Ghana, Gambia, West Africa
Gun Control Campaigners Aim to Curb War, Crime, Instability in West Africa
Chronicle (Ghana)
12 May 2008
The Mission Coordinator for the Ghana, Gambia and West Africa Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), Orji Dickson N., has said that bad governance and manipulation of democratic institutions, was a salient factor for the uncontrolled accumulation, and flow of small arms and light weapons (SALW), in West Africa Sub-region. He attributed the influx of these small and light weapons, to insecurity, political instability, wars and organized criminality in West Africa. Addressing a news conference in Accra recently, Orji Dickson said it had been estimated that eight million firearms in West Africa, played key and destabilizing roles during notable and ongoing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Indiana 5yr-old Killed 4yr-old Sister with Dad's Gun: Dad Faces 50yrs in Jail
Indianapolis Star (Indiana), Editorial
12 May 2008
The tragic case of the Booher family presents the community with questions that all but defy answering. What punishment is appropriate for a man already grieving over the death of his 4-year-old daughter at the hand of his 5-year-old son? What new laws might prevent such incidents to any significant degree, given the countless armed households, the determination of citizens to have defense weapons at the ready, and a plain carelessness that will never be rare? Prosecutor Carl Brizzi maintains that James Michael Booher deserves the more than 50 years in prison that felony neglect charges could bring because he left various lethal items lying... ( gunpolicy.org )
India
Licensed Indian Gun Shops Accused of Selling Firearms to Gangs, Criminals
Times of India
12 May 2008
LUCKNOW -- Authorities in Etah have stepped upon a major expose involving licensed arms dealers trading illicit firearms from government ordnance factories to Naxalites and criminals. And all this was going on in connivance with licensing authorities. Investigations so far have revealed that as many as 30 firearms were found to be unaccounted for at a single arms shop in Etah within a period of three years. With a total of 166 such arms shops in the district, investigators believe that the total number of unaccounted firearms could touch thousands from Etah district alone. The racket was detected when the investigators checking the stocks of one Raj... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York Police in Gun Searches Face Disbelief in Court, Some Called Liars
New York Times
12 May 2008
After listening carefully to the two policemen, the judge had a problem: He did not believe them. The officers, who had stopped a man in the Bronx and found a .22-caliber pistol in his fanny pack, testified that they had several reasons to search him: He was loitering, sweating nervously and had a bulge under his jacket. But the judge, John E. Sprizzo of United States District Court in Manhattan, concluded that the police had simply reached into the pack without cause, found the gun, then "tailored" testimony to justify the illegal search. "You can't have open season on searches," said Judge Sprizzo, who refused to allow the gun as evidence, prompting... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Crime Rose as Cities' Funding Dropped, Says Federal Gun Control Chief
Washington Post / AP
12 May 2008
WASHINGTON -- Violent crime has increased in some cities in recent years in part because local police are too cash-strapped to fight it, the ATF chief said Monday. The comments by Michael J. Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, echo pleas by mayors across the country for more federal dollars to combat crime. In an interview with The Associated Press, Sullivan called battling violent crime the No. 1 priority of ATF and said the agency is trying to help cities with federal task forces and technology. Sullivan also said many cities no longer have the police manpower to respond to calls as quickly... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Lobby Opposition Misguided: Reporting Stolen Guns Hurts Criminals
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania), Opinion
12 May 2008
Why in the world would an avid outdoorsman and hunter like me sponsor legislation -- to require the reporting of lost and stolen handguns -- on what looks like a big-city gun issue? The reason isn't so far-fetched. Hunting, guns and the outdoors are in my ancestral blood, just as football runs through the veins of other fathers and sons. As a little kid, I eagerly awaited the day I could hunt and trap with my dad and uncles. I owned guns as soon as I was of legal age and love nothing more than still-hunting and stalking in pursuit of white-tailed deer. Now I share the family tradition of hunting with my two teenage sons. I respect my firearms and take... ( gunpolicy.org )
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