Free Republic

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law on Tuesday a sweeping package of gun control measures, significantly expanding a ban on assault weapons and making New York the first state to change its laws in response to the mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school. Mr. Cuomo signed the bill less than an hour after the State Assembly approved the legislation on a 104-to-43 vote. The State Senate approved the measure, 43 to 18, on Monday night. The expanded ban on assault weapons broadens the definition of such weapons, banning semiautomatic pistols and rifles with detachable magazines and...

The city of St. Paul doesn’t have direct say over statewide gun laws, but that isn’t stopping city council members from calling for more gun control. At the Wednesday, Jan. 2 council meeting, they amended their annual request to lawmakers to include a crackdown on semi-automatic weapons and high capacity magazines. They join a chorus of municipal bodies, politicians and Hollywood celebrities clamoring for tighter gun laws in the wake of the horrific school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut. Here’s a look at six proposals being mulled across the country. Some gun enthusiasts are dubious that a ban on semi-automatics would...

After Hungerford, the British government banned semiautomatic rifles and brought shotguns—the last type of firearm that could be purchased with a simple show of fitness—under controls similar to those in place for pistols and rifles. Magazines were limited to two shells with a third in the chamber. Dunblane had a more dramatic impact. Hamilton had a firearm certificate, although according to the rules he should not have been granted one. A media frenzy coupled with an emotional campaign by parents of Dunblane resulted in the Firearms Act of 1998, which instituted a nearly complete ban on handguns. Owners of pistols...

Alongside a slew of Hollywood celebrities, mayors such as New York’s Michael Bloomberg, Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel and St. Paul’s own Chris Coleman are calling for more gun control and taking the NRA to task for calling for armed guards in every school. Coleman, a vice president of the National League of Cities, released the following statement on the Newtown, Conn. tragedy on Friday, Dec. 21. "On the day when we’re still burying children killed in Newtown, CT, the NRA has the audacity to say the answer is more guns and more violence that exposes our children to unprecedented dangers. As...

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers from both parties voiced their willingness Sunday to pursue some changes to the nation's gun laws, but adamant opposition from the National Rifle Association has made clear than any such effort will face significant obstacles. NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre dismissed efforts to revive a ban on assault weapons as a "phony piece of legislation" that's built on lies. Democratic lawmakers in Congress have become more adamant about the need for stricter gun laws since the shooting of 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California is promising to push...