A sergeant in a U.S. Special Forces National Guard unit faces a 20-year prison sentence for his alleged involvement in a multi-national gun-trafficking ring where he provided semi-automatic weapons to Chinese nationals who would then ship the guns to China.

Staff Sergeant Joseph Debose, a 29-year-old staff sergeant in a North Carolina-based National Guard unit, was arrested Sunday in a sting operation by federal agents in Smithfield, North Carolina. When Debose met with the undercover agents, he was carrying a loaded .45-caliber pistol.

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via nolongerempty.org

Actors in Theatre of the Oppressed's upcoming production in the Bronx.

When directors with Theatre of the Oppressed NYC asked a group of teenage girls to strike a pose that they think represents the Bronx, most of them did the same thing: They chose images with weapons.

This is how artist Melanie Crean remembers a workshop with around ten teenage girls in the Bronx, who were then in the early stages of creating a play that they will perform in front of a live audience this coming week.

"[Violence] is a very real part of their lives that is not necessarily getting discussed and analyzed in schools or elsewhere," Crean told the Voice. "We're starting to...get people talking about problems, so we can start to think about solutions."

This is part of the unique process of Theatre of the Oppressed NYC, a nonprofit group on the rise that collaborates with organizations throughout the city to create original productions with communities that face some kind of oppression or discrimination.

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It's long been a big problem for the fashionable firearm owner: How to hide a handgun and look haute couture at the same time.

Well, a report in today's New York Times has some great news for the tres chic ranks of the U.S.'s 7 million concealed carry permit holders.

Clothing companies have started to dress up gun culture by marketing apparel that's "a departure from the law enforcement and military look, known as 'tactical,' long favored by gun owners. The latest styles, by contrast, are called 'concealed carry' or 'covert fashion.'"

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What a Bickle!

Well, this certainly could complicate the cab ride home when you're drunk and obnoxious.

Livery Base Owners, a trade group, has asked the city to let drivers take licensed guns with them to work, "to protect themselves from would-be robbers and violent passengers."

The issue came up in discussions with the Taxi and Limousine Commission, as the TLC and the organization work on a plan to let liveries pick up street hails in "Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, the Bronx and northern Manhattan," according to the Daily News.

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The gun lobby has been quite busy...

Shortly after news broke that New York pols get more cash from the National Rifle Association than any other state, self-professed Second Amendment enthusiasts spent a weekend full of firearms festivities (and fun) at their annual convention.

Of course, attendees had a lot to say about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin -- none of which is all that unpredictable (or tasteful, for that matter.)

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As the trial nears for the Trayvon Martin case, a firestorm of debate has spread across the nation surrounding the centerpiece "Stand Your Ground" law -- the legislation George Zimmerman has used as his defense. And now, the Hozziner is beginning to feel the flames from the nation's go-to gun-toters: the ragin' cagin' National Rifle Association.

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www.biography.com

Mike Bloomberg wants to tell people in places like Texas what to do with their guns. Good luck with that, bub!

Despite his authority extending no further than the five boroughs of New York City, Mayor Mike Bloomberg is once again trying to dictate gun-control policies for the entire country.

In response to the shooting of Trayvon Martin -- an unarmed Florida teen gunned down by a trigger-happy wannabe cop earlier this year -- the mayor announced this afternoon that he and national African-American leaders are on a crusade to repeal Florida-esque "Shoot First" laws that currently are on the books in 25 states.

"Shoot First" laws -- or "Stand Your Ground" as it's known in Florida -- basically give gun owners carte blanche to shoot someone if they feel their life is in danger. If "life in danger" sounds vague, that's because it is -- and that's the problem with these types of laws.

We don't take issue with the mayor's desire to do away with "Shoot First" laws, it just seems as though it's not his job -- as the mayor of New York -- to tell other states what to do (yes, the announcement was made in an official press release from the mayor's office).

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New York might boast the most anti-gun mayor in the U.S., but that hasn't stopped the National Rifle Association from pouring more cash into Empire State campaign coffers than any other place in the county.

The NRA has long done battle with Mike Bloomberg's demands for microstamping on bullet casings, which supporters describe as an anti-crime measure. But the Association, which criticizes microstamping as costly and unreliable, has shot back at Bloomberg's efforts by giving New York pols and PACs $217,400 since 2003, according to a New York Daily News investigation.

Some more staggering stats?

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www.balloonjuice.com

As you've probably heard, four New York City police officers were shot over the weekend during a shootout with a man in Brooklyn. As you've also probably heard, Mayor Mike Bloomberg hates guns -- and he's using the shootout as the latest anecdote to illustrate his point that gun laws need to be tougher.

Keep in mind, this is the same mayor who told the Voice last month that having an illegal gun in New York isn't as bad if you're from out of state -- after publicly encouraging authorities to throw the book at former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress for having an unregistered gun, of course. More on that here.

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Charlie Rose

If there are two things Fred Dicker loves, they're Andrew Cuomo...and Andrew Cuomo.

​Governor Andrew Cuomo's ditched a controversial gun law put in place by ex-Governor George Pataki -- and, as you probably expected, Fred Dicker, the New York Post's state capital bureau chief/captain of the Cuomo rah-rah squad, got the "exclusive" on the story.

Dicker, as you also might imagine, is lovin' his BFF's decision to scrap the law.

Pataki's law, CoBis (Combined Ballistics Identification System), was put in place in 2000 when the former governor had delusions ambitions that he would someday be president. The law from the Republican governor was an effort to win over the hearts of Democrats before a possible presidential run.

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