Had the District of Columbia’s tough gun laws not been in place on January 6 — had insurrectionists been able to legally amass all the firearms they wanted during their march to the U.S. Capitol — we would have seen a bloody massacre rather than a handful of deaths. The…

In a tense moment during the immediate aftermath of the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, a fight nearly broke out on the House floor as Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania criticized his GOP colleagues for repeating “lies” about Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. The attack…

Of all the propaganda projects the National Rifle Association has undertaken, the most successful might be their portrayal of violent far-right wing extremists David Koresh and Randy Weaver as patriots and heroes oppressed by an evil federal government. In 1995, immediately after Timothy McVeigh bombed the Murrah Federal Building in…

On March 4, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg suspended his presidential campaign after spending $250,000,000+ of his own money on ads and winning just 44 delegates in 20 Democratic primaries. Bloomberg undoubtedly believed he could appeal to voters, but his campaign had the opposite effect — reminding Democrats and progressives…

In January, the Supreme Court accepted its first gun case in nearly a decade, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. New York City. The petitioner, NYSRPA, is a state affiliate of the National Rifle Association. NYSRPA is challenging a gun ordinance that prohibits licensees from transporting their handguns…

In February 2018, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, launched an investigation into the financial relationship between the NRA and the government of Russian president Vladimir Putin. “I am specifically troubled by the possibility that Russian-backed shell companies or intermediaries may have circumvented laws…

Responding to intense pressure following the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell indicated his chamber will consider background checks legislation when it reconvenes in September. More than 200 House Democrats are asking McConnell to vote on H.R. 8, a universal background checks bill passed…

On May 24, the White House announced President Trump was nominating Fraternal Order of Police national president Chuck Canterbury to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)—the agency tasked with enforcing federal gun laws. It was a curious promotion for a man who has never led a…

Generally speaking, bipartisanship in American politics is admirable. Our constitutional democracy is geared to breed compromises that reflect the diverse views of the American people. In an era of radical GOP politics, however, efforts at bipartisanship can be futile and sometimes even impede progress. Nowhere is that truer than in…