Movement Roundup

A Republican senator introduced bipartisan gun background check legislation on Wednesday that would make it harder for mentally ill people who are considered to be dangerous to buy a firearm. The legislation proposed by Lindsey Graham would require reporting of certain mental illness treatments and legal proceedings to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the clearinghouse for all new gun purchases. Those cases would include anyone found not guilty... [Reuters, via GunPolicy.org]

Some of the gun lobby's strongest allies are breaking with the National Rifle Association to support proposals that would expand background checks for private firearm sales. In behind-the-scenes talks with congressional staff members and others, gunmakers, dealers and other Second Amendment advocates have offered support for more instant criminal background checks, buoying the hopes of gun-control supporters, including President Obama, who has put a top priority on... [Washington Post, via GunPolicy.org]

WASHINGTON - As the images of 20 first-graders massacred in Connecticut, of the horrific attack on former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Arizona, of the slaughter of movie-goers in Aurora, Colo., and of numerous other mass killings in the United States fade in the national memory, the fervor to restrict access to some types of weapons and magazines appears to be abating. The debate on gun control itself has largely been subsumed in recent weeks by concern over... [United Press International, via GunPolicy.org]

As the gun debate around automatic rifles continues in the United States, one company has decided to combat possible legislation by designing a gun that can be made at home. The design uses 3D printers and is being made available online for free. Anti-gun advocates are worried about the future of gun... [BBC News, Video, via GunPolicy.org]

Dr. William Begg wiped away tears as he pleaded with Congress on Wednesday to help rescind laws that limit medical research into gun deaths and that restrict doctors from asking patients about guns in their homes. Begg's testimony highlighted a growing battle between some doctors and some gun advocates over whether federal health dollars should be spent on research into gun violence, and on whether doctors should counsel their patients about gun safety. Medical groups... [NBC News (USA), via GunPolicy.org]

Three dozen arms control and human rights groups have written to U.S. President Barack Obama ahead of new arms-trade negotiations at the United Nations next month, urging him to back a tough treaty that would end loopholes in international weapons sales. Arms control campaigners say one person every minute dies worldwide as a result of armed violence and a convention is needed to prevent the unregulated and illicit flow of weapons into conflict zones and fueling wars... [Reuters, via GunPolicy.org]

Multiple mass shootings by deranged young men have made keeping firearms out of the hands of mentally ill people a big part of the gun debate. Given the enormity of those crimes, that is understandable. Federal law does, in fact, prohibit gun ownership by mentally ill people if a judge has found them to be dangerous or they have been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. President Obama has also issued executive orders to ensure that federal background checks... [New York Times, Editorial, via GunPolicy.org]

ATLANTA - A growing number of firearms firms in the United States are vowing to reverse-boycott local and state governments that enact any new infringements on the Second Amendment. Vowing to close what they're calling "the police loophole," at least 50 US companies, ranging from gun machinists to gun shops, are now saying publicly they'll refuse to sell weapons and gear to police in places where governments have banned the use of the same gear by civilians. Quality... [Christian Science Monitor, via GunPolicy.org]

Using new data from the FBI, Mayors Against Illegal Guns updated its comprehensive study of mass shootings. The 25 percent increase in incidents — to a total of 56 over the last four years, more than one per month — strengthens its conclusions about where mass shootings occur, what weapons are used, and what other factors are at play: - Less than 1% of gun murder victims were killed as part of incidents with four or more victims. - In at least 57 percent of the... [Demand a Plan / Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Blog, via GunPolicy.org]

Gov. Jack Markell and Attorney General Beau Biden laid out details Wednesday of the first of several gun control proposals, and offered a concession on another with public opposition mounting. Flanked by photos of assault-style rifles they're seeking to ban, Markell, Biden and Lt. Gov. Matt Denn gathered with law enforcement officials at Delaware State Police Troop 2 in Glasgow to promote a measure that would require mandatory reporting of lost and stolen... [Delaware Online, via GunPolicy.org]