• Mayors' Anti-Illegal-Guns Group Claims 400K New Members Since Newtown
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   January 11, 2013
• The same day, the NRA said it has gained 100,000 new members over the last 18 days, bringing its total number of paid members from 4.1 million to 4.2 million.
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• New York Moving Quickly to Enact Tough Gun Laws
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   January 10, 2013
• New York State is nearing agreement on a proposal to put what would be some of the nation’s strictest gun-control laws into effect, including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's recommended ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, and new measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally ill people.
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• Cuomo to Propose More Restrictive Assault Weapons Ban
• Source: New York Times   |   New York   |   January 9, 2013
• Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, pushing New York to become the first state to enact major new gun laws in the wake of the massacre in Newtown, Conn., plans to propose one of the country’s most restrictive bans on assault weapons.

• Death Penalty Repeal Could Be Within 1 Vote in Maryland
• Source: Baltimore Sun   |   Maryland   |   January 9, 2013
• Proponents of overturning Maryland's death penalty appear to be within one or two votes of gaining enough political clout to push repeal through the state Senate, where previous efforts have failed.

• Texas-New Mexico Water Fight Goes to Supreme Court
• Source: AP/Houston Chronicle   |   Southwest   |   January 9, 2013
• Texas officials asked the U.S. Supreme Court to force New Mexico to abide by an agreement about sharing water from the Rio Grande. But New Mexico officials said the move is "tantamount to extortion."
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• California Pleas for End to Feds' Control of Prisons
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   January 9, 2013
• Gov. Jerry Brown said the state has solved its overcrowding problem and asked for control of inmate health care back. Experts see a legal war ahead.
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• Maryland Task Force Recommendations Could Take Guns from Mentally Ill
• BY: J.B. Wogan   |   Maryland   |   January 8, 2013
• As part of a re-examination of Maryland state laws on firearms and the mentally ill, a task force has recommended that the state should require mental health professionals to contact police if an individual seems dangerous. The policy, if it becomes law, could lead to new gun seizures.

• Supreme Court Sets Dates to Hear Gay Marriage Cases
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   January 8, 2013
• On March 26, the court will review a California ban on gay marriage, which voters narrowly approved in 2008.

• Immigration Makes Up Most of Federal Law Enforcement Spending
• BY: Caroline Cournoyer   |   Nation   |   January 8, 2013
• The United States spent nearly $18 billion on immigration enforcement in fiscal 2012, about 24 percent more than it spent collectively on the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Secret Service and all other criminal law enforcement agencies, according to a report.
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• Security Increased in Tennessee's New Capitol
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   January 8, 2013
• State officials are rolling out new security measures at the Capitol this year, including machines that can scan identification cards, more cameras and permanent guard stations at each public entrance.

• As Gun Sales Have Risen in California, Gun Injuries Have Decreased
• Source: Sacramento Bee   |   California   |   January 8, 2013
• From one perspective, those figures suggest more guns mean less violence. Others who study crime in California and America say the trends are more nuanced.

• Florida Appeals Court Order to Pay for Autism Treatment
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Florida   |   January 7, 2013
• Florida healthcare regulators are challenging a federal judge's order that the state provide a costly -- but potentially life-changing -- treatment to children with autism.

• White House Gun Task Force Weighs Broad Agenda in Wake of Newtown Shootings
• Source: Washington Post   |   Nation   |   January 7, 2013
• The White House is weighing a far broader and more comprehensive approach to curbing the nation’s gun violence than simply reinstating an expired ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, according to multiple people involved in the administration’s discussions.

• Plan to End Methadone Use at Albuquerque Jail Prompts Alarm
• Source: New York Times   |   New Mexico   |   January 7, 2013
• For the last six years, New Mexico’s largest jail has been administering methadone to inmates with drug addictions -- one of a small number of jails and prisons around the country that do so. In November, however, the jail’s warden said he wanted to stop treating inmates with methadone.

• 'Stand Your Ground' Laws Linked to More Homicides
• Source: NPR   |   Nation   |   January 4, 2013
• Researchers who've studied the effect of the laws have found that states with a stand your ground law have more homicides than states without such laws.