United States
71-year-Old New York Woman Latest Hit in Rash of Stray Bullet Injuries
WCBS2-TV News (New York)
1 Oct 2008
BROOKLYN -- Another innocent person was in the wrong place at the wrong time. A 71-year-old Brooklyn woman has become the latest victim of a stray bullet. East Flatbush has been swarming with extra police since Tuesday night, focusing in on even minor things that would usually get just a warning. There! Look! Outside that store! A quick frisk of his boots and socks and a man was taken away in a van, not so much for what he may have done, but to see if he has information to trade about Tuesday night. The reason for all the heightened awareness -- heightened tension, if you will -- is that a 71-year-old woman was shot as she was walking home from church.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Gun Owners Urged to Give Illegal, Unwanted Firearms to Victoria Police
Delaware County Daily Times (Pennsylvania)
1 Oct 2008
Victorians holding illegal or unwanted firearms are being urged to hand them to police under amnesty this month. Victorian Police Minister Bob Cameron said today the amnesty provided Victorians an opportunity to surrender weapons to police without facing penalties. "This amnesty is being offered to reduce the overall number of weapons in the community and also help individuals who are unsure about how to properly dispose of firearms." He said the Government had worked to toughen up weapons and firearms laws, including a zero tolerance approach to carrying weapons in or near licensed venues. Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
New Firearm and Illegal Weapon Amnesty Begins in Victoria
Australian Associated Press
1 Oct 2008
Victoria Police are holding a firearms and weapons amnesty this month to coincide with Community Safety Month. People with any unwanted or illegal firearms or weapons are encouraged to surrender them to their local police station, without penalty. Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said the amnesty was about addressing potential weapon issues early on, while also offering assistance to people who may wish to dispose of firearms they no longer use. "This is a proactive initiative by Victoria Police to reduce the amount of weapons in the community before they end up being used for crime," Mr Walshe said. A successful weapon handover in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Nigeria
Nigeria Pushes Global Gun Trade Treaty to Stem Proliferation of Firearms
Daily Trust (Abuja) / NAN
1 Oct 2008
Nigeria yesterday in New York called for a legally binding global instrument to stem the proliferation of small arms in Africa. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, made the call while delivering Nigeria 's statement at the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly. Maduekwe said that the legal moves became necessary due to the devastating impact of illicit trade in small arms and light weapons which fuel civil wars and insurgencies in some African countries. "We raise before this General Assembly, the concern of many developing countries, especially in Africa, suffering from the devastating consequences of the illicit trade in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations
Nukes, WMD Make the Headlines, But Guns Kill 1,000 a Day - UN Treaty
The World Today (UK) October 2008, Vol 64, Issue 10
1 Oct 2008
By tightening and universalising the trading rules of a 'responsible' international arms market, a[n arms trade] treaty would aim to crowd out illegal and informal arms trafficking and, over time, dry up the pool of illegal conventional weapons and limit the death and damage with which we have become too familiar. Of the 192 member states of the United Nations, 153 voted for the resolution at its launch, and a remarkable hundred or so have made submissions to a group of governmental experts established by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to examine the 'feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive, legally binding' treaty. Nuclear, biological... ( gunpolicy.org )
Uganda
Plan to Give Guns to Traffic Police 'Absurd' - Militarism Plagues Uganda
Weekly Observer (Kampala), Editorial
1 Oct 2008
That government is planning to give guns to Traffic Police officers is absurd. It is equally odd that government is planning to deploy Military Police officers on the roads to control traffic. The government says this is because motorists often beat up unarmed officers on duty when they try to arrest or stop them from breaking the traffic rules. The NRM government has a conflicting approach to gun culture. On the one hand, it is disarming Karimojong warriors who have visited terror on their pastoral neighbours; elsewhere it is popularising the use of the gun. There are already too many guns in our society -- what with public and private security operatives... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Ruckus in Virginia: Council Attempts to Restrict Backyard Pest Shooting
Associated Press
1 Oct 2008
CULPEPER, Virginia -- When Mayor Pranas Rimeikis walked into the council chamber and saw it filled with armed men -- guns tucked inside jackets, guns on hips, some people packing their heat so openly they "looked like Pancho Villa" -- he knew his town had inadvertently touched the third rail of far-exurban politics. Varmints. And the shooting thereof. During the past two months, a proposal that sounded obvious to the new police chief -- prohibiting Culpeper residents from opening fire on their own gardens -- has brought an unexpected uproar to this town at the far edge of Washington's commuter diaspora. Somehow, it also became an argument about... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Scrapping Gun Registry Remains Key Election Focus of Canadian MP
Pembroke Daily Observer (Ontario)
1 Oct 2008
Sitting MP Cheryl Gallant once again pledged to oversee the scrapping of the long-gun registry, the issue which first helped to propel her to Parliament Hill eight years ago. Speaking before 150 people at the Pembroke Outdoor Sportsman's Club Tuesday night, the Conservative incumbent spoke of little else in her opening remarks in the all-candidates debate. "Our opponents have no tolerance for guns," she said, stating other political parties take the position no one should own them. "Canadian gun owners are campaigning for the restoration of the right to own firearms," the MP said. Ms. Gallant stated when she was first elected, she promised... ( gunpolicy.org )
Finland
Shooting Motive Speculation, Gun Control Talk Not Going Far in Finland
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
1 Oct 2008
As a country, Finland is armed to the teeth. There are more than 1,6 million legal weapons in the weapons register, spread out among nearly 650,000 owners. On a per capita basis we have the fourth largest number of small arms in the world, right after the United States, Yemen, and Switzerland. According to a Swiss estimate, Finland has an estimated 2,375,000 legal and illegal firearms -- that is, one gun for nearly every second Finn. The good news is that the law requires a permit to own even a slightly heavier weapon, and most licenced gun owners are upstanding citizens. The bad news is that the licencing system does not work. As a... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations
UN Conference Agrees, Makes Modest Progress to Curb Gun Violence
Arms Control Today (USA), September Issue
1 Oct 2008
After failing to achieve consensus at a 2006 review conference, this year's delegates to an international gathering to address the illicit trade of small arms and light weapons overcame procedural objections to vote for modest next steps. By its very nature, the illicit trade is difficult to gauge. The independent research group Small Arms Survey estimates the authorized trade of small arms, light weapons, and related ammunition at more than $4 billion per year. In 2001, UN member states adopted the Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and in 2005 agreed to an International... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Industry Sets Sights on Women to Slow Decline in Hunting
Wall Street Journal
1 Oct 2008
PARIS, Tennessee -- Brenda Valentine was running a beauty shop in rural Tennessee when her shooting skills came to the attention of the hunting industry. Today, she is a television star and paid speaker at hunting conventions, where fans wait in lines for her autograph. "People will bring me their grandpa's shotgun to sign or even kiss," she says. "Some have named their children after me." Mrs. Valentine, 58 years old, is perhaps the most visible face of an industry effort to draw more women into the woods. As the number of male hunters has declined, the sport has targeted women with everything from pink guns to gender-specific hunting courses. Now,... ( gunpolicy.org )
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