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December 25, 2012
I have recently been named to lead a congressional task force on reducing and preventing gun violence.
I am no stranger to guns. In the home where I grew up, you walked by a gun rack holding two deer rifles, a shotgun and a .22 on the way to my bedroom and our bathroom. Before I was old enough to drive, I would ride my bike though town to the river to go duck hunting.
I am no stranger to guns. In the home where I grew up, you walked by a gun rack holding two deer rifles, a shotgun and a .22 on the way to my bedroom and our bathroom. Before I was old enough to drive, I would ride my bike though town to the river to go duck hunting.
December 22, 2012
In our endorsement of Rep. Mike Thompson for an eighth term in the U.S. Congress, we wrote at length about the significant influence his leadership has had on Napa County.
That leadership found greater national purpose last week.
Prompted by the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre nine days ago in Newtown, Conn., Thompson has been selected to chair a new congressional task force on gun control. The panel will be focused specifically on reducing and preventing gun violence throughout the nation.
That leadership found greater national purpose last week.
Prompted by the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre nine days ago in Newtown, Conn., Thompson has been selected to chair a new congressional task force on gun control. The panel will be focused specifically on reducing and preventing gun violence throughout the nation.
December 22, 2012
Putting armed guards in schools to deter violence is not something local educators, parents and even law enforcement see as viable.
The National Rifle Association's suggestion Friday that armed guards should be placed at every school to protect children from mass shootings was quickly dismissed as counter-productive, costly and probably unnecessary.
The National Rifle Association's suggestion Friday that armed guards should be placed at every school to protect children from mass shootings was quickly dismissed as counter-productive, costly and probably unnecessary.
December 22, 2012
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Jon Hammar, the 27-year-old former Marine from Palmetto Bay, is making his way back to his family's Palmetto Bay home, after spending almost five months imprisoned in Mexico.
Hammar was released Friday night from the Matamoros jail and driven over the U.S.-Mexico border into Brownsville, Texas, where his father, Jon Sr., waited.
The family decided it would be best to drive rather than fly to their Palmetto Bay home, to give Jon time to decompress.
The two men stopped in a hotel last night after driving a good distance away from Brownsville.
Hammar was released Friday night from the Matamoros jail and driven over the U.S.-Mexico border into Brownsville, Texas, where his father, Jon Sr., waited.
The family decided it would be best to drive rather than fly to their Palmetto Bay home, to give Jon time to decompress.
The two men stopped in a hotel last night after driving a good distance away from Brownsville.
December 21, 2012
A Marine veteran jailed for months in Mexico after trying to carry a family heirloom shotgun across the border has been freed, officials and his lawyer said late Friday. Jon Hammar, who is from Florida, left for Mexico this summer, about three months after he left the Pathway Home in Yountville where he had been treated for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Hammar's attorney tweeted Friday night that his client had been released from a detention center in Matamoros, Mexico. U.S. officials had been planning to drive the 27-year-old Hammar across the border at Brownsville, Texas.
Hammar's attorney tweeted Friday night that his client had been released from a detention center in Matamoros, Mexico. U.S. officials had been planning to drive the 27-year-old Hammar across the border at Brownsville, Texas.
December 21, 2012
Mike Thompson is walking point again.
This time, the Northern California congressman and former Vietnam War infantryman is stepping out ahead of gun control. His job, in part, is to find politically feasible firearms solutions that can work without endangering his fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“There's always a concern in the legislative process that some want to go too far, and some won't go far enough,” Thompson said an interview.
This time, the Northern California congressman and former Vietnam War infantryman is stepping out ahead of gun control. His job, in part, is to find politically feasible firearms solutions that can work without endangering his fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“There's always a concern in the legislative process that some want to go too far, and some won't go far enough,” Thompson said an interview.
December 21, 2012
The man chosen by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to lead a Democratic task force on gun violence told TPM on Thursday that the rifle used in the Newtown, Conn. massacre should be illegal under a new assault weapons ban.
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) said that the AR-15 type gun would be among the things targeted in his ideal version of a ban. “You mean the Bushmaster?” Thompson said. “Yeah, in my view, it would.”
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) said that the AR-15 type gun would be among the things targeted in his ideal version of a ban. “You mean the Bushmaster?” Thompson said. “Yeah, in my view, it would.”
December 21, 2012
Congressman Mike Thompson, chair of a congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force (CA-1) today issued the following statement following the National Rifle Association's (NRA) press conference.
“Everyone agrees our schools, movie theaters shopping malls, streets and communities need to be safer. But we need a comprehensive approach that goes beyond just arming more people with more guns to make this happen.
“Everyone agrees our schools, movie theaters shopping malls, streets and communities need to be safer. But we need a comprehensive approach that goes beyond just arming more people with more guns to make this happen.
December 21, 2012
Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-1) announced today that the Russian River watershed was selected as California's Habitat Focus Area within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Habitat Blueprint. NOAA's habitat conservation experts felt that the Russian River offered the greatest opportunities for NOAA-wide collaboration on habitat conservation among the 17 candidate areas identified by the staff this fall.
December 20, 2012
When Rep. Gabby Giffords and 18 other Americans were gunned down in front of a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket in January 2011, I thought Congress would start to move on gun control legislation. Giffords was, after all, one of their own members. I was disappointed.