United States
300 Rally for Gun Control Following Shooting Death of 20th Chicago Student
Chicago Sun-Times
1 Apr 2008
Three hundred anti-violence activists and Chicago Public Schools students joined local leaders in their fight for gun control this morning following the shooting death of an 18-year-old Simeon Career Academy student over the weekend. "It's up to the children to tell the adults to do what's right," Mayor Daley said while standing outside the Thompson Center next to 20 empty desks representing the 20 CPS students killed in shootings so far this school year. The latest student to die in gun violence was Chavez Clarke. Clarke was gunned down after Saturday classes at Simeon, where one teenage gunman brought a gun to school because he knew security would... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Another US 7-year-old Brings Loaded Guns to School, This Time in Baltimore
CNN
1 Apr 2008
A 7-year-old first-grader showed up at school Monday with two loaded handguns, Baltimore County, Maryland, police told CNN Tuesday. One of the guns was discovered about 10:15 a.m. when it fell out of the student's pocket at Randallstown Elementary School, just outside of Baltimore, police said. The teacher immediately took the student to the office and police were called. After police arrived, they searched the child's locker and found another loaded handgun in a book bag, Baltimore Police Cpl. Mike Hill said. He said police believe the 7-year-old stayed at an uncle's house in Baltimore over the weekend, and found the guns there. Police believe... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Mayor Asks Why US Gun Violence Is Not a Presidential Topic
Chicago Tribune, Blog
1 Apr 2008
Decrying the recent spate of slayings and shootings involving Chicago teenagers, Mayor Richard Daley on Tuesday deplored what he said was the lack of discussion of the issue in national political campaigns. "They better start talking about violence in America," Daley said at a press conference. "It doesn't matter where you are or who you are, but there is something wrong in America when we have teenagers killing teenagers. There is something we have lost in a generation." After alleging that the gun lobby has "purchased Washington, D.C." to prevent the passage of more restrictive laws, Daley added that in the campaign debates "you never hear the word... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kenya, Africa
East, Central, North African Nations Meet to Trace, Intercept Illegal Guns
Nation (Nairobi)
1 Apr 2008
The Government will put in place mechanisms of tracing illicit firearms and gathering data that could lead to prosecution of illegal arms merchants. Police commissioner Major-General Hussein Ali has said the mechanisms would be key in curbing the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons (SALW) and help in containing insecurity. He made the remarks at Leopard Beach Hotel when he officially opened a five-day regional small arms and light weapons marking and data management workshop. Among those who attended the workshop were Regional Centre on Small Arms executive secretary Francis Sang and his deputy Ambassador Tharcisse Mindozi.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Feds Seize 200 Assault Weapons, .50cal Sniper Rifles on US/Mexico Border
Sierra Vista Herald (Arizona)
1 Apr 2008
TUCSON -- A multi-agency task force led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement seized 10 weapons here over the weekend, including a Serbu .50 caliber sniper rifle, as part of Operation "Armas Cruzadas," an ongoing ICE initiative targeting cross-border weapons trafficking. The sniper rifle was seized by ICE agents during a traffic stop Saturday in East Tucson. Intelligence gathered during the ongoing investigation indicates the weapon was going to be smuggled into Mexico. This weekend's weapons seizures stem from a probe by the Border Enforcement Security Task Force to identify, investigate and prosecute, gang members, weapon smugglers, aliens and... ( gunpolicy.org )
India
Get a Vasectomy, Receive a Gun for Masculinity: Population Control in India
ThaiIndian News (Bangkok) / IANS
1 Apr 2008
BHOPAL -- Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district has embarked upon a novel idea to promote male sterilisation -- the administration has decided to grant gun licences to those who come to family planning camps and offer to undergo vasectomy, a senior official said Tuesday. These camps are being held more and more frequently now. The last two-day camp in the district started March 27. It saw 37 people came forward for vasectomy; 23 of them have applied for gun licences, according to official records. Earlier, the number of vasectomies in Shivpuri, over 300 km from here, was almost negligible because people thought getting sterilised went against their macho image.... ( gunpolicy.org )
India
India Among Most Heavily Armed Nations, Suffers 'Epidemic of Gun Violence'
Open Democracy (UK), Web Page
1 Apr 2008
I dedicate this article to the more than 5000 women who have lost their lives or been wounded by gun violence in my home-state of Manipur in Northeast India. As the world knows, India is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, the land where non-violence was born. Last year the United Nations declared that his birthday, 2 October, would become International Day of Non-Violence. The India that existed at the time of independence championed peace and disarmament. However, sad to say, the India of today is very different. While many know of India's economic rise, I know of an India that is weaponized and arming itself to the teeth. In February 2008, over 450... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Lesbians Accuse Australian Pro-Gun Activist Ron Owen of Vilifying Gays
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
1 Apr 2008
Controversial gun lobbyist Ron Owen is being taken to court by a group of lesbians who allege he has breached the Anti-Discrimination Act by publicly vilifying gay people. The case, set for hearing from Thursday, could have landmark repercussions based on Mr Owen's use of the Bible, the Koran and the Jewish Torah for his defence, along with a "freedom of speech" defence. The case is being brought by Rachelle Menzies, Tina Coutts, Rhonda Bruce, Sue Turner and lesbian group "Women 2 Women" through Brisbane's Caxton Legal Centre. Mr Owen, who failed this month in his tilt at the mayoralty of the new Gympie Regional Council after spending four years... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Major US Gun Dealer Risks Losing Licence Amid Security Lapse Allegations
Daily Record (New Jersey)
1 Apr 2008
LONG HILL -- Sarco Inc., one of the nation's largest wholesale and retail suppliers of firearms and parts, is in danger of losing its state license to sell weapons because of alleged lax security measures. Sarco's state license to operate was supposed to expire on Monday, but a Superior Court judge in Morristown last week extended the license until this Friday, when he said he would hear arguments on whether Sarco owner Charles Steen should have it renewed for another three years. State police last inspected Sarco's warehouse on Union Street in the Stirling section of Long Hill in October and denied a license renewal. Superior Court Judge Salem Vincent... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama Vows 'Common-sense' Gun Laws,'Tightened' Background Checks
Wall St Journal / Washington Wire, Blog
1 Apr 2008
SCRANTON, Pennsylvania -- Barack Obama usually gets friendly questions from the supporters that turn out to cheer him on at town hall forums. But in Pennsylvania, where the Democratic Party has a conservative streak on social issues, that hasn't always been the case. At a Tuesday afternoon forum, the Illinois senator was pressed how he would address illegal immigration. "Send them back," yelled one audience member. Obama shot that suggestion down with a firm "No," before giving a lengthy defense as to why sending back the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants was a waste of law-enforcement time and how putting millions of otherwise law-abiding people... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pennsylvania's 'Dominant Pro-gun Ideology' Sinks Pistol Theft Reporting Bill
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
1 Apr 2008
HARRISBURG -- The House tonight rejected a measure aimed at curbing illegal handgun trafficking, the first substantive gun restriction considered by the full chamber in more than a decade. By a vote of 128-75 the House defeated an amendment -- attached to a separate gun crime bill -- that would have made it mandatory to report lost and stolen handguns. The amendment won overwhelming support from Philadelphia-area lawmakers, where polls show majority support for the reporting requirement. House Speaker Dennis O'Brien, a Republican, was the only representative from Philadelphia to vote against the measure. O'Brien said he could not support what... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pilot's Gun Fired in US Jet Cockpit 'Because of Cumbersome Safety Rules'
Associated Press
1 Apr 2008
WASHINGTON -- Armed airline pilots may be at risk of discharging their weapons on planes because of cumbersome rules imposed by Congress and the Transportation Security Administration, a group representing the pilots said Tuesday. A 2002 law prohibits pilots from carrying their guns outside the cockpit without a trigger lock, and as a result they must frequently affix or remove trigger locks during flights. That law and the TSA policy that goes with it may be responsible for a March 22 incident in which a pilot accidentally discharged his weapon on U.S. Airways Flight 1536 from Denver to Charlotte, N.C., said Mike Karn, security chairman of the Allied... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Several Hundred Children, Teachers, Mayor Rally for Gun Control in Illinois
CNN / AP
1 Apr 2008
CHICAGO, Illinois -- Twenty desks -- enough to fill a classroom -- sat empty in a downtown plaza Tuesday, each bearing a pair of sneakers and representing a Chicago Public Schools student killed by gunfire this school year. Several hundred more sat empty in city schools, as busloads of teens skipped classes to attend a gun-control rally -- their absences sanctioned by the district, whose CEO says he's angry that too many students talk about "if" they grow up, instead of "when." "This doesn't happen in other countries," Arne Duncan said. "We just value our right to bear arms more than we value our children, and our priorities are fundamentally backwards."... ( gunpolicy.org )
India
To Reduce Population Growth, India Encourages Men to Get a Gun
NDTV News (New Delhi)
1 Apr 2008
SHIVPURI -- What's the best way to get men to get vasectomies? Apparently it's to offer them gun licenses. That's a ploy which seems to be working in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district. Family planning is being promoted with guns in Shivpuri. But it's not what you think, men are being lured with gun licenses to undergo vasectomies, and it's already showing results. Men are going for a vasectomy surgery but family planning is not on top of their minds. What they really want is a gun. A novel method of population control is to get a vasectomy done and jump the queue for a gun license. "The men undergo vasectomy in our camps. If the SDM... ( gunpolicy.org )
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