The illustrated posters feature slogans like, "We won our right to marry, now it's time to defend our right! And we sure as hell aren't going to take shit from homophobes in the process!" and, "Some people dislike gays. Others dislike guns. We should not base our laws on personal dislikes."

A QR code on the ads directs curious readers to an anti–gun control website that calls armed self-defense a human right and offers quizzes with questions like:

The proper response to an arson is ...

1) prohibit you and other law-abiding citizens from buying gasoline.
2) prohibit you and other law-abiding citizens from buying any flammable fluids, matches and lighters.
3) prosecute the perpetrator of the crime.

As the Stranger reports, the campaign's origins remain something of a mystery:

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An excerpt (emphasis mine):

Just in the last several days, a Bismarck news anchor mistakenly uttered vulgarity on live television. He's been heralded by celebrities from New York to California as some sort of pop icon. His bosses have been called goons because they fired him.

We learned this week that the Pentagon is vetting its guide on religious tolerance with a group that compared Christian evangelism to rape, and advocated that military personnel and colluding chaplains who proselytize should be court-marshalled.

Forty years ago, the United States Supreme Court sanctioned abortion on demand. And we wonder why our culture sees school shootings so often.

Not exactly "This is water," is it?

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The measures the group is advocating for include an assault weapon ban, a ban on high-capacity magazines, increased background checks and mandatory waiting periods for all firearm purchases.

The doctors are hoping to bring a public health perspective and peer-reviewed data to a gun debate marred by ideology and conducted along political fault lines: “What we need is a call to action, to really look at how we can change public policy that is not often affected by data,” Dr. Danielle Laraque, who heads the pediatrics department at Maimonides Infants and Children’s Hospital in Brooklyn, told a meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Washington, D.C.

“Where there are more guns in the United States, there are more people dying,” added Dr. Matthew Miller of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. “There are more women dying, there are more men dying, and there are more children dying. We are talking about a lot of people who are dying when they live in places with a lot of guns and homes with guns.”

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When Dylan, Daniel, Ana and Ben came into this world, each of us, in our own way, promised to prepare them for life as best we could. Every day, approximately 11,000 new American moms will make that same loving promise as they meet their babies for the first time...

In the wake of their deaths, we made a final promise to Dylan, Daniel, Ana and Ben: to celebrate their lives by turning this tragedy into a moment of transformation. We are determined to honor the 26 lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School by advocating common sense solutions -- solutions that address the issues that result in gun violence, including mental health policy, school safety solutions, addressing the isolation in our communities and, yes, gun safety and responsibility...

There have been nearly four thousand gun related deaths since Newtown. Too many mothers are spending too much time talking to their children in heaven instead of across the kitchen table...

We never thought our school, our community or these innocent children would ever face the unspeakable. The more we as parents expand the boundaries of our love beyond our family and to all children, the more likely a tragedy like the one that broke our hearts will never happen again.

You can read the full essay at the Huffington Post.

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The Crickett is a small, air-light firearm billed as "My First Rifle" by gun manufacturer Keystone Sporting Arms. It comes in pink and blue. It is a "training wheels" gun, part of the growing youth market in firearms.

As NBC News reports:

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Authorities said the boy had fatally shot his 2-year-old sister, Caroline, in the chest.

In rural southern Kentucky, far removed from the national debate over gun control, where some children get their first guns even before they start first grade, the accident stunned the community.

Kristian's rifle was kept in a corner of the mobile home, and the family didn't realize a bullet had been left in it, Cumberland County Coroner Gary White said.

"Down in Kentucky where we're from, you know, guns are passed down from generation to generation," White said. "You start at a young age with guns for hunting and everything."

What is more unusual than a child having a gun, he said, is "that a kid would get shot with it."

In this case, the rifle was made by a company that sells guns specifically for children — "My first rifle" is the slogan — in colors ranging from plain brown to hot pink to royal blue to multi-color swirls.

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In a series of ads, children hold assault weapons alongside items that have been banned by the federal government (like "Kinder Surprise" chocolate eggs) and local school districts (an edition of "Little Red Riding Hood" depicting a bottle of wine in the young protagonist's picnic basket) for being too "dangerous" for kids.

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Here's what we know about the incident: 42-year-old Kirk Franklin was found dead in the infield of the Texas Motor Speedway, where he had been camping. Police say the man died of a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound, apparently after getting into an argument with other campers. Alcohol may have been involved.

Of the more than 32,000 firearm-related deaths in 2011, almost 20,000 -- 62 percent -- were suicides. While horrific mass shootings like the one in Newtown, Conn., provoke national outrage and demands for legislation, they represent less than 1 percent of all gun deaths. It's the kind of quotidian but lethal admixture of mental health issues, interpersonal dispute and the presence of a firearm that is responsible for the majority of all gun deaths in this country.

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“Sooo very glad to hear this,” a woman whose grandchildren attend the school wrote in response to a local newspaper report touting the new policy, adding, “All schools in America should do this.”

As The New York Times reports, arming teachers didn't cause a stir in West Plains, a community "in which the idea of guns in classrooms is not necessarily intimidating":

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And if they don't?

"We came here to do something," Manchin said. "We've got a chance to make a difference in people's lives. We have a chance to save lives and not infringe on law-abiding citizens of this country, gun owners like myself and Pat. We have that opportunity, and God help us if we don't do it."

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Then, somehow, things seemed to get even worse for the NRA. After a full week of silence after the tragedy, it held a press conference in Washington, D.C., in which its leader, Wayne LaPierre, inspired laughter and ridicule by supporting zero reforms to guns, aside from a call for more of them (arm teachers!).

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In a Thursday interview with Sean Hannity, Coulter defended her "hyperbolic" suggestion in a blog post for Fox News that someone murder Meghan McCain, and called Martin Bashir's rhetorical question about Republicans and gun violence the real scandal.

h/t Media Matters

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The first lady elevated the conversation Wednesday, during a rare return to her hometown of Chicago. In a city ravaged by violence, with more than 500 gun-related homicides last year alone, she spoke eloquently -- and apolitically -- transcending the partisan politics that seem to subvert her husband's efforts for reasonable gun control legislation.

But what was most unique was for whom, and to whom, Michelle spoke. Her words gave voice to an oft ignored (but disproportionately affected) victim of America's gun violence: the black mother.

The first lady spoke of Hadiya Pendleton, the slain 15-year-old student, gunned down just blocks from the Obama's Chicago home -- and only days after Pendleton had attended the president's second inauguration. With tears in her eyes, Michelle said, "Hadiya Pendleton was me and I was her." The first lady went on to add that Pendleton's family is "just like" her own.

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Meanwhile, the Senate is ready for an opening vote on restricting guns as Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., set a roll call for Thursday on starting consideration of the firearms legislation. Odds are growing that Democrats will win enough Republican support to thwart an effort by conservatives and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to block consideration from even starting.

"I hope Republicans will stop trying to shut down debate and start engaging in the tough issues we were sent to Washington to tackle," Reid said.

Together, the developments were a boost for gun control advocates battling for restrictions in the wake of December's shootings that killed 20 first-graders and six staffers at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

Even so, the ultimate fate of gun legislation remains unclear, clouded by opposition from many Republicans and moderate Democrats in the Democratic-led Senate and the Republican-run House. Many critics say the proposal would violate the Second Amendment right to bear arms and burden law-abiding gun owners.

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The older boy is in serious condition.

Authorities are still investigating how the younger child obtained the .22-caliber rifle from his family's Toms River home Monday night.

Police Chief Michael Mastronardy says the children were outside the 4-year-old's home when the boy went inside, got the rifle and shot the 6-year-old about 15 yards away. It's not clear if the 4-year-old pulled the trigger or if the rifle accidentally discharged.

The parents of the 4-year-old were home at the time.

No names have been released.

The shooting comes amid debate over gun control laws in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting.

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According to a report from the Associated Press, Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh told The Dallas Morning News that investigators didn't know if McLelland and Woodward's deaths were related to Hasse's killing, but they couldn't discount it. "It was a shock with Mark Hasse, and now you can just imagine the double shock and until we know what happened, I really can't confirm that it's related but you always have to assume until it's proven otherwise," Aulbaugh said.

The three cases have prompted a multiagency manhunt, including the Kaufman County Sheriff's Department, the Texas Rangers, Colorado Springs law enforcement and the FBI. “Because we have to treat it as related [to the Hasse investigation], we’ll be working side by side again,” Aulbaugh told The Dallas Morning News.

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Because ZMB Industries says so, that's how.

The description for the target (which its manufacturers will predictably defend as "all in good fun" and "in no way condoning violence against women):

Be warned, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned but a man scorned is nothing to mess with! A young gent from Louisiana, we’ll call him Andre to protect his identity, was deeply committed to his one true love and her to him, or so he thought. While partying with her friends during one particular Mardi Gras, she took several suitors over the course of the festivities. Andre felt something odd indeed, so he paid a visit to his great aunt, Marie, who helped him see the truth. With a few eggs, candles lit and kiss upon his forehead, her voodoo curse was set in motion. Late each night while lying in bed, a smile would appear across his face, for a slight breeze would travel through a cracked window bringing with it, a faint whiff of decay and a unnatural cry of regret.

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The letter is part of an effort by Battaglia and other parents from the community to share their experiences with politicians, urging them to pass meaningful gun control legislation. And while progress on gun reform is slow and uneven, Battaglia told the New York Daily News that she and other Newtown parents are "in the fight for the long haul."

“We’re not going to give up. We’ll keep sending letters, calling (politicians) and we’re going to vote, make our voices heard," she told the News.

Battaglia's letter in full (emphasis mine):

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The service for Tom Clements, 58, is set for Monday morning at New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

The director of the Colorado Department of Corrections was killed at his home Tuesday night in Monument, north of Colorado Springs.

A private funeral was held for him Sunday. He is survived by a wife and two daughters.

Evan Spencer Ebel, killed in a gunfight with Texas authorities Thursday, is a suspect.

Colorado authorities say evidence gathered in Texas provided a strong lead in the case but stressed investigators had not yet confirmed a link between the crime and Ebel.

Authorities say the car Ebel had in Texas was similar to one seen not far from Clements' home the night he was killed, and bullets Ebel fired at Texas police were the same caliber and brand as the bullet or bullets that killed Clements.

Ballistics tests are due sometime this week.

It remained unclear whether Clements was targeted when he was shot and why.

Officials say Ebel had been a member of the 211s, a white supremacist prison gang in Colorado. El Paso County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer says investigators are trying to determine whether the 211 gang was involved in the killing.

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