Any chance of cities or counties conducting future gun-buyback programs is about to evaporate.

I now believe, because of what happened in Missouri recently, that expanded background checks are simply a federal back-door universal gun registration perpetrated by the Obama administration. I am totally opposed to it.

Saying that guns are public assets worth money, state senators voted Tuesday to close what they say are the last loopholes in the law allowing cities to destroy weapons that come into their possession.

What is the job of a rodeo clown? Jump out and distract a raging bull from goring the fallen young fool who tried to ride him. They trick the bull into charging aimlessly about until the ring is cleared and danger averted. Compare these clowns to the ones who write to newspapers with silly analogies and diversions from the issue of universal background checks for gun purchases. What would be the difference?

Arizona authorities say a package addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio discovered in a northern Arizona mailbox would have exploded if opened, leading to serious injuries or death.

The Chandler Police Department is asking for the public’s help to identify a bank robbery suspect. On April 1 around 4:30 p.m. the suspect walked into the Compass Bank, 3075 W. Chandler Blvd., and presented a teller with a note demanding money. After stealing an undisclosed amount of money, the suspect was seen fleeing in an older dark green SUV with a bike rack and an Autism Awareness bow on the back of the vehicle.

The national dialogue is misleading. To have a “meaningful discussion” we must identify the issue correctly.

ALBANY, N.Y. — 

“Everyone in this country was created equal, endowed by their creator. But two people with the same endowments just can’t be allowed to pursue happiness, and have to settle for life and liberty. The Bill of Rights only applies to some.”

Saying it's nobody business, state lawmakers are poised to keep local governments -- and anyone else -- from finding out who owns a gun.

TUCSON — A state commission has voted unanimously to support efforts aimed at providing local law enforcement greater access to mental health records of people purchasing guns from dealers.

Republicans who control the Arizona Senate pushed through a bill Monday allowing designated teachers, administrators or other employees in rural schools to carry a handgun and allowing retired police officers who work in schools statewide to carry guns.

Gilbert police responded to a neighborhood near Guadalupe and Lindsay roads after a 5-year-old fired a handgun in the front yard Saturday morning, said Sgt. Jesse Sanger, Gilbert PD spokesman.

State senators voted Wednesday to allow a teacher, administrator, custodian or even cafeteria worker at rural and some suburban schools to be armed.

The rampage of violence against helpless citizens in Mexico should be a lesson to all in the U.S. who hunger for restricting, then registering, then ultimately collecting our firearms.

The state House voted Thursday to slam the door on gun buyback programs -- even when the owners specifically ask that their weapons be destroyed.

Jodi Arias insists she killed lover Travis Alexander in 2008 at his suburban Phoenix home in self-defense during a violent fight. She then took pictures of his body, cleaned the scene, drove to Utah and proceeded to tell a series of lies to cover her tracks. She now says it was such a traumatic experience that she remembers little of the actual killing.

LAS VEGAS — Nevada officials say they're no longer recognizing concealed weapons permits from Arizona after the state relaxed some of its training requirements.

Of the seventeen pardons recently granted by President Obama for various crimes, one was to a person convicted of illegal possession of an unregistered firearm. So much for gun laws.

When tragic stories of mass killing emerge, like the Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut, the effects on weapons sales and legislation are well-publicized by news organizations and pundits, but there are other weapons-themed businesses like VIP Airsoft in Gilbert.

The NRA and their willing allies — denial, deception, and deflection — are working overtime in the nation’s newspapers, and our Valley dallies are no exception.

So let’s look at Arizona’s reaction to the gun control controversy.

PHOENIX -- A Senate panel set the stage Wednesday for a confrontation between state and federal law enforcement over gun laws.