Tag Archives: gun control

Protesters demonstrate in the Not One More rally for gun legislation, held at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Feb. 17, 2018. Since Wednesday, when a gunman killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., teenage voices have resonated where those of longtime politicians have largely fallen flat. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)

What if Our Schools Are Actually Safer, and School Shootings Aren’t Actually More Common?

- February 27, 2018 - ,

What if Our Schools Are Actually Safer, and School Shootings Aren’t Actually More Common?

- February 27, 2018 - ,

One point I’ve been trying to make in the debate which erupted after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, is that America is actually a far less violent country than it was a generation ago. The public perception driven by myopic and sensationalist media coverage is that violent crime, and gun violence specifically, is on…

President Donald Trump participates in a discussion that included survivors of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, at the White House in Washington, Feb. 21, 2018. “We’re going to do something about this horrible situation,” Trump said at the event's outset, adding that his administration would be “very strong on background checks.” (Tom Brenner/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

Trump’s Call to Arm Teachers Is Kind of Dumb

- February 22, 2018 - ,

Pressed for a solution to mass shootings, President Donald Trump has said he’d like to see armed teachers in our schools. Which is kind of dumb. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against guns in schools. Making our nation’s K-12 schools and campuses “gun free zones” don’t make them safer. They make them targets. I’d…

Podcast: Congressman Cramer Says “I Love the NRA”

- February 21, 2018 - ,

The podcast for today’s radio show is available. If you’d like the audio delivered to your devices daily, click here and subscribe. Congressman Kevin Cramer joined me for his weekly open phones segment. Not surprisingly, he got some questions about gun control and the NRA. “Yeah I actually am,” he said in response to one…

Protesters demonstrate in the Not One More rally for gun legislation, held at the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Feb. 17, 2018. Since Wednesday, when a gunman killed 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., teenage voices have resonated where those of longtime politicians have largely fallen flat. (Saul Martinez/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

The Argument for Gun Control Is Myopic and Shallow

- February 19, 2018 - ,

Over the weekend the Fargo Forum published an editorial calling for the reinstatement of an assault weapons ban that was as shallow as it was myopic. “There is no legitimate civilian use for guns like the AR-15,” the paper writes. There are millions upon millions of Americans who own AR-15 rifles, and equivalent firearms, who might…

Lavinia Zapata embraces her son, Jorge, after a mass shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 14, 2018. At least 17 people were killed Wednesday at this school about an hour northwest of Miami, law enforcement officials said. A suspect, a former student, is in custody. (Saul Martinez/Copyright 2018 The New York Times)

The Mass Shooting as a Medium for Extremists and the Disaffected

- February 15, 2018 - ,

Yesterday all too familiar news broke about another mass shooting. This time at a high school in Florida. This morning the alleged shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. We may learn more in the coming weeks about why Cruz did this. It’s unlikely, given that he’s still alive,…

A wall of Bushmaster AR-15 223's is seen Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, at Bill’s Gun Shop & Range in north Fargo. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor

Blaming Guns for Suicides Does a Disservice to Suicide Prevention Efforts

- October 11, 2017 - ,

My last Sunday print column suggested that we could save more lives in America with better suicide prevention efforts than with tougher gun control policy. To support this contention, I pointed out that most deaths in America resulting from a gun shot wound are self inflicted. In any given year, about 60 percent to 70…

Senator Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) speaks at a news conference with a bipartisan group of senators on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., to unveil a compromise proposal on gun control measures, June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

When It Comes to Gun Control Heidi Heitkamp Says Guilty Until Proven Innocent

- June 22, 2016 - ,

The Senate is expected to vote later this week on a gun control measure backed by, and apparently lobbied for, North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp. “We need to reach a bipartisan compromise that truly aims to address the issue of keeping guns out of the hands of potential terrorists, while protecting Americans’ constitutional rights,” Heitkamp…

barack obama gun control

Congress Voting Down Gun Control Is Not License For The President To Do Whatever He Wants

- January 13, 2016 - ,

There’s a letter to the editor in the Jamestown Sun today responding to my recent newspaper column about President Barack Obama’s actions on gun control (read it here in the Grand Forks Herald). In my column I argued that the policy overreach of the executive branch – up to and including Obama’s actions on gun control – promote…

gun confiscation

Gun Confiscation Is Hardly A Conspiracy Theory When The President Has Praised Gun Confiscation

- January 8, 2016 - ,

Yesterday President Barack Obama was part of a town hall on guns and gun violence hosted by CNN. One of the questions – from Mark Kelly, husband to former Congresswoman Gabbie Giffords – was about gun confiscation. “Often what you hear in the debate of expanding background checks to more gun sales, and, as you…

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