BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho moms are in Boise today to speak with lawmakers about gun safety. They want legislators to oppose measures that would allow anyone with an enhanced concealed permit to carry guns at Idaho public schools.

Enhanced permits require more training to obtain than standard permits. Rep. Chad Christensen, R-Ammon, said he plans to re-introduce a bill allowing firearms on school campuses, revising it from last year to require staff to inform the principal or vice principal of their enhanced concealed-carry permit.

Jennifer Lingle is one of the Idaho chapter leads of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She said a similar bill didn't make it out of committee in 2019 because of public opposition.

"Volunteers showed up in large numbers for committee hearings where the proposed legislation was being discussed to speak out on why this is not good for Idaho children, why it's very risky and it's not backed up by any sort of evidence that it makes schools safer," Lingle said.

Last year's bill also failed days after the Idaho Sheriffs Association and the Idaho Chiefs of Police condemned the proposal. Christensen said the goal of the proposal is to keep children safe.

Moms Demand Action will meet at 10:30 Monday at the Idaho State Capitol building.

Lingle said she's a fourth-generation Idahoan who grew up in a gun-owning family.

"The guns were used for hunting and sports shooting," she said. "And I really understand the culture around guns in Idaho, and most gun owners are responsible gun owners and would never want guns used in a school shooting or unintentional shooting."

Idaho has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country. In 2019, the state began allowing residents 18 years of age or older to carry a concealed firearms statewide without a permit.


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PHILADELPHIA -- The Biden administration has a new federal strategy to address gun violence surging in cities across the country, including Philadelphia.

American Rescue Plan funds will be used to invest in a "Community Violence Intervention Collaborative," made up of Philadelphia and 14 other cities. Trusted community members can work directly with people who might be involved in gun violence to intervene in conflicts and connect them with social services.

Kallel Edwards, Philadelphia organizer for the group CeaseFirePA, believes there's an extraordinary need to fund organizations doing on-the-ground work to get at the socioeconomic root causes of gun violence.

As Edwards put it, "This is an opportunity for cities to use the funds also to prevent some of the gun violence over the summer, by creating jobs and summer programs for the youth who have really taken a big hit, you know, in these cities, in these targeted cities."

In Philadelphia, 261 people have been killed in shootings so far this year, a 37% increase compared to this time last year.

Community Violence Intervention or 'CVI' programs nationally have reduced incidents by up to 60%, according to a 2019 report from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

City leaders in the collaborative will meet over the next 18 months to learn CVI best practices and how to add public-health approaches to addressing gun violence to their policies.

In his announcement Wednesday, President Joe Biden said these community efforts save lives, and that local governments also have federal dollars to support these programs.

"For folks at home, the American Rescue Plan, which is a once-in-a-generation investment to reduce violence in America, is available," Biden stressed. "It means more police officers, more nurses, more counselors, more social workers, more community violence interrupters, to help resolve issues before they escalate into crimes."

Biden's new gun-violence prevention plan also includes a 'zero-tolerance policy' cracking down on gun dealers who break the law.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said he's hopeful this federal partnership can help the city address its gun-violence epidemic.

"We are going to hopefully work with the federal government to maybe get some of these large amounts of guns off the street, and continue working hard in our communities to build trust, to build relationships, and to put in place programs that give people the opportunity to make the right decisions in their life as opposed to making the wrong ones," Kenney said.

The City Council and Mayor Kenney have committed $155 million to gun violence prevention in next year's budget.

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Today is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and gun-safety advocates in Maine are urging the Legislature to take up bills they hope would reduce the impact of gun violence on their constituents.

Geoff Bickford, executive director of the Maine Gun Safety Coalition, said Maine has relatively low rates of violent crime compared to the nation, but he noted accidental shootings and suicide deaths, especially among children and teens, are far too common.

His group works with pediatricians to educate Mainers on safe gun storage.

"We have extremely lax laws," Bickford asserted. "In fact, we're noted for almost an absolute lack of gun safety laws. We have no, absolutely no regulation on concealed carry."

One bill, called Darien's Law, would close what's known as the "gun show loophole," meaning it would require people who buy guns from private sellers to pass a background check.

Other legislation proposes regulations for safe storage of firearms in the presence of children, and would ban 3-D-printed guns and what are known as "ghost guns," untraceable weapons that people assemble at home.

Bickford added Maine has a higher death rate due to injury from firearms than other New England states, and the majority of gun deaths in Maine are suicides, 88%, according to the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence.

"We are demanding that our lawmakers, who are tasked first and foremost with protecting the Maine public and protecting Maine kids who cannot otherwise protect themselves, to pass these laws, and for the governor to sign them," Bickford urged.

Between 2010 and 2019, Maine's gun-death rate increased by 45%, and the firearm suicide rate went up nearly 40%. It's estimated nearly half of Maine adults are gun owners.

Bickford added his group doesn't want to ban guns outright, but to promote responsible ownership of firearms.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A federal bill intended to curb gun violence would establish Consumer Product Safety Commission safety standards for firearm locks and firearm safes, taking a cue from existing Connecticut law.

The state enacted Ethan's Law in 2019, which requires gun owners to store their firearms in a safe and secure way when a minor is present.

At a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., noted 33 states have adopted gun-storage laws, and urged lawmakers to take action on preventing gun violence through the Safe Gun Storage Act.

"It's on the books in those states," Blumenthal pointed out. "It varies from state to state. But what we need is a national standard now, and there is a reason that those states have passed those laws. Because they work."

A 2016 study by the American Journal of Public Health found only 46% of surveyed gun owners stored their firearms safely.

Ethan's Law is named after a Connecticut teenager who died in 2018 from an accidental gunshot from a firearm stored with its key and ammunition at a friend's house.

Blumenthal noted better securing guns in the home also could reduce school shootings.

"Roughly 75% of incidents of gunfire on school grounds involve a shooter who has obtained a weapon in the home of a friend or relative," Blumenthal observed. "And we know about that phenomenon in Connecticut all too well from the Sandy Hook massacre."

The 2012 Newtown elementary school shooting led to the passage of many gun-safety laws in Connecticut. According to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Violence, the state now has some of the strongest gun laws in the U.S.

Matt McDermott, lead organizer of Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut, and is affiliated with the Gun Safety Consortium, is also pushing for safety standards for firearm locks and safes, and supports the latest proposed measure.

"The more that guns are safely stored and secured, the better, in terms of preventing those types of unfortunate outcomes of childhood shootings or suicide," McDermott asserted.

The Consortium is requesting proposals from manufacturers, such as fast-access gun locks and safes.