Gavin Aronsen

Reporter

Gavin is a Mother Jones reporter in the DC bureau.

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Gavin is an Iowa native, and covered the 2008 first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses for the Ames Tribune. He has also contributed to the Agence France-Presse, Daily Beast, Iowa Independent, Manhattan Media, and Village Voice.

EXCLUSIVE: Wrestling Photo, Stunned Reactions From Former Classmates of Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Former classmates reached by Mother Jones recall the alleged Boston attacker, who remains at large.

—By Gavin Aronsen

| Fri Apr. 19, 2013 7:56 AM PDT

More MoJo coverage of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings

How the FBI in Boston May Have Pursued the Wrong "Terrorist"

READ: Here Are the Federal Charges Against Boston Bombing Suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

The 11 Most Mystifying Things the Tsarnaev Brothers Did

What We Know About the Tsarnaev Brothers' Guns

What These Tweets Tell Us About Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Stunned Reactions From Former Classmates of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev

Did Boston Bombing Suspect Post Al Qaeda Prophecy on YouTube?

Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Charged With Using WMD

Former high school classmates of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombing suspect who remains at large, reacted with shock and disbelief on social media Friday morning. The following screenshots provided to Mother Jones are of Facebook messages posted by former classmates of Tsarnaev, who called him "Jahar." They were provided by a classmate who did not know the suspect well but who was friends with those who did; this source wishes to remain anonymous. Some of the former classmates' comments assume Tsarnaev is guilty, though he is still only a suspect in the bombing, according to law enforcement authorities. In Cambridge, Tsarnaev was reportedly a 2011 City Scholarship recipient and wrestler. One photo posted on Facebook by a classmate appears to show Tsarnaev in a wrestling huddle with teammates:

A second former high school classmate told Mother Jones: "I did know Jahar. In the 4 years of high school I spent with him, he was nothing but a kind, unassuming, gentle person. He was funny, had lots of friends, and was very athletic. I haven't spoken with him since high school (we graduated in the same class from Cambridge Rindge & Latin)."

Another acquaintance said she knew Dzhokhar from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. She said he had a group of "maybe four or five" Russian-speaking friends whom he was never without. "All I really knew of them was that they smoked weed and liked to party, just like regular kids. Jahar was such a sweetheart."

Other former classmates expressed their disbelief on Facebook:

"Watching the news I was texting a friend saying it looks like him as a joke, but to have them identify the person I called a friend..."

"I can't believe I went through four years of high school and was friends with someone who carried out a terrorist attack."

"I remember when he was the new kid in our class back in Cambridge Port. I had classes in high school with him."

"I don't believe I know that bomber… And I've known him for years!"

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's high school yearbook photo:

*The names of two sources initially included in this piece have been removed at those sources' request.

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Why Did These 4 Democrats Vote No on Gun Background Checks?

—By Gavin Aronsen

| Thu Apr. 18, 2013 9:46 AM PDT

When reporters asked Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) why he voted against an amendment to expand gun background checks on Wednesday, he replied, "Montana." That may sound a bit obtuse, but in February the Sunlight Foundation was already on the case, charting the number of gun businesses per 100,000 people in the states of senators likely to be key to the gun vote. With 120 gun businesses per 100,000 people, Montana topped the list.

And Baucus is up for reelection in 2014. Montana Sen. Jon Tester, also a Democrat, voted for the bill, but he's not up for reelection until 2018. Along with Baucus, Democrats Mark Begich of Alaska (104 gun businesses per 100,000 people), Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota (62 gun businesses per 100,000 people), and Mark Pryor of Arkansas (45 gun businesses per 100,000 people) also voted no on Wednesday.

The Sunlight Foundation had predicted that Baucus would be one of four Democratic senators most likely to vote against gun reforms for the above reasons as well as the relative number of their constituents who supported President Obama in 2012. Sunlight also focused on Begich, Pryor, and Tim Johnson of South Dakota (66 gun businesses per 100,000 people).

Johnson, who announced in March that he would not run for reelection in 2014, voted for the background check amendment. All of the above senators' states voted for Mitt Romney for president.

Sunlight Foundation

More MoJo coverage of the Senate's failed background check bill.

Here's Why the NRA Won and Gabby Giffords and Mike Bloomberg Lost

"Shame On You!": Senate Rejects Gun Background Check Compromise

Meet the 45 Senators Who Blocked Background Checks

Why Did These 4 Democrats Vote No on Gun Background Checks?

Have You Seen Mitch McConnell's Facebook Page?

10 Reasons the Background Check Bill Means Victory for the NRA

Map: Most Americans Support Background Checks for All Gun Buyers

Also read our special report on gun laws and the rise of mass shootings.

The Sunlight Foundation also took a look at how much money senators received from the National Rifle Association during their previous campaign. Baucus, who has an 'A+' rating with the NRA, topped the list among Democrats, accepting $7,450 in 2008. In 2010, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has a 'B' rating, took in $4,950. Joe Manchin, who has an 'A' rating and led compromise efforts on the background check amendment with Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), comes in third with $4,500 in 2012.

Begich and Pryor, who are both up for reelection in 2014, didn't receive any donations from the NRA in 2008. (Begich doesn't have an NRA rating; Pryor's is a 'C-'.) Heitkamp, who has an 'A' rating, didn't receive any NRA cash either during her last campaign; she's not up for reelection until 2018.

"Shame On You!": Senate Rejects Gun Background Check Compromise

Obama tells dejected Democrats and gun-control advocates, "the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill."

—By Gavin Aronsen

| Wed Apr. 17, 2013 5:45 PM PDT

"Shame on you!" Patricia Maisch, a survivor of the 2011 mass shooting in Tucson, yelled from the Senate gallery on Wednesday afternoon after the amendment to expand gun background checks fell six votes short of the 60 it required to overcome a filibuster. Maisch, regarded as a hero for having grabbed gunman Jared Loughner's third magazine after other bystanders tackled him, was escorted out of the Senate chamber and swarmed by reporters as police attempted to kick her out of the Capitol.

Maisch watched the vote with other survivors and the families of victims of recent mass shootings, who left the chamber raw with emotion. As they waited for Senate Democrats to emerge to speak with reporters, the families of Newtown victims were consoled by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who had introduced a universal background check bill but supported the bill authored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) after his was rejected by Republicans, told reporters, "Today, fear, mistruth, brute political force won out over what is right. America will be a less safer place because of it."

President Barack Obama, who has made a push for expanded background checks a central focus of his second term, railed against the National Rifle Association at a separate Rose Garden press conference. "Instead of supporting this compromise, the gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill," he said. "They claimed that it would create some sort of 'Big Brother' gun registry, even though the bill did the opposite."

[Read the full article]

Here Are the 8 Other Gun Bills About to Face a Vote in the Senate

—By Gavin Aronsen

| Wed Apr. 17, 2013 9:59 AM PDT

UPDATE 2, Thursday, April 18: The Senate today voted for both Barrasso's gun privacy and Harkin's and Alexander's mental health amendments.

UPDATE, Thursday, April 18: On Wednesday, the Senate voted on seven of the nine amendments to Harry Reid's gun control package. They were all rejected. Today, the Senate is scheduled to vote on the privacy amendment introduced by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and the mental health amendment introduced by Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).

ORIGINAL POST: On Wednesday morning, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) both publicly conceded that the background check compromise they forged—which would expand scrutiny of gun buyers online and at gun shows, but would also grant many concessions to the gun lobby—won't receive 60 votes this afternoon to survive a Republican filibuster. But the gun debate isn't over yet: The background checks bill is just the first of nine amendments proposed for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's gun control package that will get a vote beginning at 4 p.m. ET. Here's a quick rundown of the others in the order in which they will come up:

Sen. Chuck Grassley's (R-Iowa) mental health amendment: Grassley's Protecting Communities and Preserving the Second Amendment Act of 2013 (PDF), which is cosponsored by five other Republicans, is the conservative alternative to Reid's gun package. Both include measures on improving background checks, school safety, and gun trafficking prosecutions. But Grassley's bill would also "place limitations on Fast & Furious type operations," according to a fact sheet his office put out.

Sens. Patrick Leahy's (D-Vt.) and Susan Collins' (R-Maine) gun trafficking amendment: The Leahy-Collins amendment would make gun trafficking a federal felony and strengthen penalties against straw purchasers, including a measure subjecting a gun seller involved in a straw purchase to criminal charges. Convicted gun traffickers would face prison sentences of up to 25 years.

[Read more in the MoJo blog]

10 Reasons the Background Check Bill Means Victory for the NRA

The Manchin-Toomey compromise is riddled with concessions the gun lobby will love.

—By Gavin Aronsen

| Tue Apr. 16, 2013 5:37 PM PDT

Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) have been forced this week to consider further retooling their bill for expanded gun background checks, which Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters on Tuesday still lacks the 60 votes it needs to overcome a filibuster. The National Rifle Association and senators opposed to the bill continue to argue that it would unfairly burden lawful gun owners while doing nothing to prevent future tragedies like the one in Newtown.

In fact, the bill does an awful lot that should please the pro-gun lobby. Which helps explain why, on Sunday, the gun-rights group Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms endorsed the bill and the "numerous advances for our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms that it contains." (Even the NRA, consulted during the compromise talks, initially called the bill a "positive development," as opposed to the stricter gun-control plan initially proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer; the NRA later backtracked, saying the compromise bill would violate the Second Amendment.)

So, how much would the Manchin-Toomey bill actually expand gun rights? Quite a bit, in its current form. While broadening background checks to some degree, the bill also:

[Read the full article]