United States
Boston Man Who Gave Gun to Suicidal Friend Convicted of Manslaughter
Boston Herald / AP
11 Mar 2008
PITTSFIELD -- Christopher Burda says his friend was so despondent over her father's death and other problems that he believed only a major jolt would "snap her out of it." So he decided to shock Nancy Choquette with the sight and feel of her late father's 9mm Beretta -- the very gun that, moments later, she lifted to her head and used to kill herself in Burda's North Adams kitchen. Now Burda faces up to 20 years in prison after being convicted today of involuntary manslaughter in the death on Nov. 21, 2005, Choquette's 51st birthday. Jurors, who delivered the verdict after slightly more than an hour of deliberating, sided with prosecutors, who... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's Armed Police Guard Shoots Himself Dead
Daily Express (UK)
11 Mar 2008
The Duchess of Cornwall was said to be "deeply upset" yesterday after one of her police bodyguards apparently committed suicide at his home. Sergeant Richard Fuller, 55, head of security at Camilla's country mansion in Wiltshire, is believed to have blasted himself to death with a shotgun. The officer, who was married with three children, was a popular member of the force and was highly regarded by the Duchess and her staff. Last night a police investigation was attempting to discover the truth behind the tragedy. It is understood the shotgun was Sgt Fuller's own, not a police-issue weapon. The officer, who was coming up to retirement,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Liberia, Netherlands
Dutch Court Frees Timber Trader Accused of Gun Running to Liberia
New York Times
11 Mar 2008
PARIS -- A Dutch appeals court on Monday overturned the conviction of a lumber trader who had been found guilty of breaking a United Nations embargo and smuggling weapons for Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, during that country's civil war. Guus Kouwenhoven, 65, a Dutch trader and a business partner of Mr. Taylor, had been sentenced in 2006 to eight years in prison for selling Liberian lumber on the world market and bringing back weapons and ammunition aboard his company's ships between 2001 and 2003. But the Dutch appeals court in The Hague said the evidence against him was frequently "contradictory" and not sufficiently credible. Depositions... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Control - Stated Positions of US Presidential Candidates
Reuters
11 Mar 2008
Following are the positions of the leading U.S. presidential candidates on gun control. Democrats Sen. Hillary Clinton She has said law-abiding citizens should be able to own guns but laws are needed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. She cosponsored legislation to reinstate for 10 years a ban on assault weapons. The National Rifle Association gives her a failing grade of F for her position on guns. Sen. Barack Obama Wants tighter background checks on gun buyers, making gun locks mandatory, and holding parents criminally responsible for children who injure someone with a gun found at home. Supports reinstating... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Lobbyists March on Illinois Capitol, Demand Hidden Handgun Permits
Pantagraph (Illinois)
11 Mar 2008
SPRINGFIELD -- The issue of gun regulation excites thousands on either side of the debate, but lawmakers acknowledge political realities in Springfield mean changes in state gun laws could be tough to achieve this year. Tuesday brought thousands of activists to the Illinois State Capitol asking lawmakers to resist putting more restrictions on gun ownership. They also called for laws that would allow private citizens to carry concealed weapons. Dustin Meier of Decatur said he hoped the marching mass of activists got lawmakers' attention. "It's kind of a visual aid," he said. State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, was among lawmakers addressing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Hidden Handgun Permits Soar in Colorado: Fear, Renewals Cited as Reason
Rocky Mountain News (Colorado)
11 Mar 2008
Concealed gun permit applications rose almost 50 percent statewide between 2006 and 2007, a rise attributed in part to renewals, according to the state sheriffs association. In 2007, 9,880 people applied for concealed gun permits, compared to 6,649 the year before, according to the new report by the County Sheriffs of Colorado. Don Christensen, executive director of the sheriffs group, said he believes the rise is due to people renewing applications that had expired after five years. "I don't believe there's ... a fear of being out in the public," he said. But El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa believes the sharp rise in applications... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Interning in Arizona, Berlin Policeman Compares US/German Gun Violence
KTAR Radio (Arizona)
11 Mar 2008
PHOENIX, Arizona -- He's a cop on the streets of Berlin, Germany, who may be spotted these days in a Phoenix Police patrol car. Through connections with the International Police Association, Thomas Heidtmann was awarded an internship with the Phoenix Police Department. "This is a personal experience, and I appreciate it," Heidtman said. "Working with the Phoenix Police Department is something you have once in your life." He adds, "I have been told that this is the first time somebody has done this, and it has worked out for me." Heidtman has gotten lots of hands-on experience in Phoenix; he was even cleared to work Super Bowl... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico
Mexican Police Seize Assault Rifles, Ammunition in Tourist Area of Cancun
International Herald Tribune / AP
11 Mar 2008
CANCUN, Mexico -- Mexican police said they seized 20 high-powered rifles, 14 grenades and more than 1,500 rounds of ammunition on Monday in a hotel district in the popular resort of Cancun. Federal police made the discovery in an apartment in the swank housing development known as "The Waves" in the heart of Cancun's tourist district, state Attorney General Bello Melchor Rodriguez told The Associated Press by phone. Among the weapons seized were seven AK-47 assault rifles, two M16 rifles and various grenade launchers, the Public Safety Department said in a statement. The police suspect the weapons were linked to organized crime but no arrests... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
Only 1 in 100 Unlicensed Gun Owners Observe Philippines Gun Amnesty
GMA-TV News (Manila)
11 Mar 2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) has received 1,828 applications to have their unlicensed firearms registered -- a low number considering police estimates that there are some 110,000 loose firearms nationwide. Sr. Supt. Danilo Maligalig, Operations Management chief of the PNP Firearms and Explosive Division (FED), on Tuesday said they continue to appeal to other owners of unlicensed firearms to avail of the amnesty program under Executive Order 585, which started November 15 last year. "This is a one-year amnesty so this will be terminated on November 14, 2008," Maligalig said in a news forum at Camp Crame, adding that owners... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Right to Bear Arms at Heart of Landmark US Supreme Court Gun Ban Case
Reuters
11 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- For the first time in 70 years, the U.S. Supreme Court will take on the question of whether individual Americans have the right to keep and bear arms or whether it a collective right of the people for service in a state militia. That question is at the heart of a long, impassioned debate about how much power the government has to keep people from owning guns and it could soon be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case about one of the nation's strictest gun control laws. Set for arguments on March 18 and with a decision expected by late June, the nation's highest court could resolve once and for all the much-disputed meaning of the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Africa
South African Government Must Admit Any Links to Gun Runner Viktor Bout
Times (Johannesburg), Opinion
11 Mar 2008
The arrest this past week in Thailand of notorious arms smuggler and cargo kingpin Victor Bout comes at a poignant time for South Africa. We have seen a heightened awareness of corruption and its corrosive consequences in the context of the criminal trials against Jacob Zuma and suspended national police commissioner Jackie Selebi, as well as the ANC's probe of Chancellor House and its interests in business. It is in this context that it is worth recalling that UN expert panel reports during the late 1990s and early 2000 drew attention to Bout's comfortable life in South Africa and his alleged ties to prominent South Africans. While the government... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Thousands of US Firearm Collectors See Guns as a Hobby Like Any Other
Reuters
11 Mar 2008
DOUGLAS, Arizona -- An odd contraption in retired firefighter Alex Black's cluttered garage looks a bit like the hand winch at the top of a well. In fact, it is a machinegun. Turning the shiny brass handle spat out a withering hail of bullets that transformed modern warfare. "You march in to battle in straight lines against this, and nobody comes back," said Black, standing beside the hefty, carriage-mounted Colt Gatling Gun, which he restored over the course of a decade. Black, who lives in this sleepy ranching town on the Arizona-Mexico border, is one of millions of gun collectors in the United States, where authorities estimate that there... ( gunpolicy.org )
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