Gun Control

WASHINGTON--The White House turned over the president's weekly address to a stand-in Saturday, airing on its website gripping video of Francine Wheeler talking about the life and death of her 6-year-old son, Ben , shot in his classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. "Sometimes, I close my eyes and all I can remember is that awful day waiting at the Sandy Hook Volunteer Firehouse for the boy who would never come home,” Wheeler says, struggling to talk without sobbing as her husband sits next to her, silent, clutching a tissue.

Re "Senate agreement propels gun bill," April 10, and "Obama makes appeal for gun reform," April 9 The Republicans in the Senate who promised to filibuster any proposed new gun control legislation before backing down this week apparently have no shame and have lost all sense of right and wrong. Republicans' egregious overuse of the filibuster in recent years seems to have led them to believe that this is just business as usual. I personally question the intelligence or motivation of anyone who is against the common-sense and critically needed gun control measures that have been proposed, but for those who promised to filibuster, I also question their hearts.

WASHINGTON - In a lopsided vote, the Senate launched a debate Thursday over the most significant gun legislation in more than a decade, setting up a contest that could last weeks between reinvigorated advocates for stricter laws and conservatives who oppose them as a violation of the 2nd Amendment. The bipartisan 68-31 vote, which saw 16 Republicans join 52 Democrats and independents to begin consideration of gun legislation, was a setback for gun rights advocates who had threatened to block it. The bill includes provisions to spend more on school security and to increase penalties for selling guns to felons and others banned from ownership.

Four months after 20 children were gunned down in Newtown, Conn., families of the dead are pleading with members of Congress to make it harder for criminals and the mentally disturbed to obtain firearms. That will happen only if a sufficient number of Republicans are willing to abandon their subservience to the National Rife Assn. and approve common-sense legislation supported by a majority of Americans. With a Senate vote likely this week on gun legislation proposed by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

As I've noted before, in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in  December, most Times readers who write letters on gun control favor strong action by Congress. But the coincidence this week of a mass knife attack in Texas and a compromise in the Senate on expanded background checks for firearms buyers has emboldened pro-gun rights readers. Their point: Passing a law that in any way restricts the sale of guns to Americans (via background checks, waiting periods or any other "infringement")

WASHINGTON - The Senate moved to begin long-anticipated deliberations Thursday over new gun laws as Republicans appeared to lack the strength to block the debate and bipartisan talks over expanding background checks on gun buyers appeared to have led to a deal. Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), who have been negotiating a compromise on background checks, scheduled a joint announcement for Wednesday morning at the Capitol. The gun bill has been taking shape since 20 first-graders and six staff members died almost four months ago in a fusillade of 154 bullets at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

WASHINGTON -- Family members of Sandy Hook shooting victims are bewildered that Congress is still struggling to pass stricter gun laws, Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday afternoon. Speaking to a room full of police in uniform at a White House event, Biden bluntly described the opposition that gun measures face. He blamed “the black helicopter crowd” for stirring up fears that the government wants to “swoop down” and seize everyone's guns. That opposition has stalled action, Biden said, frustrating the families of victims.

WASHINGTON - Negotiations on the centerpiece element of new gun control legislation appeared on the verge of a breakthrough Tuesday evening, with key lawmakers saying a final deal on expanding background checks for gun purchases could be reached Wednesday. “We're not there yet. We're closer than we've ever been,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, as he stood with Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) after the two emerged from a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

WASHINGTON - The Senate moved Tuesday to begin long-anticipated deliberations this week over new gun laws as Republicans appeared to lack the strength to block the debate and bipartisan talks over expanding background checks on gun buyers appeared to have led to a deal. Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), who have been negotiating a compromise on background checks, scheduled a joint announcement for Wednesday morning at the Capitol. Talks are expected to begin Thursday.