Brady: United Against Gun Violence’s Post

AMERICA’S GUN MGMT FAILURE>Killed a FIRE CHIEF(His Wife is a Widow & 2 Daughters Lost their Dad & Father’s Day will be a Forever Painful Day), Caused Critical Injuries to 2 Men&almost Killed President Trump=PA.&many other States are FAILING Gun Mgmt>”Pennsylvania is “missing several foundational gun laws.“ PA. does not require background checks for rifle sales w/ private sellers, for instance, according to the gun violence prevention nonprofit Giffords Law Center. Just nine states have passed laws outlawing possession of assault weapons such as AR-15 and AK-47 rifles. Pennsylvania is not among them, unlike neighboring states Delaware, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. Training and waiting periods are not required ahead of gun purchases, along with high-capacity magazines and reporting of lost or stolen firearms.” Please Everyone > Pray for the 2 Men Critically Injured that are now in stable condition 🙏 🤗 🤗 🙏

FYI: BALTIMORE CITY SETTLED A LAWSUIT WITH THE NATION'S LARGEST MANUFACTURER OF GHOST GUNS The mayor's office released a statement Wednesday morning stating that the city reached a $1.2 million settlement over its 2022 lawsuit against Polymer80 that accused the company of marketing "build your own" gun kits to minors, criminals, gun traffickers and others who need to circumvent background checks. The city said the settlement will prohibit the company from advertising and selling ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms, in Maryland. And, the settlement bans dealers in nearby states from selling ghost guns to Maryland residents and the company must cease all customer support in Maryland. Additionally, as part of the settlement, Polymer80 will be subject to a permanent injunction, as it will be: Prohibited from shipping or selling ghost gun kits into Maryland. Required to execute contracts with its distributors and retailers that will prohibit them from selling ghost gun kits to Maryland customers. Required to prominently post on its website that it is illegal to buy ghost gun kits in Maryland. Required to execute contracts with its distributors and retailers in surrounding states, requiring them to refuse sales of ghost gun kits to customers based in Maryland. Prohibited from promoting ghost gun kits at gun shows in Maryland. Prohibited from advertising Polymer80's website or social media accounts in Maryland or engaging in other search-engine optimization efforts targeting Maryland residents. Prohibited from providing customer service for ghost gun kits to Maryland residents. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott cited ghost guns as contributing to a surge in violence. According to the mayor's office, Baltimore police seized 462 ghost guns in 2023. BPD has already seized 43 ghost guns to date this year -- an increase of 30% compared to this time last year. "We know that nine out of 10 homicides in Baltimore City are committed with guns, and the prevalence of ghost guns has been one of the most significant issues in Baltimore," Scott said at a news conference Wednesday morning. "I've made the commitment that Baltimore is using every single tool at our disposal to address the epidemic of gun violence that we face. And, I've made the commitment that we will hold everyone who has a hand in violence accountable." This was a city settlement and not a federal regulation. For more information regarding "Ghost Guns" or the legal term PMF (Privately Made Firearms) please visit ATF.gov or look at the specific link in my comments (below).

Earlier this week I had the chance to attend the signing of a package of lifesaving bills here in Washington State by Governor Jay Inslee, building on the strong foundation of gun safety the state has developed over the last decade. This package includes HB 2118, which testified in support of numerous times this session and will provide a needed update to the business practices of gun dealers across the state. This is because gun dealers are important community gatekeepers when it comes to firearm violence and trafficking, but lax federal dealer regulations have allowed gun dealers to put profits over safety and it is imperative that states step up to correct the incentive structure. This dealer code of conduct bill starts that correction. But we still have room to grow, and there is more that Washington State can do to ensure that gun dealers are following business practices that keep their community safe from stolen firearms and gun trafficking. We also saw after the passage of the large capacity magazine ban in 2022 and the assault weapons ban in 2023, how gun dealers were trying to sell as many of these products as they could right up until the buzzer, and some dealers breaking the law and trying to sell these products after the ban took place. And so the important part of this Code of Conduct is not just its passage, but it's enforcement, and making sure that the gun dealers who are putting safety first are the ones that the system rewards, not the other way around. https://lnkd.in/gEYMWXwQ

Yesterday, Everytown released a report on the manufacturers of crime guns in 34 US cities, finding that: - Of the 11K+ gun manufacturers, four (Glock, Taurus, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger) accounted for over 40% of recovered crime guns. -Glocks were recovered twice as often as the second-leading manufacturer, Taurus. -Polymer80 (ghost gun) recoveries increased 1200% over the past five years, finally showing recent signs of decline following litigation, regulatory and legislative fixes, and the company ultimately closing in 2024. -Over two-thirds of recovered machine gun conversion devices were Glock switches. Check out the full report to learn what steps manufacturers, law makers, and city leaders can take toward gun industry accountability. Special shoutout to Andrew Edelman, Ariel Cathcart, Katie Appel Duda, and the 34 Mayors Against Illegal Guns cities who shared their data, for their leadership and collaboration on this timely report! https://lnkd.in/eAXuntNn

Our office recently completed a report that showed that, of the more than 39,000 people in Cook County who have their Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card revoked, 69% (about 27,000) have not accounted for their guns or turned in their FOID cards as required by law. Statewide data is even more disturbing. Of the approximate 112,000 revoked FOID cardholders, 74% (about 83,849) are not compliant. This pattern is not limited to Cook County. Statewide, the backlog of non-compliant revoked FOID card holders increased by more than 1,000 from October 2023 through February 2024, according to the Office’s analysis of Illinois State Police data. Among the most common reasons for FOID revocations are felony convictions, mental health concerns, and orders of protection. In 2013, Sheriff Dart created a Gun Team to retrieve FOID cards and guns. As a result, there is no backlog of cases in unincorporated Cook County or Ford Heights where the Sheriff’s Office patrols. To date, the team has worked nearly 9,200 revoked FOID cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 4,050 revoked FOID cards and more than 1,300 guns, as well as the safe transfer of over 3,000 guns. However, the cities, towns, and villages struggle to keep up with revoked FOID cards. A few jurisdictions have been able to stay on top of the growing FOID revocations, but the vast majority have no personnel to do this. It is clear that unless there is an infusion of state money, the many communities of the state will never be able to catch up. Sheriff Dart is calling on lawmakers to pass HB 5442, a bill sponsored by State Representative Bob Morgan (IL-58), that would increase the Firearm Transfer Inquiry Program (FTIP) fee to $10. FTIP is operated by the Illinois State Police and uses firearm dealers to perform background checks on potential buyers. The $2 fee has not changed since 1992, and the increase would provide an additional estimated $1.44 million. To read more:

Five of the nation's top sellers of crime guns based in Delaware? So many critical takeaways here: 1. The background check system currently in place is NOT STRONG ENOUGH. 2. We need a comprehensive system with built-in accountability. It's time to pass SB2 and require handgun buyers to obtain a permit to purchase -- which will move the onus off of gun retailers (whose job it is to sell more guns) and onto law enforcement (whose job it is to protect our communities). 3. Other states that have an effective permitting system in place have fewer retailers on this list - New Jersey and New York, for example, have zero. In fact, we export our crime guns to those states. https://lnkd.in/eBgCYpQ5

Trust And Safety In The Society Do guns make us safer? Science suggests no Hemenway noted that one commonly cited statistic about guns—that 2.5 million people use them each year to defend themselves or their property — is based on faulty analysis from a 1990s study. A more reliable source of information, the National Crime Victimization Survey, pegs the number of people who use guns in this manner at roughly 100,000, according to Science Vs podcast host Wendy Zukerman. Hemenway added that there is no good evidence that using a gun in self-defense reduces the likelihood of injury. There is some evidence that having a gun may reduce property loss, “but the evidence is equally compelling that having another weapon, such as mace or a baseball bat, will also reduce the likelihood of property loss,” he said. Addressing gun lobby assertions that crime is deterred when more law-abiding citizens carry guns, Hemenway said the evidence says otherwise. He said that even though more and more Americans are carrying concealed guns each year—the result of more states passing ‘right-to-carry’ laws—research has not uncovered a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the prevalence of guns and the U.S. crime rate. However, he noted, the presence of more guns does make crimes more violent. “What guns do is make hostile interactions—robberies, assaults—much more deadly,” he said. https://lnkd.in/dTvBbiBJ What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a gun? The advantages of having a gun are simple: You can use one for hunting or self-defense as you see fit. The disadvantages are also simple: many people do not use their weapons responsibly, enabling people they care about to be hurt either through their own negligence or through irresponsible use of the firearm Does the presence of a gun make a conflict more likely to become violent? This effect was dubbed the “weapons effect.” Several studies have replicated the weapons effect. A review of 56 published studies reported that the mere sight of weapons increases aggression in both angry and nonangry individuals. https://lnkd.in/dpnnmrCd. So I brought some examples of the advantages or disadvantages of weapons in the society but it is not my topic, In your opinion what kind of matters we face over here, Are we suffering from a lack of trust which is equal to safety with the people we are in the same community? Is related to the relationships we have with our neighbors in the same neighborhood? how we can raise this trust and safety?

https://lnkd.in/ejZsiaVc  We deserve to live in a #community free of #gun #violence If arming more people meant that we would be safer, we would be safest nation on earth. - Shannon Watts #PeoplePowerUnited Sep 08, 2024 ..."Unfortunately, we have some very naughty lawmakers who are enabling gun manufacturers, sellers, and special interest groups to disregard our public safety and commit negligent and harmful acts on our community with zero accountability. They are being shielded by an outdated law that protects them from lawsuits. No other industry gets this type of privilege, and quite frankly, it borders on corruption as many lawmakers benefit from donations to their campaigns from gun manufacturers and special interests. As champions for progress, we believe that everyone who is eligible should be allowed to own a gun. Our state and federal laws need to be updated to define eligibility better: - Require background checks on all gun sales and ammunition sales - Have a red flag law - Prevent domestic abusers from accessing guns - Ban assault weapons - Limit magazine capacity - Ban bump stocks - Require concealed carry permits - Restrict open-carry - Ban firearms in libraries, schools, and hospitals - Have a waiting period - Allow victims of gun violence to have their day in court and that gun manufacturers, sellers, and interest groups are not shielded from liability when acting with negligence and disregard for public safety. Please join us in pushing for a community free of gun violence. Today’s Calls-to-Action Tell Congress: Ban Assault Weapons Now Tell Congress: Ban Bump Stocks   Click here https://lnkd.in/evx82h-Q to send a letter to your member of Congress: Everyone deserves to live in a community free of gun violence"...

Back in 2021, a group did a study showing 50% to 60% of all the violence in the District of Columbia could be traced back to perhaps 500 individuals. Not 500 guns, 500 people. “Our city is being flooded with illegal weapons,” said Brian Schwalb, attorney general for the District of Columbia. “All three of these stores ignored the red flags.” What red flags? Did the buyer forget to wear the required "Straw Buyer" T-shirt? Three gun stores, most likely with multiple employees, and a period of seven months. That's fewer than two guns per store per month. The straw buyer, who has already agreed to a plea deal for selling guns without a license, wouldn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how to deal with different employees as often as possible. Maryland requires a Handgun Qualification License to purchase a handgun and it has to be displayed for each purchase. Maryland has universal background checks and a host of other gun control classics and we already know from the state's homicide rates they're working just as well as the ever do: Not at all. The real question, Mr. Schwalb, is how many of those 500 people in that study are still free on the streets? How many of the people they influence are snapping up those straw-purchased guns? It's a federal offense to knowingly sell a firearm to someone who is really buying it for someone else. Straw buying was a federal offense long before the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which just upped the maximum penalty. Mr. Schwalb's sidekick in this act of Olympic-class stupidity is Anthony Brown, Maryland's attorney general. He said “Many of us watch the news and we wonder where all these guns are coming from. Now we have part of the answer." Really? Brown is the attorney general for one of the most violent states in the country, so I hope he was speaking just to hear himself talk. This is the real irony: They can say these things and do this stuff with a straight face. They can be as clueless as a newborn and nobody will call them out: At least in their echo chamber.

Biden just made it harder for domestic abusers to get guns - Closing the ‘gun show loophole’ is part of an effort to tighten background checks and stop the cycle of allowing abusers and others with legal red flags to buy firearms, officials say. Semi-automatic firearms are displayed for sale on a shelf at a gun store. - Semi-automatic firearms are displayed for sale on a shelf at McBride Guns Inc., in Austin, Texas. The Biden-Harris administration has announced a new rule classifying more people as licensed gun sellers — including those who operate at gun shows and through online storefronts — and requiring them to run background checks before the completion of a sale. The move would set up the largest and most significant expansion of the background check requirement for gun purchases since the passage of the Brady Bill in 1993. It is one of several actions that the White House is undertaking to think holistically about combating the gun violence epidemic — and the way it intersects with gender-based violence. The new rule, passed through the Department of Justice, closes what is known as the “gun show loophole,” in which people who know they cannot pass a background check often turn to unlicensed sellers in order to evade the background check system. It follows requirements laid out in the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’s expansion of firearm background checks. The new rule is expected to have a significant impact on those who experience domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence specifically. https://lnkd.in/e6WQVrFc