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Al Arabiya
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
North Carolina Gov. Stein vetoes his first bills. They are on concealed carry and immigration
North Carolina Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed his first bills on Friday, blocking for now Republican legislation that would let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and make state agencies and local sheriffs more active in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Stein, who took office in January, issued his formal exceptions to three measures backed by the GOP-controlled General Assembly presented to him last week. The former attorney general also had the option to sign any of them into law or let them become law if he hadn't acted on the legislation soon. The vetoed measures now return to the legislature, where Republicans are one House seat shy of holding a veto-proof majority. Its leaders will decide whether to attempt overrides as early as next week. Voting so far followed party lines for one of the immigration measures, which in part would direct heads of several state law enforcement agencies like the State Highway Patrol and State Bureau of Investigation to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But one House Democrat ended up voting for the other immigration bill that Stein vetoed. It toughens a 2024 law that required sheriffs to help federal agents seeking criminal defendants. GOP prospects for enacting the permitless concealed gun measure – a longtime aspiration for gun-rights advocates – appear dimmer because two House Republicans voted against the bill and ten others were absent. In one veto message, Stein said the gun legislation, which would allow eligible people at least 18 years old to carry a concealed handgun, 'makes North Carolinians less safe and undermines responsible gun ownership.' Democratic lawmakers argued the same during the bill's passage through the legislature. Current law requires a concealed weapons holder to be at least 21 to obtain a permit. The person must submit an application to the local sheriff, pass a firearms safety training course, and cannot suffer from a physical or mental infirmity that prevents the safe handling of a handgun. Conservative advocates for the bill say removing the permit requirement would strengthen Second Amendment rights and the safety of law-abiding citizens. Permitless carry is already lawful in twenty-nine states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. North Carolina would also be one of the last states in the Southeast to implement that legislation. One vetoed immigration bill would require four state law enforcement agencies to officially participate in the 287(g) program, which trains officers to interrogate defendants and determine their immigration status. An executive order by President Donald Trump urged his administration to maximize the use of 287(g) agreements. Stein wrote Friday the bill 'takes officers away from existing state duties at a time when law enforcement is already stretched thin.' The measure also would direct state agencies to ensure noncitizens don't access certain state-funded benefits. But Stein said that people without lawful immigration status already can't receive these benefits. The other vetoed bill attempts to expand a 2024 law – enacted over then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper's veto – that directed jails to hold temporarily certain defendants whom ICE believe are in the country illegally, allowing time for immigration agents to pick them up. The vetoed bill would expand the list of crimes that a defendant is charged with that would require the jail administrator to attempt to determine the defendant's legal status. A jail also would have to tell ICE promptly that it is holding someone and essentially extends the time agents have to pick up the person. Stein said Friday while he supports sheriffs contacting federal immigration agents about defendants charged with dangerous crimes, the law 'is unconstitutional because it directs sheriffs to keep defendants behind bars forty-eight hours beyond when they otherwise could be released for a suspected immigration violation.' Latino advocates and other bill opponents had urged Stein to veto both immigration measures, with dozens picketing across the street from the Executive Mansion earlier this week. They say the legislation would cause Hispanic residents to feel intimidated and fear law enforcement.
BreakingNews.ie
9 hours ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Taoiseach backs Garda Commissioner after lack of clarity from minister
The Taoiseach has backed the Garda Commissioner days after the Justice Minister did not take an opportunity to express confidence in the policing chief. On Tuesday, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan was asked about his contact with Commissioner Drew Harris over a series of disclosures and developments about how the service deals with matters around guns. Advertisement This included the storage of firearms at garda headquarters, defective gun holsters, and garda interactions with a man facing gun charges who later died by suicide. At a press conference, Mr O'Callaghan said he had confidence that An Garda Síochána was dealing with the matters correctly. However, he did not explicitly answer in the affirmative after being specifically asked if he had full confidence in Mr Harris. The minister said: 'I'm not the person who's there to supervise operationally what An Garda Síochána are doing.' Advertisement He added: 'I ask the Commissioner questions that are of concern to me, he gives me answers in respect to them, that communication is confidential. 'I have no difficulty in telling you the issues I raised with him, obviously what he says back to me is a confidential process.' His Fianna Fáil party leader and Taoiseach Micheál Martin, however, said the Commissioner had served with 'dedication and commitment'. Asked on Friday if he had confidence in Mr Harris, Mr Martin said: 'I have confidence in the Commissioner. Advertisement 'I think, he has served very diligently over a long number of years. 'His term has come to an end, and the process is on the way for replacement.' While further pressed as the press conference closed on whether the Justice Minister should apologise, the Taoiseach did not provide a reply. Mr Harris is due to retire on September 1, after the Cabinet agreed a two-month extension beyond an earlier end date of June 1. Advertisement
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- Health
- The Guardian
‘These deaths are not inevitable': state gun control laws reduce children's firearm deaths, study shows
Guns have been the leading cause of death among US children since 2020. A new study shows a clear path to addressing this scourge and saving kids' lives: state gun control laws. The study, published this month in Jama Pediatrics, reveals that states which enacted stricter gun control measures following the 2010 McDonald v Chicago supreme court ruling – a landmark decision that struck down Chicago's ban on handguns and, in effect, expanded the second amendment nationwide – have seen a relative decrease in firearm deaths among children aged up to 17. By contrast, states that expanded gun freedoms have seen a notable increase in kids' deaths from gun violence, including by homicide, by suicide and from accidents. This means that commonsense gun policies make a difference when it comes to keeping kids safe, said Nick Suplina, senior vice-president for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety. 'This study sends a message that lawmakers that refuse to take action or who further loosen gun laws are putting kids' lives in peril,' he said. 'That's a very powerful outcome for an academic study.' To conduct their study, researchers divided states into three categories – least permissive, more permissive and most permissive – based on the strength of their gun control laws. They then used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to look into individual states' rates of pediatric firearm deaths (deaths from gun violence among children ages 0-17) over a 12-year span. What they found was a striking degree of overlap among states based on legislation enacted. In more permissive states, such as Mississippi and New Hampshire, pediatric death rates rose substantially more than expected, especially among children of color. '[We saw] so many excess deaths over and above what would have been expected,' said Jeremy Faust, an emergency room physician and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard University, and the study's lead author. But in states that passed stricter laws – such as background checks, permitting and safe-storage requirements – rates either stayed stagnant or fell. That finding surprised Faust, who anticipated that every state would see at least some increase since the number of kids killed by guns in the US has risen so sharply over the past decade. California, New York and Maryland, all of which have assault weapon bans and safe-storage laws, saw decreased rates of pediatric firearm mortality. And Rhode Island, which requires would-be gun owners to pass a firearm safety course to buy a handgun, saw a 60% drop in gun-related deaths among children. 'These deaths are not inevitable,' said Shriya Bhat, a second-year molecular biology student at Harvard and an author of the study. 'Policy choices matter, and we can learn from the places that have kept kids safer.' Gun policy experts say that research like this, which treats gun violence as a public health concern and considers the impact of on-the-books legislation from a scientific perspective, is desperately needed. 'The insights of the medical community are vital to educating policymakers and the public about the need to address the public health crisis fueled by unregulated access to firearms,' said Nick Wilson, senior director for gun violence prevention at the Center for American Progress. (The White House recently removed former surgeon general Vivek Murthy's advisory on gun violence as a public health issue, and has also slashed funding for gun violence research.) Experts also stress the need for lawmakers to translate knowledge into action. That means prioritizing measures that keep all of society safe from gun violence, such as universal background checks, as well as laws that protect kids specifically, such as safe-storage regulations. 'We really need policymakers to step up,' said Kelly Drane, research director at the Giffords Law Center. Suplina added that moving the needle on policy would require dampening the influence of the country's for-profit gun lobby, which perpetuates the narrative that guns make a society safer – a myth he hopes this study can help dispel. 'Literally the exact opposite is true,' he said. 'If more guns made us safer, the US would be the safest country in the world by far. Instead, we have a homicide rate that's 25 times that of our peer nations.' Sign up to Headlines US Get the most important US headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every morning after newsletter promotion But a lack of gun control legislation doesn't mean individuals can't change their own behaviors to keep kids safe. Parents who own guns can safely store their firearms and ask other parents whether there are guns in the house before permitting a playdate, said Drane, much like a parent might ask if another family has a fence around their pool. 'It doesn't have to be a conversation about whether or not it's OK to own firearms, but just knowing that there's a plan in place to keep kids safe in the home is really important.' Nonetheless, researchers and experts are hopeful that political gulfs can be crossed by focusing on how policies can save the lives of children. 'We've seen a lot of public health successes that have been bridged by focusing on the impact of public health threats on children,' said Drane. 'I'm hopeful that research like this can help change minds.' For Faust, who witnessed children die from gunshot wounds first-hand while training in a Queens, New York, trauma center, addressing the epidemic of gun violence is deeply tied to his work as a physician. 'I am interested in how choices we make as a society can have a massive impact on the way we live and die,' he said. 'When you save the life of a kid, think about the decades of life you are giving back.'
New York Times
2 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Justice Dept. to Cut Two-Thirds of Inspectors Monitoring Gun Sales
The Justice Department plans to slash the number of inspectors who monitor federally licensed gun dealers by two-thirds, sharply limiting the government's already crimped capacity to identify businesses that sell guns to criminals, according to budget documents. The move, part of the Trump administration's effort to defang and downsize the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, comes as the department considers merging the A.T.F. and the Drug Enforcement Administration. It follows a rollback of Biden-era regulations aimed at stemming the spread of deadly homemade firearms, along with other gun control measures. The department plans to eliminate 541 of the estimated 800 investigators responsible for determining whether federal dealers are following federal law and regulations intended to keep guns away from traffickers, straw purchasers, criminals and those found to have severe mental illness, according to a budget summary quietly circulated last week. Department officials estimated the reductions would reduce 'A.T.F.'s capacity to regulate the firearms and explosives industries by approximately 40 percent' in the fiscal year starting in November — even though the staff cuts represent two-thirds of the inspection work force. The cuts are needed to meet the White House demand that A.T.F. cut nearly a third from its budget of $1.6 billion. News of the plan came as a shock to a work force already reeling from months of disruption. Several frontline agency staff members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said the cuts would lead to hundreds of layoffs and effectively end the A.T.F.'s role as a serious regulator of gun sales, if they are not reversed by the White House or Congress. 'These are devastating cuts to law enforcement funding and would undermine A.T.F.'s ability to keep communities safe from gun violence,' said John Feinblatt, the president of Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group founded by the former mayor of New York Michael R. Bloomberg. 'This budget would be a win for unscrupulous gun dealers and a terrible setback for A.T.F.'s state and local law enforcement partners.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Wants to Make It Easier for People to Own Sawed-Off Shotguns
Texas is poised to make it easier for residents in the state to own short-barreled shotguns and rifles, rolling back yet another firearm regulation in a state that has experienced some of the deadliest mass shootings in the country in the last decade. Texas Senate Bill 1596 would decriminalize short-barreled long guns, including sawed-off shotguns. Texas defines these weapons, which are currently illegal in the state, absent a federal permit, as 'a rifle with a barrel length of less than 16 inches or a shotgun with a barrel length of less than 18 inches, or any weapon made from a shotgun or rifle if, as altered, it has an overall length of less than 26 inches.' Access to such weapons is typically restricted because shortened rifles and shotguns remain incredibly lethal, but are more concealable. Sawed-off shotguns, in particular, create a wide spray pattern, allowing a single shot to potentially maim or kill a crowd of victims. In 2018, the 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis used a short-barreled shotgun owned by his father to kill eight students and two teachers at Santa Fe High School. Such weapons are designated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as Title II weapons Gun Control Act of 1968 — or weapons that require a federal registration in order to purchase and own. SB 1596 doesn't impact that national statute, rather, it creates an open conflict. It makes owning short-barreled weapons legal under state law, and leaves any enforcement of federal law to federal agents. (Progressive states have used a similar strategy to legalize marijuana, while the drug remains technically illegal under federal law.) SB 1956 was sent to Governor Greg Abbott (R) on June 1, and he is expected to sign it before June 22. Despite a string of major mass shootings in the state — including the 2022 murder of 21 teachers and students a Robb Elementary School in Uvalde; the 2018 murder of 23 people by a mass shooter at a Walmart in El Paso; and the murder of 23 people attending church in Sutherland Springs in 2017 — Abbott and the Texas legislature have eagerly rolled back restrictions on deadly firearms. The state has allowed residents to carry concealed firearms without a permit; decriminalized silencers; removed restrictions on the sale of guns and ammunition during a declared disaster or emergency; and proclaimed Texas a 'Second Amendment Sanctuary State' blocking state and local enforcement of federal level gun-control laws. The effect is noticeable. A 2024 report by Giffords, a gun-safety group founded by former representative and assassination attempt survivor Gabby Giffords, found that gun deaths in Texas have increased by 63 percent since Abbott assumed office in 2014. In April, after a slew of bills rolling back gun-control laws were introduced by the Texas legislature, Molly Bursey, of the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action said in a statement that 'putting more guns into dangerous hands, and in more sensitive places will only lead to one thing: more violence, more fear, more loss, and more mourning.' More from Rolling Stone 'Forgiveness Is Complicated': One Woman's Journey Following the Mother Emanuel Shootings Tesla Is Launching Robotaxis in Austin. Safety Advocates Are Concerned Florida State Gunman Indicted for Murder Following Mass Shooting That Killed Two Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
