Crime Sep 30, 2013

Fear still rules the lives of Newtown survivors

by John Christoffersen

A few nights after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, David Posey heard a strange noise in his house and went upstairs to check on his son. The little boy, who had just seen his teacher and a first-grade classmate gunned down, was ...

World Sep 22, 2013

Gun-violence victims often greeted by silence

by Eli Saslow

The survivors took their places onstage from memory, because by now they knew exactly where to go. The shooting victims in wheelchairs entered first, rolling into the front row, wearing bracelets engraved with the words “Aurora,” “Oak Creek” or “Virginia Tech.” Behind them stood ...

World Jul 7, 2013

Giffords tries gentler touch on guns

by Philip Rucker

It was day two of Gabrielle Giffords’ whirlwind nationwide tour to revive the push for tougher gun laws. The former congresswoman’s husband, Mark Kelly, woke up early, placed his black case of firearms into the car trunk and raced across a vast stretch of ...

Crime Jun 17, 2013

After Newtown shooting, mourning parents enter into the lonely quiet

by Eli Saslow

They had promised to try everything, so Mark Barden went down into the basement to begin another project in memory of Daniel. The families of Sandy Hook Elementary were collaborating on a Mother’s Day card, which would be produced by a marketing firm and ...

Politics & Diplomacy Apr 11, 2013

Senators reach deal on U.S. gun checks

Senators strike a compromise that could expand U.S. background checks to all commercial firearms sales, which may result in the most ambitious change to gun laws since 1994.

Politics & Diplomacy 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 ...

Politics & Diplomacy Apr 5, 2013

Maryland House passes firearm bill

The Maryland House of Delegates passed what would be among the most restrictive U.S. gun-control measures Wednesday, voting to ratchet up the state’s already tough rules by requiring fingerprinting of gun buyers, new limits on firearm purchases by the mentally ill, and bans on ...

Politics & Diplomacy Mar 21, 2013

Gun-control plans weaken in U.S. Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Tuesday declared politically dead the effort to ban military-style assault weapons, a setback for President Barack Obama and gun-control advocates who are pushing the Senate to move quickly on bills to limit gun violence. Reid is preparing to ...

Crime Feb 25, 2013

North Dakota activist goes against the grain of her state's gun culture

by Stephanie Mccrummen

One recent afternoon, Susan Beehler, who may be the only gun-control advocate in all of North Dakota, walked into VFW Post 762, a dimly lit, wood-paneled bar in downtown Fargo. It was, perhaps, the gun-friendliest place in one of the gun-friendliest states in America; ...

Crime Feb 18, 2013

Ad agency has NRA's back with hard-hitting PR

by Peter Finn and Sari Horwitz

“Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” the deep and dramatic-sounding voice intoned. “Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?” When the National Rifle Association aired its ...

Crime Feb 1, 2013

Antigun advocates tackle law shielding arms makers

by Tom Hamburger

A legal shield written by Congress to benefit the firearms industry is posing unexpected hurdles for parents in Newtown, Connecticut, and victims of other mass shootings who want to use the courts to hold gun makers accountable and push them to adopt stricter safety ...