Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence Celebrates 2009 Student Voices Contest Winners

• ICHV’s 14th Annual Student Voices Contest: Young People Speak Out About Gun Violence In Their Communities.
• ICHV Insights By Father Michael Pfleger: Taking a Moral Stand Against the Gun Industry In Order To Save Lives.

Advocacy Spotlight

• Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence: Toledo Church Rally To Promote Guns As Part of ‘God’s Will’ Is An Insult To All Faiths and Religions.
• Brady Campaign: Law Enforcement And Gun Violence Prevention Groups Urge Massachusetts High Court To Uphold Safe Gun Storage Law.

News

• Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial: Mayors Take Aim On Illegal Guns.
• Guns and Booze Don’t Mix, Tennessee Lawsuit Argues.
• Houston Chronicle: Federal Law Enforcement Officials Hunt For Guns, One House At a Time.
• New York Times Editorial: Obama Creates New Post, White House Adviser On Violence Against Women.
  

Community Spotlight

• Head Of Anti-Violence Campaign Looking To Expand Program Into Newark.
• Seattle Mayor To Hold Summit On Youth Violence Prevention.

Research

• Brady Center Report: Guns and Hate: A Lethal Combination.

The report points to a series of recent hate shootings by violent extremists who exploited loopholes in the nation’s gun laws, including:

* The shooting death of Officer Stephen Johns by a white supremacist at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., on June 10, 2009;

* The shooting death of one soldier and wounding of another at a military recruiting station in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the hands of a Muslim extremist on June 1, 2009;

* The shooting deaths of three Pittsburgh police officers at the hands of a white supremacist armed with an AK-47 on April 4, 2009.

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(Freedom States Alliance is proud to post selections from the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence’s 14th Annual Student Voices Contest).

“We congratulate and honor all of our student winners for using their talents and voices in speaking out about gun violence. In yet another grisly year of violence that plagues too many of our students, it is truly inspiring to see the immense creativity, thoughtfulness and passion from our young people who care deeply about making our communities safer,” said Thom Mannard, Executive Director of Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence.

“We are grateful for all of the schools that participated in this year’s student contest, and are thankful to the principals, teachers, parents and especially our incredible students who helped make this event a success.”

All 17 winners received a new computer and a $25 gift certificate to a local bookstore.

See complete list of contest winners below.

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(We are pleased to post the following press release from our Freedom States Alliance affiliate, the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence).

For Immediate Release

Contact: Toby Hoover, ocagv@yahoo.com

Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence Calls On Religious Leaders To Speak Out Over Gun Lobby’s Immoral Agenda

(Toledo, OH, June 29, 2009) – The Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence released the following statement in response to the Northwest Baptist Church’s gun rally in Toledo, OH scheduled for Monday night, June 29. The Northwest Baptist Church is falsely claiming that the Bible and Jesus Christ support Christians arming themselves with deadly firearms.

Toby Hoover, the Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence said in response:

“It is an embarrassment to people of faith that pray for peace and non-violence to have gun proponents use a house of worship to encourage the ownership and defend the use of weapons.

“Firearms are not sacred relics of worship. They are tools of violence- lethal products designed to kill and injure human beings, to destroy lives, and cause terror in our communities.

“Guns allow a person to decide who lives and who dies. It is absolutely immoral to suggest that the Bible supports violence. We need to reduce gun violence, not use fear to divide and distract us to the suffering caused by our gun culture.

“The gun lobby and gun industry like to disguise their radical and extremist agenda by hiding behind the flag, and now the Bible. People’s lives and safety should matter more than a radical and violent ideology purported by the gun lobby.

“The Northwest Baptist Church’s gun rally is an insult to all faiths, religions, and the human community to which we all belong. We call on all members of the faith community to speak out about this dangerous agenda. It is absolutely vital that we not allow the gun lobby to hijack our sacred spaces of worship as they have done to our public places. Our families and children are less safe because of the proliferation of deadly and loaded guns being carried in public, both openly and concealed.

“We need to honor our values by reducing the access to these tools of violence and not promote weapons and fear if we are ever to reclaim a peaceful and just society. “

For more information visit www.ohioceasefire.org

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Ceasefire NJ Passes One Handgun Per Month Law In Major, Life-Saving Legislation

• Ceasefire NJ Press Release: New Jersey Senate Passes Critical Public Safety ‘One Handgun A Month’ Bill.
  
• Politicker NJ: State Senate Limits Handgun Purchases To One Per Month.
• GunGuys.com Editorial: Would Someone Please Explain Why You Need More Than One Handgun Per Month, Or 12 Handguns Per Year?

Advocacy Spotlight

• Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence: Despite 36 Public School Students Killed By Gun Violence, and Days After 9-Year-Old Girl Gunned Down Outside Her Home, the Illinois Gun Lobby Holds Rally To End Chicago’s Handgun Ban.
• Is Gun Control a Cultural Issue? By Dennis Henigan, Brady Center Vice President and Author Of New Book, “Lethal Logic.”

Handgun Bans, Court Rulings and the Supreme Court’s New Nominee

• Hal Turner, White Supremacist and Internet Radio Host, Arrested For Threatening 3 Federal Judges Who Ruled In Favor Of Keeping Chicago’s Handgun Ban.
• Christian Science Monitor: After D.C. Handgun Ban Reversed In ‘08, San Francisco and Philadelphia Have Seen Setbacks For Local Gun Controls. More Laws Expected To Come Under Fire.
• GOP To Press Judge Sotomayor On Gun Rights, Say They Will Question the Supreme Court Nominee On the Divisive Issue In Hopes Of Weakening Her Support Among Moderate Democrats.
• Gun Rulings Open Way To Supreme Court Review.

GAO Says U.S. Guns Pouring Into Mexico, Arming Drug Cartels

• Download GAO Report: Firearms Trafficking — U.S. Efforts to Combat Arms Trafficking to Mexico Face Planning and Coordination Challenges.
• GAO: Testimony Before the Subcommittee On the Western Hemisphere, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, U.S. Arms Trafficking To Mexico.
• Mexican Cartels Lure American Teens as Killers.

News

• Two Milwaukee Police Offices Shot In the Head In Broad Daylight — How Did an Armed Teenage Get His Handgun?
• AP: Shares Of Nation’s Gun Makers Fell On Analyst Concerns That the Postelection Surge In Handgun Sales May Be Coming To an End.
• NYT: When Fear and Fury Drive Gun Sales.
  
• In Kentucky, Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns To Church.
• Group Offers Alternative To ‘Open Carry’ Church Celebration.
• New York Times Editorial: The Fast-Draw-but-Don’t-Drink Law — Tennessee Legislature Overrides Gov.’s Veto To Keep Guns Out Of Bars.
• Guns From America Fuel Jamaica’s Gang Wars.
• CNN: People On Terrorist Watch List Allowed To Buy Guns.
• New York Times Columnists Discuss Guns, Gays and Abortion.

Community Spotlight

• Manhattan’s West Village’s Rattlestick Theatre: “The Amish Project” Investigates a Community Grappling With Loss and Faith.
• YouTube Video Profiling Playwright and Director of “The Amish Project.”

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