Tagged: Second Amendment

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer says President Obama's proposal for gun control laws are rational and that he'd like to see new legislation passed.

But those comments are in stark contrast to a state law that is forcing changes to the city's definition of deadly weapons and now allow firearms to be carried in city-owned buildings.

WHAS radio host Mandy Connell has apologized for controversial remarks that compared gun registration to the tagging of Jews in Nazi Germany.

Last week, Connell had a debate with Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth over firearm regulations in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre.

Second Amendment advocates have voice concern over new stricter laws, and Connell said legislation to register legal gun owners could be the first step to total citizen disarmament and was similar Jews being tagged with yellow stars during the Holocaust.

Speaking on her Tuesday morning broadcast, Connell said the comparison was inappropriate.

"It seemed to some that I was making light of the persecution of the Jews in Germany. That is not at all my intention—ever," she says. "I’m well aware of the horrors perpetuated on the Jewish people. And if my comments caused pain or unhappiness or discomfort to those in the Jewish community, I am truly, truly sorry."

Third District Congressman John Yarmuth, D-Ky., is co-sponsoring legislation that would ban high-capacity ammunition magazines.

A pair of Democratic lawmakers introduced the same bill last summer in the wake of a mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater. But there is newfound pressure for gun control measures due to the massacre of students and faculty at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.

The measure would ban the sale or transfer of firearms that hold more than 10 rounds. Supporters point out that some gun magazines have 100 or more rounds.

Yarmuth says this measure is one of the least controversial attempts at gun control to prevent future massacres.

"These magazines serve no legitimate sporting purpose or even self-defense purpose. They are only there for mass killing," he says.

Kentucky Third District Congressman John Yarmuth, D-Ky., says lawmakers need to get behind comprehensive gun control in the aftermath of a elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

Last Friday, a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School with an assault rifle and two semi-automatic pistols, killing 20 children and six adults. The shooting has sparked a national debate about the Second Amendment, and gun control groups have been pushing for stricter laws.

However, gun right's advocates such as Congressman Louie Gohmert, R-Tx., have suggested the school’s principal should have been armed as a way to protect the students and staff.

Yarmuth says arming more citizens is not the answer, and that groups like the National Rifle Association ought to be open to reasonable regulations.

"The National Rifle Association has spent untold millions of dollars instilling fear in our citizens and our politicians. That organization, which regularly fails to represent the responsible attitudes of its members, wants us to believe that the best protection against the irresponsible and lethal use of guns is for everyone to be armed," he says. "And while no specific gun regulation may have prevented the deaths of the 20 Sandy Hook Elementary children, 6 and 7-year-old children, the answer simply cannot be a gun in every elementary school lunchbox."

When asked about his documentary debut, Louisville filmmaker Shawnell Harrison is direct about why he chose to tackle the razing of the historic Sheppard Square housing complex as his first project.

The 35-year-old director wanted residents to purge their feelings about the demolition and life in the projects, and Harrison's style dived into the Smoketown neighborhood where he received a raw and emotional reaction. Several residents offered him their explicit love and disdain for the 70-year-old housing project, including criticism of how the housing authority, Metro Police and media view them.

The last resident was relocated in March and demolition began in June, which leaves Sheppard Square as mostly rubble now. Construction of new homes has recently started near the former housing development that will pave the way for a mixed-income neighborhood.

Below is an excerpt of Harrison's film.