Gun Rights

Gun owners won a dramatic victory in May when lawmakers voted to allow handguns to be openly carried on Texas streets, but the latest debate is a more mundane affair as gun advocates take aim at signs.

In a move that has sent political waves through Capitol Hill, the Department of Justice has awarded millions of tax dollars to the gun industry's top lobbying group to help promote firearms safety with young shooters and to fund locks for all new gun purchases.

In a mixed decision, a federal appeals court struck down as unconstitutional several strict gun registration laws in the nation's capital, but upheld other restrictions aimed at public safety.

A new poll conducted the same week as a national gun control push shows a majority of Americans don't want more gun laws and are skeptical checks on private sales will keep guns from crooks.

The tax, designed to offset the cost of gun violence, was approved by the City Council last month and takes effect in January. It adds $25 to the price of each firearm sold in the city, plus 2 or 5 cents per round of ammunition. The revenue would be used for gun safety research and violence prevention.

The Arkansas Supreme Court has denied a requested rehearing of a ruling that says state wildlife officers violated a hunter's constitutional rights when they ran a criminal background check on him when they didn't have any reasonable suspicion he had violated any laws.

Three gun-rights groups, including the National Rifle Association, are suing the city of Seattle over its adoption this month of a so-called “gun violence tax.”

Seattle's City Council unanimously approved a new tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition Monday, a measure designed to help offset the financial toll of gun violence. But opponents quickly promised a legal challenge.

Leaders in Los Angeles unanimously voted to ban the sale of high-capacity gun magazines, putting the city in the middle of the debate over national gun control.

Florida firearms enthusiasts will save a few dollars starting this month because of a new law that eliminates the sales tax on gun club memberships.

A new study from a pro-gun research group suggests that the states with the most relaxed concealed carry laws have lower rates of murder and violent crime than states that make carrying a handgun tougher.

In her veto message, Gov. Maggie Hassan said a bill to remove the licensing requirement for carrying concealed firearms would undo the state's “common sense'' gun laws.

A court ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that made it easier for gun-rights advocates like the National Rifle Association to challenge local gun ordinances is drawing strong reaction from both sides of the issue.

Wisconsin's governor signs two bills loosening the state's gun regulations. The bills had bipartisan support.

Toby Keith, famous for his patriotic ballads about American soldiers and killing Taliban terrorists, commented recently on the murder of nine churchgoers at a South Carolina bible study meeting, saying a good guy with a gun could have stopped the killing in its tracks.

A group opposed to New York's two-year-old gun law says registration data show few owners complied with the requirement to register firearms reclassified as assault weapons.

The popular ride sharing service caves to anti-gun pressure just months after a driver thwarted a mass shooting with his concealed handgun in Chicago.