For more than three decades, California has banned certain types of semiautomatic rifles including the AR-15 under an "assault weapons" ban. On Friday, a federal judge threw out the ban, ruling that it violates the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Read More
Openly carrying guns and other weapons are now prohibited at the Washington state Capitol and public protests statewide, under a measure signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jay Inslee.Read More
Two competing guns-in-schools bills will not get a hearing in the waning days of Idaho's 2021 legislative session. They've been in the Legislature for months, but the timing ran out following a shooting this week in Rigby, Idaho, where a sixth grade student shot two other students and a school staff member.Read More
People would be prohibited from openly carrying guns and other weapons at the Capitol and surrounding grounds and at or near permitted public demonstrations across the state under a measure approved Tuesday by the Washington Legislature.Read More
Declaring U.S gun violence an "epidemic" and "an international embarrassment," President Biden outlined actions to regulate certain firearms and to try to prevent gun violence after a spate of mass shootings in recent weeks and pressure from advocates.Read More
Following a year of frequent armed protests, some of which turned violent, the Washington Senate voted Thursday to ban the open carry of firearms at the state Capitol and within 250 feet of permitted demonstrations anywhere in the state.Read More
In the past year, insurrectionists have breached the U.S. Capitol and armed protesters have forced their way into statehouses around the country. But the question of whether guns should be allowed in capitol buildings remains political, and states are going in opposite directions.Read More
The open carry of guns and other weapons would be banned on the Capitol campus and at or near any public demonstration across Washington under a measure that received a remote public hearing Tuesday, with proponents calling it a common-sense measure amid heightened political divisions and opponents arguing it would infringe on constitutional gun rights.Read More
The National Rifle Association filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Texas on Friday as its current home, New York, pursues a fraud case against the organization. The NRA was founded in New York in 1871 and has since presented itself as a defender of Second Amendment rights. The NRA attributes the move to Texas to a "corrupt political and regulatory environment" in New York.Read More
When he applied to be a police officer 10 years ago, Loren Culp was 49. He had no experience in law enforcement, but said the job would fulfill a childhood dream. Six years later, the former construction business owner was promoted to police chief in Republic, a town of 1,100 people in northeastern Washington. In that role, Culp has managed a department that, at its peak, Read More
Josh Powell left the group facing claims of sexual harassment and improper spending. In Inside the NRA, he calls for gun reforms — and confirms the harshest criticisms against the group.Read More
The court on Friday rules that the state's "near-categorical ban of [the magazines] infringes on the fundamental right to self-defense." The decision is a blow to gun control activists. Read More
As anti-racism protests continue, people with guns are now coming to them. Rampant rumors of antifa violence draw some; others say they are protecting protesters.Read More
The CEO of the National Rifle Association says legal troubles have cost the powerful gun rights group $100 million, according to a recording of the group's board meeting obtained by NPR.Read More
Many gun dealers say they are seeing a number of first-time buyers. Long-time gun owners from across the U.S. are helping the newcomers learn to handle firearms safely in a time of social distancing.Read More
Governors and mayors in some parts of the country are requiring them to close like many other businesses. Other officials are letting gun sales continue. Gun rights groups are on the defensive. Read More
A gun ban at a popular music festival in North Idaho is splitting the community, leading to a lawsuit between Bonner County and its largest town, Sandpoint. Read More
State Rep. Tana Senn of Mercer Island said she filed her bill Monday, just days before a key cut-off deadline, after witnessing what she described as an "unsafe work environment" at the Capitol last Friday. Read More
Despite a push by Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a ban on so-called “assault weapons” appears unlikely to pass the Washington Legislature this year.Read More
A gun rally in Virginia on Monday drew thousands of people and national attention. But guns were also on the agenda at the Washington state Capitol following a smaller pro-gun rally in Olympia on Friday. Read More
Washington state Rep. Matt Shea, a Spokane Valley Republican, has been accused of participating in an act of domestic terrorism prompting top elected officials to call on him to resign. But Friday, Shea found strong support at a gun rights rally at the state Capitol. Read More
When Washington lawmakers convene a short, election year session on Monday, Jan. 13 they’ll confront a range of issues from homelessness to gun control to whether to expel state Rep. Matt Shea.Read More
Every Jan. 1, states across the country implement new laws. Some groundbreaking new laws address Internet user privacy and the classification of contract workers in California, for example.Read More
With Justice Brett Kavanaugh replacing Anthony Kennedy, a clear conservative majority could make regulating guns very difficult.Read More
The gun-maker had appealed to the highest federal court after the Connecticut Supreme Court allowed the lawsuit over the 2012 school massacre in Newtown, Conn., to go forward in March.Read More
The overall percentage of Americans who support tougher gun laws is on the rise, even as the partisan divide remains stark, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Read More
Democrats and Republicans agree that Congress should tighten gun laws by passing universal background checks and red flag laws, and require gun licenses as well as increase funding for mental health.Read More
Tucked away in the northwest corner of Wyoming is one of the largest gun collections in the world: The Cody Firearms Museum. But it's recently gotten a makeover, moving away away from being a monument to guns and toward being an educational space on gun safety, history and culture.Read More
Strong majorities of Americans from across the political spectrum support laws that allow family members or law enforcement to petition a judge to temporarily remove guns from a person who is seen to be a risk to themselves or others, according to a new APM Research Lab/Guns & America/Call To Mind survey.Read More
To secure enough votes in 1994, the ban's sponsors in Congress accepted a "sunset provision" — meaning it would last 10 years but need to be reauthorized. Politics in the U.S. changed.Read More
Idaho law says no city or county can stop people from carrying guns on public property. Idaho Second Amendment Alliance President Greg Pruett pointed that out to Canyon County Fair officials last month, when they tried to bar him from carrying a gun into the fairgrounds.Read More
There may be a connection between tougher gun laws and fewer child fatalities from firearms, a new study suggested Monday. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, says states with universal background checks report fewer children’s deaths due to gun incidents. However, more data is needed to understand the relationship between firearms and public health, and to Read More
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre announced NRATV will stop production. A top lobbyist for the group also stepped down and allegations persist of financial misconduct.Read More
In 2013, eight Oregon sheriffs sent letters to the Obama administration saying they wouldn’t enforce new federal gun laws. Two years later, the state legislature passed a bill requiring background checks for private gun sales. And again, Oregon sheriffs dug in. So it was already a well-worn path when sheriffs in Washington and Colorado started making similar assertions Read More
Anyone selling or owning bump stocks could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. The devices are now classified as machine guns.Read More
Gun companies have rarely been held liable for crimes committed with their products. This lawsuit could mark a new front in the battle over gun regulations and corporate accountability.Read More
There is perhaps no more beloved gun in the country than the AR. Dubbed “America’s Rifle” by the NRA, it’s inexpensive, easy to use, deadly accurate and, perhaps most importantly, customizable.Read More
In November 2018, Washington voters approved a package of firearms restrictions, generally called I-1639. It raises the minimum age for buying semi-automatic rifles, tightens background checks and makes it a crime to fail to store a gun safely, if the gun ends up in the wrong hands. The restrictions have raised the ire of some county sheriffs.Read More
With the threat of right-wing violence on the rise, some activists on the left are taking a page out of the 1960s civil rights movement: armed self-defense. Read More
Lawmakers may not have raised the minimum age to buy semiautomatic rifles in 2018, but voters did — 59 percent of them, in fact, approving Initiative 1639 in November.Read More
A 2017 law that requires Washington gun dealers to report when someone tries to buy a firearm and fails a background check has resulted in at least 10 arrests and two convictions so far, according to a report by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.Read More
In the year since the 48-year-old was nearly killed in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Chris Gilman has had to get used to living with fear: She has nightmares about family members getting shot, she only sits in spots in restaurants where she can see the exits, and she has to mentally prepare herself for movies that might include rapid gunfire.Read More
Backers of a proposed gun-control initiative in Washington plan to deliver their final batch of petitions July 6th to the Secretary of State. Read More
The Oregon Supreme Court announced June 27 it would not certify ballot language for Initiative Petition 43, a proposed ban on military-style semi-automatic weapons in Oregon. Instead, the court referred draft ballot language back to Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum for revision, finding substantial flaws in her office’s last attempt.Read More
The Trump administration's school safety commission held its first public listening session June 6, a day after the panel's chair, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the commission wouldn't focus on guns. DeVos didn't attend the listening session. She was in Switzerland.Read More
At least 2,600 school walkouts were planned across the country, starting at 10 a.m. in each time zone.Read More
The capitol grounds in Salem and Olympia will offer a colorful juxtaposition of political movements Saturday. Marches for Science are scheduled in 10 Northwest cities. These roughly coincide with separate pro-gun rallies at the state capitals.Read More
Massive crowds descended upon Washington, D.C., and across the nation Saturday to march for gun control in the U.S., galvanized by the deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., last month.Read More
People from across the Northwest in Yakima, Richland / Tri Cities, Seattle, Salem, Tacoma, Moscow, Idaho, Olympia, Portland, Eugene, Spokane, and elsewhere in the Northwest joined the nationwide March For Our Lives against gun violence on Saturday, March 24.Read More
Grocery and general retail company Fred Meyer will stop selling guns and ammunition. The Portland-based chain in a statement Friday said it made the decision after evaluating customer preferences. The company has more than 130 stores in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.Read More