United States
Washington Police Trace Weapon Traffickers, Arrest Interstate Gun Runners
Washington Post
17 Mar 2008
For police and federal agents trying to keep guns out of the hands of criminals in the District, building a case against a firearms trafficker can mean months of work. Or it can come together quickly -- as fast as a speeding motorcycle. Virginia State Trooper Eric Linkous was looking for speeders on Interstate 66 in Fauquier County on Aug. 10 when Michael W. Lewis II blew past him on a Suzuki Katana going 99 mph. By the time Linkous caught up with the Suzuki, Lewis, 30, of Front Royal, Va., had abandoned his bike and fled on foot, leaving behind a black satchel. In the bag were five stolen pistols, four of them taken from a Manassas gun store three nights... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington, DC's Gun Ban Goes to Court: Excerpts from Selected Briefs
Washington Post
17 Mar 2008
Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in District of Columbia v. Heller. The justices are expected to rule on whether the Second Amendment allows an individual right to bear arms or reserves that right to militias. Below are excerpts from some of the dozens of briefs filed on both sides. In 1976, the Council of the District of Columbia concluded that existing laws did not adequately curb gun-related violence. As a consequence, it enacted a comprehensive new law regulating firearms. The principal provision at issue here prohibits most residents from registering (and thus possessing) any pistol not registered before the law became effective ... The... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Takes Up Gun Rights After 217 Years of Saying Little
Bloomberg (USA)
17 Mar 2008
For 217 years, the U.S. Supreme Court has managed to say next to nothing about the constitutional right to "keep and bear arms." That's about to change. The high court tomorrow hears arguments on the District of Columbia's handgun ban in a case that will determine whether the Second Amendment protects the rights of all people or only those affiliated with a National Guard or other state-run militia. That question, though at the core of the amendment's significance, is one the court has never squarely addressed and hasn't even contemplated in almost 70 years. A ruling against the nation's capital would enshrine a new right and potentially raise election-year... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Gun Control Case is Personal for 2 Women
CNN
17 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- Shelly Parker wants to know why she cannot keep a handgun in her house. As a single woman she has been threatened by neighborhood drug dealers in a city where violent crime rates are on the rise. "In the event that someone does get in my home, I would have no defense, except maybe throw my paper towels at them," she said. But Parker lives in the nation's capital, which does not allow its residents to possess handguns. Elilta "Lily" Habtu thinks that is how it should be. She knows about gun violence firsthand, surviving bullets to the head and arm fired by the Virginia Tech University shooter nearly a year ago. "There has to be... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court 'Gets to Write on a Blank Slate' in Gun Control Decision
Associated Press
17 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gets to write on a blank slate when it takes up the meaning of the Second Amendment "right to keep and bear arms" and the District of Columbia's ban on handguns. The nine justices have said almost nothing about gun rights, and their predecessors have likewise given no definitive answer to whether the Constitution protects an individual's right to own guns or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia. The case that will be argued Tuesday is among the most closely watched of the term, drawing 68 briefs from outside groups. Most of those support an individual's right to own a gun. "This may... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Makers Say Ammunition Microstamping Law Will Kill Handgun Sales
Connecticut Post
17 Mar 2008
HARTFORD -- Connecticut gun manufacturers said Monday they could not sell their weapons here if the General Assembly approves legislation to require that new firearms stamp tiny serial numbers on each shell casing when fired. The makers said the cost of weapons could increase by as much as $200 per gun and that such a tracing system would not be an effective aid to law enforcement in solving crimes. But proponents of the bill said that such technology, in which the firing pin imprints a shell casing when a bullet is fired, could help police link a weapon to a criminal and would not be that expensive. Stephen Sanetti, president and general counsel... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Texans in Front Line of Campaign to Overturn Washington, DC Handgun Ban
Star-Telegram (Dallas-Forth Worth)
17 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- A landmark gun control case that goes before the Supreme Court this week has stirred intense interest in Texas, where the right to carry guns has been rooted in the state's culture since the frontier days. The nine justices who will hear the case Tuesday will ultimately decide whether to uphold or overturn an appeals court ruling that struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban against handguns. Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who is eyeing a run for governor of Texas in 2010, has staked out a high-profile role against the D.C. law as the architect of a friend-of-the court brief embraced by Vice President Dick Cheney, 55... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Robust System of US Gun Laws 'Essential to Safety and Well-Being'
Washington Post, Editorial
17 Mar 2008
Tomorrow the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a case of extraordinary importance involving the constitutionality of the District's gun control program. The justices are being asked to determine whether the Second Amendment recognizes an individual right to bear arms or whether private gun ownership is strictly linked to service in a state militia. The justices' answer could determine whether the District's gun ban stands or falls, and it could have ripple effects throughout the country. We have long believed that a robust system of firearms laws is essential to the safety and well-being of the millions of people who live, work in and visit the District.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pennsylvania Bill Would Put Onus on Gun Owners to Report Firearm Thefts
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
17 Mar 2008
HARRISBURG -- Handgun-control proponents in the State House are attempting to force a floor vote today on a controversial bill that would require handgun owners to tell authorities when their weapons are lost or stolen. To avoid a counter-lobbying campaign by the National Rifle Association, lawmakers late Wednesday filed the language as an amendment to a crime-code bill that had already cleared a House committee. The move sends the bill directly to the floor. "This is a historic moment for the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the House in particular," said Rep. Cherelle Parker (D., Phila.). "For many years, legislators across Pennsylvania have been... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York, Chicago Gun Control Laws Dangle in Scales of DC Handgun Case
New York Sun
17 Mar 2008
New York's gun control laws will hang in the balance when the Supreme Court this week takes up the question of whether Americans have a constitutional right to own guns. At oral arguments on Tuesday, the nine justices will, for the first time in nearly 70 years, try to interpret whether the Second Amendment provides an individual right to own firearms or only the right of a state to keep a militia without federal interference. The law at issue before the court is a handgun ban in Washington, D.C. The ban, considered the most restrictive in any major American city, also requires rifles and shotguns to be kept disassembled or equipped with a trigger lock,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kenya, Africa
'Merchant of Death' Viktor Bout Had Gun Running Deals With East Africans
East African (Nairobi)
17 Mar 2008
Viktor Bout. His name has a sharp, staccato to it, much like the sound of an AK-47 shot. Dubbed the "Merchant of Death" by former British foreign office minister Peter Hain, the countries the Russian national has reputedly sold arms to -- Liberia, Sierra Leone, Angola, Congo and others -- read like a list of Africa's worst killing fields. The UN and international human-rights activists say that those arms, obtained illegally or at rock bottom prices from rusting Soviet and Eastern bloc stockpiles, have been used to commit some of the most horrendous crimes against humanity in recent times, in hotspots as far apart as Afghanistan and Angola. Last week,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Media Comment, Background on US Supreme Court's DC Gun Ban Case
US News & World Report
17 Mar 2008
The Supreme Court this week will consider the constitutionality of the 1976 District of Columbia gun control law. ABC World News says the court will "decide one of the great unresolved questions: Does the Second Amendment protect an individual's right to keep and bear arms? Or does it only protect a state's right to have a well-regulated militia?" The Financial Times reports the case is "politically explosive," and "could influence some voters in the forthcoming general election." The Los Angeles Times reports few "would cite D.C.'s gun ban as proof that gun control leads to crime control, as Washington continues to have one of the nation's highest rates of... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Landmark US Gun Case Causes Bush Administration Rift, Much Speculation
New York Times
17 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- Suppose that after decades of silence on the subject, the Supreme Court was to decide that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to gun ownership, as opposed to a right tied to service in a militia. Such a ruling would be a cause for dancing in the streets by proponents of the individual-rights view -- or so it might seem. After all, the great majority of federal courts have long refused to read the Second Amendment as protecting an individual right, and the Supreme Court itself has said nothing for nearly 70 years. But nothing is quite that straightforward when it comes to the case to be argued Tuesday on the constitutionality... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Hundreds of Pennsylvania Gun Control Campaigners Rally for Gun Theft Law
Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh)
17 Mar 2008
HARRISBURG -- Several hundred gun-control supporters filled the Capitol rotunda today to urge legislators to enact what advocates see as an important piece of gun safety legislation. It would require a handgun owner to inform police within 24 hours anytime his or her weapon is lost or stolen. Too often, advocates said, when police locate a handgun that's been used in a crime, they trace it back to the owner, who simply says it was lost or stolen months before and the investigation hits a wall. Gun-control supporters say that many times a person without a criminal record buys one or more handguns in a gun shop and then simply re-sells them to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun-Toting Is Central Part of American Identity
Agence France Presse
17 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- Guns were an essential tool in frontier life when the United States was formed hundreds of years ago, and even today the right to carry them remains a fundamental part of the country's identity. Hence the heated emotions surrounding an issue that comes before the Supreme Court this week -- how modern society should interpret gun rights that were written into the Second Amendment of the Constitution during a very different era. The deadly impact of gun-toting criminals in recent years has made its way into the nation's conscience with a spate of gruesome mass shootings, particularly at schools and universities. But the massacres,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
Gun Makers Arrested in Danao City, Hub of Philippines' Illegal Weapon Trade
Cebu Daily News
17 Mar 2008
DANAO CITY, Philippines -- Two gun makers were arrested and 11 high-powered guns were seized by policemen in Danao City, known as the gun-making capital in Central Visayas. Marlou Luga and Rene Caputolan, both of Barangay (village) Manlayag, were caught in the act of making guns by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7). Seized from Luga's shanty were two improvised shotguns, a .38 caliber revolver, three unfinished KG-9 automatic pistols, different ammunitions and ammunition parts, while recovered in Caputolan's house were five unfinished KG-9 automatic pistols, gun parts and ammunitions. Luga... ( gunpolicy.org )
World
From Thai Jail, Alleged Russian Arms Dealer Denies Illegal Gun Running
Associated Press
17 Mar 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand -- A lawyer for a purported Russian arms dealer said Monday his client had not committed any crime "anywhere in the world," adding that he would beat U.S. allegations that he tried to supply arms to Colombian rebels. Viktor Bout, who has been called "The Merchant of Death," was arrested two weeks ago at a luxury hotel in Bangkok after a U.S.-led sting operation. He was charged with conspiracy for allegedly trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to a rebel group in Colombia that is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. "Mr. Bout has declared his innocence," his Russian-based attorney Dasgupta Yan told reporters Monday. "He... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
CeaseFire Pennsylvania Rallies for Gun Theft Reporting, Handgun Control
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
17 Mar 2008
HARRISBURG -- CeaseFire PA, together with law enforcement officials and community groups from across the state, will kick off a day of lobbying this morning with an 11 a.m. press conference to garner support for legislation requiring gun owners to report lost and stolen handguns. The press conference, in the main rotunda of the Capitol, will be followed by several hours worth of knocking on lawmakers' office doors, organizers said. The goal is to shore up support for gun-control measures that have been a source of controversy in the Capitol for years. In December, the House Judiciary Committee voted down bills that would have limited handgun purchases... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
California Blacksmith Melts, Converts 1,000 Guns into Artwork, 'Gun Coffin'
San Francisco Chronicle
17 Mar 2008
After Heath Maddox's father died unexpectedly in 2006, Maddox was clearing out his dad's belongings when he found a surprise: a U.S. military-issued .45-caliber handgun wrapped in a towel and tucked into a kitchen drawer. Maddox vaguely recalled a story about his grandfather owning the gun, but he wasn't sure why, or how, it turned up in his father's kitchen. Yet on a recent Friday evening, two years after the discovery, Maddox stood inside artist John Ricker's San Francisco studio, ready to smash the gun flat with a sledgehammer. "My uncle wanted to keep it in the family," said Maddox, a planner in the city's transportation agency, before he... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian Gun Shop Owner, Dealer Jailed for Illegally Trafficking Handguns
Australian Associated Press
17 Mar 2008
A former gun shop owner has been jailed for illegally trafficking weapons. Philip John Iselin, 61, pleaded guilty today in the Supreme Court in Brisbane to one count each of trafficking in weapons, possessing weapons and receiving stolen property with a circumstance of aggravation. The court was told Iselin, who owned a Brisbane gun shop for 10 years before weapons laws were tightened, illegally sold 11 pistols between July and September 2004. The court was told he was caught as part of a major police investigation into weapons trafficking in south-east Queensland in 2004. Four other men were identified as being involved in the supply chain.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Any Law to Modify Pennsylvanians' God-given Right to Pack Pistols is Heresy
Philadelphia Daily News (Pennsylvania), Column
17 Mar 2008
There it was, hidden between the codicils and caveats of an anti-crime bill. Before you could say "NRA," gun-control advocates had snuck it onto the floor of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. It's what you have to do to get a public hearing on any legislation that represents even the slightest encroachment on the inalienable right to own a handgun in Pennsylvania. Gun ownership is religion here. Any bill that would amend, modify or restrict our God-given right to pack a pistol is heresy. So, they play this little game up there in the Legislature. Gun-control advocates raise the same half-dozen doomed measures every year while the House... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Amid Little Evidence of Benefit, US Critics Assail 'Feel Good' Gun Buybacks
USA Today
17 Mar 2008
Gun buyback programs from Miami to the San Francisco Bay are coming under fire by critics who question whether the bucks are reducing the big bangs. "It's like trying to drain the Pacific with a bucket," says Alex Tabarrok, research director at the Independent Institute, a think tank in Oakland. "More guns are going to flow in." Tabarrok and others complain the programs are feel-good events that do not reduce gun crimes and are abused by gun dealers seeking to unload junk merchandise at a good price. None of the guns are turned in by criminals, Tabarrok says, and many don't even fire. "It presents an opportunity for politicians to grandstand,"... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Already Permissive, US Gun Control Could Take a Hit in Controversial Ruling
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
17 Mar 2008
Today the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a gun-control case that offers the justices an opportunity to display the "judicial modesty" championed by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. during his confirmation hearings. The danger is that the more conservative members will press for an unnecessarily sweeping ruling that would doom not only the Washington, D.C., ordinance before the court -- which includes a blanket ban on handguns -- but much more reasonable regulations as well. Fortunately, it isn't just gun-control advocates who are warning against such a stampede. So is U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement, the Bush administration's chief courtroom lawyer.... ( gunpolicy.org )
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