Australia
Gun Homicide, Gun Theft 'Declined Dramatically' After Australian Gun Laws
Age (Melbourne)
8 Mar 2008
Victorian police are planning a crackdown on gun owners. They are set to check whether 18,000 of the state's registered gun owners have stored their firearms properly. The crackdown comes as gun-related murders and gun theft have declined dramatically since the gun-law reforms after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. New research by the Australian Institute of Criminology shows that the theft of firearms has dropped 72% since 1995-96, with gun-related homicides also down. Guns now rank behind knives and physical assault as the most common method of murder in Australia. Police say the decline in gun thefts and murders is due to tougher laws on the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Man Lets 18mth-old Montana Girl Play with Loaded Handgun, Girl Dies
Missoulian (Montana)
8 Mar 2008
MISSOULA, Montana -- A 23-year-old Evergreen man was charged Friday with negligent homicide for his role in the shooting death of a 1½-year-old girl. Dwayne Scott Smail appeared in Flathead County Justice Court to hear the charges against him -- charges stemming from Wednesday night's death of a young girl identified as K.W. Bond was set at $200,000, plus appearance, and a hearing was set for March 27 in district court. An affidavit filed by the Flathead County attorney states that Smail was alone with the girl -- the daughter of his girlfriend, Amy Williams -- on Wednesday night. Smail was taking care of the child at the couple's... ( gunpolicy.org )
New Zealand
NZ Police Glock Pistols Go Missing After Being Couriered to Police Armoury
New Zealand Herald
8 Mar 2008
Two police pistols have gone missing while being couriered from north of Auckland to Wellington. The police-issue Glock pistols -- sent from Warkworth station in December -- have not yet reached the police armoury in Wellington. "We can't jump to conclusions here. All we can really say is they are missing," said Inspector Tom Ireland, police operations and projects manager. "Whether they have been misplaced or they have been targeted and stolen, we don't know. "We are robustly looking at our processes and scrutinising whether there is any better way of doing it, but maybe there is no better way of transporting them [firearms]." ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Thailand, United States, World
Thailand Plans Inquiry on Gun Running Suspect as US Seeks Custody
New York Times
8 Mar 2008
BANGKOK -- The Thai police said Friday that a Russian businessman regarded as one of the world's most notorious arms dealers would be held here for investigation even as the United States sought his extradition. At a news conference, a police spokesman said the authorities were investigating whether the businessman, Viktor Bout, 41, had used Thailand as a base for negotiating arms deals with terrorists. Mr. Bout appeared at the news conference, handcuffed and looking glum, but refused to answer questions. His only comment when arrested was, "The game is over," said Maj. Gen. Surapol Thuanthong of the Thai police. Mr. Bout is under investigation here... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
To Revive Hunting & Shooting, US Schools Bring Guns Back Into Classroom
New York Times
8 Mar 2008
MORGANTOWN, West Virginia -- When David Helms was in seventh grade, he would take his .22-caliber rifle to school, put a box of ammunition in his locker and, like virtually all the other boys, lean his rifle against a wall in the principal's office so he could start hunting squirrels and groundhogs as soon as classes let out. The number of hunting licenses bought in West Virginia dropped 20 percent in the last decade. Now, when he takes his 8-year-old grandson hunting on weekends, Mr. Helms, 55, searches the boy's pockets before sending him back to school to ensure that there are no forgotten ammunition shells. But most of his grandson's peers never have... ( gunpolicy.org )
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