Posts Tagged ‘Large Capacity Magazines’

The Law Center applauds Governor Hickenlooper and the Colorado Legislature on the passage of historic bills to prevent gun violence. While Colorado is leading the way, it is not alone: over 600 bills to prevent gun violence have been introduced this year, a 63% increase over this time last year. The call for change is being heard at the state level nationwide.

Strong gun laws to keep dangerous weapons out of the wrong hands are consistent with the Second Amendment and are necessary to defending our communities from the constant threat of violence.

Colorado is a leader in the nation, as many states across the country are hearing the voice of gun owners and non-gun owners alike – inaction on preventing gun violence is unacceptable.

With the adoption of these measures, Colorado has taken important steps toward preventing mass shootings like the tragedies in Aurora and Columbine, as well as the everyday gun violence that plagues communities nationwide.

After the tragedy in Newtown, the American people are demanding changes to our weak gun laws, including states with strong traditions of firearm ownership, like Colorado. The passage of this historic legislation reaffirms that Americans overwhelmingly support important measures like these to protect our families from gun violence.

Colorado is one of 17 states that introduced bills in 2013 to ban, or strengthen an existing ban, on large capacity ammunition magazines and one of 16 to introduce bills to require background checks for some or all private sales.

We are proud to have worked with activists in Colorado in support of this crucial legislation.

Want more? Check out the other recent success stories.

This is what we’ve been waiting for. President Obama outlined bold, courageous, and comprehensive steps to address the devastating gun violence that our communities face every single day – exactly what we asked of him.

Obama’s commitment today – to support federal legislation to fix our background check system and to ban military-style assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines – confirms that we are at a historic moment.

We commend President Obama’s swift and thorough executive actions and the outstanding leadership of Vice President Biden and his task force as essential first steps in addressing the epidemic of gun violence in America. We know that we have a long road ahead to achieve safer communities, and it’s going to take all of us to make real and lasting change. As the President said:

“This will not happen unless the American people demand it.”

That means all of us. President Obama has called on all of us to ask our members of Congress to support the president’s recommendations for real change. If they tell you that they don’t support these measures, ask them, “Why not?” Ask them, “What is more important than keeping our families safe?”

We are responsible for each other. The President and the White House have committed to do their part. It’s imperative that we each do ours.

Find your member of Congress now and make the call: http://bit.ly/myrepresentative

Today marks another dark anniversary in our country’s history. Two years ago, our nation mourned a horrific act in Tucson, Arizona – where a beloved congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, was shot in the head by a dangerously mentally ill man and barely survived. Six Americans in the crowd were killed and thirteen were gravely wounded alongside her. Since then, we, as a nation, have witnessed shooting after shooting – in our theatres, shopping malls, and houses of worship – yet have done next to nothing to stop them.

We cannot let this violence continue.

Gabby Giffords is not willing to stand by and do nothing. The horrific event that changed her life two years ago today has made her more resilient and determined than ever. Earlier today, she announced that she and her husband Mark Kelly will fight to find responsible solutions to the massive loss of life that we experience on a daily basis.

“We have experienced too much death and hurt to remain idle. Our response to the Newtown massacre must consist of more than regret, sorrow and condolence. The children of Sandy Hook Elementary School and all victims of gun violence deserve fellow citizens and leaders who have the will to prevent gun violence in the future.”

That means all of us. Help us thank Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly for their bravery and tenacity by joining them. Your voice is needed to tell your legislators that you support them and will continue to support them in the fight to end these tragedies.

Vice President Biden’s task force is in meetings this week to discuss the next steps. Please call your legislators and tell them that you want them to support the following smart and effective solutions to the end the bloodshed:

1) A background check with all gun sales
2) A ban on military-style assault weapons
3) A ban on large capacity ammunition magazines – some of which can hold 100 rounds of ammunition

Tell them that they must take action today – because the safety of our loved ones depends on it.

Find your legislators now and call: http://bit.ly/myrepresentative

Photo : Reuters

As Americans, we pride ourselves on our freedom to participate in the activities that make our communities rich and vibrant—to worship where we want, to see the movies that we want, to attend political rallies in supermarket parking lots if we so choose. But the fact is that we are not truly free to do any of these things, not when the very real specter of gun violence remains ever-present, threatening to take everything as we go about our lives.

With the nation still reeling from the mass shooting that left 70 people injured or killed in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, Americans were completely unprepared for another devastating tragedy just two weeks later. Six innocent people died and three were critically injured by Wade Michael Page at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Sunday, in another terrible reminder that gun violence can, and does, happen anywhere and at any time.

“You’re talking about Aurora one minute, and the next minute it’s you and your family,” [Kanwardeep Singh Kaleka, nephew of Sikh temple president Satwant Kaleka, who was killed in the shooting] said.

“I just never thought it would be at a temple, at a place of worship. I don’t want people to have to carry a gun at a place of worship,” said Kaleka, who added that he could have been at the temple during the attack, but for the fact he had stopped at a bank “randomly to make a deposit.”¹

Gun violence shatters families nationwide every day. Every single day, roughly 32 people are murdered by guns across the U.S., almost three times the number of people killed in Aurora and over five times the number killed in Oak Creek. We hear almost nothing about most of the shootings that occur in America. If the media covered all of them, stories of gun violence would regularly eclipse all other news.

The media coverage of Oak Creek, like Aurora, will pass, but the gun deaths will continue, every day, in different places all over the country. That won’t change unless we seriously address the causes of this crisis. Right now, dangerous people have easy access to military-style weapons. Until our national leaders confront this challenge head-on – with courage, not condolences – too many in our communities will continue to suffer.

Solutions to our national gun violence epidemic do exist. Smart laws – like those requiring background checks for every gun purchase and restricting access to assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines – can prevent future gun violence tragedies. When it comes to holding our legislators accountable, we shouldn’t demand anything less.

1. CNN Wire Staff, Police identify Army veteran as Wisconsin temple shooting gunman, Aug. 6, 2012. [↩]

Since the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012, where James Holmes killed 12 people and injured 58 more, many have expressed shock at the ease with which the gunman acquired his arsenal: a military-style assault rifle, a shotgun, two handguns, a 100-round ammunition magazine, and 6,000 rounds of ammunition.

While the shooter purchased his firearms legally at local gun stores, he ordered his ammunition cache – 3,000 rounds each of handgun and rifle ammunition and 350 shotgun shells, as well as the 100-round magazine – from online retailers over the course of several months prior to the shooting. This ammunition, which was also purchased legally, cost him around $3,000.¹

In the aftermath of the Aurora shooting, important questions are being asked about the availability of ammunition, both over the counter and online. While America’s federal gun laws are weak, laws regulating the sale of ammunition are virtually nonexistent. As the facts below reveal, it is far too easy for dangerous people – including convicted criminals – to acquire as much ammunition as they desire. Serious reforms are desperately needed.

Federal Laws Regulating Ammunition Sales Are Weak

Federal law prohibits convicted felons and other dangerous people from acquiring both guns and ammunition, but the laws otherwise treat guns and ammunition very differently. Under federal law, a prospective gun purchaser must pass a background check; no background check is required to buy ammunition. A firearms dealer must keep a record of the sale of a firearm that includes the purchaser’s information; no records are kept for the sale of ammunition.

READ MORE »

1. Jack Healy, Suspect Bought Large Stockpile of Rounds Online, N.Y. Times, July 26, 2012. [↩]

Did the federal ban on military-style assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines work? Data shows overwhelming support for the 1994 ban.¹²³

Last Friday’s horrific shooting in Colorado was a shocking reminder of the tremendous damage that can be done when military-style guns get into the wrong hands. The accessibility of assault weapons, in conjunction with large capacity ammunition magazines, enables lethality on a scale that is simply devastating. Today, only a small number of states regulate assault weapons and large capacity magazines. Because our porous borders allow guns to easily travel between states, even states that take steps to protect their communities from these weapons are vulnerable to them without a comprehensive federal law.

READ MORE »

1. Christopher S. Koper, An Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban: Impacts on GunMarkets and Gun Violence, 1994-2003, Report to the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice (June 2004) 49. [↩]
2. About the Project: The Hidden Life of Guns, Wash. Post, Jan. 22, 2011; David S. Fallis & James V. Grimaldi, Virginia data show drop in criminal firepower during assault gun ban, Wash. Post, Jan. 23, 2011. [↩]
3. Id. [↩]

The tragic shooting at a youth camp and bombing of a government building in Norway on July 22 left 77 people dead and many others wounded. There are no words to describe these shocking events, which devastated Norway and the world. Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence expresses our deep condolences to all those affected and our outrage at recent revelations that weak U.S. gun laws aided Anders Behring Breivik in preparing for these horrible acts. In his manifesto, the killer revealed that he had easily purchased ten 30-round ammunition magazines from a supplier in the United States. In the text, Breivik also expressed “envy” regarding the United States’ weak gun laws, compared with much stricter laws in Europe.

LCPGV’s analysis of large capacity ammunition magazines demonstrates that these magazines are the common thread uniting major mass shootings, including the Tucson massacre earlier this year, and shootings at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, and 101 California Street in San Francisco. LCPGV is steadfastly committed to supporting federal and state legislation prohibiting large capacity magazines, including H.R. 308 (McCarthy), which would ban these magazines nationwide. LCPGV was pleased to testify in support of SJR 7, a resolution urging Congress to enact H.R. 308, which was recently adopted by the California Legislature. We also strongly encourage you to sign our petition in support of H.R. 308.

As the Norway shootings sadly remind us, action remains desperately needed to strengthen U.S. gun laws and stop our gun violence epidemic.

Congresswoman McCarthy and gun violence prevention advocates at press conference introducing H.R. 308

After the tragic mass shooting in Tucson, which left six dead and thirteen wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, we must stand together to take common sense steps to prevent similar tragedies.

The Arizona shooter used a handgun equipped with a large capacity ammunition magazine capable of holding 33 bullets, which enabled him to cause so much devastation in a matter of moments. Only when the shooter finally had to reload were brave individuals able to tackle him and end the bloodshed.

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy has introduced H.R. 308, which would prohibit the possession or sale of large capacity ammunition magazines. Please join us by signing this petition in support of Congresswoman McCarthy’s legislation and forwarding the petition to anyone you know who would be willing to join this effort.

In response to the devastating mass shooting in Tucson earlier this month, which left six dead and thirteen wounded, Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy has introduced H.R. 308, which would ban large capacity ammunition magazines. Large capacity ammunition magazines are frequently used in mass shootings, including the tragedy in Tucson and those at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, and 101 California Street in San Francisco, because they enable a shooter to kill large numbers of people in a matter of seconds.

LCPGV needs your help to tell Washington how vital this legislation is to the prevention of future mass shootings. Here’s what you can do:

Sign our petition urging Congress to pass H.R. 308, Congresswoman McCarthy’s bill to ban large capacity ammunition magazines. Forward this e-mail to your friends and urge them to sign the petition as well!

Contact your U.S. Representative at (202) 224-3121 and encourage him or her to cosponsor H.R. 308. If you’re not sure who your Representative is, you can find that information at Govtrack.us.

Call President Obama at (202) 456-1111 and urge him to announce his support for H.R. 308.

Large capacity ammunition magazines have no place in civilian hands. As discussed in our updated policy summary, large capacity magazines were banned under a now-expired federal law, and are now only prohibited in California and five other states. Act now to stop the sale of these magazines and help prevent future tragedies!