Australia
Australia Bans 'Military-style' Firearms, Paintball Guns, Replica Guns
Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
19 Dec 2008
Guns resembling military weapons and designed to appeal to young men will be banned from being imported into Australia. The Federal Government will change import regulations to tighten controls on firearms that have a "military-style appearance". Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said handguns and paintball markers resembling guns with fully automatic firing capabilities were already subject to higher import controls. "Manufacturers have now begun developing firearms that look more like machine guns in an attempt to appeal to a younger market," he said. "These firearms could cause unnecessary fear and apprehension in the community, which... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Lobby Loses First Court Bid to Overturn Chicago Handgun Ban
Chicago Tribune
19 Dec 2008
Chicago won round one in its defense of the city's handgun ban, but Mayor Richard Daley said today he's looking at less sweeping gun control measures in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision against such laws this year. The nation's high court struck down a Washington, D.C. handgun ban similar to Chicago's law. The National Rifle Association then moved to challenge Chicago's ban. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur rejected the gun rights group's effort to extend the D.C. ruling to Chicago and Oak Park. Shadur concluded earlier this month the Supreme Court decision did not give him the authority to take that action. The NRA immediately... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York Campaigner Turns Illegal Guns Into Art, Has Global Ambitions
Christian Science Monitor
19 Dec 2008
NEW YORK -- The artist Lin Evola-Smidt lives these days in Manhattan, but she is fond of saying that her sculpting career really began 3,000 miles and a world away. This was back in the early 1990s, when Los Angeles murder rates were among the highest in the country and local authorities struggled to tamp down illegal gun sales. Ms. Evola-Smidt followed the news from her San Francisco home with a growing sense of dread. Her son, Jason, was 8 at the time. What kind of world did he stand to inherit? "I'd been an artist since the first time I opened my eyes, but I wanted more at that moment than to just create a piece of art. I wanted people to make a shift within... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pennsylvania Man Sues to Retrieve Guns Seized in Family Violence Case
Philadelphia Daily News
19 Dec 2008
Delaware County was hit with a federal lawsuit yesterday claiming that its policy of refusing to return confiscated firearms unless the owners obtain a court order is unconstitutional. The civil-rights suit was filed by C. Scott Shields, a gun-rights attorney and small-town political firebrand who has been the National Rifle Association's point man in fighting Philadelphia's attempt to write its own gun laws. The plaintiff, Thomas DeOrio, 21, of Glen Mills, argues that the county government, judges and Sheriff's Department illegally retain confiscated guns -- even if a crime hasn't been committed -- when the owner is entitled to retrieve them. In... ( gunpolicy.org )
|
|
