Australia
Australia's Tightened Gun Laws Had Little Effect, Say Two Gun Lobbyists
Time.com / Online edition only, Web Page
1 May 2008
On the afternoon of April 28, 1996, Martin Bryant snapped. A striking figure with his long blond hair and milky skin, he had just eaten lunch at a café within the historic site of Port Arthur, a former prison in Australia's island state of Tasmania. Described later by his sentencing judge as a "pathetic social misfit," the 28-year-old then reached into his sports bag and, in the manner that others might pull out a sweater, withdrew two military-style semi-automatic rifles, which he used over the next eight horrifying minutes to kill 35 people -- men, women and children -- in what remains Australia's worst mass murder. Sharing the shock of his people, the newly... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations
Ban Ki-moon Gives First Report on Global Gun Trade to UN Security Council
Associated Press of Pakistan
1 May 2008
UNITED NATIONS -- The uncontrolled trade in small arms and their excessive accumulation and proliferation poses a threat to international peace and security, a senior UN told the Security Council Wednesday. "We have all witnessed how these weapons have been used to maim and kill; plunder and rape; instil fear and insecurity; block humanitarian aid; hold communities at ransom; destroy the social fabric of entire countries; and how their excessive accumulation and misuse has hindered stability and development in every way possible," said Hannelore Hoppe, Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Opening a debate, which heard from dozens... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York Shows Gun Lobby is Wrong: Tough Gun Laws Curb Shootings
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Editorial
1 May 2008
The gun lobby contends that Georgia will be a safer place if Gov. Sonny Perdue signs House Bill 89, which allows those with permits to carry concealed weapons on MARTA trains, in state parks and in restaurants that serve alcohol. But, of course, those lobbyists offer no facts to support their position, only the bumper-sticker argument that when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. Fortunately, that statement has been put to a real-life test. New York has enacted some of the strictest gun control laws in the country. The state requires people to obtain a license for handgun purchases. Unlike Georgia, New York is a "may issue" state, which means... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations
UN Security Council Holds Open Debate on Threat of Global Gun Trade
Xinhua
1 May 2008
UNITED NATIONS -- The UN Security Council held on Wednesday an open debate on the threat posed by the illicit flow of small arms to international peace and security. During the meeting, Hannelore Hoppe, deputy to the high representative for disarmament affairs, presented UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's first-ever report on small arms. In the report, the UN chief said that, while a build-up of small arms alone may not create the conflicts in which they are used, their excessive accumulation and universal availability tends to aggravate conflicts and lengthen them. Most present-day conflicts are fought mainly with small arms and light weapons,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations, World
UN Urged to Curb Illegal Gun Trade: World Already Has 875 Million Firearms
Malaysia Sun / IANS
1 May 2008
The UN has been urged to fight the illegal trade in small arms and light weapons, which are linked to the deaths of thousands each year in violence tied to internal conflicts and drugs trafficking. Speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU), Slovenian ambassador Sanja Stiglic Wednesday said the EU considers the proliferation of those types of weapons around the world as among the 'most dangerous challenges and threats to global stability and security, as well as to economic and social development and prosperity'. Stiglic said the EU was committed to curbing the uncontrolled spread and availability of the weapons and ammunition. The EU was... ( gunpolicy.org )
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