Friday, January 18, 2013
President Barack Obama's proposals for new gun control measures have everyone talking. But do you know how many of your neighbors might be armed?
In the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, President Barack Obama has made several new proposals for increased gun control. That got us thinking. How many Reading and North Reading residents have a gun license? The answer: 706 in Reading and 960 in North Reading, if you're talking about the most common type of gun license. In bureaucratic-speak, that's the "Resident Class A Large Capacity License to Carry Firearms." According to the Globe, it's the only Massachusetts license that lets individuals carry a concealed weapon and own any type of legal gun. To put that 706 person figure in context, Reading's population is 24,747 according to the 2010 Census, and North Reading has 960 gun permits with a population of 14,892 according …
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Gov. Deval Patrick unveiled legislation on Wednesday that would tighten gun control laws in Massachusetts while increasing funding for mental health services and enhance background checks. Is this sensible, or reactionary?
Are new proposed laws regarding guns in Massachusetts and mental health services sensible and pragmatic steps, or reactionary measures that won't increase safety? Gov. Deval Patrick introduced new legislation Wednesday along those lines in the wake of the school shootings in Newtown, CT. "I am encouraged by the palpable consensus in our Legislature that the time for action is now. All of us must pull in the same direction to bring about real change in this state and across the country," Patrick said in a press release. The bill would require gun purchasers to undergo background checks at gun shows, reduce access to high-powered rounds of ammunition, and limit licensed individuals to purchasing a maximum of one gun per month. Punishments …
Monday, December 10, 2012
A Massachusetts gun owners group is lobbying for passage of a bill that would confer lifetime gun licenses—no renewals necessary.
Way too much red tape. That's the complaint of the Gun Owners’ Action League of Massachusetts, a group that is urging passage of a law that would abolish the requirement of having to renew a gun permit every six years, according to the Boston Herald. For comparison, Massachusetts vehicle drivers' licenses need to be renewed every five years. But the league says local police cannot keep up with timely gun permit renewals, and legitimate gunowners go license-less until the cops get time to do the paperwork. The law now allows 40 days for turning around license applications. In Boston, almost 1,000 people have applied for gun permits so far this year, with waits running about 10 weeks, the Herald quotes police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca as …
Janine Largent
12:56 pm on Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Michael, I the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy the appropriate response should be grief. Sadly, as so often occurs in situations like this the human need to grieve turns to anger and a call for action. The call for action comes from concerned citizens; parents with young children in schools who want some guarantee of safety for their children and sadly, often times, from politicians who seek to … more ›