The rifleman: behind assault weapons' rise

May 20, 2013

The rifleman: behind assault weapons' rise

by Tom Hamburger and Sari Horwitz

Rene Carlos Vos, an arms dealer in Alexandria, Virginia, began hanging around the Washington headquarters of the National Rifle Association in the mid-1980s. The NRA’s staff were intrigued to see the garrulous, back-slapping Vos in the group’s seventh-floor suite, home to its lobbying operation ...

19 hurt in Mother's Day shooting in New Orleans

May 13, 2013

19 hurt in Mother's Day shooting in New Orleans

Gunmen opened fire on dozens of people marching in a Mother’s Day neighborhood parade in New Orleans on Sunday, wounding at least 19, including two children, police said. FBI spokeswoman Mary Beth Romig said federal investigators have no indication that the shooting was an ...

May 8, 2013

Handgun made with 3-D printer passes test

Computer files to create a handgun almost entirely from parts made with a 3-D printer went online Monday, alarming gun control advocates after it was successfully test-fired by its inventor. The single-shot .380-caliber Liberator bears a vague resemblance to its namesake, the FP-45 Liberator ...

May 8, 2013

TSA confiscates 25 guns from fliers in a week

Twenty-five would-be fliers learned an expensive lesson at the nation’s airports last week: It’s not a good idea to pack a gun in your carry-on bag. In addition to 25 handguns — 21 of them loaded and six with a chambered round — the ...

5-year-old Kentucky boy kills sister with 'My First Rifle'

May 4, 2013

5-year-old Kentucky boy kills sister with 'My First Rifle'

The accidental shooting death of a 2-year-old at the hands of her 5-year-old brother has revived the perennial gun debate in the United States, where weapons are made just for kids. The .22 caliber rifle used in Tuesday’s tragedy is marketed by Crickett to ...

Obama's defeat on guns imperils his entire agenda

| Apr 20, 2013

Obama's defeat on guns imperils his entire agenda

By killing gun reform, the U.S. Senate did more than deal a painfully personal defeat to Barack Obama — it raised questions about the still-ambitious president’s entire second-term agenda. So far, Obama’s thumping November election win has produced little of legislative substance, other than ...

Apr 20, 2013

Opponents of firearms vow to focus pressure

Advocates of stricter gun laws vowed Thursday to be louder and more passionate in the weeks and months ahead than gun-rights activists, who helped quash proposals to reduce gun violence this week that were widely popular among the public. Working with a committed White ...

Gun rights lobby pushes weaker bill

Apr 14, 2013

Gun rights lobby pushes weaker bill

As the U.S. Senate prepares to begin debate this week on the biggest gun-control bill in nearly two decades, the gun rights lobby and its Senate allies are working on a series of amendments that have the potential to do the opposite — loosening ...

Philippines awash in illegal firearms

Apr 12, 2013

Philippines awash in illegal firearms

Bespectacled and clean-shaven, 37-year-old Jomari Paraas could pass for a typical office employee in the Philippines — except he has six guns in his backpack that he will soon sell. The father of two is a prolific player in the country’s enormous and lucrative ...

Prospects for deal on U.S. gun law improve

Apr 9, 2013

Prospects for deal on U.S. gun law improve

Prospects for a bipartisan deal to expand federal background checks for gun purchases are improving with the emergence of fresh Republican support, according to top Senate aides. The possibility that after weeks of stalled negotiations senators might be on the cusp of a breakthrough ...