Free Republic

Democrats in Virginia have a clear path to passing a slate of anti-gun legislation, thanks in large part to Everytown for Gun Safety’s $2.5 million investment in 22 competitive races. The results of yesterday’s election gave Democrats majorities in both the House and the Senate, and Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has indicated a willingness to sign whatever gun control bills the legislature cooks up. “Tonight, the ground has shifted in Virginia government. The voters have spoken, and they have elected landmark Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House of Delegates,” Northam said in a statement. “[Voters] want us...

Following the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris climate accords, Michael Bloomberg is coordinating a group of American governors, mayors, universities and businesses that remain committed to fulfilling the United States’ obligations under the deal. The media mogul and former New York City mayor also pledged 15 million to the United Nations’ efforts against climate change on Thursday. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that the U.S. will withdraw from the landmark 2015 agreement to fight climate change, signed by every country except Syria and Nicaragua. Trump said the U.S.’s obligations under the accord hurt American business, and that it...

We told you last week about New Mexico’s House Bill 50, which criminalizes most private firearm transfers by law-abiding gun owners. Late last week, an even more restrictive committee substitute of the Bloomberg-backed measure passed the House Judiciary Committee and is headed to a vote by the full House. The substitute bill actually erases many of the confusing exceptions from the earlier version and simply requires that any transfer or loan of a firearm lasting more than five days be conducted with a federal background check. In the case of a loan, when the gun is returned, another background check...

The FBI this month released the 2014 edition of Crime in the United States , and it revealed that the estimated number of reported violent crimes decreased 0.2 percent when compared with 2013. And the estimated number of property crimes decreased 4.3 percent from 2013 levels. Homicides with firearms in 2014 were down 3.9 percent on a year-over-year basis. Consistent with previous years of this ongoing work, the vast majority of these murders were committed with handguns, although all categories of gun murders were lower. Rifles of all kinds were involved in just 3 percent of gun murders in 2014,...

President Obama vowed on Tuesday night to pursue gun control “with or without Congress.” In his State of the Union address, Obama referenced recent mass shootings and called for new gun laws. In the aftermath of mass shootings over the last several years, Obama and Democrats have unsuccessfully pushed for new gun control measures. “Citizenship means standing up for the lives that gun violence steals from us each day,” Obama said.