United States, Mexico
Car Full of 'Accidental' Guns, Ammunition Lands US Soldier in Mexican Jail
Associated Press
9 May 2008
EL PASO, Texas -- When he crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, Spc. Richard Torres was carrying a small arsenal in his car: an AR-15 assault rifle, a .45-caliber handgun, 171 rounds of ammunition, several cartridges and three knives. At a checkpoint, Torres didn't try to hide the weapons. But he insisted he hadn't meant to cross the border with the guns, which in Mexico are restricted for use only by the military. While searching for parking in El Paso, he said, he inadvertently drove onto a bridge leading to Mexico and could not turn around. Now the Iraq veteran is in a Mexican jail while a judge decides whether to believe his account: that an experienced... ( gunpolicy.org )
World
China-Zimbabwe Gun Scandal Shows Need for World Treaty: Desmond Tutu
Australian (Sydney), Opinion
9 May 2008
In the present scandal of the attempt to ship tonnes of arms and ammunition to Zimbabwe, it is the Chinese who have spoken the most sense. China's foreign ministry said the country's shipment of mortar shells, rockets and bullets was perfectly normal trade. It certainly is. Shipping arms to African governments who could use them to abuse their own people is an abhorrent but almost daily occurrence. And at present there is nothing the international community can do about it because there are no effective global controls on the arms trade. If you want to export weapons to a country that commits gross abuses of human rights, then you can. If you want to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York Trial of Gun Dealer Could Forbid Mention of 2nd Amendment, NRA
New York Sun
9 May 2008
Lawyers for Mayor Bloomberg are asking a judge to ban any reference to the Second Amendment during the upcoming trial of a gun shop owner who was sued by the city. While trials are often tightly choreographed, with lawyers routinely instructed to not tell certain facts to a jury, a gag order on a section of the Constitution would be an oddity. "Apparently Mayor Bloomberg has a problem with both the First and the Second amendments," Lawrence Keane, the general counsel of a firearms industry association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said. The trial, set to begin May 27, involves a Georgia gun shop, Adventure Outdoors, which the city alleges... ( gunpolicy.org )
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea Politicians Must 'Deal with Gun Issue as National Crisis'
Post-Courier (Port Moresby)
9 May 2008
The development of Papua New Guinea is under serious threat with the ever increasing number of illegal guns in many parts of the country. The Post-Courier editor in chief Oseah Philemon said this after he was awarded a Divine Word University UNESCO Communication and Development award for reporting on gun-related issues in the country. Mr Philemon said gun-related incidents against innocent people were frequently reported in the media. "Is this the kind of legacy we want to leave behind for our children, grandchildren and the future generations to come?" he asked. He said the award by DWU reflected and signalled a strong message to the government... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Philadelphia Mayor, Pennsylvania Governor Call for Assault Weapon Ban
Philadelphia Daily News (Pennsylvania)
9 May 2008
Days after a Philadelphia police sergeant was killed with a semi-automatic rifle, Mayor Nutter and Gov. Rendell called upon Congress to enact a new federal assault-weapons ban that would remove such weapons from the streets. "The time has come for politicians to decide," said Rendell at the City Hall news conference attended by top police brass and state elected officials. "You have to decide whether you're on their side -- the men and women who wear blue -- or whether you're on the side of the gun lobby." The federal assault-weapons ban, which lasted from 1994 through 2004, outlawed an array of military weapons and semi-automatics that fire and automatically... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Stray Bullet Kills Man Sitting Beside His RV in a Texas Campground
Courier of Montgomery County (Texas)
9 May 2008
A 58-year-old man was killed by a stray bullet that struck him in the abdominal region as he sat with his wife outside his RV around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday at the KOA Campground on Texas 105 near Montgomery. Det. Dan Zientek with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, who was on scene with other investigators, said the bullet was believed to be a stray that was shot from a wooded area nearby. Montgomery County EMS responded to the scene and transported the victim to Conroe Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Zientek said. As of 10:30 p.m., the shooter was not located and MCSO personnel were investigating and searching the surrounding... ( gunpolicy.org )
|
|
