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Guns and I go back a long way. My father was a champion skeet shooter. A picture of him aiming his favorite pump skyward has pride of place in our living room. He owned fine rifles and shotguns, and he valued them. My first experience with pulling a trigger came late, by family standards. I was already 7 or 8 when my dad and “Uncle” George took me out back of Old Lily’s house and handed me a sawed-off shotgun (illegal then and now) kept handy for woodchucks and rattlesnakes. The recoil didn’t knock me off my feet, but my...

Dr. John Lott from the Crime Prevention Research Center and Igor Volsky with the Center for American Progress debated how to stop mass public shootings and the role of gun control. The discussion took place on Laura Ingraham’s show.

Gun Deaths: It's become commonplace to hear after a U.S. shooting tragedy that, when it comes to guns, America is just more violent than other countries, especially those in Europe, where many countries have stiff gun-control laws. It's a progressive shibboleth, but even some conservatives agree. The only problem is, it's not true. Yes, America does have a lot of gun violence. But more than other countries, especially in Europe?

After each mass public shooting in the U.S. – such as the horrific attack at a Florida high school last week that killed 17 people – gun control advocates keep pointing to Australia as the role model America should follow to reduce gun deaths. If only reducing crime and suicides was so easy. In reality, gun control efforts in Australia have not been as successful as we’ve been led to believe.

Norwegian child services has returned a 12-year-old Christian boy to his parents after the child was forcibly removed from the home following the parents' decision to homeschool their son because he was being bullied at school. Leif and Terese Kristiansen announced on Wednesday that their son, Kai, is has returned to their home in Ås. "We are very pleased to announce that Kai is back in his home with his family. We're very happy to see him again," Leif Kristiansen wrote in a Facebook post. "We couldn't have done this without international support from others who have contributed to us...

On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported its new ABC News-Washington Post poll on mass shootings on the front page. They asked: “Do you think that mass shootings in this country are more a reflection of problems identifying and treating people with mental health problems, or inadequate gun control laws?" By more than two to one (57 to 28 percent), people picked the mental health issues. On this shooting in particular, that divide might seem obvious. Actually, that poll finding was nowhere to be found in the Post story. ABC's Jonathan Karl briefly mentioned it as "interesting" on Tuesday's Good Morning...

Updated 2 hours 51 minutes ago A discussion among students at Oberlin High School in Oberlin, La., about a mathematical symbol led to a police investigation and a search of one of the student’s homes, according to the Allen Parish Sheriff’s Office. On the afternoon of Feb. 20, detectives investigated a report of terroristic threats at the school, where they learned that a student had been completing a math problem that required drawing the square-root sign. Students in the group began commenting that the symbol, which represents a number that when multiplied by itself equals another number, looked like a...

The largest financial institution in the world – the U.S. government – issued its financial statement just a few days ago, and nobody in Washington seems to care that the deficit is almost twice as large as they once thought. snip In substance-free Washington, the release of the annual financial statements of the U.S. government isn’t a big deal, but it should be. The statements demonstrate that we have gone backward, not forward, with Republicans in charge of all branches of government. According to the annual financial report of the U.S. government published by the Treasury Department, the real deficit...

In the wake of the horrific slaughter in Parkland, Florida, a cadre of energized and understandably traumatized teenagers has flooded Washington and the airwaves to say remarkably passionate, occasionally extreme things about guns and the need for gun control. Because these teens are politically effective, a bunch of goons, buffoons and trolls have floated conspiracy theories aimed at discrediting them. I won't be more specific than that because it's all reprehensible bilge. At the same time, quite a few advocates of gun control, including many who claim the mantle of "objective" journalism, have taken the view that these kids cannot...

A press release from the city of Parkland said that Peterson was named their school resource officer of the year for 2014. The release said that Peterson had been the SRO at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School since 2009. It reads, “Deputy Peterson has proven to reliable in handling issues with tact and judgement.” It is also stated that Peterson was responsible for investigating crimes including property crimes, assaults and narcotics offenses. The release goes on to say that Peterson was active in “mentoring and counseling” students. The Sun Sentinel reports that Peterson earned $75,673.92, citing sheriff’s records. You can...

(The Hill) First National Bank of Omaha said Thursday that it would end its business relationship with the National Rifle Association (NRA) after feedback from customers. In a post on its official Twitter account Thursday, the bank announced it would no longer renews its contract with the NRA. Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA,” the bank wrote. “As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card.

A man is dead after he was shot by a homeowner multiple times during an apparent home invasion Thursday afternoon in Schertz, according to authorities. The man was reportedly shot at 2:13 p.m. in a home in the 4000 block of Brook Hollow Drive, according to Schertz police. Detectives said the man had forced his way into the home while brandishing a handgun. Once inside, the homeowner shot the the man several times, investigators said. The man was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived, police said.

STARKE, FLA. A Florida inmate convicted of raping and killing a college student decades ago screamed and yelled "murderers!" three times, thrashing on a gurney as he was being put to death Thursday. The governor's office said Eric Scott Branch, 47, was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. Thursday after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison. Branch was convicted of the 1993 rape and fatal beating of University of West Florida student Susan Morris, 21, whose naked body was found buried in a shallow grave near a nature trail.

Two major companies, Enterprise Holdings Inc. and First National Bank of Omaha ended co-branding partnerships with the National Rifle Association Thursday as a #BoycottNRA social media movement picked up steam. Enterprise is the parent company of three car-rental brands: Enterprise, Alamo and National. The arrangement offered discounts to NRA members.

The only question after every school shooting is how quickly it begins. I’m talking, of course, about calls for guns to be banned and confiscated. This time, it was surprisingly swift and predictably fact-free. There were, of course, the tweets from liberal luminaries, many of whom used outright lies masquerading as statistics to explain their position. Then there were the angry and/or weepy liberal news anchors berating the GOP for their response. The only twist in the narrative this time was a supposed political movement of cherry-picked high school students who were calling for gun control, all of which was...

White House senior aide Jared Kushner’s multiple omissions on required financial disclosure forms for his security clearance would “be a crime, punishable by prison” for other people, Fox News host Shepard Smith said Thursday. “Apparently not in this case,” Smith added. The White House has implied that Kushner’s frequent revisions to his financial forms to provide information that was incorrect or missing have caused delays which have held up his security clearance, even though he works with an interim clearance that allows him to view classified information. Two sources, however, also told CNN Thursday that Kushner will not obtain full...

"Study: 90 Percent Of Americans Strongly Opposed To Each Other." That's the headline on a story in what, on some days, seems to be America's most reliable news outlet, The Onion. We laugh (or at least I did) because it strikes a chord. Americans of many different political outlooks today seem united in believing that we are experiencing the worst times in the nation's history. President Donald Trump's detractors talk about how he's a neurotic neo-Nazi establishing a dictatorship. Trump's fans talk about the existence of a deep state that uses secret protocols to undermine voters' choices. Both sides have...

A documentary currently being screened at dozens of campuses nationwide promotes the idea that “African American English” is something to be appreciated, celebrated and championed, that it’s a common thread and bonding tool among descendants of slaves.

CBS News has a strange way of marking Valentine's Day. On the Sunday after Wednesday's romantic dinners and flowers, "Sunday Morning" linked the day to a deep study of marital infidelity. Reporter Tony Dokoupil found an expert: therapist Esther Perel, author of "The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity." He also found two cheating wives who explained their cheating ways without any guilt. CBS insisted we need to "rethink our attitude" toward the sin of adultery. It happens in every period of time and every culture, CBS explained. So does murder, and it's uncertain whether CBS thinks we must "rethink" that,...