One year after the massacre at Sandy Hook, an examination of public records by the Sunlight Foundation suggests that the tragedy has been more of a boon for lobbyists and campaign consultants than a call for action.
Continue readingHired guns: K Street revolvers shot blanks against NRA artillery
Gun control groups made a big investment in professional lobbyists after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting but even the K Street top guns were no match for the National Rifle Association.
Continue readingBrady Campaign marks anniversary with ad
As Sarah Brady appears Tuesday at the National Press Club to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the gun background check law that bears her husband's name, the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence is urging Congress to "finish the job" by expanding background checks to apply to all gun sales.
In a one-minute cartoon style ad, narrated in a lisping, child-like voice, the Brady Campaign -- which Sarah Brady chairs -- asks whether Congress' refusal to extend background checks is a sign that lawmakers are "rooting for the bad guys." Last spring, the Senate voted down a bill to expand ...
Continue readingBoth sides of gun debate see hope in Virginia elections
Outside spending groups on either side of the gun control debate find reasons for optimism after Virginia's tight gubernatorial race, in spite of the fact that issues like the economy, healthcare and ethics scandals seem to have been foremost on voters' minds.
Continue readingMissouri just the latest state to test limits of gun law nullification
One day after Colorado voters ousted two state senators over their support for gun control, Missouri lawmakers are debating whether to try to make federal gun control measures illegal in their state. In a special legislative session opening today, opponents of gun control in the Show-Me State are vowing to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill that would effectively nullify federal gun control measures.
The law would make it illegal for state employee to enforce them. Nixon (pictured right) called it unconstitutional when he vetoed the measure in July.
As Sunlight first reported in March, the ...
Continue readingOut of state money pouring into Colorado gun recall races
A week before a much-watched recall election for two Colorado state legislators who voted in favor of strengthening gun restrictions last spring, the contest is attracting the kind of heavy political artillery normally reserved for national and statewide elections.
Continue readingWhom Mark Sanford owes
Some big investors got a nice payoff Tuesday when Mark Sanford, South Carolina's disgraced former governor, won back his old House seat.
As Sanford acknowledged in his victory speech Tuesday night in Charleston, he's got a lot to be thankful for. The list could include more than $200,000 in late donations from big Republican donors and interests who bet that the ex-South Carolina governor could overcome a sex scandal and get his political career on track. The group includes 47 organizations and out-of-state givers -- a number of them with ties to the financial industry and libertarian causes ...
Continue readingWhy pro-gun groups still have the upper hand in Congress
To understand why the Senate voted today to reject a bipartisan deal on gun control, despite emotional -- and heavily broadcast appeals -- by parents of children gunned down in the Newtown, Conn. massacre, it helps to take a look at the influence profiles of groups on both sides of the debate.
Although Mayors Against Illegal Guns, one of the groups pressing for stricter regulation of firearms, dominated the airwaves in the weeks leading up to the vote, groups opposed to such measures have spent far more money over a far longer period of time to win friends and intimidate people on ...
Continue readingGun legislation in states forecasts close fight in Congress
As the Senate opens debate on gun control after a last-minute bipartisan deal, a review of legislation now before state lawmakers gives a striking evidence of how difficult it will be to enact restrictions on firearms into law, even given the political momentum such measures have received following the December shooting tragedy that left 26 people -- most of them young children -- dead at the Sandy Hook elementary school at Newtown, Conn.
A review of nearly 1,500 firearms-related bills introduced in the 50 state legislatures since the beginning of the year by Sunlight reveals that the post-Newtown push for stronger ...
Continue readingAs NRA pushes Congress, states consider bills to put guns in schools
Even as the National Rifle Association (NRA) announced a new push today to put armed guards in schools across the country, state lawmakers across the country are considering similar proposals. So far, legislation related to guns on school grounds has come up in at least three dozen states. The vast majority of these bills would make it easier for school personnel, guards, and volunteers to carry guns on campus, while a handful would toughen laws prohibiting firearms at schools.
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