Some months back, four-year old Bryson Mees-Hernandez (that’s him, to the left) found a gun in his grandmother’s house in Houston and shot and killed himself. Bryson acted like a typical youngster. He found something new and interesting and played with it. What his grandmother did—allow a firearm to lay unlocked out in the open—was […]
Quick access to guns is killing our kids Read Post »
Hillary Clinton made clear in the first Democratic Party presidential debate that she’s ready to take on the NRA. “This has gone on too long, and it’s time the entire country stood up against the NRA,” she declared. If you believe the level of gun violence in America is unacceptable, this was music to your ears.
Hillary wrong to take on NRA Read Post »
Last month I wrote about kids being killed by guns. To give the issue a little more meaning, let’s look at three cases that were covered by the Columbus Dispatch and the Cincinnati Enquirer in the last three months. June 5: a 14-year old boy in Hamilton, Ohio, died from a gunshot to the head.
Accidental gun deaths–other perspectives Read Post »
Can a municipality ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines without running afoul of the Second Amendment? The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia says yes. What about registration requirements for hand guns and rifles and a mandatory safety course? Are they constitutional? The U.S. District Court (a trial court) for the District
Second amendment litigation continues, and 26 attorneys general take a peculiar position Read Post »
Let’s have a quiz. Who is the U.S. Surgeon General? (a) Vivek Murthy, (b) Boris D. Lushniak, (c) Everett Koop, or (d) none of these people. The answer is (d), though you should feel good if you selected Boris D. Lushniak, who is the “acting” Surgeon General. Vivek Murthy should be the Surgeon General, but the Senate won’t confirm
Who controls the U.S. Surgeon General’s office? Read Post »
Ever wonder why we study highway collisions, smoking and HIV/AIDS for the purpose of reducing risk but don’t do the same for gun-related fatalities? It’s because the National Rifle Association purposefully works to suppress such research. The NRA will likely lobby against the $10 million proposed by President Barack Obama in his 2014 budget to
The NRA suppresses studies on gun violence Read Post »
What do the Great Oz and the National Rifle Association have in common? Both make a lot of noise and try to intimidate anybody who questions them, but unlike the Great Oz, the NRA has real power. State Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, articulated the NRA’s position in June 2012: “Our Second Amendment rights have been
NRA has lost its way Read Post »
Are gun advocates right when they say they have a constitutional right to carry assault weapons such as the AR-15 and large capacity clips? Recent court decisions suggest not. Until the U.S. Supreme Court reviewed in 2008 a handgun ban in District of Columbia v. Heller, it was unclear whether the Second Amendment was a
Do people have the right to own any semiautomatic rifle, magazine size? Maybe not Read Post »
On July 30, state Sen. Kris Jordan, R-Dist. 19, introduced Sen. Bill 165, which would prohibit physicians from asking patients questions about whether there are guns in their home. What do guns have to do with a person’s health, and why should physicians care whether their patients have guns? Pediatricians ask these questions because guns
Doctors must be able to ask about guns Read Post »