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Gun Control Tag

I will never fully understand the irrational fear of inanimate objects that leads people to do things like this. A handful of instructors, mostly grad students, from the University of Texas are holding office hours in a bar after the state implemented campus carry laws. They're hoping gun-free zones will keep them safe. Under the Lone Star State's campus carry laws, only licensed concealed carry permit holders are legally allowed to pack heat on participating college campuses, and even then, only on certain parts of campus.

As soon as Yahoo's Bianna Golodryga said she didn't want to "turn political," you knew that was precisely what she was about to do. But when Golodryga proceeded to criticize the Texas open-carry law this morning, you might be surprised that it was Meredith Vieira who—excuse the expression—shot her down. Vieira was a guest on Morning Joe to discuss a documentary, for which she served as executive producer, about the University of Texas Tower shootings in 1966, in which Charles Whitman shot 49 people, killing 16. The gun-control shoe was bound to drop, and after her "not to turn political," Golodryga launched into a criticism of the new Texas open-carry law, fretting that it could prevent UT from attracting "students and the top talent in teaching for fear of this law." Retorted Vieira: "It's interesting. On that day, the students were allowed to carry on campus and the police relied on them. One of the police -- they didn't have SWAT teams back then and they didn't have the equipment either to get to somebody who was up in the tower. So they were asking students: does anybody have a shotgun? The police themselves didn't have shotguns. And the students helped them."

A Texas grandmother named Rebbie Roberson was minding her business in her own home Sunday night when an uninvited intruder appeared. Luckily for Roberson, she was armed and ready. CNN reports:
Pistol-packing grandma turns tables on armed intruder Rebbie Roberson wasn't having it. A man wearing a mask and gloves was standing in her house after he broke in Sunday night. "When I started to get up, he was in here on me with a gun facing me right to my face," she told CNN affiliate KSLA.

Apparently, the criminal element in Chicago doesn't take time off at Christmas. An alarming number of shootings and connected fatalities took place in the city this weekend. ABC News reports:
Bloody Year in Chicago Continues with 12 Killings Over Christmas Weekend Two men gunned down on a porch in Chicago on Christmas Day were among 12 people slain in the city, where an epidemic of killings continued during the holiday weekend.

Citizens have set an October gun sales record by having the FBI process over 2.3 million background checks, meaning 2016 could become the biggest year ever for guns. Every month has set a record for the past 18 months. The 2,333,539 checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS) in October is 350,000 more than October 2015.

Gun control is an issue which has somehow gotten lost in the coverage of the election. Not many people are talking about it but it's actually on the ballot in four states. ABC News reports:
4 States to Weigh Tougher Gun Control in Nov. 8 Election The last time voters in Maine were asked about gun rights, they easily passed a constitutional amendment creating a right to own firearms that "shall never be questioned." Three decades later, the state known for its hunting tradition will vote on whether to tighten restrictions on gun sales and transfers.

2016 has been an amazing year for gun sales and September was an all time record breaker. Maybe people are worried that Obama may use his last few months in office to infringe their gun rights? The Washington Examiner reports:
Gun sales hit 17th straight monthly record, up 27 percent Gun sales hit the 17th consecutive monthly record in September according to FBI data released on Monday, and overall sales are up 27 percent compared to the same period last year.

In July, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued a statement in which she announced her unilateral ban on "assault weapons," including "copycat assault weapons." On Thursday, the Washington Free Beacon reports, "the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the largest trade association in the firearms industry, in conjunction with four Massachusetts gun dealers filed the suit against Attorney General Maura Healey (D.) in response to her attempt to redefine the state’s assault weapons ban." The Washington Free Beacon continues:
Healey announced on July 20 that she was officially reinterpreting the language of the state’s decades-old ban. She said she would be vastly expanding what constitutes a so-called “copycat” of guns that are explicitly banned under the statute and accused the gun industry of skirting the law for years. “The gun industry has openly defied our laws here in Massachusetts for nearly two decades,” Healey said in her announcement. “That ends today. We have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that combat-style weapons are off our streets and out of the hands of those who would use them to kill innocent people.”

A new ad from the NRA reminds voters that Hillary wants to enact stricter gun control laws which could leave innocent people defenseless. They're also planning to run the ad in five key swing states. Politico reports:
NRA warns voters that Clinton will leave them unprotected The National Rifle Association’s new spot is aimed at people who are already afraid, and hammers Hillary Clinton for wanting to leave them defenseless.

Inequality is bad, right? A new survey documents that some people own lots of guns, while others own only a few. That's not fair! Funny, I don't hear liberals suggesting the government give out free guns to help balance gun ownership inequality. The left-wing Guardian newspaper examines the issue in Gun inequality: US study charts rise of hardcore super owners:

You may recall the House Democrats' big gun control sit-in back in June. They've now moved on to phase two of their gun control campaign, demanding a vote. NBC News reports:
House Democrats Renew Push for Gun Control Votes House Democrats made a renewed push for votes on gun control measures on Wednesday — nearly three months after they staged a sit-in on that chamber's floor demanding action.

Members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) have sued producer Katie Couric and director Stephanie Soechtig for $12 million after an edit in their movie Under the Gun showed members could not answer a question. From Fox News:
"Katie Couric has publicly admitted that the film, which was presented to VCDL as a 'documentary,' was misleading and misrepresented VCDL," Phillip Van Cleave, President of the VCDL, tod FOXNews.com. "However, Couric and the other filmmakers have refused to fix the film or to even stop promoting and distributing it. The only way to hold Couric accountable was to file a lawsuit."
Here is the clip: