Newton Mayor Joins Massachusetts Delegation of Mayors Against Illegal Guns

Since the Newtown school tragedy, 14 Massachusetts mayors have joined the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition.

  Boston Mayor Thomas Menino hosted the Massachusetts delegation of the  Mayor's Against Illegal Guns coalition today as they continued their push on Congress to enact national legislation that will decrease gun violence. “Earlier this week, I asked the City of Boston to stand with us on guns and say enough is enough,” said Menino at the Parkman House on Beacon Street. “As Mayors, we have a responsibility to our residents to do all we can to make our neighborhoods safer. Today, we’re calling on every community in Massachusetts to stand with us. We must keep the pressure on Congress to take swift action.” Menino praised the Massachusetts federal delegation for signing onto the Fix Guns Check Act, which would require background checks for …

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Adam Maleson

12:59 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

I'd like to see Setti Warren take a stand against police brutality. Because there is at least one officer on the Newton Police Force who should rightly be called a member of the Newton Police Excessive Force. The mayor and the police of Newton are lucky that I have no prior history of broken bones or fractures in my right arm or wrist, because the officer who twisted my right arm excessively in …   more ›

Newton Sees Increase in Large-Capacity Gun Permits

See how many gun permits were issued in Newton over the past five years.

The Beretta 92 pistol. The SPAS-12 shotgun. These are examples of the types of large-capacity firearms for which permits have increased 26 percent in Newton since 2008, according to state records. "Large-capacity" firearms are defined by the state of Massachusetts as semi-automatic handguns or rifles with the capacity of more than 10 ammunition rounds in their magazines and shotguns capable of having more than five shells. While the Class A large capacity permits have increased, the Class B non-large capacity permits in Newton have stayed relatively flat over the last five years, increasing by just three permits between 2008 and 2012. One number that may bring interest is the license to possess a machine gun; in Newton, that number has …

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Adam Maleson

1:40 am on Sunday, February 3, 2013

We live in an age of technological marvels. You are using one of these modern marvels at this very moment to read this. We have the knowledge and ability to make magic happen every day. We have the ability to create instruments of self-defense that are non-lethal. There is no valid reason for continuing to depend on gunpowder-propelled metal bullets to stop an assailant. This is antiquated …   more ›

Newton Mayor Responds to President Obama's Gun Control Proposal

Mayor Setti Warren is a member of the Mayor's Against Illegal Guns, which is co-chaired by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Tom Menino.

Shortly after President Barack Obama laid out his gun control plan yesterday, Newton Mayor Setti Warren joined fellow mayors in commending the president for proposing a "comprehensive" package to reduce gun violence. "I want to thank President Obama for putting forth a comprehensive plan to end the bloodshed in our country, and I join mayors across the country in calling on Congress to act now," Warren said in his statement. Warren went on in his statement to urge Congress to act quickly on gun control, as "American lives are at stake." Warren is one of 800 members of the Mayor's Against Illegal Guns group, which is co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Tom Menino.  The group works with local, state and …

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Newton Event: A Conversation about Mental Health and Gun Control

The Ward 6 Democratic Committee of Newton and the Mayor’s Crime Prevention Commission invite you to A Conversation on Gun Control and Mental Health.

Is Now the Time to Talk Gun Control?

Does the massacre at Newtown, CT, signal the need for a political debate on gun regulations?

  Before officials had even held their first press conference Friday, Facebook was abuzz with status updates about the Newtown, CT, massacre. The statuses were split between those sending their condolences and those asking if the country would finally deal with the issue of gun control. Some fought back, asking for respect and mourning before political debate began. Others remained fierce in their belief that stricter gun control regulations would have prevented such a mass killing, saying the victims were shot multiple times and with semi-automatic weapons, according to Fox News. The guns were not illegal and were, in fact, owned by the shooter's mother. Among them were a semi-automatic .223 caliber bushmaster rifle and two handguns. …

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Adam Maleson

11:34 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012

In this age of the internet, the iphones, Google satellite maps and all the technological marvels we have, there is NO excuse for the existence of guns except in museums. We have the technological ability to invent instruments of self-defense that are non-lethal. We have already available pepper-sprays, and other non-lethal defenses. We can do better. If 1% of the energy and money that goes into …   more ›

TELL US: Should Massachusetts Gun Control Laws be Loosened?

A Massachusetts gun owners group is lobbying for passage of a bill that would confer lifetime gun licenses — no renewals necessary.

  Way too much red tape. That's the complaint of the Gun Owners’ Action League of Massachusetts, a group that is urging passage of a law that would abolish the requirement of having to renew a gun permit every six years, according to the Boston Herald. For comparison, Massachusetts vehicle drivers' licenses need to be renewed every five years. But the league says local police cannot keep up with timely gun permit renewals, and legitimate gunowners go license-less until the cops get time to do the paperwork.  The law now allows 40 days for turning around license applications. In Boston, almost 1,000 people have applied for gun permits so far this year, with waits running about 10 weeks, the Herald quotes police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca …

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ANOTHER Mass Shooting. What's the Answer?

A gunman opened fire this morning near the Empire State Building, the latest in this summer's gun carnage. What do you think the response should be?

Yet another one. In the most recent mass shooting this morning, police say a gunman opened fire just outside the Empire State Building in New York City just after 9 a.m. Sources told the New York Daily News a dispute erupted between co-workers at a business in the Empire State Building. They say the shooter casually walked away from the scene; witnesses pointed him out to the police and he was then shot dead by police. Earlier this month, a lone gunman — an Army veteran and labeled as a white supremacist — allegedly opened fire and killed six people and wounded three others at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. He also was shot and killed by police. Possible involvement by others is still being investigated. Last month, a lone gunman …

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