm spending and background cheeks please to god let me know." Here's that photo:

The latest school shooting to horrify the United States has ignited the gun control debate once again, and Nikolas Cruz' social media posts are likely to add fuel to that discussion because they are filled with weaponry. Some people argued on social media that Cruz was actually a registered Democrat based on the voter registration of a Nicolas Cruz in Florida whose birthday is in May 1998. However, the Broward sheriff said in a press conference that the Nikolas Cruz accused of being the school shooter was born in September 1998, not in May (you can watch that comment here.) The accused school shooter's name is spelled Nikolas, not Nicolas, although many in the news media initially went with the latter. The New York Times also verified Cruz's Instagram page.

The sheriff told the news media that the suspect's disturbing social media posts are under review. A youth named Oli wrote on Twitter: "I knew the kid who shot up the school he had a ton of mental health issues that just got ignored by all the adults. He literally had an Instagram where he posted pictures of animals he killed gruesomely and he physically assaulted one of my friends once."

One page was more recent. On the second, the photos of weapons were posted in 2015 and 2016 to the Instagram page, including comments about wanting to purchase guns. The page has since been taken down, although Heavy has verified that it belonged to the school shooting suspect. Here is another one of the other troubling photos that were posted on the suspect's Instagram page. He showed an interest in knives as well as guns:

The suspect posted about a Google search for the phrase "Allahu Akbar" in 2015 but the caption said, "Well at least we now know what it means when a sand durka says 'allahu Akbar' ??????" He also posted a graphic of a bull's eye with bullet holes in it, that contains the phrase "Group therapy, sometimes it works." He wrote in a caption: "It really does f*cking work give it a try ;)."

According to The Washington Times, Nikolas Cruz "has been identified as a former Army JROTC member wielding an assault rifle," although authorities have not yet confirmed that account. Here is the Instagram post that mentions Allahu Akbar. Some people have been using that post to argue the suspect supported ISIS or Islamic terrorism but the post showed he was joking about terrorism and wanted to kill terrorists. He wrote: "Durka durka Mohamed jihad .. how do I work this oh oh I mess up cooo booom!!...durka durka ... bam boom explosions," and included a series of bomb smilies. The Sheriff said it's too early to say whether there was a terrorism motive but authorities haven't found anything pointing to that. They have not yet released a motive.

The suspect also showed anger in some of his Instagram posts. For example, he posted a photo of himself giving the middle finger to the world, writing, "F*ck youuuuuuuuuuuu allllll." A horrific scene unfolded at the school on the afternoon of February 14, 2018 as students hid under desks, ran for their lives and waited for the SWAT team to clear their classrooms. Football coach Aaron Feis is being hailed as a hero for trying to protect students; his condition is not known.

According to The Miami Herald, Cruz was a known threat. "A teacher at the school told the Miami Herald that Cruz, 19, had been identified as a potential threat to fellow students in the past," reported the newspaper, saying that Cruz was accused in the past of making threats. The eyewitness accounts were terrifying. Sarah Crescitelli hid in a bathroom and texted her parents: "If I don't make it I love you and I appreciated everything you did for me," according to The Herald.

Student Daniel Huerfano told Fox News that Nikolas Cruz "was that weird kid that you see...like a loner." Another girl told Fox that Cruz was allegedly "expelled last year after fighting with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. She said Cruz was abusive to the girl."

There were allegations that the suspect held extremist views. Jordan Jereb told the Associated Press that Cruz was a member of the white supremacist militia group Republic of Florida and "participated in paramilitary drills in Tallahassee." Jordan, a leader in the militia that has been described as similar to the Ku Klux Klan, told the AP that Cruz had previous trouble with a female and might have chosen Valentine's Day for the massacre for that reason. According to Daily Beast, Jereb says a member of the group may have given Cruz a rifle. However, local authorities in Tallahassee, where the group is based now say they can find no link between Nikolas Cruz and the ROF militia group, according to Tallahassee.com. Authorities conducted a gun trace and say that Cruz bought the gun he used.

The Sun-Sentinel reported that Cruz was adopted by a "loving older couple," but his father had died years before and his mother died just over three months before the school shooting. His parents were named Lynda and Roger Cruz, and they also adopted his brother, the newspaper reported. She was a homemaker, and he worked in advertising, according to The Sun-Sentinel.

Trevor Hart, 16, told The Sun-Sentinel that Cruz "participated in Army ROTC at the high school," had a "bunch of weapons" and Cruz had "talked about shooting lizards, squirrels and frogs."

Other posts being circulated on social media are not Cruz's. According to Buzzfeed, "A fake 'antifa' account is also spreading a hoax about the suspect wearing an antifa T-shirt. However, the man in the picture is a 24-year-old named Marcel Fontaine, not the suspect."

You can read more about Nikolas Cruz here:

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Nikolas Cruz's Social Media Posts About Guns on Instagram

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Accused Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz showed a fixation with weaponry, allegedly posting a series of disturbing posts on Instagram about guns and knives before authorities say he shot and killed at least 17 people in a rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article205289309.html

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Checking Facts and Falsehoods About Gun Violence and Menatl Illnesses After Parkland Shooting 

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Checking Facts and Falsehoods About Gun Violence and Menatl Illnesses After Parkland Shooting 

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Checking Facts and Falsehoods About Gun Violence and Mental Illness After Parkland Shooting (Published 2018)

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Paul Ryan, Bernie Sanders and others stated facts and falsehoods in the wake of the Parkland Shooting.

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THE NRA DOES NOT HAVE one million Twitter followers - actually just under 600,000. Its spokesperson Dana Loesch also does not have one million Twitter followers - she's some 215,000 short. Heck, the starting lineup for the Miami Heat combined don't have a million Twitter followers. Yesterday, though, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma González zoomed past the landmark number, as she and her fellow students continue to use the platform to drive attention to their cause.

- It's now been nearly two weeks since the attack in Parkland and - in a break from the usual grim routine of mass shooting coverage - it continues to dominate the news. One big reason for that has been savvy social media use by González, who first tweeted from her account on Feb 18., and her fellow students, several of whom have also amassed large Twitter followings. At last check, had 339,000 followers, Cameron Kasky 236,000 and Sarah Chadwick 231,000.

Story Continued Below

- A key question facing the students and their movement has been whether, as time marches on and the cameras leave Parkland, they will still be able to command the nation's attention. So, do these huge social media followings provide a durable platform for affecting change? Well, not on their own, according to Daniel Kreiss, a professor at the University of North Carolina's school of journalism who has studied politics and new media. "What we know is that periods of sustained mass media attention are more likely to result in policy changes," he told Morning Media. "What I suspect is that the Parkland student's Twitter followings will be influential if they can leverage them for journalistic, mass media attention." Messages on Twitter, he said, are more likely to reach activists and partisans. To reach a more general audience and move policy, the students will need big outlets to stay interested. "At best, I think, Twitter can help set the agenda for the professional press," Kreiss said.

- Georgetown professor Leticia Bode, who also specializes in political communications and new media, struck a similar note: "I think social media is one tool that is keeping the conversation alive, but I'm not sure it would work in isolation," she said. "Right now it's being used in combination with traditional media coverage and live events." Whatever happens next, she said, "I can definitely say we haven't seen anything like this before."

Good morning and welcome to Morning Media. Your usual host Michael Calderone is off today, so you've got Jason Schwartz (jschwartz@politico.com and @JasonSchwartz) and Cristiano Lima (clima@politico.com and @viaCristiano) at the wheel. Fear not, Michael will be back tomorrow - you can reach him as always at mcalderone@politico.com or @mlcalderone. ..

TROUBLE AT THE TIMES: "Now people are worried. The newsroom feels embarrassed." That's what one senior newsroom figure told Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo, in into the mess of controversies swirling around The New York Times Op-Ed page. The latest cause for grievance was the hiring - and immediate un-hiring - of Quinn Norton, a tech writer who it turned out was friends with a neo-Nazi and had used racial and sexual epithets in tweets. But angst had been building over other issues, like the climate-change skepticism of columnist Bret Stephens and Twitter misadventures of fellow conservative columnist Bari Weiss. Pompeo reports that Times reporters grilled editorial page editor James Bennet in a recent town hall meeting, causing some to think he looked "shaken."

- In the piece, Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger backed up Bennet, whose name is often bandied about as potentially the paper's next executive editor. "We publish dozens and dozensof op-eds a week. Look at them as a whole and you'll see the breadth of voices there," Sulzberger told Pompeo. "Sure, Erik Prince wrote in our pages. You know who else has written in our pages? Bernie Sanders, and not just once. I hear the criticism, and we take this stuff seriously, but I do believe that when you look at everything as a whole, you see a section that's genuinely trying to wrestle with the ideas that are shaping America right now."
SOUND BITES
"The Times' actual defense of its op-ed section: our publishing a lying blood-soaked mercenary is balanced by our publishing Bernie Sanders." [Jack Mirkinson]

"I'd like to take this moment to say I am not outraged by @nytopinion and don't find any of its recent missteps outrage-ous." []

"There needs to be more distinction between people critical of specific missteps by James Bennet and people who don't want any conservative opinions on the New York Times op-ed page. Both are sort of lumped together." [Jonathan Chait]

NEWS ORGS SUE FOR STONEMAN DOUGLAS SECURITY FOOTAGE: CNN, The Miami Herald and the Sun Sentinel are authorities to release security camera footage from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the Feb. 14 mass shooting. The civil suit, filed in Broward County Circuit Court, seeks to shed light on how local sheriff's deputies responded to the attack. The issue gained renewed prominence Monday after Trump again denounced officials who reportedly failed to intervene in the shooting. Deputy Scot Peterson pushed back on the criticisms.

PARKLAND PARENT TURNS UP HEAT ON AMAZON, NRATV: A led by the father of a Parkland shooting survivor calling for Amazon to remove NRA TV from its website and streaming service is nearing 200,000 signatures, Business Insider . The company is one of several tech giants to face protests and calls for boycotts from gun-control advocates seeking to dent the reach of the National Rifle Association's media apparatus. As noted in yesterday's newsletter, Roku and Apple, along with several other content distributors, are facing criticism for continuing to carry NRA programming. And of course, students are pitching in to the campaign on social media.

WEINSTEIN CO. TO DECLARE BANKRUPTCY: After a $500 million deal to sell the company collapsed, the Weinstein Co. announced over the weekend it will declare bankruptcy, Variety reports. "While we recognize that this is an extremely unfortunate outcome for our employees, our creditors and any victims, the board has no choice," the company's statement said. "Over the coming days, the company will prepare its bankruptcy filing with the goal of achieving maximum value in court."

DOD, STATE PARTNER IN FIGHT AGAINST FAKE NEWS: News organizations that "work to counter propaganda and disinformation" will soon be eligible for federal grants, the Departments of State and Defense . As part of the newly-unveiled partnership, the DOD will transfer $40 million to the State Dept. to create an "Information Access Fund" to boost initiatives aimed at push back against misinformation campaigns by foreign nations.

PACK TURNS ON WOLFF: White House chronicler Michael Wolff found himself in journalists' crosshairs after abruptly cutting off an interview with an Australian TV show. Wolff claimed he couldn't hear the anchors as they grilled him about his insinuation that Trump was having an affair, but the show there appeared to be "no audio problems" during the taping. The Washington Post's Erik Wemple that "accountability is descending on Wolff himself, and he is crumbling in theatrical fashion."
REVOLVING DOOR
- Vanity Fair announced a series of hires less than two weeks removed from their first set of layoffs in the Radhika Jones era. Among the : Time assistant managing editor Claire Howorth joins as a new deputy editor, Marie Claire and Lucky alum Caryn Prime joins as director of editorial operations and Elle's Keziah Weir joins as an associate editor.

- As the carousel spins, Vanity Fair deputy editor Stephanie Mehta is to Fast Company, where she'll serve as the new editor in chief.

- Kyle Daly, a senior reporter for Bloomberg BNA, will start today as a deputy technology editor at POLITICO. And Katy O'Donnell, who has served stints covering tax policy and editing the Europe Brief at POLITICO, will join our financial services team next month, according to a staff memo.

- Annie Yu, currently an audience engagement editor for the Los Angeles Times, will be joining POLITICO as director of engagement, according to a staff announcement. Per the memo, Yu "will oversee social media and work closely with editors across the newsroom to give our journalism maximum impact. She will also develop distribution strategies and drive off-platform storytelling."

- The Society of Professional Journalists Alison Bethel McKenzie its new executive director. McKenzie, formerly of the International Press Institute, is the first African-American and second woman selected for the role.

- CNBC announced that it hired CBS Radio web editor Amanda Macias as a national security correspondent for its website and former Reuters reporter Anjali Athavaley as news editor. News associate Lauren Thomas was also promoted to the full-time position of CNBC.com retail reporter.

- Jena Greene starts today as a sports and entertainment reporter at The Daily Caller.

- NBC News has hired Lawrence Jackson as an additional co-host for Stay Tuned, its twice-daily news show on Snapchat. Jackson comes over from MTV's TRL.
EXTRAS
- Facebook and Youtube are struggling to stay ahead of trolls, the Times reports.

- How Peter Thiel's war on Gawker may come back to haunt him.

- Gretchen Carlson is returning to the small screen as a correspondent on the second season of the Epix show "America Divided."

- "Clueless" actor Stacey Dash has filed paperwork to run for Congress in California.

- Mark Ein, new owner of the alternative Washington City Paper, how alt-weeklies can survive in 2018.

- Russian state media claimed to broadcast combat footage from Syria. It was from a video game.
KICKER "I cannot believe the press didn't find this out. I can't believe it. I think they're getting a little bit - I can never use the word lazy. You don't want to say that. We don't want to give them any more enthusiasm than they already have. But I can't believe they didn't figure this one." - President Donald Trump's comments on his Sunday lunch meeting with leaders of the National Rifle Association.

CORRECTION: This newsletter is updated to correct that Stacey Dash is no longer a Fox News contributor.

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Parkland's social media impact - Trouble at the Times - Florida hoaxes - Weinstein bankruptcy

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THE NRA DOES NOT HAVE one million Twitter followers - actually just under 600,000. Its spokesperson Dana Loesch also does not have one million Twitter followers - she's some 215,000 short. Heck, the starting lineup for the Miami Heat combined don't have a million Twitter followers.

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2018 school shootings: a list of incidents that resulted in casualties - cnn

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There has been, on average, 1 school shooting every week this year

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We're 21 weeks into 2018, and there have been 23 school shootings where someone was hurt or killed. That averages out to more than 1 shooting a week.

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Florida Lawmakers Proposing Major Changes To Gun Laws Following Parkland Shooting

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In Florida, new gun control measures get their first test Monday in a Senate committee, where Democrats will push for a ban on high-powered semiautomatic rifles. Much of the focus now is on the Broward Sheriff department’s investigation and response to the shooting, with many GOP lawmakers calling for the sheriff’s suspension.

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Five students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who have been calling for greater gun control measures in the wake of the shooting at their school appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes" last night. Among the questions posed to them was whether accused shooter Nikolas Cruz should receive the death penalty should he be found guilty of 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

"Let him rot forever," student Cameron Kasky said.

"The death of one person, as terrible of a person as he is, cannot out-weigh the death of the 17," said Alex Wind.

The day before that "60 Minutes" interview, the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board published " The case for life for Nikolas Cruz." In it, they point out that the public defender's office has offered for Cruz to plead guilty in exchange for life in prison.

That would also avoid a costly and, for survivors and victims' families, emotionally harrowing trial that would probably take years, followed by many years more of appeals.

According to the public defender, Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz has already requested an additional $5 million for the trial, and that trial might not take place for three years.

The appeals process can take decades - decades of survivors coming in and out of court to once again face the man who destroyed the lives of so many loved ones.

On the other hand, we have a death penalty. If it's not used in this case, when should it be?

What do you think? Should Cruz face the death penalty and all the financial and emotional burdens that entails? Or should he go to prison for life?

The opinion of families of victims is especially important, of course, but we want to know what you think.

Email dsweeney@SunSentinel.com, tweet @Daniel_Sweeney or comment below.
dsweeney@SunSentinel.com, 954-356-4605 or Twitter @Daniel_Sweeney Get Dan Sweeney's daily political newsletter, the Power Lunch, here.

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For Florida school shooter, death penalty or life in prison?

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Five students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who have been calling for greater gun control measures in the wake of the shooting at their school appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes" last night. Among the questions posed to them was whether accused shooter Nikolas Cruz should receive the death penalty should he be found guilty of 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

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"Someone's shooting up the school at Stoneman Douglas."

These were the first panicked words over the phone from a student when a gunman entered his Florida high school on Valentine's Day.

The 911 responder replied: "I'm sorry, I can't hear you. What's happening?"

"Someone's shooting up Marjory Stoneman Douglas."

"Someone is doing what? Hello? Hello? Hello?"

The student is whispering now: "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is being shot up."

"It's being shot up? Are you at the school?"

The caller whispers something.

"I can't hear you," says the responder. "Are you at the school?"

There's a pause. Then the caller hangs up.

The day everything changed

That Valentine's Day, the lives of 3,300 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School pupils in Parkland, Florida, changed forever.

The shooter killed 17 people. Others are still fighting for their lives in hospital.

It's become an almost unremarkable event in modern America: This was already the sixth school shooting of 2018 in the US.

How the attack happened

Six ways to tackle US school shootings

But this time was different. Because instead of just accepting it for part of daily life, this group of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds decided that guns were tearing apart communities and that too many innocent people were dying.

This is the story of how they started a political movement in just a month.

They have a clear message: "Never Again".

The seed of the campaign was planted less than 24 hours after the attack.

Gathering in a local park with candles, students were embracing their friends, talking to the media or grieving quietly.

"That's when we all held hands together and said 'This is where there's going to be change. This is where it's going to be different'," Jared, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas student, tells Newsbeat.

That was a Thursday. By the weekend, the Never Again movement was up and running.

It was amplified on social media with hashtags including #NeverAgain, #MarchForOurLives, #WhatIf and #IWillMarch.

But this time, it was much more than an online movement which politicians could ignore.

Tweeting "thoughts and prayers" wouldn't be enough this time.

It was a real movement, with real people, in real life.

Calling 'BS' on gun culture

Never Again would culminate with a demonstration on Washington DC which the campaign was calling the March For Our Lives.

Its first major piece of media coverage came on the Saturday with an emotionally charged speech by Emma Gonzalez.

"[To] companies trying to make caricatures of the teenagers these days, saying that all we are is self-involved and trend-obsessed, and they hush us into submission when our message doesn't reach the ears of the nation: We are prepared to call BS," she cried.

"They say tougher guns laws do not decrease gun violence," she added. "We call BS."

That speech seemed to change how the world's media covered this latest shooting - instead of the killer being the main story, it became about the survivors who were fighting on behalf of their dead friends and teachers.

Six days after the shooting, 100 students were on a bus, on a seven-hour trip to the state capital Tallahassee to meet politicians and representatives of the NRA (National Rifle Association).

A lot of people who watched the televised meeting may have been surprised by how articulate, outspoken and well informed the students were.

Florida shooting survivors rally for gun control

Florida survivors: Don't arm teachers

They held their own against some of the most influential people in America - on both sides of the gun control debate.

But you only had to hear them speak for a couple of minutes to realise that anyone underestimating these teens would be caught off guard.

More than a hashtag

Just a week after the shooting, and with the help of celebrities' money, momentum had built.

Had this just been a hashtag, the chances are it would have died down by now.

Instead, the group of Florida teens taking on politicians and lobby groups had inspired young people around the country to start their own protests.

Schools nationwide were staging walkouts - many of them leaving class for 17 minutes to symbolise the 17 lives lost in Parkland.

They too were saying that enough is enough.

Change happens

The teenagers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas were putting more and more pressure on politicians to make a change.

They were clear that they didn't want to ban guns. They just wanted more stringent checks on who was allowed to buy them.

The NRA, an organisation with five million members in the US, is against stricter gun laws.

One of its slogans is "from my cold dead hands" - referring to the only way people will be able to take their guns away.

US students say 'Never Again'

But under the pressure of the Douglas students, the organisation found itself at the centre of a boycott.

Car rental companies, airlines and insurance companies stopped offering discounts to NRA members.

The changes kept on coming.

Two major US retailers announced new restrictions on gun sales.

Dick's Sporting Goods said it would no longer sell assault-style rifles - and Walmart raised the minimum age for anyone buying guns or ammunition to 21 years.

'They weren't the ones who heard the gunshots'

As the movement grew, its opponents became more enthusiastic in their opposition. Much of it came online.

The main figureheads of Never Again were accused of being "crisis actors", put up by the anti-gun lobby to try to ban guns.

They were told that it was too soon, and that they were disrespecting their deceased friends and teachers by making this a political movement.

They were told to leave the serious stuff to the adults.

Florida State Representative Elizabeth Porter said: "Do we allow the children to tell us that we should pass a law that says 'No homework?'"

"If you've fallen victim to gun violence, I think you're pretty eligible to talk about it," Amanda, a 16-year-old student at the school, tells Newsbeat.

"We understand we're just kids, but they can't tell us that what we're advocating is not right just because we're too young.

"They weren't the ones who heard the gunshots, they weren't the ones who ran, they weren't the ones who hid in closets, who hid behind desks, they weren't the ones who were shot at, and they weren't the ones who witnessed their peers die right in front of them. So they don't have a say."

Political progress

The momentum rolled on.

On 6 March, less than three weeks after the shooting, Florida senators voted to raise the age to buy a firearm from 18 to 21 and require a three-day waiting period for most weapons.

Three days later it was signed off by the governor of Florida.

If you were in doubt that this was as a direct result of political action by the students in the Never Again movement, the bill is called the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act.

A new normal

Just over a month on from the attack on their high school, and the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas are trying to get back to normal.

"Inside the red gates of Douglas, we're all normal kids. We're just students, we're not famous," student Nikki tells Newsbeat.

"We see that things are different, but it's a good kind of different."

A march for their lives

On Saturday 24 March, the Never Again students will be outside the home of the man they most need to convince - President Trump.

In the last month, he's flip-flopped from one stance to the other.

He's definitely pro-gun - something the Florida students would say is due to the $31m (£22m) the NRA spent on supporting Trump and attacking Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

In the aftermath of the attack, he met some of the survivors of the attack.

He's suggested arming teachers, said he would have run into the school without a gun to protect students - but he also suggested stronger gun reform.

He also went back on an earlier suggestion he would raise the national age to buy a gun.

President Trump also met video games company representatives to discuss violent content.

He'd previously said that violent games were "shaping young people's thoughts".

The games industry defended itself, saying there is no evidence to suggest a link between violent games and real-life violent actions.

It's not been plain sailing for the students of Never Again - they still need to convince their president to enact stricter gun control.

Their wish to be the last ever school to be attacked by a gunman has already failed.

A 17-year-old girl, Courtlin Arrington, was killed by a classmate at Huffman High School in Birmingham, Alabama, exactly three weeks after the Parkland shooting.

The Florida gun control act which bears their school's name also includes something many of them are against - a provision to arm some teachers in schools.

The long term

And while momentum is still with them now, many key members will be going off to university this summer, disbanding all over the country.

That could make it a lot more difficult to keep the movement going in a few months' time.

But they're realistic about time. After all, this is an issue which previous presidents have tried and failed to tackle in the past.

"We understand that what we're trying to achieve, we won't get that today, probably not tomorrow or the day after," says Amanda.

"It's a long process. It would take years, even."

But - as many students keep reminding their current politicians - many will be old enough to vote in this autumn's mid-term elections.

"This is just the beginning," Alyssa, a Marjory Stoneman Douglas student, tells Newsbeat.

"None of us are ready to give up until we see a change.

"We know change is happening."

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 every weekday on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra - if you miss us you can listen back here.

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The teenagers taking on the US gun lobby

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"Someone's shooting up the school at Stoneman Douglas." These were the first panicked words over the phone from a student when a gunman entered his Florida high school on Valentine's Day. The 911 responder replied: "I'm sorry, I can't hear you. What's happening?" "Someone's shooting up Marjory Stoneman Douglas."

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High has fences, gates and emergency procedures to keep students safe, but a determined gunman found a way around them.

He came when he knew the gates would be open and set off a fire alarm that would dismantle a safety system, officials say. And the school resource officer, who is supposed to help protect students, may not have been on school grounds at the time.

Accused gunman Nikolas Cruz, who had been expelled from the school for behavioral problems, arrived on campus about 20 minutes before the school day ended.

That's the time school officials usually open the gates around campus so students and staff parked in various parking lots, as well as school buses and parents picking up their kids, can get out easily, said Jerry Graziose, the district's former director of school safety.

"During the day, those areas locked. But when you're getting ready for kids to leave, all the gates in the different areas have to be unlocked, and it takes a few minutes for the person doing that," Graziose said.

Once a person gets onto campus, they have access to a number of classroom buildings, which are often unlocked so that students can easily get to their classes.

Graziose said a similar dilemma exists at the start of the school day, when large numbers of students are entering campus, and many parents are dropping their kids off.

Once the shooting began, the school went into a procedure known as Code Red, where doors are locked and students and staff are required to stay in their classrooms. But Cruz pulled the fire alarm, which created confusion about what procedures to follow, said Lisa Maxwell, executive director of the Broward Principals and Assistants Association.

As a result, doors that would have otherwise remained shut were being opened by students, making it easier for the gunman to find victims, experts say.

Cruz shot victims in seven classrooms in Building 12, a three-story building on the north side of campus, Broward Sheriff's Office officials say.

Grazioze, who retired from the school district in 2015, said he recommended upgrades to fire alarm systems so that the entire school doesn't have to evacuate when someone pulls an alarm. He said there have been numerous problems with kids pulling false alarms as pranks.

There are systems available that will give the office 40 seconds to determine whether an emergency is real before sounding a school-wide alarm, Graziose said. The system could also be overhauled so that fire alarm levers are installed only in rooms where large numbers of people gather, such as auditoriums and libraries, rather than in every hallway.

The district included an $908,000 upgrade to fire alarm systems at Stoneman Douglas as part of the 2014 bond referendum approved by voters. The work was supposed to be completed by 2016, but it was delayed and is now included as part of a $10 million overall renovation to the school. The district expects to hire a vendor in July.

The only person trained and armed to fight back against an assailant at Stoneman Douglas is its one school resource officer, a Broward Sheriff's deputy funded by the city of Parkland. But Maxwell said she doesn't think he was on campus when the shooting happened.

"I have been told by a couple of sources that the SRO was either called off campus responding to something happening or it could have been his day off," she said. "They are stretched very thin."

Neither BSO nor school district officials responded to requests for comment Thursday about where the officer was at the time. On Friday, Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said he was told by BSO officials that an officer was at the school but on a different part of campus.

The massacre at Stoneman Douglas, the largest school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012, is prompting other school districts to review their security plans.

Palm Beach County officials are meeting with the county fire marshal to see "if there is anything we can do differently around fire alarms," said Donald Fennoy, chief operating officer for that district.

He said the district has temporarily suspended all emergency drills, to avoid making kids feeling anxious.

Fennoy said his district tries to anticipate any potential emergency scenario but there's no way to guarantee a tragedy won't occur.

"Our faculty and staff and police officers do a herculean job. But the evidence is very clear if someone is determined to do something, it becomes a challenge, and it causes us a lot of angst," he said.
stravis@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6637 or Twitter @smtravis

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Florida school shooting: How was killer able to get around school security?

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Marjory Stoneman Douglas High has fences, gates and emergency procedures to keep students safe, but a determined gunman found a way around them. He came when he knew the gates would be open and set off a fire alarm that would dismantle a safety system, officials say.

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Bulletproofing AmericaCould technology help prevent mass shootings?

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Bulletproofing AmericaCould technology help prevent mass shootings?

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1 | Remote-Control Guns

"If we can set it up so you can't unlock your phone unless you've got the right fingerprint, why can't we do the same thing for our guns?," President Obama asked last January after the shooting in San Bernardino, California. In fact, we can: Manufacturers have been developing smart guns-meaning guns that can be fired only by authorized users-since the 1990s. But because of low demand and fierce opposition by the National Rifle Association, none has yet made it to market.

Ullstein Bild / Getty; Smith & Wesson; Ed Andrieski / AP; Kommersant / Getty

If smart guns do end up on gun-store shelves, they might one day come equipped with technology that would allow owners to shut them down from afar. According to William Tang, an engineering professor at UC Irvine, the technologies to remotely disable a gun already exist-it's just a matter of bringing them all together.

Guns could be equipped, for instance, with the same radio transmitters found in cellphones, giving them unique ID numbers and providing time-stamped data on the number of rounds they've fired. The safety could then be controlled via an app, which would send commands to ultra-lightweight levers in the stock of the gun. If police were given a backdoor into the software, Tang says, they might be able to check cell-tower records to determine which guns have been fired in the vicinity of a shooting and then disable them.

Of course, there are enormous caveats here-chief among them the unlikelihood that a mass shooter would use a gun with such technology in the first place, or that law enforcement could go through the steps to disable one fast enough to save lives. And the prospect of giving police a backdoor into the software should give us serious pause.

2 | Schools Become Fortresses

As mass shootings become a fact of life in the United States, some buildings are getting outfitted with technologies that might at least limit the bloodshed. High-tech, high-volume body scanners and bullet-resistant, automatically locking doors are already on the market. "Gunfire detectors"-originally developed for use on battlefields and the streets of high-crime neighborhoods-are popping up in classrooms, playgrounds, and cafeterias. A company called SST ShotSpotter recently introduced SecureCampus, an auditory gunfire-detection system that maps the layout of a school and sends the precise location of a shooting to security guards and emergency responders.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, an average mass shooting lasts no more than 15 minutes. Typically, three to five minutes pass before the first calls begin streaming into 911. One tool that could cut down that delay is an app-based service called Guard911, which equips teachers at a school with a digital "panic button" that instantly blasts an alert to the phone of every police officer-on duty or off-within a certain radius of the school. To date, some 35,000 cops have downloaded the app.

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A Virginia-based company called NetTalon hopes to go much further. Its Virtual Command system automatically locks every door-reinforced with steel and bulletproof glass-within seconds of a teacher sounding the first alarm. A computer terminal at the local police department then lets law-enforcement officers take control of the school. With the help of motion detectors and cameras, dispatchers can track a gunman's whereabouts. They can also cloud his vision by releasing smoke from canisters installed at strategic points in the ceiling-and potentially push him to a location where he can more easily be apprehended. Future versions of Virtual Command will give police direct control of the PA system, for use in negotiations with a shooter.

These technologies might save lives, but critics worry that they distract from prevention efforts-and signal a societal surrender to the idea of mass shootings as normal and inevitable. There is also the potential for misuse. Privacy advocates warn that gunfire detectors could be used to eavesdrop on kids' cafeteria gossip (ShotSpotter denies this is possible), and Virtual Command gives authorities unprecedented ability to monitor and control students' movements.

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"If we can set it up so you can't unlock your phone unless you've got the right fingerprint, why can't we do the same thing for our guns?," President Obama asked last January after the shooting in San Bernardino, California.

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Nikolas Cruz: 'Very disturbing' social media posts of Florida school shooting suspect who has been charged with 17 murders

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Nikolas Cruz: 'Very disturbing' social media posts of Florida school shooting suspect who has been charged with 17 murders

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Teachers were warned not to let suspected Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz on to campus wearing a backpack, a staff member has said, as details emerged of "very disturbing" social media posts left by the teenager.

Seventeen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, when the 19-year-old allegedly opened fire with an AR-15 semi-automatic assault-style rifle on Wednesday. Police said he was carrying "countless" extra magazines of ammunition.

But as a picture of the suspect began to emerge, maths teacher Jim Gard said there had been "problems with him last year threatening students" and that he had been asked to leave.

Senior staff had emailed teachers to warn them "that he wasn't allowed on campus with a backpack on him", he told the Miami Herald.

Cruz has now been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.

Fellow students claimed they had joked about Cruz as a future killer, with one telling WFOR-TV: "A lot of people were saying it was going to be him. A lot of kids threw jokes around saying that he was going to be the one to shoot up the school. It turns out that everyone predicted it."

Daniel Huerfano, a student who fled Wednesday's attack, said he recognised Cruz from an Instagram photo in which he posed with a gun in front of his face. "He was that weird kid that you see ... like a loner", he added.

Dakota Mutchler, a 17-year-old junior, said he used to be close friends with Cruz but had not seen him in more than a year following his expulsion from school, and that "he started progressively getting a little more weird".

Mr Mutchler recalled Cruz posting on Instagram about killing animals and said he had talked about doing target practice in his backyard with a pellet gun.

"He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there", he added.

A third student alleged Cruz had been abusive towards an ex-girlfriend.

On his now-deleted Instagram profile were images of multiple knives and guns. One showed a box of 150 rifle rounds and another sought advice on buying a shotgun.

A law enforcement official close to the investigation told AP after Cruz was charged, early on Thursday, that the teen had bought his AR-15 legally.

A photograph first tweeted by a local ESPN radio reporter showed Cruz at the moment of his arrest wearing a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) t-shirt. Police sources told the New York Post he was a member of the US Army junior ROTC group.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said Cruz had been expelled for "disciplinary reasons" but that "I don't know the specifics".

The county's mayor, Beam Furr, told CNN Cruz had received some mental health treatment but had not attended a clinic for more than a year.

The Orlando Sentinel quoted family members as saying Cruz had been adopted at birth along with his brother by Lynda and Roger Cruz. Mr Cruz died some years ago and his widow passed away last November, the paper said.

Her sister-in-law, Barbara Kumbatovich, told the Sentinel Ms Cruz had sought counselling for Nikolas when he was younger. The boys were left in the care of a family friend after their mother died, she added.

Unhappy there, Cruz asked to move in with a friend's family in north-west Broward. The family agreed and Cruz moved in around Thanksgiving.

According to the family's lawyer, who did not identify them, they knew that Cruz owned the AR-15 but made him keep it locked in a cabinet. He did have the key, however.

The lawyer, Jim Lewis, said the family was devastated and was cooperating with police. They had not seen the tragedy coming, he said.
Additional reporting by agencies
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Florida school shooting suspect's 'very disturbing' social media posts emerge

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Teachers were warned not to let suspected Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz on to campus wearing a backpack, a staff member has said, as details emerged of "very disturbing" social media posts left by the teenager. Seventeen people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, when the 19-year-old allegedly opened fire with an AR-15 semi-automatic assault-style rifle on Wednesday.

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The FBI admits to not investigating a key tip before the shooting

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The FBI admits to not investigating a key tip before the shooting

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The FBI received a tip last month that the suspect in the Florida school shooting had a "desire to kill" and access to guns and could be plotting an attack, but agents failed to investigate, the agency said Friday. Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for the FBI's director to resign because of the missteps.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the shooting that killed 17 people Wednesday was a "tragic consequence" of the FBI's failure and ordered a review of the Justice Department's processes. He said it's now clear that the nation's premier law enforcement agency missed warning signs.

In more evidence that there had been signs of trouble with the suspect, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said at a Friday news conference that his office had received more than 20 calls about Nikolas Cruz in the past few years.

A person close to Cruz called the FBI's tip line on Jan. 5 and provided information about Cruz's weapons and his erratic behavior, including his disturbing social media posts. The caller was concerned that Cruz could attack a school.

In a statement, the agency acknowledged that the tip should have been shared with the FBI's Miami office and investigated, but it was not. The startling admission came as the agency was already facing criticism for its treatment of a tip about a YouTube comment posted last year. The comment posted by a "Nikolas Cruz" said, "Im going to be a professional school shooter."

The FBI investigated the remark but did not determine who made it.

The 19-year-old Cruz has been charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, north of Miami.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said the agency, which received an average of 2,101 calls to the tip line each day in 2017, was still reviewing its missteps on the January tip. He said he was "committed to getting to the bottom of what happened," as well as assessing the way the FBI responds to information from the public.

"We have spoken with victims and families and deeply regret the additional pain this causes all those affected by this horrific tragedy," Wray said in the statement.

Florida's governor sharply criticized the federal law enforcement agency Friday, calling the FBI's failure to take action "unacceptable."

"Seventeen innocent people are dead and acknowledging a mistake isn't going to cut it," Scott said. "... The families will spend a lifetime wondering how this could happen, and an apology will never give them the answers they desperately need."

The FBI is already under intense scrutiny for its actions in the early stages of the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. President Donald Trump and some congressional Republicans have seized on what they see as signs of anti-Trump bias.

The president has repeatedly slammed the agency and its leaders, writing on Twitter that its reputation was in "tatters."

On Friday evening, Trump visited a Florida hospital where he greeted medical staff and thanked the doctors, nurses and first responders who helped the shooting victims. He told reporters he also met with some of the victims who are still hospitalized. He later met with members of the Broward County Sheriff's office and local law enforcement, including Coconut Creek Police Officer Mike Leonard, who said he was the one who apprehended Cruz.

Also Friday, mourners gathered for the first funeral for a shooting victim, packing the Star of David chapel to remember 14-year-old Alyssa Alhadeff. From outside the chapel, other mourners strained to hear the voices chanting Jewish prayers and remembering the star soccer player as having "the strongest personality." She was also remembered as a creative writer with a memorable smile.

At a later funeral for 18-year-old Meadow Pollack, her father's angered boiled over. With more than 1,000 mourners including Scott packed into Temple K'ol Tikvah, Andrew Pollack looked down at the plain pine coffin of his daughter and yelled, "You killed my kid!" referring to Cruz.

A day earlier, details of Wednesday's attack emerged , showing how the assailant moved through the school in just minutes before escaping with the same students he had targeted.

Cruz jumped out of an Uber car and walked toward building 12 of the school, carrying a black duffel bag and a black backpack. He slipped into the building, entered a stairwell and extracted a rifle from his bag, authorities said. He shot into four rooms on the first floor then went upstairs and shot a single victim on the second floor.

He ran to the third floor, where according to a timeline released by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, three minutes passed before he dropped the rifle and backpack, ran back down the stairs and quickly blended in with panicked, fleeing students.

Florida State Sen. Bill Galvano, who visited the third floor, said authorities told him it appeared that Cruz tried to fire point-blank out the third-floor windows at students as they were leaving the school, but the high-impact windows did not shatter.

The sheriff clarified Friday that Cruz never had a gas mask or smoke grenades during the attack, but officers did find a balaclava. Israel said his office would be investigating every one of the previous calls about Cruz to see how they were handled.

Authorities have not described any specific motive, except to say that Cruz had been kicked out of the high school, which has about 3,000 students and serves an affluent suburb where the median home price is nearly $600,000. Students who knew him described a volatile teenager whose strange behavior had caused others to end friendships.
Lush reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. John Mone and Associated Press Writer Sadie Gurman in Washington contributed to this report.

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Kelli Kennedy, Curt Anderson and Tamara Lush

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FBI admits it failed to investigate specific tip on Florida shooting suspect

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The FBI received a tip last month that the suspect in the Florida school shooting had a "desire to kill" and access to guns and could be plotting an attack, but agents failed to investigate, the agency said Friday. Florida Gov. Rick Scott called for the FBI's director to resign because of the missteps.

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Armed and safe? At Ohio schools, the security plan includes teachers and guns.p

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Armed and safe? At Ohio schools, the security plan includes teachers and guns.p

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/local/education/armed-and-safe-at-ohio-schools-the-security-plan-includes-teachers-and-guns/2018/03/12/9f49ff68-1b22-11e8-ae5a-16e60e4605f3_story.html

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There are ways to make schools safer and teachers stronger—but they don’t involve guns

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There are ways to make schools safer and teachers stronger—but they don’t involve guns

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Last week, in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., shooting, President Trump called for arming teachers with guns to deter potential perpetrators of future mass shootings in schools. With a tweet last Thursday and a speech last Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, he endorsed the idea of getting the most gun-adept teachers trained to carry in the classroom-he estimated 10-20 percent of the teaching population falls into this category. Over the weekend, he added language in a tweet saying a yearly bonus should go to armed teachers.

Though these few details do not constitute a real policy proposal, the larger conversation about gun safety in school could plausibly prompt either the federal government or states to take some reactive steps to help make schools safer. I applaud the intent of creating safer schools, but I want to offer a few reactions about how we can do that in a much more effective way than giving them guns.

Arming teachers is a bad idea

A policy attempting to get 10-20 percent of teachers trained and carrying firearms in schools is a bad idea on many levels. Here are some widely shared top-line concerns:

1. In an active-shooter emergency, are students actually going to be safer in schools with armed teachers? Professional police officers hit their intended targets less than 20 percent of the time in training situations of an active shooter. Armed teachers will certainly have even lower accuracy rates, and where will all of those stray bullets end up?

2. It is unclear whether mass shooters can actually be deterred. The presence of armed individuals in a location does not stop mass shootings (as was the case in Parkland), and there is no evidence to suggest that any percentage of armed teachers will stop a shooter intent on causing mass violence.

3. Physically keeping guns secure in schools would pose immense safety challenges. The proliferation of guns on school campuses will increase the risk of lethal violence in spaces that are, for the very large majority of students and classrooms, currently safe. In fact, it is almost certain that easier access to guns in schools would pose a greater overall threat to student safety than the current threat of mass shootings in schools.

4. The presence of many armed personnel represents a further encroachment of the police state into schools, amid concerns that we already have an established school-to-prison pipeline. And just as minorities are often harassed by a disproportionately white police force, we should expect minority students will almost certainly be disproportionately harmed in the efforts to secure schools.

Arming so many teachers is entirely impractical

Beyond these leading concerns, Trump's claim that 10-20 percent of teachers are gun-adept seems entirely divorced from what we know of the teacher workforce. Based on a recent report from the Pew Research Center, 30 percent of American adults personally own a gun. They are disproportionately white, male, over age 50, live in rural areas, do not have college degrees, and vote for Republicans. Compare this to the country's teachers, who are disproportionately white (the one common factor with gun ownership), but are also disproportionately female, under age 50, primarily live in urban and suburban areas, hold bachelor's (and often higher) degrees, and favor Democrats.

It's worth noting that the data available on teachers and gun owners certainly omit a key variable-let's call it "intrinsic desire to nurture others." Individuals who choose to enter teaching as a career are almost certainly high on this attribute, where I can only speculate that corresponds to less time spent at the shooting range.

I would not rule out allowing some highly trained individuals on school campuses to carry weapons to provide some security at school-whether they be resource officers, or as Trump suggested, tapping into former military and law enforcement personnel who now work in schools. But these groups would constitute far fewer than the 10-20 percent figure, probably no more than 0.5 percent of school personnel. Trying to build from this group to get to the higher target would be introducing lethal weapons into the hands of untrained and largely unwilling adults, and constitutes a recipe for disaster.

Let's also consider the potential cost. Assuming schools will need to foot the bill of regular training for their armed teachers (and perhaps even guns as well), the costs can escalate quickly when arming 10-20 percent of the 3.2 million public school teachers in America, running an estimated tab of at least $250 million. Adding in, say, a modest $500 bonus to armed teachers would give an extremely conservative cost estimate of over $650 million, or just shy of $1,000 per armed teacher annually. Depending on implementation specifics, the total cost could easily be two to five times that much.

A fake proposal with real consequences

In the days after first floating the idea, Trump almost immediately declared it "up to states" while maintaining his endorsement. Relegating this decision to states signals that it is off the table at the federal level, revealing this solution as a fake policy proposal from the outset. The fake proposal is useful to Trump as it offers the appearance of doing something to secure schools without upsetting the Republican-backing National Rifle Association, which originally proposed this idea in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012.

Yet, though it may be a fake proposal from President Trump, it can still have real-life consequences. After Sandy Hook, a few jurisdictions had made some actions to defend schools with arms. Now lawmakers in Florida are considering a solution that includes arming some school personnel. With the growing chorus of voices demanding action, many states and districts could soon consider similar measures that would increase the presence of guns in schools-something that would have seemed inconceivable prior to last week.

Stronger teachers, safer schools

But this discussion of bonuses for some teachers begs the question of whether guns are the best use of bonus dollars. If the federal government, states, or districts were willing to spend an extra $650 million or more to strengthen the teacher workforce and create safer schools, why not spend it on activities that we know can actually do that?

Instead of arming teachers with guns, we should be strengthening the teacher workforce by paying bonuses for teaching in fields that routinely experience teacher shortages, like special education, math, and the physical sciences. While we're at it, let's think about more money for teaching in difficult-to-staff school assignments or rewarding more teachers for excellence in the classroom.

Instead of using guns to create the illusion of safe schools, let's make schools actually safer places for the kids that go there by increasing spending on mental health support. Let's help students-particularly those facing serious economic challenges-feel more secure by using schools as portals to deliver more public and community services.

These are the school policies we should be advancing to promote the welfare of our youth-not marksmanship among teachers.

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There are ways to make schools safer and teachers stronger-but they don't involve guns

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Last week, in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., shooting, President Trump called for arming teachers with guns to deter potential perpetrators of future mass shootings in schools. With a tweet last Thursday and a speech last Friday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, he endorsed the idea of getting the most gun-adept teachers trained to carry in the classroom-he estimated 10-20 percent of the teaching population falls into this category.

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Israel exists under constant threat of attack - and requires citizens to serve in the military - but still has much stricter gun laws than the United States.

And those laws limit violence.

Israel has a lower gun-related homicide rate - and that's not because it's an intrinsically peaceful society.

In fact, public health literature suggests that if Israel had more guns, it would have more firearm deaths.

Even those Israelis who pass through extensive hoops to get a firearm permit can only own one gun. And that's a handgun - not a semi-automatic rifle capable of rapid fire. There are also limits on ammunition.

Many US states grant gun permits liberally, but Israel limits gun permits to people who meet strict requirements of residency, occupation, or army rank.

For instance, security workers, jewelers, hunters and West Bank residents are eligible for permits.

Forty percent of all gun permit applicants are flat-out rejected by the Israeli government.

Gun owners must renew their permits every year and immediately report any change of eligibility status to the Israeli federal government.

Israel relies on professional members of the military and police force for security, rather than "good guys with guns" or even Civil Guard volunteers.

The US has one firearm per capita, the highest in the world; second is Yemen with 0.29-0.81 firearms per capita.

Israel comes in 81st with 0.073 firearms per capita.

The Israeli government has even restricted firearm access to current Israeli soldiers when off-duty on weekends as part of a successful prevention program that has halved firearm suicide - and 80 percent of the suicide reduction appears to have come from the gun restrictions, rather than counseling.

In the past 15 years, the US suicide rate has increased by 24 percent, and two-thirds of firearm deaths are suicides.

Suicides are seen as private tragedies, whereas mass shooting events are seen as communal tragedies.

Israel considered the soldier suicide rate to be a communal tragedy, and its restriction on guns for the only part of society with gun access reduced these deaths.

The US should follow Israel's lead.
Janet Rosenbaum is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn. She's studied firearm access and ownership in Israel, which has a considerably lower gun-related homicide rate than the US.

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Israel's gun control laws can make the US safer, too

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Israel exists under constant threat of attack - and requires citizens to serve in the military - but still has much stricter gun laws than the United States. And those laws limit violence. Israel has a lower gun-related homicide rate - and that's not because it's an intrinsically peaceful society.

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Georgia GOP: No Tax Cut for Delta Unless It Gives NRA Members Discounts

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Georgia GOP: No Tax Cut for Delta Unless It Gives NRA Members Discounts

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Last week, Republicans in Georgia's House of Representatives voted to give Delta Airlines a tax break worth nearly $40 million. In advocating for that measure, the GOP argued that all Georgians stood to benefit from such a policy: Delta is one of the state's largest employers; other states offer airlines a tax exemption on their jet-fuel expenses; thus, if Georgia failed to provide the same benefit, the airline could take many of its flights - and jobs - elsewhere.

Progressives, meanwhile, argued that Delta didn't needed any corporate welfare. The company was already posting record-breaking profits before Trump slashed their federal tax burden last December. There was no public interest in giving the airline $40 million - conservatives were just trying to reward the corporation for funding their side in America's culture war.

On Monday, Georgia lieutenant governor Casey Cagle all but admitted that the progressives were right.

Last week, after liberals organized a boycott of the NRA in response to the Parkland shooting, Delta announced that it was severing ties with the gun-rights group: From now on, NRA members would no longer receive discounts on Delta flights.

Peach State conservatives were so apoplectic, they forgot that they're supposed to believe the jet-fuel tax cut isn't a giveaway to Delta, but rather an urgent economic policy for Georgia. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported over the weekend:

Several conservative groups and high-profile GOP candidates for higher office called on Republican legislators to ground the tax break after the airline said Saturday it would end a discount for NRA members.

... Former state Sen. Rick Jeffares, a candidate for lieutenant governor, voted to support Delta tax breaks during his stint in the Georgia Senate. But hours after Delta cut ties with the NRA, he took to the phones urging his GOP colleagues to reject it.

"If Delta is so flush that they don't need NRA members' hard-earned travel dollars," said Jeffares, "it can certainly do without the $40 million tax break they are asking Georgia taxpayers for."

Within hours, several other Republican candidates for high-profile seats also publicly opposed the measure.

On Monday, lieutenant governor Casey Cagle joined them.

I will kill any tax legislation that benefits @Delta unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with @NRA. Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back.
- Casey Cagle (@CaseyCagle) February 26, 2018

I don't think any single tweet has ever validated this many progressive critiques of the conservative movement at once.

Liberals claim that the right isn't actually opposed to the government " picking winners and losers," they just want it pick the right ones; Cagle's tweet stipulates that Georgia's economic policies should punish businesses that "attack" conservatives. Liberals claim that conservative voters don't actually have any attachment to the GOP's economic orthodoxy and are invested solely in its culture war conflicts; the leading GOP gubernatorial candidate presents corporate tax cuts as a privilege businesses earn for supporting gun rights, not as a core part of the conservative agenda. Liberals claim that despite how much they like to complain about "grievance culture," conservatives are as quick to play the "victim card" as any constituency in American politics; Cagle claims that denying special discounts to gun-loving conservatives qualifies as an "attack" on them.

Still, in my view, the most telling aspect of the lieutenant governor's post is the way it affirms the charge that corporate tax cuts aren't an economic policy, so much as a form of legal bribery: If Casey Cagle believes that the primary beneficiary of the jet-fuel tax cut isn't Delta - but rather, the people of Georgia - why would he inflict harm on his own constituents just because he's offended by the airline's public-relations strategy? And if he doesn't believe the people of Georgia stand to benefit from giving Delta a $40 million tax cut, then why did he ever support that giveaway in the first place?

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Georgia GOP: No Tax Cut for Delta Unless It Gives NRA Members Discounts

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Last week, Republicans in Georgia's House of Representatives voted to give Delta Airlines a tax break worth nearly $40 million. In advocating for that measure, the GOP argued that all Georgians stood to benefit from such a policy: Delta is one of the state's largest employers; other states offer airlines a tax exemption on their jet-fuel expenses; thus, if Georgia failed to provide the same benefit, the airline could take many of its flights - and jobs - elsewhere.

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Listen to how this man makes fully-functioning guns with a 3D printer.

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Cody Wilson makes gun-making machines. Depending whom you ask, he's either one of the most dangerous people in the world, or a hero of the first amendment.

Cody's never sold a gun. He's never killed anyone. And, to his knowledge, none of the guns he's made have ever killed anyone. So, how did Cody Wilson end up on the frontline of the debate over gun control? He ended up there, not by selling guns, but by creating ways for anyone to make their own gun.

Cody's game-changing tool? 3D printers.

In the world he's made, guns don't need to move from person to person across a counter. Instead, they're hacked together using blueprints that Cody has helped distribute.

Today on the show, we follow a man who wants a world with many guns, no regulations, and a somewhat scary amount of freedom.

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Cody Wilson makes gun-making machines. Depending whom you ask, he's either one of the most dangerous people in the world, or a hero of the first amendment. Cody's never sold a gun. He's never killed anyone. And, to his knowledge, none of the guns he's made have ever killed anyone.

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National School Walkout: Thousands Protest Against Gun Violence Across the U.S. (Published 2018)

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In a coordinated action, students left their classrooms and sometimes marched in the streets a month after 17 people were killed in a Florida high school.

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Israel’s Gun Control Laws Can Make the US safer, too

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Israel’s Gun Control Laws Can Make the US safer, too

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Israel exists under constant threat of attack - and requires citizens to serve in the military - but still has much stricter gun laws than the United States.

And those laws limit violence.

Israel has a lower gun-related homicide rate - and that's not because it's an intrinsically peaceful society.

In fact, public health literature suggests that if Israel had more guns, it would have more firearm deaths.

Even those Israelis who pass through extensive hoops to get a firearm permit can only own one gun. And that's a handgun - not a semi-automatic rifle capable of rapid fire. There are also limits on ammunition.

Many US states grant gun permits liberally, but Israel limits gun permits to people who meet strict requirements of residency, occupation, or army rank.

For instance, security workers, jewelers, hunters and West Bank residents are eligible for permits.

Forty percent of all gun permit applicants are flat-out rejected by the Israeli government.

Gun owners must renew their permits every year and immediately report any change of eligibility status to the Israeli federal government.

Israel relies on professional members of the military and police force for security, rather than "good guys with guns" or even Civil Guard volunteers.

The US has one firearm per capita, the highest in the world; second is Yemen with 0.29-0.81 firearms per capita.

Israel comes in 81st with 0.073 firearms per capita.

The Israeli government has even restricted firearm access to current Israeli soldiers when off-duty on weekends as part of a successful prevention program that has halved firearm suicide - and 80 percent of the suicide reduction appears to have come from the gun restrictions, rather than counseling.

In the past 15 years, the US suicide rate has increased by 24 percent, and two-thirds of firearm deaths are suicides.

Suicides are seen as private tragedies, whereas mass shooting events are seen as communal tragedies.

Israel considered the soldier suicide rate to be a communal tragedy, and its restriction on guns for the only part of society with gun access reduced these deaths.

The US should follow Israel's lead.
Janet Rosenbaum is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the State University of New York Downstate in Brooklyn. She's studied firearm access and ownership in Israel, which has a considerably lower gun-related homicide rate than the US.

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Israel's gun control laws can make the US safer, too

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Israel exists under constant threat of attack - and requires citizens to serve in the military - but still has much stricter gun laws than the United States. And those laws limit violence. Israel has a lower gun-related homicide rate - and that's not because it's an intrinsically peaceful society.

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"Some Gun Control Laws Result in More Deaths"

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"Some Gun Control Laws Result in More Deaths"

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Did the Law Enforcement Agency fail?

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NEW: Judicial Watch released newly obtained #Broward County Sheriff's Office training & operation materials that specifically dictate that the first officer on the scene of an active shooter incident "will immediately go to confront the shooter" -- but that failed to happen in #Parkland. The Broward County Sheriff's Office confirmed that armed school resource officer Deputy #ScotPeterson was first on the scene of the February 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, but he did not enter the school to confront shooter #NikolasCruz. The importance of a fast and effective response is emphasized in the training manual: "Time is critical in each of these incidents. This is like no other crime. The motive is to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. Why? Because the bad guy knows 'we' are coming." The lesson plan clearly states: "If you are on scene or in the area and hear gunshots, you should immediately access what you have and prepare to respond. Remember, every time you hear a gunshot in an active shooter incident; you have to believe that is another victim being killed." The training materials also state that the first officers on the scene will "engage the suspect," which officers did not do. Judicial Watch President @TomFitton: "These #Broward County Sheriff's Office documents obtained by Judicial Watch show that the law enforcement agency failed the victims of the #Parkland shooting. Lives were lost in Parkland because the Sheriff's Office personnel were either poorly trained or failed to follow training protocols." Learn more by following the link in our bio.

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2,117 Likes, 134 Comments - Judicial Watch 🔎 (@judicialwatch) on Instagram: "NEW: Judicial Watch released newly obtained #Broward County Sheriff's Office training & operation..."

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https://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/5162927/mass-shootings-mental-health-apahttps://www.google.com/amp/amp.timeinc.net/time/5162927/mass-shootings-mental-health-apa

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President Trumps take on mass shootings in America

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President Trump has raised mental health as a key factor in mass shootings, including a call Thursday to create more mental hospitals. But experts say there's little connection between a person's mental illness and the likelihood of a mass shooting.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Along with gun control, the link between mental illness and gun violence has been a major focus in the days since the shooting. NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch put it this way in a CNN town hall this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DANA LOESCH: I don't believe that this insane monster should have ever been able to obtain a firearm - ever. This individual was nuts.

KELLY: President Trump has repeatedly pointed to mental health as the root of the problem, including yesterday at the White House.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And we're going to be focusing very strongly on mental health because here's a case of mental health.

KELLY: President Trump says part of that focus will be keeping guns out of the hands of people with mental illness. Another proposal from the president - opening more mental health institutions. But NPR's Alison Kodjak reports that doctors and mental health advocates say the link between mental health problems and gun crimes is tenuous.

ALISON KODJAK, BYLINE: The president says the way to stop future school shootings is to identify people with severe mental illness and lock them up.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: So we're going to be talking seriously about opening mental health institutions again.

KODJAK: And he added...

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: We used to have mental institutions. And I said this yesterday. We had a mental institution where you take a sicko like this guy - he was a sick guy - so many signs - and you'd bring him to a mental health institution.

KODJAK: That troubles Bethany Lilly, an attorney with the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, because the United States has a dark history of locking people away in psychiatric hospitals.

BETHANY LILLY: We did that for most of American history. And then my organization and civil rights lawyers across the United States and journalists and investigators found out how horrible these snake pits were.

KODJAK: The patients received little mental health care. They were often abused and neglected.

LILLY: Mental health institutions not only imprisoned people who would have what we today call a mental health disability or a mental health diagnosis. They also imprisoned people who simply behaved outside of the norm of society.

KODJAK: So in the 1970s and 1980s, many psychiatric hospitals were closed. The number of patients fell by more than 90 percent. The president isn't completely alone in suggesting that that went too far. Health policy experts at the University of Pennsylvania wrote in 2015 that there's a need for more mental asylums, ones that actually provide quality mental health care for people who cannot safely live in the community. But Lilly fears people will once again be locked up not because they pose an actual threat but simply because they carry a diagnosis that others fear.

LILLY: If you talk to any practicing psychiatrist, they will tell you that the risk factors for gun violence are being a young, angry, socially isolated man. Sometimes in the constellation of effects, you will also have people with mental illness.

KODJAK: The Parkland Florida shooter was 19 and by many accounts very isolated. He was referred to police multiple times for violent threats. Matthew Miller is a professor of epidemiology at Northeastern University who has published several papers on the risk factors of gun violence. He says the key ingredient in this mass shooting and others is not mental illness. It's the guns.

MATTHEW MILLER: The reason for these sort of mass public shootings is not because we have higher rates of mental illness. And it's not because we have higher rates of violent behavior. We don't.

KODJAK: The rate of mental health problems in the U.S., he says, is about the same as in Europe. And the same goes for violent crime.

MILLER: But we have much higher rates of violent death because when people try to harm other people, for example, they are much more likely to use guns.

KODJAK: He says if politicians want to reduce mass shootings, they have to deal with the guns. If they want to improve mental health care, they can do that, too.

MILLER: One doesn't need to invoke homicides in order to say we should be doing a better job trying to treat mental illness and trying to give people access to mental health care. That's an argument you can make on its own merits.

KODJAK: Alison Kodjak, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF CUL DE SAC'S "BLUES IN E")

Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio record.

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Experts Say There's Little Connection Between Mental Health And Mass Shootings

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President Trump has raised mental health as a key factor in mass shootings, including a call Thursday to create more mental hospitals. But experts say there's little connection between a person's mental illness and the likelihood of a mass shooting.

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Police seize first firearms under Florida’s new gun-control laws

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Police seize first firearms under Florida’s new gun-control laws

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A Broward County judge on Friday issued the state's first order temporarily removing guns from a person under Florida's new gun-control laws.

Four firearms and 267 rounds of ammunition were ordered removed from a 56-year-old Lighthouse Point man who was determined to be a potential risk to himself or others.

The guns and ammunition have been temporarily removed from the man under the state's new "risk protection" law, which is also sometimes called "red flag" legislation, Lighthouse Point City Attorney Michael Cirullo confirmed.

The man was also taken to a hospital for involuntary psychiatric treatment under the state's Baker Act. But the civil ruling removing his access to guns and ammunition was granted under the new legislation - which permits confiscating guns from people who have not been committed but are deemed a potential risk to themselves or others, according to the order signed by Broward's Chief Judge Jack Tuter.

The man is also prohibited from trying to purchase or obtain guns or ammunition from any source.

The legislation is part of a bill signed one week ago by Gov. Rick Scott. The new laws impose some restrictions on gun sales and give law enforcement new power to take action when they have evidence that a person may pose a danger. The National Rifle Association immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee challenging some aspects of the law, including the legality of banning gun sales to people under the age of 21.

"We put the safety of our residents first," said Lighthouse Point Mayor Glenn Troast. "This is not about the Second Amendment and it's not about the NRA. We need commonsense gun laws and this is a commonsense gun law that gives police officers new tools they need to help us protect our community."

The small city lies 14 miles east of Parkland where 34 people were shot - 17 of whom died - in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Before now, officials who attempted to remove guns from a person they thought was a danger could be removed from office and fined up to $5,000, the mayor said. Troast said he grew up in a law enforcement family, hunted with guns and has a healthy respect for firearms and gun rights.

Lighthouse Point police made the request on March 14, one week after they were called to conduct a welfare check on the man, who they said was behaving strangely at his condominium building. Authorities said it was the latest in a series of encounters law enforcement had with the man, though he has no prior history of arrests in Florida. He had some prior arrests in Pennsylvania, records show.

Police were called after the man turned off the main electrical breakers to the condo building in Lighthouse Point, court records show. The South Florida Sun Sentinel is not identifying the man because of his medical condition.

The man told officers he "was being targeted and burglarized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a neighbor who lives in [his] building," the judge wrote in his order. "[He] could not describe the neighbor but stated that the neighbor [can] 'shape shift, he can change heights and I'm not sure where he comes from' and 'to be honest, he looks like Osama Bin Laden.'"

He also told officers that he had to turn off the electrical breakers because "they are electrocuting me through my legs."

Officers said they saw weapons in his home after they were called to check on his welfare. They also found evidence he had "a voluminous amount of notes containing numerous references to former President Barack Obama, that he was killed in the 1980s but came back and now murders children to place their spirits into [the man's] head, is a member of [al-Qaida], and is [the man's] enemy," the judge wrote in his order.

The man was involuntarily committed for treatment in a separate proceeding and it is not yet known when he would be eligible for release, records show. The man did not attend the initial hearing, which temporarily removes his access to guns, because he is hospitalized.

The guns that were temporarily seized were a Ruger LCP .380 pistol, an M2 Mauser .45 pistol, a Charter Arms .357 mag snub nose revolver and a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun, according to the court order. Authorities have also begun the process of notifying federal and state authorities, as required by the law, so that the issue would be flagged if the man attempts to purchase a gun.

Lighthouse Point Police Chief Ross Licata said officers have had interactions with the man over a number of years but none of them had risen to the level that would have warranted removing the man's access to guns. There was also no legal method to do so in the past.

"I think this is what the general public has been looking for - for law enforcement to be able to intervene in these kinds of situations - for a long time," the chief said.

He said he wished he had such legislation a couple of years ago when another city resident was involuntarily committed for psychiatric help after a domestic incident and police took his guns for safekeeping. A very short time after the man was released from hospital, he demanded the return of his firearms. Police were still concerned for his well-being and the safety of others. Officers eventually agreed to release the guns to a family member, Licata said.

Licata said he anticipates other communities around the state will soon file their own requests as issues arise in their own communities.

"This may be the first but it's certainly not going to be the last," he said.

Under the requirements of the state law, Lighthouse Point police, Cirullo and the man whose guns were removed are due in court on March 28 for a final hearing to determine if the guns and ammunition should be removed for one year.

At that hearing, police would have to present "clear and convincing" evidence - more than was needed for the temporary removal of guns and ammunition - to keep the weapons in their custody for the next year. Any violation of the court order would be a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine.

If the judge grants that request, police could seek an extension of the order if they are still concerned about the man having access to firearms.

Licata, the police chief, said people who oppose the law should know that officers had to go through a significant process to prove to the judge that they had valid concerns.

"We're not in the business of going out and violating people's Second Amendment rights," Licata said. "In this particular case, we identified a significant public safety risk to the person who owned the firearms and others."

Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca, a Republican who lives in and represents Lighthouse Point, said he is glad that law enforcement has more leeway to handle these kinds of difficult situations.

"The whole conversation we're having in the month since Parkland has completely changed because the person who is charged with committing that crime certainly should have never had a gun," LaMarca said. "Law-abiding, sane people should have their gun rights and those who don't have the mental capacity shouldn't have guns."

Staff Writer Larry Barszewski contributed to this report.

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Police seize first firearms under Florida's new gun-control laws

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A Broward Circuit judge has issued the first order removing guns from a person under Florida's new gun-control laws. The Lighthouse Point case is the first in Broward County and is believed to be the first in the state under the new risk protection laws.

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Why gun culture is so strong in rural America.

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To understand why many conservatives in rural America believe this, you must start with first principles, because the argument ultimately isn't about guns; it runs even deeper than the Second Amendment. At a 2015 campaign event during the Iowa caucuses, J. C. Watts, the former congressman from Oklahoma, spoke about perspectives on original sin. It helps illuminate the differences in worldview between many conservatives and liberals. Mr. Watts said Democrats think people were born basically good, so when good people did bad things, something in society (in this case, guns) needed to be controlled. Republicans think the fault lies with the person - the perpetrator of the evil. Bad choices result in bad things being done, in part because the perpetrator lacks the moral guidance the Christian faith provides.

The reaction to mass shootings highlights this difference. Liberals blame the guns and want to debate gun control. For conservatives, the blame lies with the shooter, not the gun.

To my conservative friends, it's a matter of liberty and personal responsibility. Even after a horrific event like the school shooting in Florida, where 17 people were killed, more gun control would be compromising those first principles. For them, compromising those principles would be even more horrific and detrimental to society than any shooting. What my conservative friends see is not gun control, but rather control, period.

Not everyone here is an N.R.A. nut, but they think the N.R.A. may be the last line of defense for the Second Amendment. The apocalyptic videos about gun control from the N.R.A. spokeswoman Dana Loesch are over the top, as my conservative friends here know, but they think they are fun for the basic reason that liberals grow faint after viewing them.

Many people own guns because they simply enjoy them - shooting them, the feel of them, their history, their role in protection. They want guns for the same reason you might want a particular kind of car. They also believe that having a gun makes them less likely to become a victim. Here, guns are tools. We hunt with them.

Because we live in a free country, we can have a great many things. But few of those things deserved special mention in our Constitution. Guns did.

Throwing around statistics on shooting deaths in America will not make rural gun owners give up their guns. Make no mistake: These statistics and the deaths behind them sadden rural gun owners just as much as they sadden you.

But again, where you might blame the guns, they don't. They blame the shooters.

I worry that the ready availability of guns contributes to the number of suicides in rural America. Nothing crushes a small town like a suicide, as nearly everyone knows the victim or a family member.

I had a chat with a good friend the other day. He's another law enforcement officer. He thinks the gun debate isn't being framed in a productive way.

He asked: "What are you, Bob? Pro-gun or anti-gun? Pro-Second Amendment or anti-Second Amendment?"

"Pro-Second Amendment," I said. "All in favor of rifles, shotguns and handguns. Concealed carry makes me nervous, but I guess I'm for it, and I want AR-15s and their kin banned."

"So, are you anti-gun or pro-gun?"

"Well, I guess I don't exactly know," I replied.

"Me neither," he said. "I'm a lifelong hunter, but when I tell my friends I don't want people with AR-15s slung over their shoulders at the county fair, some say I'm anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment, and I'm not. We need to frame this conversation differently before we can get anywhere."

I know those great kids from Parkland will accept only bans on AR-15s and more - I understand why - and some conservatives seem to be moving on age limits, background checks and perhaps on bump stocks. The Florida Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott have responded to the tragedy and raised the age on gun purchases.

Maybe we are stumbling to a better sort of dialogue, led by these kids from Florida and students all over the country who walked out to protest gun violence. There is room for some compromise.

For me, guns always bring to mind Grandpa Leonard. I remember the first time he took me hunting. He took a shot, and a squirrel fell from the branches of the oak. "Looks like we eat stew tonight," he said. I retrieved the squirrel, still warm, in the cool Iowa summer morning, and laid it in the pile of four or five he had already shot.

Grandpa Leonard was not a Republican but a devoted New Deal Democrat. He went to his grave knowing that the policies of President Franklin Roosevelt saved his family, including 11 children, from starvation during the Great Depression. Grandpa was a pro-union coal miner, a farm hand, a road crew worker, a boat builder and a factory worker.

Today, many rural men just like him are dedicated Republicans. If Democrats want to engage rural America culturally and politically, they need to understand us, and at least some of our ideals.

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Opinion | Why Gun Culture Is So Strong in Rural America

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To understand why many conservatives in rural America believe this, you must start with first principles, because the argument ultimately isn't about guns; it runs even deeper than the Second Amendment. At a 2015 campaign event during the Iowa caucuses, J. C. Watts, the former congressman from Oklahoma, spoke about perspectives on original sin.

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Mental illness and gun laws: What you may not know about the complexities

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Mental illness and gun laws: What you may not know about the complexities

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Mental illness and gun laws: What you may not know about the complexities

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When mass shootings occur, some people insist the focus should be on mental illness, not gun control. A psychiatrist explains how that view misses the mark.

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Teachers Are Overwhelmingly Opposed to Carrying Guns in Schools, Says Survey

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Nearly 75 percent of teachers oppose the idea of being trained to carry guns in schools, a new survey finds.

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Ben Seagrist: Cruz was wanted before the crime?

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Ben Seagrist: Cruz was wanted before the crime?

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At the time when school officials said they would initiate Baker Act commitment proceedings against Mr. Cruz, he apparently did not own any weapon other than a pellet gun. But five months later, after being kicked out of Stoneman Douglas High, he legally purchased the semiautomatic AR-15 rifle that he used to open fire in the school's freshman building.

The mental health records, first reported by The Sun Sentinel of South Florida and The Associated Press, form part of the criminal case against Mr. Cruz, 19, who has been charged with murder and attempted murder in a 34-count indictment. Prosecutors have said they would seek the death penalty if he is convicted.

The records are from Henderson Behavioral Health, a local clinic that school officials called for help dealing with Mr. Cruz. The clinic sent a mobile assistance team to Stoneman Douglas High on Sept. 28, 2016, the records show, because Mr. Cruz had made threats and exhibited disturbing behavior following a breakup with a girlfriend. Mr. Cruz was also said to be upset that his mother, Lynda Cruz, would not let him get an identification card required to buy a gun.

Mr. Cruz denied telling another student that he wanted to use a gun or that he had ingested gasoline, the documents say.

Five days earlier, on Sept. 23, Ms. Cruz had summoned a different Henderson clinician to her home because Mr. Cruz was verbally aggressive and "punching holes in the wall."

The clinician who wrote the Sept. 28 report concluded that Mr. Cruz "did not meet criteria for further assessment." The sheriff's deputy at the school, Scot Peterson, told a clinician that he wanted to initiate a Baker Act request against Mr. Cruz anyway, the records show, and two school counselors agreed. Deputy Peterson also said he would search Mr. Cruz's home for a gun.

But Deputy Peterson apparently changed his mind about the commitment request the next day. One of the guidance counselors told the Henderson clinic that the deputy had decided Mr. Cruz did not fit the criteria for involuntary commitment. Clinicians had repeatedly concluded that the Baker Act would not justify committing Mr. Cruz because he denied having an intent or a plan to hurt himself or others.

Deputy Peterson was still serving as the school resource officer at Stoneman Douglas High when Mr. Cruz carried out his deadly rampage. Surveillance video showed that the deputy remained outside the freshman building during the shooting and did not try to confront Mr. Cruz, in apparent violation of the Broward County Sheriff's Office policy for dealing with active shooters. Mr. Peterson resigned and retired after the sheriff, Scott Israel, placed him under internal investigation.

An attorney for Mr. Peterson, Joseph A. DiRuzzo III, has said that Mr. Peterson did not enter the building because he believed initially that the gunfire was coming from outside.

Mr. DiRuzzo did not immediately respond on Sunday to questions about Mr. Peterson's decision in 2016 not to pursue a Baker Act commitment of Mr. Cruz.

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marjory stoneman douglas high school (parkland  fla)

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School Officials Wanted Florida Gunman Committed Long Before a Massacre

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At the time when school officials said they would initiate Baker Act commitment proceedings against Mr. Cruz, he apparently did not own any weapon other than a pellet gun. But five months later, after being kicked out of Stoneman Douglas High, he legally purchased the semiautomatic AR-15 rifle that he used to open fire in the school's freshman building.

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Police seize first firearms under Florida’s new gun-control laws

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Police seize first firearms under Florida’s new gun-control laws

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A Broward County judge on Friday issued the state's first order temporarily removing guns from a person under Florida's new gun-control laws.

Four firearms and 267 rounds of ammunition were ordered removed from a 56-year-old Lighthouse Point man who was determined to be a potential risk to himself or others.

The guns and ammunition have been temporarily removed from the man under the state's new "risk protection" law, which is also sometimes called "red flag" legislation, Lighthouse Point City Attorney Michael Cirullo confirmed.

The man was also taken to a hospital for involuntary psychiatric treatment under the state's Baker Act. But the civil ruling removing his access to guns and ammunition was granted under the new legislation - which permits confiscating guns from people who have not been committed but are deemed a potential risk to themselves or others, according to the order signed by Broward's Chief Judge Jack Tuter.

The man is also prohibited from trying to purchase or obtain guns or ammunition from any source.

The legislation is part of a bill signed one week ago by Gov. Rick Scott. The new laws impose some restrictions on gun sales and give law enforcement new power to take action when they have evidence that a person may pose a danger. The National Rifle Association immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee challenging some aspects of the law, including the legality of banning gun sales to people under the age of 21.

"We put the safety of our residents first," said Lighthouse Point Mayor Glenn Troast. "This is not about the Second Amendment and it's not about the NRA. We need commonsense gun laws and this is a commonsense gun law that gives police officers new tools they need to help us protect our community."

The small city lies 14 miles east of Parkland where 34 people were shot - 17 of whom died - in the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Before now, officials who attempted to remove guns from a person they thought was a danger could be removed from office and fined up to $5,000, the mayor said. Troast said he grew up in a law enforcement family, hunted with guns and has a healthy respect for firearms and gun rights.

Lighthouse Point police made the request on March 14, one week after they were called to conduct a welfare check on the man, who they said was behaving strangely at his condominium building. Authorities said it was the latest in a series of encounters law enforcement had with the man, though he has no prior history of arrests in Florida. He had some prior arrests in Pennsylvania, records show.

Police were called after the man turned off the main electrical breakers to the condo building in Lighthouse Point, court records show. The South Florida Sun Sentinel is not identifying the man because of his medical condition.

The man told officers he "was being targeted and burglarized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a neighbor who lives in [his] building," the judge wrote in his order. "[He] could not describe the neighbor but stated that the neighbor [can] 'shape shift, he can change heights and I'm not sure where he comes from' and 'to be honest, he looks like Osama Bin Laden.'"

He also told officers that he had to turn off the electrical breakers because "they are electrocuting me through my legs."

Officers said they saw weapons in his home after they were called to check on his welfare. They also found evidence he had "a voluminous amount of notes containing numerous references to former President Barack Obama, that he was killed in the 1980s but came back and now murders children to place their spirits into [the man's] head, is a member of [al-Qaida], and is [the man's] enemy," the judge wrote in his order.

The man was involuntarily committed for treatment in a separate proceeding and it is not yet known when he would be eligible for release, records show. The man did not attend the initial hearing, which temporarily removes his access to guns, because he is hospitalized.

The guns that were temporarily seized were a Ruger LCP .380 pistol, an M2 Mauser .45 pistol, a Charter Arms .357 mag snub nose revolver and a Mossberg 500 12-gauge shotgun, according to the court order. Authorities have also begun the process of notifying federal and state authorities, as required by the law, so that the issue would be flagged if the man attempts to purchase a gun.

Lighthouse Point Police Chief Ross Licata said officers have had interactions with the man over a number of years but none of them had risen to the level that would have warranted removing the man's access to guns. There was also no legal method to do so in the past.

"I think this is what the general public has been looking for - for law enforcement to be able to intervene in these kinds of situations - for a long time," the chief said.

He said he wished he had such legislation a couple of years ago when another city resident was involuntarily committed for psychiatric help after a domestic incident and police took his guns for safekeeping. A very short time after the man was released from hospital, he demanded the return of his firearms. Police were still concerned for his well-being and the safety of others. Officers eventually agreed to release the guns to a family member, Licata said.

Licata said he anticipates other communities around the state will soon file their own requests as issues arise in their own communities.

"This may be the first but it's certainly not going to be the last," he said.

Under the requirements of the state law, Lighthouse Point police, Cirullo and the man whose guns were removed are due in court on March 28 for a final hearing to determine if the guns and ammunition should be removed for one year.

At that hearing, police would have to present "clear and convincing" evidence - more than was needed for the temporary removal of guns and ammunition - to keep the weapons in their custody for the next year. Any violation of the court order would be a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in state prison and a $5,000 fine.

If the judge grants that request, police could seek an extension of the order if they are still concerned about the man having access to firearms.

Licata, the police chief, said people who oppose the law should know that officers had to go through a significant process to prove to the judge that they had valid concerns.

"We're not in the business of going out and violating people's Second Amendment rights," Licata said. "In this particular case, we identified a significant public safety risk to the person who owned the firearms and others."

Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca, a Republican who lives in and represents Lighthouse Point, said he is glad that law enforcement has more leeway to handle these kinds of difficult situations.

"The whole conversation we're having in the month since Parkland has completely changed because the person who is charged with committing that crime certainly should have never had a gun," LaMarca said. "Law-abiding, sane people should have their gun rights and those who don't have the mental capacity shouldn't have guns."

Staff Writer Larry Barszewski contributed to this report.

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Police seize first firearms under Florida's new gun-control laws

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A Broward Circuit judge has issued the first order removing guns from a person under Florida's new gun-control laws. The Lighthouse Point case is the first in Broward County and is believed to be the first in the state under the new risk protection laws.

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Listen to how this man makes fully-functioning guns with a 3D printer.

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Cody Wilson makes gun-making machines. Depending whom you ask, he's either one of the most dangerous people in the world, or a hero of the first amendment.

Cody's never sold a gun. He's never killed anyone. And, to his knowledge, none of the guns he's made have ever killed anyone. So, how did Cody Wilson end up on the frontline of the debate over gun control? He ended up there, not by selling guns, but by creating ways for anyone to make their own gun.

Cody's game-changing tool? 3D printers.

In the world he's made, guns don't need to move from person to person across a counter. Instead, they're hacked together using blueprints that Cody has helped distribute.

Today on the show, we follow a man who wants a world with many guns, no regulations, and a somewhat scary amount of freedom.

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Cody Wilson makes gun-making machines. Depending whom you ask, he's either one of the most dangerous people in the world, or a hero of the first amendment. Cody's never sold a gun. He's never killed anyone. And, to his knowledge, none of the guns he's made have ever killed anyone.

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Interested in Gun Control?

Add Gun Control as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Gun Control news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

Ideas on how to deal with gun violence in schools are appearing in legislatures throughout the 50 states in the wake of the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla.

Taking the lead is Florida, where on Tuesday a proposal to raise the age to buy a gun to 21 - and to arm teachers - but not an assault weapons ban - got preliminary consideration in the state House.

Additionally, in the wake of Georgia gubernatorial candidate Casey Cagle criticizing Delta Air Lines for cutting its benefits program for NRA members, New York and Virginia have reached out to the airline publicly inviting Delta to move its headquarters to their states.

Gun control issues also remain an issue in the competitive House and Senate races that could determine which party controls Congress next year.

Here's an ABC News roundup of the top state gun-related news:

CALIFORNIA: The Associated Press reports: "California lawmakers on Monday proposed 10 new gun control bills to the state's nation-leading gun restrictions in the wake of the latest mass shooting in Florida. The proposals to be considered later this spring include expanding the definition of assault rifles; expanding gun violence restraining orders; letting individuals block themselves from buying guns; and cracking down on homemade "ghost guns.""

FLORIDA: The Committee to Defend the President, which was originally established as the Stop Hillary PAC, sent out an email to supporters asking them to sign a petition calling on Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel to resign.

In the Florida legislature, the "Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act" is on the Senate Appropriations Committee agenda. In addition to calling for more money for school safety, it would also change the age limit for purchasing a firearm and ban bump stocks. But based on Monday's Senate vote against banning assault weapons and bump stocks, the bill's fate is uncertain at best. Text of the bill here.

Meanwhile, the powerful Florida House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a sweeping proposal to tighten gun controls in response to the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but it did not approve an amendment to ban assault weapons. The legislation did include a provision to raise the age to purchase a gun to 21.

The committee also gave the green light to a controversial program to train and arm school teachers, despite pleas from relatives of those killed at high school who called the proposed "Marshal" program misguided and dangerous. Under the program, teachers would be trained to use firearms and carry them as concealed weapons in school." (via Politico)

Democratic candidate for governor and former Rep. Gwen Graham is calling out Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis for being one of the only candidates running for governor not pushing any gun safety policy. And she's right, he's been very mum since the shooting. From the release below: "Ron DeSantis is the only candidate running to lead our state who refuses to support any sort of gun safety," Graham said. "If the Congressman can't endorse his own Republican governor's proposals after Parkland, he will never support common sense gun safety laws in our state - no matter how many children are killed."

Meanwhile, Adam Putnam, the leading Republican candidate for governor, called for policies similar to what Scott is advocating: limiting gun rights for persons with mental health issues and making school grounds safer. However, he did not say he regrets branding himself as an "NRA sellout" last year. More on his comments at a campaign rally here: (via the Daytona Beach Journal).

Politico is out with an article highlighting Scott's major change of direction between himself, President Donald Trump and the NRA when it comes to gun policy. It highlights how he is at odds with Trump over arming teachers and asks if this change means Scott is preparing himself for a U.S. Senate run against Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson.

ILLINOIS: The state legislature could consider a series of proposals on Wednesday on gun control laws ranging a requirement for gun dealers to be licensed to banning "military-style" assault weapons high-capacity magazines and bump stocks, the Chicago Tribune reported.

INDIANA: Indiana is one of five states with a "red flag" statute that allows police to temporarily take guns away from people a judge deems to be "an imminent risk of personal injury" to themselves or others.

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

In the Indiana Senate race, Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly supported the Manchin-Toomey Bill, "No Fly, No Buy," and the Cornyn-Murphy "NICS Fix" bill, according to a source in his campaign. (NICS stands for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and the "fix" calls for improved state reporting to the database.) Donnelly is one of the few Democrats (along with Tester, Heitkamp, and Manchin) who have A- or higher ratings from the NRA.

GOP candidate Rep. Luke Messer tweeted this from his campaign account yesterday: "Gun bans are not the answer, but there is more we can do to secure our schools and protect our kids. #INSen" and a clip of the interview was available via WOWO radio online, but he doesn't go into specifics. He does use the same kind of language as the NRA and the President - using the word "harden."

NEW JERSEY: Linda Weber led a roundtable on guns Tuesday where she mostly let students and teachers talk. Weber: "We have a gun murder rate in our country that's 25 times that in the rest of the first world. We're not first in a lot of other things, but we're first in gun deaths.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo released the following statement inviting Delta Air Lines to move their corporate headquarters to New York: "Now more than ever the NRA is showing just how out of step they are with the American people. Delta is sending a clear signal that it opposes the NRA's dangerous agenda, which is putting our children and our families at risk. While Georgia politicians may disagree with the airline's principled stand, we here in the Empire State welcome Delta with open arms, and invite them to move their headquarters here."

RHODE ISLAND: The state is poised to become the first since the Florida school shooting massacre to establish a new policy allowing relatives or police to ask judges to temporarily strip gun rights from people who show warning signs of violence, the Associated Press reported. Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo signed an executive order Monday establishing the "red flag" policy. California, Connecticut, Indiana, Oregon and Washington already have red flag laws. More than a dozen other states are considering similar bills.

SOUTH CAROLINA: State Rep. Steven Long announced Monday that he is hosting a drawing to give away guns to teachers and show support for pro-Second Amendment legislation in the state House. He will be giving away three handguns: one to a K-12 teacher, school staff member, or school administrator; one to a higher education (college/university) faculty, staff member, or administrator; and one to what he calls any freedom-loving patriot who wishes to participate in the drawing. And gubernatorial candidate Catherine Templeton called for arming teachers ( Greenville News).

VIRGINIA: Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam tweeted an invite for Delta to move its headquarters to Virginia: "Hey @delta-Virginia is for lovers and airline hubs. You're welcome here any time."

WASHINGTON STATE: Gov. Jay Inslee stood up to President Trump on the issue of arming teachers, saying teachers in his state don't want to become "pistol-packing" educators - but in at least one school district in Washington state, staffers have been packing heat since 2014. The Toppenish School District on the Yakima Reservation has been training school administrators to carry concealed firearms on campus for nearly four years, though the district superintendent, John Cerna, is the only one who carries his gun openly, KIRO-TV reported. The program started after the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary that killed 26 people, mostly children.

Additionally, a local GOP state senator is working on a bill to arm teachers in Washington state schools, according to KIRO-TV. And a bill was filed last week that would raise the minimum age to purchase a semiautomatic rifle or shotgun with "tactical features" to 21.

ABC News' Christopher Donato, MaryAlice Parks, Esther Castillejo, Michael DeMoro, Lissette Rodriguez, Agnew Maile, and Alisa Wiersema contributed to this report.

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States grapple with gun laws after Florida shooting

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Add Gun Control as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Gun Control news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Ideas on how to deal with gun violence in schools are appearing in legislatures throughout the 50 states in the wake of the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla.

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Declaring enough is enough, tens of thousands of young people from Maine to Alaska walked out of school to demand action on gun violence Wednesday in one of the biggest student protests since the Vietnam era.

Braving snow in New England and threats of school discipline in places like Georgia and Ohio, they carried signs with messages such as "Am I next?," railed against the National Rifle Association and bowed their heads in memory of the 17 dead in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

"We're sick of it," said Maxwell Nardi, a senior at Douglas S. Freeman High School in Henrico, Virginia, just outside Richmond. "We're going to keep fighting, and we're not going to stop until Congress finally makes resolute changes."

Around the nation, students left class at 10 a.m. local time for at least 17 minutes - one minute for each of the dead in Florida. At some schools, students didn't go outside but lined the hallways, gathered in gyms and auditoriums or wore orange, the color used by the movement against gun violence.

Over and over, students declared that too many young people have died and that they are tired of going to school every day afraid of getting killed.

"Enough is enough. People are done with being shot," said Iris Foss-Ober, 18, a senior at Washburn High School in Minneapolis.

Some schools applauded students for taking a stand or at least tolerated the walkouts, while others threatened punishment.

Protesters called for such measures as tighter background checks on gun purchases and a ban on assault weapons like the one used in the Florida bloodbath.

As the demonstrations unfolded, the NRA responded by posting a photo on Twitter of a black rifle emblazoned with an American flag. The caption: "I'll control my own guns, thank you."

Walkouts interrupted the day at schools from the elementary level through college, and at some that have witnessed their own mass shootings. About 250 students gathered on a soccer field at Colorado's Columbine High, while students who survived the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack in 2012 walked out of Newtown High School in Connecticut.

Students at several schools assembled on sports fields and arranged themselves into hearts, peace signs or the word "Enough." At other schools, students spent the 17 minutes writing letters to lawmakers or registering classmates to vote.

At Eagle Rock High in Los Angeles, teenagers a moment of silence as they gathered around a circle of 17 chairs labeled with the names of the Florida victims.

In joining the protests, the students followed the example set by many of the survivors of the Florida shooting, who have become gun-control activists, leading rallies, lobbying legislators and giving TV interviews. Their efforts helped spur passage last week of a Florida law curbing access to assault rifles by young people.

But whether they can make a difference on Capitol Hill remains to be seen. Congress has shown little inclination to tighten gun laws, and President Donald Trump backed away from his initial support for raising the minimum age for buying an assault rifle to 21.

Another protest against gun violence is scheduled in Washington on March 24, with organizers saying it is expected to draw hundreds of thousands.

A spokeswoman for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said DeVos "gives a lot credit to the students who are raising their voices and demanding change."

"She hears them, and their input will be valuable as she convenes the Federal Commission on School Safety and works to find solutions to keeping all students safe at school," spokeswoman Liz Hill said.

Historians said the demonstrations were shaping up to be one of the largest youth protests in decades.

"It seems like it's going to be the biggest youth-oriented and youth-organized protest movements going back decades, to the early '70s at least," said David Farber a history professor at the University of Kansas who has studied social change movements.

"Young people are that social media generation, and it's easy to mobilize them in a way that it probably hadn't been even 10 years ago."

The coordinated protests Wednesday were organized by Empower, the youth wing of the Women's March, which brought thousands to Washington last year.

In the nation's capital, more than 2,000 high-school age protesters observed the 17 minutes of silence by sitting on the ground with their backs turned to the White House as a church bell tolled. The president was out of town.

The protesters carried signs with messages such as "Our Blood/Your Hands" and "Never Again" and chanted slogans against the NRA.

In New York City, they chanted, "Enough is enough!" In Salt Lake City, the signs read, "Protect kids not guns," ''Fear has no place in school" and "Am I next?"

Stoneman Douglas High senior David Hogg, who has emerged as one of the leading student activists, livestreamed the walkout at the tragedy-stricken school on his YouTube channel. He said the students could not be expected to remain in class when there was work to do to prevent gun violence.

"Every one of these individuals could have died that day. I could have died that day," he said.

At Aztec High School in a rural, gun-friendly part of New Mexico where many enjoy hunting and shooting, students aimed to avoid gun politics and opted for a ceremony honoring students killed in shootings - including two who died in a December attack at Aztec.

"Our kids sit on both ends of the spectrum, and we have a diverse community when it comes to gun rights and gun control," Principal Warman Hall said.

About 10 students left Ohio's West Liberty-Salem High School - which witnessed a shooting last year - despite a warning they could face detention or more serious discipline.

Police in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta patrolled Kell High, where students were threatened with unspecified consequences if they participated. Three students walked out anyway.

The walkouts drew support from companies such as media conglomerate Viacom, which paused programming on MTV, BET and its other networks for 17 minutes during the walkouts.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Thomas and Maria Danilova in Washington; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Kantele Franko in Columbus, Ohio; Jonathan Drew in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Mike Householder in Detroit; Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston; Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis; Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Krysta Fauria in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Follow Binkley on Twitter at @cbinkley

___

Find all of AP's coverage on the walkouts and the Parkland, Florida, shooting at https://apnews.com/tag/Floridaschoolshooting

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'Enough is enough': US students stage walkouts against guns

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Declaring enough is enough, tens of thousands of young people from Maine to Alaska walked out of school to demand action on gun violence Wednesday in one of the biggest student protests since the Vietnam era.

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"How active shooters are changing school security" 

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"How active shooters are changing school security" 

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-T.P.

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A gunman tried to break into a remote Northern California elementary school on Tuesday but officials say, the quick action of school officials "saved countless lives and children."

The building went on lockdown, a teacher rushed to block a classroom's door with a computer and students ducked under their desks. Those responses have become the new normal as more schools are being forced to adapt to more elaborate safety measures.

Two thirds of schools in the US conduct active-shooter exercises and nearly all of them have a plan if a shooter comes into the school, the Government Accountability Office found in a recent survey of schools.

"I think everybody, no matter where you are, needs to think about this. If you're in a school, in a college, if you go to the movies we should all be thinking about what are we going to do if a crisis breaks out right here," said Christopher Combs, FBI special agent in charge, after last week's church massacre in Texas.

This year, there has been about one mass shooting every single day, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that tracks gun-related violence in the US.

'You might lock down, you might try to escape'

Sara Rounds and her colleagues recently took part in a series of simulated active-shooter scenarios at their western Indiana school.

"When I did enter teaching, you know, this was not a thought in my head. But this is where we are now," Rounds, a first grade teacher at Jackson Township Elementary in Clay County, Indiana told CNN affiliate WTHI.

Through training programs like ALICE -- Alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate -- Rounds and other teachers are learning how to barricade doors with desks and chairs, run away from gunfire and throw everything from pencils to staplers at a potential shooter.

"It's not really defense techniques, it's not martial arts of any kind. It basically just gives them options," Jeffrey Fritz, the Indiana school's superintendent told CNN affiliate WTHI.

"You might alert, you might lock down, you might try to escape, it just depends on the situation," he added.

But training teachers is just the first step. The school plans to teach students how to make choices during an active shooter situation.

"We are going to teach this to the kids in a very kind way, not using harsh words, kid friendly, so I think our kids will really grasp on to this," Rounds said. "This is nothing new here to society, it's in the news a lot. They understand what our world is going through unfortunately."

Don't freeze, have a plan

Those who plan for an active shooting situation are more likely to react quickly rather than freeze, said Katherine Schweit, a former senior FBI official and an active shooter expert.

"We're not talking about making a decision on what to make for dinner. We're making a decision on how to survive," she said.

During the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007 and the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, people delayed evacuations or denied the possible danger rather than respond, according to a 2013 report released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"People freeze. And if you train yourself to work past freezing, past the moment of hesitation, you save your life. Or you save a life of another," Schweit added.

It is recommended that if possible, Schweit said, that victims caught in shootings run as fast and far as possible.

"I'm a total believer in run, run, run if you can (to) safety. Because you can't get killed if you're not there. But if you have to hide or fight, you have to be prepared to do that," she added.

Other security measures

Active shooter training is relatively new in some schools across the US. For years, schools have employed school safety officers, lockdown drills and implemented security systems that require visitors to sign-in and produce photo IDs.

After the Columbine shooting in 1999, schools installed metal detectors and shifted restrooms away from entryways. While just a few weeks ago, a private school in Florida began selling bulletproof panels for its students' backpacks.

Schools across the country have also created "threat-assessment teams" to prevent shootings by identifying behaviors like mental illness, drug abuse and disruptive conduct in students.

Initially, all Virginia public schools were required by law to create those task forces. But now, dozens of schools across the country have adopted the practice.

In 2002, Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas created the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) in partnership with several Central Texas law enforcement agencies to address the need for active shooter training.

Since its creation, more than 85,000 law enforcement officers have been trained through the program.

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how active shooters are changing school security - cnn

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How active shooters are changing school security

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A gunman tried to break into a remote Northern California elementary school on Tuesday but officials say, the quick action of school officials "saved countless lives and children." The building went on lockdown, a teacher rushed to block a classroom's door with a computer and students ducked under their desks.

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Surveillance video from Parkland shooting 'speaks for itself' about embattled deputy's actions: Sheriff

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Surveillance video from Parkland shooting 'speaks for itself' about embattled deputy's actions: Sheriff

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The House passed a school safety bill on Wednesday that does not contain any new gun measures as thousands of students walked out of classrooms across the country to protest gun violence and demand tougher gun laws.

The school safety legislation, which passed the House one month after the deadly mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., steers clear of the demands of gun control advocates.

The juxtaposition between the calls for action and the steps from Congress highlights the difficulty of enacting tougher gun restrictions in the face of opposition from the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the group's allies.

"Today, young people are taking a stand and calling on this Congress to do something about the scourge of gun violence. ... This bill fails to do so," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), referring to the school safety measure. "It cannot be our only response to these demands."

"You are faced with a simple choice, Mr. Speaker: Will you stand with these young people who are demanding action, or will you stand with the NRA?"

Students who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have emerged as powerful voices in the politically charged gun debate, sparking a nationwide "Never Again" movement that appears to be having an effect on public opinion.

On Wednesday, hundreds of students from the D.C. area gathered for a rally on the lawn in front of the Capitol just before noon, where they were joined by dozens of Democratic lawmakers. The rally was part of a broader national protest in which students walked out of schools across the country to demand tougher gun laws and honor the 17 students and faculty members who were slain in the Parkland shooting.

The students gathered near the National Mall carried signs that read "No More," "We call B.S." and "Protect Kids." Some spoke of classmates affected by gun violence and urged lawmakers to act.

As Democrats made their way to the podium, students roared at the sight of familiar faces like Sen. (I-Vt.), Sen. (D-Conn.), House Minority Leader (D-Calif.) and civil rights icon Rep. (D-Ga.).

The group cheered for calls for stricter gun laws and responded with particular fervor to any criticisms of the NRA.

"We are very proud of what you are doing," Sanders said, speaking into a megaphone. "All across the country people are sick and tired of gun violence, and the time is now for all of us together to stand up to the NRA and to pass commonsense gun legislation."

But as students rallied on the Capitol lawn, GOP leaders inside the building moved in a different direction.

Republicans have focused their response on enhancing school safety and investigating why law enforcement missed repeated warning signs about the Parkland suspect.

They have also touted a narrow background check bill that the House already passed in December, as well as a recently enacted law strengthening support for people with mental illness.

The House voted 407-10 to approve a school safety bill from Rep. John Rutherford John Henry Rutherford MORE (R-Fla.), a former sheriff.

The STOP (Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing) School Violence Act would provide $50 million a year for a new federal grant program to train students, teachers and law enforcement on how to spot and report signs of gun violence.

It also would develop anonymous telephone and online systems where people could report threats of violence, and authorizes $25 million for schools to beef up security in ways such as installing new locks, metal detectors and panic buttons.

Sen. (R-Utah) has a companion bill in the Senate that has also attracted wide bipartisan support. Senate Majority Leader (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that he is "extremely interested" in passing a school safety bill along with a narrow background check bill, but he is still trying to figure out a path forward.

While House Democrats overwhelmingly supported the school safety measure, they say the measure falls far short of what is needed. They also say it does little to address the potential for mass shootings in other public places.

But, he added, "it will not solve our gun problem. It won't ban bump stocks, or fix our background system, or get weapons of war off our streets."

Republicans insisted that the legislation is only the beginning of their response to the shooting.

Across the Capitol, the Senate Judiciary Committee met Wednesday to discuss school safety and legislative proposals for gun control. Protesters from Code Pink and Moms Demand Action filled the hearing room seats reserved for the public and regularly erupted into applause when Democrats on the committee called for action on guns.

"We don't need any more tragedies. We've seen some of the most tragic incidents that one can imagine and we don't need any new ideas. We've got great ideas. What we need is for the United States Congress to have the courage to act."

"Out of tragedy and out of heartbreak, the families of the 17 victims in Parkland came together and they decided that they would set aside their differences ... so they could fight hard on the things they can agree on. I think that should serve as an example to this body," he said.

"There are things we agree on. We should pass those things."
Brett Samuels contributed to his report.

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Gun protests sweep nation as House passes school safety bill

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The House passed a school safety bill on Wednesday that does not contain any new gun measures as thousands of students walked out of classrooms across the country to protest gun violence and demand tougher gun laws.

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The proposals, which come more than three weeks after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, also include a plan to establish a commission chaired by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that will recommend policy and funding proposals for school violence prevention, including possible age restrictions on some firearms purchases. The commission does not have a set timeline of when it will report its findings, although an official said it would be within one year.

"Today we are announcing meaningful actions, steps that can be taken right away to help protect students," DeVos said Sunday.

"Far too often the focus has been only on the most contentious fights -- the things that have divided people and sent them into their entrenched corners," she continued. "But the plan that we're going to advance and talk about is a pragmatic plan to dramatically increase school safety and to take steps to do so right away."

The announcement of the commission comes less than a day after Trump criticized blue-ribbon committees at a rally in Pennsylvania, saying, "We can't just keep setting up blue-ribbon committees," adding that they do nothing but "talk, talk, talk."

Administration officials stressed the necessity of the new commission when asked why Trump said such committees were ineffective, saying there is "very cogent argument for having a commission."

Hardening school security

Officials announced that the administration will work with states on what they called "rigorous" firearms training for "specially qualified" school personnel on a voluntary basis, including leveraging Department of Justice assistance to give school personnel firearm training from state and local law enforcement agencies, the administration announced.

Trump first floated the idea of arming teachers and school officials after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month -- an idea that was met with immediate criticism.

The administration also plans to support the transition of military veterans and retired law enforcement into new careers in education and will encourage state attorneys general to audit school districts for compliance with state emergency preparedness activities.

Federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, also will partner with states and local governments to support a public awareness campaign modeled on the department's "see something, say something" anti-terrorism campaign to encourage the awareness and reporting of suspicious activity, the administration announced.

Background checks and prevention measures

The administration is backing the "Fix NICS" bill introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, and Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, which intends to improve the information going into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System by offering financial incentives to federal and state authorities to comply with existing law to report criminal history records.

The bill would hold federal agencies accountable if they fail to upload records to the background check system.

Further, the administration voiced support for legislation dubbed the "STOP School Violence Act," which would provide states with funding for training, technology and other assistance to help schools identify and prevent violent acts.

The Trump administration also called on states to adopt "extreme risk protection orders," with technical assistance from the Department of Justice. The orders would allow law enforcement officers, with approval from a court, to remove firearms from those who pose a threat to themselves or others and temporarily to prevent individuals from purchasing new firearms.

Trump will direct the Justice Department to provide assistance to states, only at their request, on establishing and implementing the orders, officials said.

Mental health measures

Trump is proposing an expansion and overhaul of mental health programs, including those that help identify and treat those who may be a threat to themselves or others, the administration announced.

The President is proposing increased integration of mental health, primary care, and family services, as well as support for programs that utilize court-ordered treatment.

Trump is also calling for a review of the statutory and regulatory privacy protections to determine if any changes or clarifications are needed to improve coordination between mental health and other health care professionals, school officials, and law enforcement personnel.

Commission on school violence

Trump's proposed Federal Commission on School Safety aims to develop a process to evaluate and make recommendations on school safety, the administration said.

The commission plans to focus on several areas, including age restrictions for certain firearm purchases; current entertainment rating systems; youth consumption of violent entertainment; best practices for school building and campus security and threat assessment and violence prevention; plans for integration and coordination of federal resources to help prevent and mitigate shootings at schools; and opportunities to improve access to mental health treatment, including through efforts to raise awareness of mental illness and the effectiveness of treatment.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported some of the details of the expected announcement, citing White House officials who had been briefed on the proposal.

The administration is already moving ahead with a proposal to ban bump fire stocks, devices that allow semiautomatic weapons to fire at a more rapid rate, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vowed to do. The Justice Department has submitted a proposed regulation to the Office of Management and Budget for review to prohibit their sale by classifying them as machine guns under federal law.

A Republican congressman with a high ranking from the National Rifle Association, who declined to be named to avoid alienating various constituencies, said the administration's proposals are "a missed opportunity and fails to honor the victims and survivors of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School."

The lawmaker, who strongly favors increasing the minimum age to buy assault-style weapons, said he thinks Trump "has abandoned his instincts on the issue of gun safety policies," adding that he thinks the proposal is "weak."

While the congressman says the recommendations for congressional actions would be "a small, positive first step," he said he believes they are "insufficient."

CNN's Laura Jarrett, Tal Kopan and Boris Sanchez contributed to this report.

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backpedals on raising age to buy guns - cnnpolitics

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WH proposes arming teachers, backpedals on raising age to buy guns

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The Trump administration on Sunday night proposed providing some school personnel with "rigorous" firearms training and backed a bill to improve criminal background checks on gun buyers, but backpedaled on the idea of increasing the minimum age to buy certain firearms -- a policy President Donald Trump had said he would support.

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Florida school shooting: Details emerge in timeline, what we know about suspect | ABC News

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No permit is required for the purchase of a rifle or shotgun (except in New York City).

A license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver is required to purchase a handgun. (See HANDGUNS- POSSESSION and CARRY.) Elsewhere than the City of New York, a person licensed to carry or possess a pistol or revolver may apply at any time to the licensing officer in the county of their residence for an amendment of his or her license to include one or more such handguns, or to remove a handgun held under the license.
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No person, firm or corporation engaged in the retail business of selling rifles, shotguns or handguns, shall sell, deliver or transfer any such gun to another person unless the transferee is provided with a gun-locking device and a label on safe storage. Any business selling firearms must post a sign where the firearms are displayed or sold stating, in bold print, "The use of a locking device or safety lock is only one aspect of responsible firearm storage. For increased safety firearms should be stored unloaded and locked in a location that is both separate from their ammunition and inaccessible to children and any other unauthorized person." NY Gen. Bus. Law § 396-ee.

Any manufacturer that ships, transports or delivers a handgun to any person in this state shall include in the container a separate sealed container that encloses a shell casing of a bullet or projectile discharged from such handgun, and any additional information that identifies such handgun. Upon retail sale of a new handgun, a dealer in firearms or gunsmith that delivers the handgun to any person other than another dealer in firearms shall within 10 days forward to the division of state police officer by certified US mail or by a parcel delivery service that maintains package tracking capabilities either: (1) the ballistic sample received from the manufacturer; or (2) the certificate of compliance issued by the New York State Police upon collection of the ballistic sample for such firearm at a regional Combined Ballistic Identification System (CoBIS) center. Upon receipt of the sealed container, the division of state police shall cause to be entered in an automated electronic data-bank pertinent data and other ballistic information relevant to identification of the shell casing and to the handgun from which it was discharged. See New York regulations, 9 NYCRR 472, Combined Ballistic Identification System or "CoBIS."

It is lawful for New York residents to purchase or obtain rifles or shotguns in a contiguous state and to receive and transport said rifles and shotguns into the state, provided the person is otherwise eligible to possess a rifle or shotgun under New York law.

New York law regulates gun show sales. A "gun show" is defined as an event sponsored, whether for profit or not, by an individual, national, state or local organization, association or other entity devoted to the collection, competitive use, sporting use, or any other legal use of firearms, rifles or shotguns, or an event at which (a) 20% or more of the total number of exhibitors are firearm exhibitors or (b) ten or more firearm exhibitors are participating or (c) a total of 25 or more pistols or revolvers are offered for sale or transfer or (d) a total of 50 or more firearms, rifles or shotguns are offered for sale or transfer. "Gun show" includes any building, structure or facility where firearms, rifles or shotguns are offered for sale or transfer and any grounds used in connection with the event. A national instant criminal background check is required and no person shall sell or transfer a firearm at a gun show, except in accordance with the provisions of 18 U.S.C. 922(t). A gun show operator is required to post signs at all entrances, at all places where admission tickets to the gun show are sold, and not less than four additional locations within the grounds of the gun show, stating "A National Instant Criminal Background Check must be completed prior to all firearm sales or transfers, including sales or transfers of rifles or shotguns." NY Gen. Bus. Law §§ 895, 896, 897. The definition of "gun show" was found to be partially unconstitutional as being overbroad in the case of Scope, Inc. v. Pataki, 386 F. Supp. 2d 184 (W.D.N.Y. 2005): it essentially declared any gathering or assembly of gun owners for any purpose a "gun show" and infringed on the plaintiff gun associations' and gun clubs' right to lawfully assemble, right to free speech and right to petition the government.

As a result of the SAFE Act, private sales, exchanges or disposals of firearms (except those between members of an immediate family, as defined) require a national instant criminal background check (NICS check) to be completed by a firearms dealer, who must also complete a document, the form of which shall be approved by the superintendent of state police, that identifies and confirms that such check was performed. For purposes of the law, "immediate family" means only spouses, domestic partners, children and step-children. NY Gen. Bus. Law § 898. It is an offense to fail to comply with this requirement. A firearms dealer may only charge up to $10 to conduct the background check.

A person is guilty of criminal sale of a firearm to a minor when he is not authorized pursuant to law to possess a firearm and he unlawfully sells, exchanges, gives or disposes of a firearm to another person who is or reasonably appears to be less than 19 years of age who is not licensed pursuant to law to possess a firearm. NY Penal Law § 265.16.

New York law makes it a felony for a person to purchase a firearm knowing that he or she is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm because of a prior conviction or because of some other legal disability, or to purchase or obtain a firearm for, on behalf of, or for the use of another person, knowing that it would be unlawful for that other person to possess a firearm. NY Penal Law § 265.17.

It is an offense to sell or offer to sell a paint pellet gun to any person under 16 years of age. NY Gen. Bus. Law §399-r.

Ammunition Transactions. As of January 15, 2014, all sellers of ammunition (any person, firm, partnership, corporation or company that engages in the business of purchasing, selling or keeping ammunition) are required to register with the State Police. Any dealer in firearms validly licensed pursuant to NY Penal Law § 400.00 does not have to register. (The State website advises that a dealer in firearms so licensed, or a Federal Firearms Licensee, would be automatically registered by the New York State Police as a seller of ammunition and "do not need to take any further action." See https://www.governor.ny.gov/nysafeact/ammunition). The registrations do not currently have an expiration date but are subject to revocation if the holder becomes no longer eligible to possess ammunition under federal law.

The SAFE Act requires that as of January 15, 2014, no "commercial transfer of ammunition" shall take place unless it is an "in person" transaction where a licensed dealer in firearms or registered seller of ammunition acts as an intermediary between the transferor and the ultimate transferee of the ammunition. However, certain organizations that distribute ammunition on their premises may register with the State to continue to receive direct shipments of ammunition.

The SAFE Act provides for new background check and record-keeping requirements on sellers of ammunition, to take effect 30 days after the Superintendent of the New York State Police certifies that a statewide license and record database is operational. Specifically, sellers of ammunition or dealers in firearms must keep a record book, approved as to form by the superintendent of state police, and record, at the time of every transaction involving ammunition, the date, name, age, occupation and residence of any person from whom ammunition is received or to whom ammunition is delivered, and the amount, calibre, manufacturer's name and serial number (or if none, any other distinguishing number or identification mark) on such ammunition. The record book shall be maintained on the premises of the licensee and made available at all reasonable hours for inspection by law enforcement.

In addition, a background check is required prior to the transfer of ammunition to any person who is not a dealer in firearms or a seller of ammunition. Sellers of ammunition are required to verify the transferee's ID and check with the statewide license and record database to confirm that the transferee is eligible to possess ammunition. NOTE: The new background check and record-keeping requirements on ammunition sales were scheduled to take effect 30 days after the Superintendent of the New York State Police certifies that a statewide license and record database is operational for such a process. As of June 11, 2014, that certification had not been made as the system was "being developed," and there was "no set start date" (see https://www.governor.ny.gov/nysafeact/ammunition). Since then, in July 2015, a memorandum of understanding was signed that suspended the portion of the SAFE Act related to these background checks, based on "the lack of adequate technology," and that the database "cannot be established and/or function in the manner originally intended at this time." (See http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/07/10/nyregion/document-order-delaying-new-york-ammunition-checks.html.)

It is unlawful for any dealer in firearms to sell any ammunition designed exclusively for use in a pistol or revolver to any person who is not authorized to possess a pistol or revolver. NY Penal Law § 270.00.

Possession - Rifles and Shotguns

There is no state license requirement for the possession of a rifle or shotgun, so long as the rifle has barrel(s) at least 16 inches in length and the shotgun has barrel(s) at least 18 inches in length.
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"Firearm" means (a) any pistol or revolver; or (b) a shotgun having one or more barrels less than 18 inches in length or (c) a rifle having one or more barrels less than 16 inches in length, or (d) any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise is such weapon is altered modified, or otherwise has an overall length of less than 26 inches, or (e) an assault weapon. For the purposes of this definition, the length of a barrel of a shotgun or rifle shall be determined by measuring the distance between the muzzle and the face of the bolt, breach, or breachlock when closed, and when the shotgun or rifle is cocked; the overall length of a weapon made from a shogun or rifle is the distance between the extreme ends of the weapon measured along a line parallel to the center line of the bore. "Firearm" does not include an antique firearm.

It is unlawful for any person convicted of a felony or other "serious offense" (as defined in NY Penal Law § 265.00(17), or who has been certified as not suitable to possess a rifle or shotgun (mentally incompetent, as defined in NY Penal Law § 265.00(16)) to possess a rifle or shotgun. Subjects of domestic violence protection orders may be prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. N.Y. Crim. Proc. Law §§ 530.11, 530.12, 530.14; N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act §§ 812, 822, 828(3), 842-a; N.Y. Penal Law §§ 400.00(1), (11).

The crime of "criminal possession of a firearm in the fourth degree" was amended in 2011 to add the possession of an "antique firearm," "black powder rifle," "black powder shotgun," or a "muzzle-loading firearm," as defined. The provision, NY Penal Law § 265.01(4), now prohibits a person who has a prior conviction for a felony or "serious offense" from possessing such weapons or a rifle or shotgun.

Generally, it is unlawful for anyone under the age of 16 to possess any firearm; however, a rifle or shotgun may be possessed by a person under 16 years of age but not under age 12, who is engaged in target shooting on a range supervised by a military officer, certified instructor, or a parent, guardian or a person over the age of 18 designated in writing by such parent or guardian, provided the adult has a hunter safety certificate. See NY Penal Law § 265.20, "Exemptions," which exempts classes of individuals from prosecution under the statutes which regulate criminal possession of weapons. Subdivision 7-e allows a person under the age of 21 but at least 14 years of age to possess and use a pistol or revolver under specific enumerated conditions.

NY Penal Law § 265.03(3) makes the possession of a loaded firearm a felony unless, (1) with some exceptions, possession takes place in a person's home or place of business, or (2) the possession falls with the exemptions in NY Penal Law § 265.20. New York law defines a loaded firearm as any firearm loaded with ammunition, or a firearm which is possessed by a person who, at the same time, possesses ammunition which may be used to discharge that firearm. NY Penal Law § 265.00(15).

A license is needed to possess a handgun. The application is made to the licensing officer of the city or county where the applicant resides, is principally employed, or where his principal place of business as a merchant or storekeeper is located. An alien may obtain a pistol license if he or she meets these requirements. NY Penal Law § 400(3).
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The determination whether to grant the license is completely within the discretion of the licensing officer. However, the licensing officer must state specifically and concisely in writing the reasons for a denial. NY Penal Law § 400.00(4-a). A denial can only be overturned in court if it is shown to be arbitrary and capricious.

A license may be granted to an applicant who:

is of good moral character,

is over 21 years of age (the age requirement does not apply to persons honorably discharged from the military),

has not been convicted of a felony or "serious offense" and is not a fugitive from justice,

is not an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance,

is not an illegal alien, or an alien admitted under a nonimmigrant visa (unless the exceptions in 18 U.S.C. 922(y)(2) apply), or a U.S. citizen that has renounced his or her citizenship,

has not been discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions,

discloses if and when he or she has ever been treated for mental illness, and has not been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility or had a guardian appointed because he or she lacked mental capacity,

has not had a license revoked, and is not under a suspension or ineligibility order as part of a protective order,

and for whom no good cause otherwise exists for the denial of the license. NY Penal Law § 400.00(1).

Westchester County may require the applicant to successfully complete a firearms safety course and test in addition to meeting the other requirements. Other counties may also require a safety course for license issuance.

The applicant must also provide fingerprints, and photographs taken within thirty days of the date the application is filed. The police investigate all statements made in response to the requirements in the application. One copy of the fingerprints will be forwarded to the FBI for a search of the applicant's criminal records.

The license fee is fixed by the board of supervisors in each county. The Division of Criminal Justice Services sets the fingerprinting fee. A fee is charged fee for each amendment to the license. In New York City and Nassau County, the City Council and Board of Supervisors, respectively, set the license fees without regard to the state law limitation.

Generally, an application for a license must be acted upon within six months after it is filed but the applicant may be given written notice of a delay. This delay is limited to "good cause" only, and the written notice must specifically state the reason(s) for the delay. NY Penal Law § 400.00(4-a).

The licensing officer may, in his discretion, add restrictions to the license, limiting the places where the handgun may be kept or carried provided there is a rational basis for this and the decision is not arbitrary or capricious.

If issued, an "on premises only" license authorizes the possession of a handgun only at the location written on the license. NY Penal Law § 400.00(7). It does not authorize the holder to take such handgun to any other place. (It should be noted further that an "on premises only" license technically does not authorize the holder even to transport the handgun from its place of purchase to the location stated on the license.)

A license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver, not otherwise limited as to place or time of possession, is effective throughout the state except within New York City, unless a special permit granting validity is issued by the NYC police commissioner. NY Penal Law § 400.00(6).

Each handgun possessed must be listed on the license by make, model, caliber and serial number. NY Penal Law § 400.00(7). The only exception is possession of a properly licensed handgun by another licensee or license applicant at a target range; see NY Penal Law § 265.20(7-a). A person may apply to amend the license to change the weapons held under that license.

The NY SAFE Act amended New York law to require that all pistol permits be "recertified" every five years starting January 2014. Failure to recertify operates as a revocation of the license. NY Penal Law § 400.00(10)(b).

Under the NY SAFE Act, if a licensee at any time becomes ineligible to obtain or hold a license, the license is deemed revoked and, under NY Penal Law § 400.00(11)(c), the licensee is required to surrender (1) his or her license, and (2) his or her firearms, not just the licensed firearm(s), to law enforcement. In the event such license or firearm(s) are not surrendered, "such items shall be removed and declared a nuisance and any police officer or peace officer acting pursuant to his or her special duties is authorized to remove any and all such weapons."

The NY SAFE Act amended state law regarding the name and address submitted by an applicant to obtain the license. Generally, this information becomes a matter of public record. However, applications for licenses must now include an opt-out form, in which an applicant may request an exception from his or her application information becoming a public record, and to specify the reason from those listed (for example, that the applicant's life or safety may be endangered by disclosure for the listed reason or the applicant has reason to believe he or she may be subject to unwarranted harassment upon disclosure). NY Penal Law § 400.00(5). The licensing officer is to grant such exceptions unless the request is knowingly based on false information. An applicant may file an opt-out form anytime, but after May 15, 2013, if no opt-out form has been filed, the applicant's information may be subject to release under access to information laws. See the NYS Division of State Police website for the form and additional information: https://troopers.ny.gov/Firearms/Public_Records_Exemption.

A licensee who changes his or her residence to another licensing jurisdiction within the state shall provide notification of the address change in writing within ten days after the change occurs, and a record of such change shall be inscribed by such licensee on the reverse side of the license.

Although 21 is generally the minimum age for licensees (see NY Penal Law § 400.00(1)), NY Penal Law § 265.20(7-e) allows persons aged between 14 and 21 that meet the qualifications listed to possess and use a handgun at an indoor or outdoor pistol range, as described, or at a target pistol shooting competition under the auspices of or approved by the NRA, and while under the immediate supervision of a person designated in NY Penal Law § 265.20 (7).

New York State issues various types of handgun licenses under NY Penal Law § 400.00(2) (e.g., to have and possess in a dwelling by a householder; to have and possess in a place of business by a merchant). Not all license types allow unrestricted concealed carrying. The license must specify whether it is issued to carry on the person or possess on the premises, and if on the premises, it must specify the place where the licensee may possess the handgun. NY Penal Law § 400.00(7). An applicant for a license to carry outside the home must be required to show, in addition to the requirement for possession, that "proper cause" exists for the issuance of a carry license.
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A license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver, not otherwise limited as to place or time of possession, is effective throughout the state with the exception of New York City, unless the NYC police commissioner issues a special permit granting license validity. NY Penal Law § 400.00(6) (section lists the limited exceptions to this, such as the license to carry or possess being valid within New York City in the absence of a special permit for firearms covered by such license that have been purchased from a licensed dealer within NYC and are being transported out of the city immediately from the dealer by the licensee, in a locked container, during a continuous and uninterrupted trip).

A licensee is required to carry the license on his or her person at all times when carrying a handgun, and if licensed to possess a handgun on particular premises, is required to have the license for the same on the premises. The licensee is required to produce the license for inspection when asked by a law enforcement officer. Note that the failure of a licensee to produce the license as required is "presumptive evidence that he or she is not duly licensed." NY Penal Law § 400.00(8).

New York law prohibits the possession of a "loaded" handgun (or any loaded firearm) outside of a person's home or place of business without a carry license. NY Penal Law § 265.03(3). State law defines "loaded" as a firearm with ammunition loaded in the magazine or chamber, or any firearm which is possessed by a person who, at the same time, possesses a quantity of ammunition which may be used to discharge such a firearm. NY Penal Law § 265.00(15).

Possession of a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle is generally illegal. N.Y. Envtl. Conserv. Law § 11-0931(2) (permit may be issued to any person who is non-ambulatory to possess a loaded firearm in or on a motor vehicle for hunting).

There are some carrying restrictions based on location. These include N.Y. Comp. Codes R & Regs. tit.14 § 45.1, which provides that "no person" shall bring into or possess a firearm at any facility of the NY Department of Mental Hygiene, or any residential facility which has an operating certificate issued by the department, except with permission of the director of the facility. "No person" may bring into or possess a firearm at any facility operated or licensed by the Office of Mental Health of the Department of Mental Hygiene, unless the person comes within the exceptions in N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 14, s 542.5(a). Employees, volunteers and consultants of a "child care agency" are prohibited from possessing firearms or other dangerous weapons while on the grounds of "residential child care facilities." N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18, § 441.19(f).

New York State does not recognize concealed weapons permits issued by other states.

The New York law's definition of a "firearm" does not include an antique firearm. NY Penal Law § 265.00(3). An "antique firearm" is defined as any unloaded muzzle-loading pistol or revolver with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system, or a pistol or revolver that uses fixed cartridges that are no longer available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. NY Penal Law § 265.00(14). A license is not required to possess, collect or carry an unloaded antique firearm.
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However, a license is required to possess, collect and carry antique pistols. The licensing statute defines an "antique pistol" as: any single shot, muzzle-loading pistol with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system manufactured in or before l898, which is not designed for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition; and any replica if such replica is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. To the extent that an "antique pistol" is not also an "antique firearm," a license would be required for lawful possession.

New York law has interpreted this to mean antique rifles, shotguns, handguns, and replicas thereof, are generally exempt from the above restrictions and can be bought and possessed without a permit. (Persons who shoot muzzle-loading handguns must be properly licensed.) However, to fall within the exemption, antique handguns must be unloaded and possessed without the materials required for loading.

It is unlawful for any person to carry, possess or transport a handgun in or through the state unless he has a valid New York license.
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A provision of federal law provides a defense to state or local laws which would prohibit the passage of persons with firearms in interstate travel if the person is traveling from any place where he may lawfully possess and transport a firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and transport such firearm and the firearm is unloaded and in the trunk. In vehicles without a trunk, the unloaded firearm shall be in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

A member or coach of an accredited college or university target pistol team may transport a handgun into or through New York to participate in a collegiate, Olympic or target pistol shooting competition provided that the handgun is unloaded and carried in a locked carrying case and the ammunition is carried in a separate locked container.

Nonresidents competing in an organized competitive pistol match or league competition under auspices of, or approved by, the National Rifle Association, or an organized match sanctioned by the International Handgun Metallic Silhouette Association, may enter or pass through New York State within forty-eight hours of such an event for the purposes of travelling to and from the event, provided the competitor also has in his or her possession a pistol license or firearms registration card issued in accordance with the laws of the place of residence; has not been previously convicted of a felony or a crime which, if committed in New York, would constitute a felony; and the pistols or revolvers are transported unloaded in a locked opaque container together with a copy of the match program, match schedule or match registration card.

Possession of firearms by a person who is a nonresident of this state is lawful while attending or traveling to or from an organized convention or exhibition approved by the NRA, and in which the nonresident is a registered participant within forty-eight hours of such event, provided that the nonresident has not been previously convicted of a felony and further provided that the firearms are transported unloaded in a locked opaque container together with a copy of the convention or exhibition program, convention or exhibition schedule, or convention or exhibition registration card. This provision does not apply in NY cities not wholly contained within a single county.

A non-immigrant alien may possess a rifle or shotgun for use while hunting provided he has a valid hunting license issued by New York State and an approved gun import form from the BATFE.

In Osterweil v. Bartlett, 21 N.Y.3d 580, 999 N.E.2d 516 (N.Y. 2013), the Court of Appeals of New York ruled that the state handgun licensing statute did not preclude the applicant, a previous resident who became a part-time resident of New York when he acquired a permanent domicile elsewhere, from being eligible for a New York handgun license in the city or county where his part-time residence was located.

A machine gun is defined as any weapon from which a number of shots or bullets may be rapidly or automatically discharged from a magazine with one continuous pull of the trigger, and includes a submachine gun.
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It is a felony for any person to manufacture, transport, or dispose of a machine gun. It is a felony to buy, receive, dispose or conceal a machine gun that has been defaced for the purposes of concealment.

The presence in any room, dwelling, structure or vehicle of any machine gun is presumptive evidence of unlawful possession by all of the persons occupying the place where the machine gun is found.

Assault Weapons and Magazines

It shall be unlawful to possess any "assault weapon" or "large capacity ammunition feeding device" except as permitted by the law. Residents of New York who lawfully owned an "assault weapon," as defined, prior to January 15, 2013 were required to either sell it or register it with the State Police before April 15, 2014. NY Penal Law § 400.00(16-a). Registration information includes the registrant's name, date of birth, gender, race, residential address, social security number and a description of each weapon being registered.
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A person who lawfully possessed the weapon prior to Jan. 15, 2013 and knowingly fails to register by the aforementioned deadline may be charged with a class A misdemeanor; if the omission is an unknowing failure to validly register within the period the person is liable to a warning and may be given thirty days in which to apply to register or to surrender the weapon. NY Penal Law § 400.00(16-c).

As of January 2013, the SAFE Act amended NY Penal Law § 265.00(22) to redefine "assault weapon" to include:

A semiautomatic rifle that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics:

(i) a folding or telescoping stock;

(ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon;

(iii) a thumbhole stock;

(iv) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

(v) a bayonet mount;

(vi) a flash suppressor,

(vii) muzzle brake (note: this reads "muzzle break" as originally written and was held to be unconstitutionally vague by New York State Rifle and Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 990 F.Supp.2d 349 (W.D. N.Y. 2013), but upheld on appeal, New York State Rifle and Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 804 F.3d 242 (2d Cir. 2015) (reasoning that because the misspelled "muzzle break" has no accepted meaning, there was "no meaningful risk that a party might confuse the legislature's intent")).

(viii) muzzle compensator,

(ix) a threaded barrel designed to accommodate a flash suppressor, muzzle brake, or muzzle compensator (see note above at (vii) re: "muzzle break").

(x) a grenade launcher.

(NY State list of some common rifles that are classified as "assault weapons" https://www.governor.ny.gov/assets/documents/RiflesthatAREclassifiedasassaultweapons.pdf)

A semiautomatic shotgun that has at least one of the following characteristics:

(i) a folding or telescoping stock;

(ii) a thumbhole stock;

(iii) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

(iv) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds; or

(v) an ability to accept a detachable magazine.

(NY State list of some common shotguns that are classified as "assault weapons" https://www.governor.ny.gov/assets/documents/ShotgunsthatAREclassifiedasassaultweapons.pdf)

A semiautomatic pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and has at least one of the following characteristics:

(i) a folding or telescoping stock;

(ii) a thumbhole stock;

(iii) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand;

(iv) the capacity to accept an ammunition magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip;

(v) a threaded barrel capable of accepting a barrel extender, flash suppressor, forward handgrip, or silencer;

(vi) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the firearm with the non-trigger hand without being burned;

(vii) a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded, or

(viii) a semiautomatic version of an automatic rifle, shotgun or firearm. (Note: this provision was held to be unconstitutionally vague in New York State Rifle and Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 990 F.Supp.2d 349 (W.D. N.Y. 2013), but upheld on appeal, New York State Rifle and Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 804 F.3d 242 (2d Cir. 2015)).

(NY State list of some common pistols classified as "assault weapons" https://www.governor.ny.gov/assets/documents/Pistolsthatareclassifiedasassaultweapons.pdf

"Assault weapon" generally does not include:

(i) any rifle, shotgun or pistol that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever or slide action; that has been rendered permanently inoperable; or is an antique firearm as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(16),

(ii) a semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds of ammunition or a semiautomatic shotgun that cannot hold more than five rounds of ammunition in a fixed or detachable magazine,

(iii) any firearm, rifle, or shotgun manufactured at least 50 years ago, but not including replicas that have been validly registered, or

(iv) a rifle, shotgun or pistol, or a replica or a duplicate thereof, specifically exempted from the federal assault weapon ban list as such weapon was manufactured on October 1, 1993.

It also excludes any weapon properly registered pursuant to NY Penal Law § 400.00(16-a).

Questions regarding the legality of a specific firearm (complying with the assault weapons regulations) should be directed toward an attorney or other qualified official in determining the characteristics unique to that particular weapon.

For further reference, see the Frequently Asked Questions page at http://www.governor.ny.gov/nysafeact/gun-owners

A person who lawfully possessed an "assault weapon" on or before January 15, 2013 may keep it but was required to comply with the registration requirements by April 15, 2013.

Each registration of an assault weapon is valid for five years. All registrants shall recertify to the division of state police every five years thereafter. Failure to recertify shall result in a revocation of such registration. New York Penal Law § 400.00(16-a).

Changes of name, address, or any contact information must be submitted using an amendment form. A transfer form must be completed if the owner transfers the assault weapon out of state, to a firearms dealer, or to a law enforcement agency or officer. (The persons or entities that may legally possess the weapon; there is no provision allowing for a transfer to an immediate family member in-state). The transfer must be reported within 72 hours of completing the transfer. A transfer form also must be completed for any stolen, lost or destroyed assault weapon within the specified time frame.
MAGAZINES
A "large capacity ammunition feeding device" is defined as a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device, manufactured after September 13, 1994, that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than ten rounds of ammunition. There is an exception for an attached tubular device designed to accept, and capable of operating only with, .22 caliber rimfire ammunition, or it qualifies as a curio or relic. NY Penal Law § 265.00(23).

Before the enactment of the SAFE Act, the definition excluded a large capacity magazine manufactured prior to Sept. 13, 1994. This exemption has been deleted by the SAFE Act. Possession of a "large capacity feeding device" is an offense (criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree) pursuant to NY Penal Law § 265.02(8). However, this excludes a person who lawfully possessed a large capacity magazine that was previously exempt prior to the effective date of the SAFE Act; such persons may be covered by the lesser penalty provision in NY Penal Law § 265.36.

A large capacity ammunition feeding device that was legally possessed by a person prior to the enactment of the SAFE Act may only be sold to, exchanged with or disposed of to a purchaser authorized to possess such weapons or to an individual or entity outside of the state. There are reporting requirements and deadlines respecting these transfers; see NY Penal Law § 265.00(22)(h).

A person who is not authorized pursuant to law to possess a firearm and sells, exchanges, gives or disposes of a large capacity ammunition feeding device to another person is guilty of the criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree, a class D felony. A person who unlawfully manufactures, disposes of, transports or ships a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a class D felony; any person who knowingly buys, receives, disposes of, or conceals a large capacity ammunition feeding device which has been defaced for the purpose of concealment or prevention of the detection of a crime or misrepresenting the identity of such large capacity ammunition feeding device, rifle or shotgun is guilty of a class D felony.

The presence in an automobile of any large capacity ammunition feeding device or defaced large capacity ammunition feeding device is presumptive evidence of its possession by all occupants at the time such weapon is found, unless the device is found on the person of one occupant, or the vehicle is being operated for hire by a duly licensed driver, in which case the presumption shall not apply to the driver.

The SAFE Act also created a new offense of knowingly possessing any magazine loaded with more than seven rounds of ammunition; New York Penal Law § 265.37. An exemption covers specified indoor or outdoor firing ranges or matches and collegiate, olympic or target shooting competition, but capacity cannot exceed ten rounds; see NY Penal Law § 265.20(7-f). However, this seven-round provision was held to be unconstitutional in New York State Rifle and Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 990 F.Supp.2d 349 (W.D. N.Y. 2013), and on appeal, in New York State Rifle and Pistol Ass'n, Inc. v. Cuomo, 804 F.3d 242 (2d Cir. 2015), the court agreed (concluding that New York had failed to provide evidence that a seven-round load limit would "best protect public safety").

The owner of a shooting range may present an affirmative defense in any suit brought against it in which noise or noise pollution is claimed in the suit. NY Gen. Bus. Law § 150.
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1. In any action or proceeding commenced against an owner or user of a shooting range where one or more causes of action asserts a claim based on noise or noise pollution resulting from the inherent shooting activity on such shooting range, it shall be an affirmative defense that, at the time of the commencement of the action or proceeding, the shooting range is in compliance with any applicable noise control laws or ordinances, or, if the applicable noise control laws or ordinances have no legal force and effect against such owner or user or there are no applicable noise control laws or ordinances at the time of the effective date of this section, then the A-weighted sound level of small arms fire on the shooting range does not exceed 90 dB(A) for one hour out of a day, or does not exceed 85 dB(A) for eight hours out of a day measured at, or adjusted to, a distance of one hundred feet outside the real property boundary of the shooting range. An owner or user may move for judgment dismissing one or more causes of action asserted against him on the ground that a cause of action cannot be maintained because of such affirmative defense.

2. Nothing in this section shall in any way limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a person under any other law.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section, no shooting range shall be operated during the period from 10:00 PM until 7:00 AM unless a local law or ordinance specifically authorizes the operation of a shooting range during all or any portion of such time period.

4. For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Shooting range" shall mean an outdoor range equipped with targets for use with firearms and shall include, but not be limited to, all rifle, pistol and shotgun ranges.

(b) "A-weighted sound level" shall mean the sound pressure level measured by the use of an instrument with the metering characteristics and A-weighting frequency response prescribed by sound level meters using the impulse response mode.

(c) "Sound pressure level" shall mean twenty times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the root mean squared pressure of a sound to a reference pressure of twenty micropascals. The unit applied to this measure shall be the decibel (dB).

(d) "Small arms" shall mean projectile firearms of small caliber, including rifles, pistols, and shotguns.

As part of the NY SAFE Act, NY Penal Law § 265.45 was added to require the owner or other custodian of a firearm to safely store the firearm when he or she "resides" with an individual who the owner-custodian knows or has reason to know is prohibited from possessing a firearm under the listed sections of federal law, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), (4), (8), (9) (note that the state law limits the application of the misdemeanor domestic violence offense in subs.(g)(9)). "Safe storage" requires the use of an "appropriate safe storage depository" (a safe or other secure container which, when locked, is incapable of being opened without the key, combination or other unlocking mechanism and is capable of preventing an unauthorized person from obtaining access), or rendering the firearm incapable of being fired by use of a gun-locking device appropriate to that weapon. A failure to comply with this requirement is a class A misdemeanor.
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Any person lawfully in possession of a firearm, or a firearm and ammunition, who suffers the loss or theft of such firearm, or ammunition and firearm, is required to report the facts and circumstances of the loss or theft to a police department or sheriff's office within 24 hours of the discovery of the loss or theft. NY Penal Law § 400.10(1)(a).

It is unlawful for any person, otherwise than in self defense or in furtherance of official duty, to

wilfully discharge any firearm, air-gun or other weapon, or throw any other deadly missile, either in a public place, or in any place where there is any person to be endangered thereby, or, in Putnam county, within one-quarter mile of any occupied school building other than under supervised instruction by properly authorized instructors although no injury to any person ensues;

intentionally, without malice, point or aim any firearm or any other gun, the propelling force of which is gunpowder, at or toward any other person;

discharge, without injury to another person, a gun, the propelling force of which is gunpowder, intentionally without malice, while the gun is aimed at or toward any person;

maim or injure another person by the discharge of any gun, the propelling force of which is gunpowder, pointed or aimed intentionally, but without malice, at any such person. NY Penal Law § 265.35(3).

It is also unlawful for any person to wilfully discharge a loaded gun, the propelling force of which is gunpowder, at:

an aircraft while such aircraft is in motion in the air, or in motion or stationary upon the ground,

at any railway or street railroad train as defined by the public service law, or

at any railway or street railroad train as defined by the public service law, or at a locomotive, car, bus or vehicle standing or moving upon such railway, railroad or public highway. NY Penal Law § 265.35(2).

It is unlawful for any person to hunt with a dangerous weapon in any county wholly embraced within the territorial limits of a city. NY Penal Law § 265.35(1).

N.Y. Envtl. Conserv. Law § 11-0931 outlines certain additional restrictions. For example, no person except a law enforcement officer in the performance of his official duties shall use in hunting or possess in the fields or forests or on the waters of the state for any purpose, a silencer. No person shall discharge a firearm, crossbow or long bow in such a way as will result in the load, bolt, or arrow passing over any part of a public highway, or discharge a firearm within 500 feet, a long bow within 150 feet, or a crossbow within 250 feet from a dwelling house, farm building or farm structure actually occupied or used, school building, school playground, public structure, or occupied factory or church.

It is a crime to remove, deface or alter the serial number or any other distinguishing number or identification mark on any handgun, rifle or shotgun, to knowingly buy, receive, dispose of, such a defaced firearm, or to knowingly possess a firearm which has been so defaced for the purpose of concealment or prevention of the detection of a crime or misrepresenting the identity of such firearm. NY Penal Law §§ 265.10(6) and (3), 265.02(3). Possession of any firearm that has been defaced creates a legal presumption that the possessor committed the offense. NY Penal Law § 265.15(5).

Another presumption in New York law involves a firearm found in a vehicle. Its presence is presumptive evidence of its possession by all persons occupying the vehicle, except if:

the firearm is found upon the person of one of the occupants;

the firearm is found in a vehicle operated for hire by a duly licensed driver--then the presumption will not apply to the driver; or

the firearm is a handgun and one of the occupants has in his or her possession a valid license to have and carry concealed that handgun. NY Penal Law § 265.15(3).

It is an offense to knowingly possess any disguised gun, being any weapon or device capable of being concealed on the person from which a shot can be discharged through the energy of an explosive, which is designed and intended to appear to be something other than a gun. NY Penal Law § 265.02(6).

It is an offense to knowingly possess a bullet containing an explosive substance designed to detonate upon impact, or to possess any armor-piercing ammunition with intent to use the same unlawfully against another. NY Penal Law §§ 265.01(7) and (8). "Armor piercing ammunition" means any ammunition capable of being used in handguns, containing a projectile or projectile core, or a projectile or projectile core for use in such ammunition, that is constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from one or a combination of any of the following: tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper, or uranium.

Unless otherwise noted, the word firearm in this digest is used in its general sense, as any rifle, shotgun, or handgun. However, readers of the New York law should be aware that the term "firearm" when it appears in the text of the statutes, means only handguns and other firearms of a size which may be concealed upon the person.

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No permit is required for the purchase of a rifle or shotgun (except in New York City). A license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver is required to purchase a handgun. (See HANDGUNS- POSSESSION and CARRY.)

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"Walmart and Dick's Raise the Minimum Age for Gun Buyers to 21" 

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"Walmart and Dick's Raise the Minimum Age for Gun Buyers to 21" 

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Earlier, President Trump met at the White House with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and called for a series of gun control measures, some of which the National Rifle Association has vigorously opposed.

Walmart and Dick's acted after a number of major companies moved last week to dissociate themselves from the N.R.A. Hertz car rental, MetLife insurance and Delta Air Lines, among others, publicly ended their relationships with the organization.

In a news release late Wednesday, Walmart noted that in 2015 it discontinued the sale of high-powered rifles, including AR-15-style weapons, in its stores in the United States. But at the time, Walmart sidestepped any controversy involving gun politics, attributing its decision to lower customer demand for the military-style rifles.

This time, Walmart directly linked its action to the shooting in Florida, saying, "In light of recent events, we've taken an opportunity to review our policy on firearm sales."

Top Walmart executives made the decision and then informed the board, a company spokesman said.

Walmart sells guns in roughly half of its nearly 4,000 supercenters, the company said, but the sheer scale of its customer base gives its decision significant heft. Every week, more than 150 million people around the country shop at Walmart.

Dick's decision was announced by Edward Stack, the 63-year-old chief executive whose father founded the store in 1948. Mr. Stack made clear that he was deliberately steering his company directly into the storm over gun reform.

"When we saw what happened in Parkland, we were so disturbed and upset," Mr. Stack said in an interview. "We love these kids and their rallying cry, 'Enough is enough.' It got to us."

He added, "We're going to take a stand and step up and tell people our view and, hopefully, bring people along into the conversation."

The decision drew immediate - and passionate - reaction on social media. By midday, the number of Twitter messages containing Dick's name had jumped 12,000 percent from the average over the previous 10 days, according to Sprout Social, a social media management, advocacy and analytics software platform.

About 79 percent of the tweets had a positive sentiment, Sprout Social said, including supportive messages from Hollywood actors and actresses.

But the company's critics posted their plans to no longer shop at the retailer, some closing their tweets with "#boycott."

Investors did not appear to worry about a backlash, as Dick's stock spent much of Wednesday trading about 1.8 percent higher before finishing up 0.69 percent.

Mr. Stack said Dick's hoped to move the conversation beyond social media and into the political realm. As part of its stance, the company is calling on elected officials to pass what it called "common sense gun reform": raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21, banning assault-type weapons and so-called bump stocks, and conducting broader background checks that include mental-health information and previous interactions with law enforcement.

This is not the first time that Dick's has made changes in response to a school massacre. In 2012, after a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dick's removed assault-style rifles from its main stores. But a few months later, the company began carrying the firearms at its outdoor and hunting retail chain, Field & Stream.

As of Wednesday morning, the company said, AR-15-style and other semiautomatic rifles will no longer be sold in its 35 Field & Stream stores or on its websites. And this time, Mr. Stack added, the changes will be permanent.

Mr. Stack said the retailer had begun scouring its purchase records shortly after the identity of the suspected Parkland killer, Nikolas Cruz, became known. The company soon discovered that it had legally sold a gun to Mr. Cruz in November, though it was not the type used in the school shooting.

"But it came to us that we could have been a part of this story," Mr. Stack said. "We said, 'We don't want to be a part of this any longer.'"

That response raised rounds of discussions with the company's top executives and its directors, all of whom backed the decision to take a stand, Mr. Stack said.

He said Dick's remained a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment and would continue to sell a variety of sport and hunting firearms. Although he has never been a member of the N.R.A., Mr. Stack said, he is a gun owner and enjoys trapshooting.

But when it comes to selling guns to individuals under 21 or stocking assault-style rifles, Mr. Stack said, his company is done. "We don't want to be a part of a mass shooting," he said.

The company said that it had not decided what to do with its inventory of assault-style rifles but that they would not be sold in the marketplace.

Legal experts said they saw no likely challenges to Dick's decision to stop selling assault-style rifles. But the decision to stop selling weapons to anyone under 21, however, could be tested in court.

Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law at the School of Law of the University of California, Los Angeles, said Dick's could be challenged in lawsuits claiming a violation of laws that bar age discrimination. Although federal civil rights laws do not apply, some states, including New York, prohibit businesses from denying goods and services on the basis of age.

"Don't be surprised if an aggressive attorney general of a gun-friendly state brings an age-discrimination claim against Dick's," Professor Winkler wrote in an email response to questions.

The company said that it believed its decision was in accordance with the law and that it was instituting the policy immediately.

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Walmart and Dick's Raise Minimum Age for Gun Buyers to 21

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Earlier, President Trump met at the White House with a bipartisan group of lawmakers and called for a series of gun control measures, some of which the National Rifle Association has vigorously opposed. Walmart and Dick's acted after a number of major companies moved last week to dissociate themselves from the N.R.A.