Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Caribbean, Brazil, Argentina
Women's Groups Demand to Know Where Caribbean Gangs Get Their Guns
Stabroek News (Guyana)
5 Mar 2008
A two-day meeting for parliamentarians and NGOs to review the impact and "responses to small arms diffusion and violence in the Caribbean" is set for Trinidad today and a women's group is asking where the gangs are getting guns and ammo for killings like those at Lusignan and Bartica . According to a press release the Women's Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD) said the meeting hopes to explore a Caricom instrument to support implementation of the UN Programme of Action on small arms. The group said the meeting which is being held today and tomorrow, is incorporating the theme 'Small Arms Proliferation and Misuse: towards a Caribbean Plan of... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Virginia Tightens Up on Mentally Ill, Governor Vetoes 'Guns-in-eateries' Bill
Washington Post
5 Mar 2008
RICHMOND -- The Virginia General Assembly voted Tuesday for the first major overhaul of the state's mental health system in three decades, largely in response to the mass shooting at Virginia Tech. The House and Senate passed a package of bills designed to give families and courts greater flexibility in having people who are mentally ill involuntarily committed, among other changes. Lawmakers said they hoped to prevent tragedies such as the killings April 16, when student Seung Hui Cho fatally shot 32 students and teachers before killing himself. "This is, in fact, the most serious and significant change in mental health laws in 30 years, and... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Virginia Senate Fails to Overrule Veto of 'Hidden Guns + Alcohol Is OK' Bill
Roanoke Times (Virginia)
5 Mar 2008
RICHMOND -- The Virginia Senate voted this afternoon to uphold Gov. Tim Kaine's vetoes of two bills to expand the right to carry concealed guns in cars and restaurants. One bill would have allowed concealed handguns in bars and restaurants that serve alcohol. The Senate voted 22-18 in favor of the bill but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override Kaine's veto. The second bill would have allowed gun owners without concealed-carry permits to store firearms in locked vehicle compartments. The Senate had passed it 31-9 earlier this session, but six senators changed their votes. The bill therefore passed 25-15 but also fell short of the two-thirds... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US School Shooting Solution: Arizona Bill Promotes More Guns on Campus
New York Times
5 Mar 2008
PHOENIX -- Horrified by recent campus shootings, a state lawmaker here has come up with a proposal in keeping with the Taurus .22-caliber pistol tucked in her purse: Get more guns on campus. The lawmaker, State Senator Karen S. Johnson, has sponsored a bill, which the Senate Judiciary Committee approved last week, that would allow people with a concealed weapons permit -- limited to those 21 and older here -- to carry their firearms at public colleges and universities. Concealed weapons are generally not permitted at most public establishments, including colleges. Ms. Johnson, a Republican from Mesa, said she believed that the recent carnage at Northern... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Inventors Promote Bar-coded Ammunition for Crime-fighting, Gun Tracing
Seattle Weekly
5 Mar 2008
Russ Ford might look like a longhaired, gun-control, hippie type. And in many ways, he is. Ford and his business partners, Steve Mace and John Knickerbocker, have patented a system that uses laser technology to imprint coding on ammunition with the hope of making it easier for cops to track it back to its shooter. But Ford is not a gun-hating, anti-self-defense (as his opponents call him) activist; he has several guns that were passed down by his father, and once was an avid hunter. Unloading rounds into paper and clay pigeons at a range is still a favorite hobby. "An armed society is a polite society," Ford says, echoing rhetoric favored by Second Amendment... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
South Australian Gun Laws Tightened to Curb Armed Gang Violence
ABC News (Australia)
5 Mar 2008
South Australian police will be given more powers to act against people possessing illegal firearms under new laws announced by the State Government. The legislation is targeted at bikie gangs and violent gun crimes, such as a shooting last year at an Adelaide nightclub. Under the laws, police will have the power to put prohibition orders on people who use unlicensed firearms. A person subject to such an order could be stopped and searched for guns at any time. Anyone breaching a prohibition order would face a maximum $75,000 fine or up to 15 years in prison. Police Minister Paul Holloway says existing laws against illegal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Prestigious US Panel Shoots Down Nationwide Handgun Ballistics Database
National Public Radio (USA) / All Things Considered, Transcript
5 Mar 2008
Every time somebody pulls the trigger on a gun, it leaves distinctive marks on the bullet or cartridge case. Police have long used those tell-tale marks to help them link a gun to a crime, and bullet-matching is a regular feature of police dramas like CSI. In recent years, some lawmakers and gun control groups have pushed for a national database that would record the ballistics signature of every gun sold in the United States. But a new report from a prestigious scientific panel says it's probably not a good idea. The series of deadly sniper shootings in the Washington area in October 2002 inspired some lawmakers to start thinking about a national database.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Prestigious US Panel Backs Research on Gun, Ammunition Microstamping
Reuters
5 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- An expert panel rejected the idea of a database of ballistic markings from new and imported guns sold in the United States, saying on Wednesday it may not yield practical leads to solve crimes. Maryland and New York have such databases for guns sold or made in those states, and the U.S. Justice Department asked the National Research Council to assess the wisdom of creating one nationally. The council's panel of experts said the basic assumption behind forensic firearms identification -- that a gun leaves marks on bullets and cartridge cases unique to that weapon that remain unchanged after repeated firings -- has not been proven. So-called... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Shop Where Illinois Campus Killer Legally Bought Guns Shuts Down
Chicago Sun-Times
5 Mar 2008
CHAMPAIGN -- The backyard gun shop where Northern Illinois University gunman Steven Kazmierczak bought five guns has closed. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Thomas Ahern says the owner of Tony's Guns and Ammo in Champaign gave up his federal gun dealer's license this week and closed. Kazmierczak was a graduate student at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He legally bought handguns and a shotgun at the shop before killing five students at Northern Illinois in DeKalb and committing suicide. The Associated Press left a message seeking comment at a phone number still listed for the shop Wednesday. ( gunpolicy.org )
Kosovo
Gun Destruction Programme Targets 400,000 Illegal Weapons in Kosovo
SEESAC (Belgrade) / BBC Monitoring Service, KosovaLive, Transcript
5 Mar 2008
Although different organizations evaluate that there are more than 400,000 illegal weapons in Kosova [Kosovo], the high officers of the Kosova Police Service (ShPK) say that Kosova is a very safe country and that the citizens do not have to worry over this issue. These comments were made during the signing of the handover of documents of the support for ShPK by international organizations and diplomatic offices, for the establishment of infrastructure within the ShPK, which has the value of more than 150,000 euros, and later on were distributed the certificates for the members of ShPK that were trained by a UNDP project for the destruction of small arms and light... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Global Arms Trade Treaty the Focus of Canada's Annual Mock UN Debate
Mississauga News (Ontario)
5 Mar 2008
Provocative Canadian journalist Gwynne Dyer will give the keynote address on the arms trade when Peel District School Board students gather on Friday for their 13th annual United Nations model assembly. Students from 24 schools will assume their chosen member nation's position and participate in a simulated UN debate. They'll debate a resolution that focuses on the creation of an international arms trade treaty that will establish common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms. Dyer's remarks will help set a framework for the discussion. He has written eight books and covered international events extensively... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Mexico
Feds Tackle 'Unprecedented Surge' of Gun Smuggling from US to Mexico
Washington Times
5 Mar 2008
A flood of high-powered weapons purchased by Mexican drug smugglers from sellers in the United States has been targeted by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as part of a law-enforcement initiative aimed at stemming rising border violence. During the past two years, more than 125 ATF agents and investigators have been deployed along the southwest border in Project Gunrunner to increase "strategic coverage" of the region and disrupt firearms-trafficking corridors. "ATF is deploying its resources strategically on the Southwest border to deny firearms, the 'tools of the trade' to criminal organizations in Mexico and along... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Canadian Liberals Accuse Tories of Killing Long Gun Registry by Stealth
CTV News (Toronto)
5 Mar 2008
The Liberals are accusing the Conservatives of allowing long gun owners to circumvent Canada's gun registry laws. They say the Tories are using "back door tactics" to again extend an amnesty for long guns. "This government's latest extension of the gun amnesty is killing gun control in this country by stealth," said Liberal Public Safety Critic Ujjal Dosanjh. Last November, the government reintroduced a bill to kill the controversial registry for rifles and shotguns. The Liberals say the Conservatives are unwilling to debate the issue in the Commons and have instead submitted the latest proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette, the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Arsenal of Illegal Guns Sees 'Deceitful' Head Teacher Jailed, Struck Off in UK
BBC News
5 Mar 2008
A former primary school head teacher has been struck off after a disciplinary hearing was told he was "deceitful" about his arsenal of guns. Martin Wynn Davies, from Wrexham, was jailed for four years in 2006 for keeping 21 weapons, including revolvers and semi-automatic pistols and rifles. He bought guns after tightening of laws following the Dunblane massacre. The committee ruled his crimes were "fundamentally incompatible with him to continue as a registered teacher". Mold Crown Court had heard how Davies was a gun enthusiast and was dismissed from his job at Ysgol Deiniol, Marchwiel, in August 2006 after admitting 23 firearms offences.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, World
After Voting No at UN, US Belatedly Joins Global Arms Trade Treaty Talks
Arms Control Today (USA)
5 Mar 2008
All 28 countries invited to do so, including the United States, sent representatives to a UN-sponsored experts meeting in February to explore a global arms trade treaty (ATT). The United States originally voted against starting the effort (see ACT, December 2006), prompting many to believe it would not participate in the process. The Feb. 11-15 governmental group of experts meeting is the first of three such meetings slated to take place this year. The experts are charged with examining the "feasibility, scope and draft parameters for a comprehensive, legally binding instrument for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms." The expert meetings are... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
4-Year Study Pans Proposed US National Gun Ballistics Database
Associated Press
5 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- Collecting ballistic "fingerprints" from millions of new guns would create a database that would be too unreliable to be useful in solving gun crimes, a team of scientists said Wednesday. The 300-page report from the National Research Council advised against a proposal that some lawmakers called for in the wake of the 2002 Washington-area sniper shootings. The concept relies on the assumption that individual guns leave unique markings, like fingerprints, on bullets and shell casings. Some in Congress have said that every new gun should be test-fired so those markings can be entered into a database. Investigators could then use the database... ( gunpolicy.org )
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