A new Pentagon report based on an independent survey found that the prevalence of sexual assault in the military has dropped. The survey showed that 20,300 sexual assaults occurred within the military’s ranks in 2014, down from an all-time high of 26,000 in 2012 but still higher than the 19,000 reported in 2010. The 2014 figure represents 4.9 percent of women and 1 percent of men in the active duty forces. The 2014 RAND Military Workplace Study also determined that reports of sexual assault are up 11 percent over the previous year and 70 percent over 2012, with one in…

Legislation recently introduced in both houses of Congress would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons across State lines. 
The Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act has been introduced by Senator John Cornyn (TX-R) as S. 498 and by Representative Richard Nugent (FL-R) as H.R. 402. Under the bill, gun owners with concealed carry permits from their State would be able to bring their firearms to any other State with concealed carry laws. All 50 States and the District of Columbia have some form of “concealed carry” — which generally refers to the practice of carrying a concealed firearm on one’s…

Since the release of a Pentagon study showing that sexual assault incidents the U.S. military have increased significantly in recent years, Congress has been under pressure to change the way in which such cases are investigated and prosecuted. The study estimated that there were 26,000 such instances within the military last year, but that just over 10 percent were actually reported. President Barack Obama called the findings an “outrage” that threatened to undercut the military’s integrity. On December 19, right before adjourning for the year, the Senate cleared for the President’s signature a Defense Department Authorization bill that contains major…

The Senate Judiciary Committee has reported to the full Senate four bills intended to reduce gun violence: S. 54, the Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2013, introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (NY-D), to make it a Federal crime to serve as a “straw purchaser,” or someone who buys a firearm with the intent of selling it to an individual who cannot pass a background check. S. 146, the School Safety Enhancements Act, introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (CA-D), to provide communities and schools with resources to install classroom locks, lighting, fencing, reinforced doors, and other deterrent measures. The…

Although lawmakers in Congress may have failed to break the sequestration stalemate before heading home for the weekend on February 28, they did manage to take final action on the long-delayed Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization. By a vote of 286 to 138, the House of Representatives voted to send the Senate-passed bill to the President’s desk. Eighty-seven Republicans joined 199 Democrats in voting for passage. The Senate approved its version on February 12, 78 to 22. The legislation renews a 1994 law that expired in 2011. The original law, written by Vice President Joe Biden when he was…