It took three horrific mass shootings in barely five weeks for a Republican presidential candidate to finally say something halfway sensible about gun violence.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — reacting to a slaughter in one of his state’s movie theaters — called for bolstering background checks by the FBI to keep firearms out of the hands of the dangerously mentally ill.

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“The only right you’re protecting if you're against background checks is the right of a convicted felon, of a convicted rapist, of a convicted domestic abuser to own a gun. It has nothing to do with the rights of law-abiding citizens.”

Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/bill-hammond-gun-zealots-shooting-blanks-article-1.2307142

WASHINGTON – With Congress unlikely to approve new gun control legislation, a group of senators are urging gun retailers to do what Wal-Mart has done for nearly a decade -- not sell a gun until a background check on the purchaser is completed.

A delay in completing a background check is cited in the purchase of a weapon by Dylann Roof, who is alleged to have used the weapon to shoot and kill nine people attending a Bible study at an historic black Charleston, S.C. church last month.

The FBI is given up to three days to complete the check, with the vast majority done within minutes. But some take more than the three days allowed for completion of the tests. And in those rare cases, gun control advocates said the retailer should wait, as Wal-Mart does, for the background check's completion.

"There's no inconvenience to the retailer in simply requiring that they get information back from the background checks system before they let somebody walk out of their store with a gun," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Ct., said. "Do you know why many of them take more than three days? Because there's a criminal trying to buy the gun and it takes the background check system some time to figure out what could be a complicated criminal history."

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/07/lawmakers_ask_gun_dealers_to_w.html

SANTA ANA, Calif. (CN) - An Orange County shooting range rented a .45 caliber handgun to a woman and let her walk out the door and kill herself with it, her parents claim in court -- and they say it's not the first time it's happened there.

The parents claim it's at least the third time the center rented a gun used for suicide or violence.

On-Target Indoor Shooting Range left 34-year-old Brooke Morrison "totally unattended" on the range after renting her the gun, then let her walk out the door with it in her purse, her parents Brian and Terri Pfahler say in Orange County Court.

Morrison then called her boyfriend and told him "she had a gun and intended to kill herself" and she did, though her boyfriend immediately called emergency personnel, according to the July 9 lawsuit.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/07/14/parents-blame-suicide-on-10-rented-gun.htm

Several studies conducted in recent years have given us great insight into the psychology of gun ownership; meaning the beliefs and behaviors frequently exhibited by gun owners and the motivations behind them keeping weapons.

As it turns out, cultural context, racial biases, political affiliation, and anger issues are all related to gun ownership. Here’s a sampling of some of the exciting research that’s out there:

Those who own guns tend to be part of a “social gun culture.” In a 2015 study, Bindu Kalesan, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, found that there is a strong association between exposure to social gun culture and gun ownership. According to Dr. Kalesan’s research, the average gun-owning America is “white, married or divorced, high income, and over 55 years old.” The social gun culture includes “unseen codes of behaviour and powerful predictors of behavioural intentions and health behaviours.”

Men who carry guns suffer from a “crisis of confidence.” Jennifer Carlson, author of “Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline,” explained in a recent op-ed why men feel the need to carry guns in public. One man told Carson he felt “naked” without his gun. Carlson found that men might carry guns in public “as a reaction to broader socioeconomic decline” or because carrying a gun is seen as a “masculine duty.” Psychologically, carrying a gun can help men “address social insecurities far beyond crime.” Carlson concluded by noting, “The gun rights platform is not just about guns. It’s also about a crisis of confidence in the American dream. And this is one reason gun control efforts ignite such intense backlashes: Restrictions are received as a personal affront to men who find in guns a sense of duty, relevance and even dignity.”

http://csgv.org/blog/2015/psychology-gun-ownership/

ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – With the city nearing 100 killings this year, including the shooting death of an alderman’s nephew, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay joins a case filed by the Circuit Attorney seeking to uphold a state law banning felons from possessing guns.

The action comes after some felons allegedly caught with guns have claimed the state law banning that is unconstitutional because, they claim, a constitutional amendment approved by voters last year gives all Missouri citizens the right to bear arms.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce filed an appeal of those cases before the Missouri Supreme Court, and now the city is joining the suit as a “friend of the court.”

“The mayor has said reducing crime is his number one priority right now,” said City Counselor Winston Calvert, “and guns are a big part of our crimes in the city.”

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2015/07/15/city-of-st-louis-joins-mo-supreme-court-case-on-guns/

It got little notice, but the Florida Supreme Court this month clamped a big inhibition on the state’s “Stand your ground” law.

In a 5-2 ruling, the court on July 9 said that defendants who use the controversial legal defense — rather than the government — have the burden of proving it should shield them from prosecution. The ruling drew the ire of the National Rifle Association and points to renewed debate when the Legislature reconvenes.

The case concerns a 2011 road incident in which a vacationing Indiana family was heading toward Disney World in Kissimmee. A blue SUV rapidly passed them on the right side, almost side-swiping them, then cut in front and came to a halt. The SUV driver, Derek Dunning, got out of his vehicle and walked toward the family’s car. The father, Ronald Bretherick, held up a holstered handgun as a warning. Dunning, who was unarmed, returned to his vehicle.

Bretherick’s 22-year-old son, Jared, then got out and pointed his father’s handgun at Dunning’s SUV. When police arrived in answer to several 911 calls, they arrested Jared Bretherick for aggravated assault.

http://opinionzone.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2015/07/20/florida-supreme-court-made-good-call-on-stand-your-ground/

"A vast majority of the time we get a proceed," L.E.P.D. Firearms Owner Eric Delbert said. "A percentage of the time, it comes back with a denial, there is also a good percent of the time where we hear nothing."

It comes back as "delayed." The person needs to be checked further. But the system isn't always quick. And there's a certain provision in the Brady Law.

"If we hear nothing, after three business days, then we are legally able to transfer that firearm to that person," Delbert said.

That's reportedly what happened in the case of the gunman who killed nine people in a South Carolina church.

http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2015/07/23/background-checks-on-gun-sales-has-major-loophole.html

WASHINGTON — The Army has warned its recruiters to treat the gun-toting civilians gathering at centers across the country in the wake of the Chattanooga, Tenn., shooting as a security threat.

Soldiers should avoid anyone standing outside the recruiting centers attempting to offer protection and report them to local law enforcement and the command if they feel threatened, according to a U.S. Army Recruiting Command policy letter issued Monday.

Recruiters were ordered not to interact or acknowledge the armed civilians, who have been greeted by a mix of concern, indifference and gratitude by the public.

“If questioned by these alleged concerned citizens, be polite, professional and terminate the conversation immediately and report the incident to local law enforcement …,” the command advised.

http://www.stripes.com/news/us/army-to-recruiters-treat-armed-citizens-as-security-threat-1.359134

The Afghan government has decided to launch a crackdown on the culture of violence in the country by banning guns. Not the real lethal firearms but toy guns that children play with.

The move on Tuesday comes after more than 100 children suffered eye injuries in the capital Kabul from toy weapons during the three days of Eid al-Fitr celebrations, which marked the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The problem of toy gun-related violence is being felt not only in the troubled Middle-Eastern countries, but in the US as well. A study by Stanford University School of Medicine published last month showed that between 2010 and 2013 the number of injuries from ‘non-powder’ firearms in the US soared more than 500 percent.

In 2012 alone, more than 3,000 children were treated at US emergency departments for eye injuries from airsoft guns, BB guns, pellet guns and paintball guns, the study said.

http://www.rt.com/news/310452-afghanistan-toy-gun-ban/