guns

After 100,000+ Downloads, Group With 3-D Gun Plans Goes Dark

Mark Memmott, NPR — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:27:36 +0000

Minutes ago, just as we were reading a Forbes story headlined "3D-Printed Gun's Blueprints Downloaded 100,000 Times In Two Days," this message appeared on the Twitter page of the group that has made those plans available to the world:

"#DEFCAD has gone dark at the request of the Department of Defense Trade Cont

Interview: U.T. Law Student Fires First 3D-Printed Gun

Nathan Bernier, KUT News — Mon, 06 May 2013 21:57:10 +0000

A University of Texas law student has become the first person to fire a bullet from a gun made with a 3D printer. Forbes reporter Andy Greenberg recorded a video of the test shooting, then wrote about it.

Wilson says he did it partly to make a political point about gun control.

“Especially at a time when all these actors on the Hill are pretending that we can control firearms and we can better regulate them. I’m seeing a future, a vision of the future where that’s not really possible," he told KUT News.

Listen to our interview with Wilson by clicking the player above.

Gun Made With 3-D Printer is Successfully Fired

Mark Memmott, NPR — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:14:55 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wym1LF3mmYo

Computerized Rifle Makes Anyone an Expert Marksman - Should It?

Mark Dewey — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +0000

An Austin-based company, TrackingPoint, has developed a high-powered, long-range computerized rifle that can turn anyone into an expert marksman. But some wonder whether putting that technology in the hands of everyday people is a wise idea.

At shooting range just outside of Austin, I’m holding one of TrackingPoint’s top-of-the-line, $22,000 rifles. I have some shooting experience. But I’ve never shot a big rifle before. Three company representatives walk me through it.

APD Chief Disappointed by U.S. Senate Gun Vote

Bobby Blanchard and Trey Shaar, KUT News — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:12:00 +0000

The Austin police chief says he’s disappointed by the U.S. Senate’s failure to approve a new gun control measure. The legislation would have required federal background checks for all gun purchases, including those at gun shows and online.

Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo sees the votes against Senate passage as defying what most citizens support.

Obama Uses and Loses His Political Capital on Gun Control

Frank James, NPR — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:53:12 +0000

The Senate's rejection of more robust gun purchase background checks was a stinging blow to President Obama that raised questions about his second-term agenda.

Expanding background checks had become a key part of Obama's post-Newtown push for tougher federal gun control laws.

PolitiFact: Americans Support Background Checks for Gun Buyers

Emily Donahue, KUT News — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 22:10:31 +0000

While campaigning for background checks with gun purchases, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell referenced polls showing public support for the policy.

Mayor Leffingwell joined a press conference supporting background checks in March – and said 90 percent of Americans and 74 percent of National Rifle Association members support universal background checks.

Senate Rejects Expanded Background Checks For Gun Sales

Scott Neuman — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:19:21 +0000

A bipartisan compromise that would have expanded federal background checks for firearms purchases has been rejected by the Senate.

The defeat of the measure by a 54-46 vote — six votes shy of the number needed to clear the Senate — marks a major setback for gun-control advocates, many of whom had hoped that Congress would act to curb gun violence in the wake of December's Newtown elementary school massacre, where 20 students and six adults were killed.

The National Rifle Association fought the expansion of background checks, saying criminals would simply ignore them, The Associated Press r

Bipartisan Bill Would Extend Background Checks to Gun Shows

Mark Memmott, NPR — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:21:28 +0000

We last updated this post at 1:50 p.m. ET:

Saying "this is a start and it's not the end of our work," Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia confirmed Wednesday morning that he and Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania have put together a bipartisan plan that they believe will "keep guns out of dangerous hands."

Manchin said the plan, which is intended to close the so-called gun show loophole by extending background checks to purchases made at such shows, has the support of a leading Democratic senator, Charles Schumer of New York, and Illinois Republican Sen.

Gun Show Ban Bill Passes Without a Bang

Andrew Weber — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 19:59:51 +0000

Today, all the eyes of Texas are upon the House, which is debating the budget in what is probably one of the busiest (and longest) days for the Texas legislature.

But all that hustle and bustle on the east end of the Capitol isn’t all that’s going on.

A bill that passed today in the Senate targets the Austin City Council and Travis County by proposing limits to a city’s ability to limit gun purchases or ban including gun shows.

Report Highlights Issues With Gun Running Into Mexico

Julian Aguilar, Texas Tribune — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:55:40 +0000

As the gun control debate swirls around issues like background checks and mental health, a new study reveals that gun running into Mexico remains a large-scale problem.

UN Treaty Regulates Multibillion-Dollar Global Arms Trade

Steve Mullis — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:04:02 +0000

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first U.N. treaty to regulate the estimated $60 billion global arms trade on Tuesday.

The goal of the Arms Trade Treaty, which the U.N.

NRA Recommends Arms Training Program for School Personnel

Mark Memmott, NPR — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:00:11 +0000

A task force launched by the National Rifle Association after the Dec.

Police Reports: 'Arsenal' Found at Newtown Shooter Lanza's Home

Mark Memmott, NPR — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 16:34:24 +0000

Police found hundreds of rounds of ammunition, guns, three photos of "what appears to be a deceased human covered with plastic" and other evidence when they searched the Newtown, Conn., home of killer Adam Lanza, according to records released Thursday.

Five search warrants, which include lists of what detectives discovered in the first few days after the Dec. 14, 2012, mass shooting that left 20 school children and six educators dead, were made public. We'll embed them below.

Should Texas Lawmakers Give Gun Makers a Tax Break?

Andrew Weber — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:17:26 +0000

A bill offering incentives to attract manufacturers of guns, ammo and related hardware to Texas will go to the full Senate for a vote.

SB 1467 would offer tax breakers to firearms makers at a time when other states may shy away from sponsoring the industry and the bill’s author, Senator Craig Estes of Wichita Falls, calls laws that limit firearms manufacturing “unwarranted intrusions.”