United States
Utah Moves to Allow Loaded Guns on Campus, in Schools, Sports Arenas
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
20 Feb 2008
A bill quietly endorsed by a legislative committee would codify licensed concealed-weapons holders' ability to openly carry loaded guns in almost any publicly owned space in Utah, including university campuses, public schools, sports arenas and hospitals. HB473 is sponsored by Curtis Oda, a Davis County Republican with a history of championing expanded gun rights and criticizing University of Utah policies he believes trampled those rights. In recent years, U. officials have largely abandoned their opposition to concealed weapons on campus, but they have held firm on the "open carry" issue, contending current law requires that firearms allowed by concealed-weapons... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court to Endorse Gun, Bomb Owners' Right to Armed Revolt?
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
20 Feb 2008
This month's horrific shootings in Kirkwood, Missouri provide an all-too tragic and real context for the scholarly debate over the Second Amendment that is now before the Supreme Court in the case of Heller v. District of Columbia (Parker v. District of Columbia in the lower court). One of the key issues in the case is whether the Second Amendment protects an individual right to armed revolt when an individual perceives the government's actions to be "tyrannical." The Missouri shootings reveal that some of our citizens condone such violence. Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton had been embroiled in a long running property dispute with the City of Kirkwood and its City... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Lobby's Opposition Helps Terrorists, Criminals, Children Get Guns
Christian Science Monitor, Opinion
20 Feb 2008
BOSTON -- Let's get this out of the way. I am a gun owner and a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment. What I do not support is extending the rights embedded in the Second Amendment to terrorists, criminals, and children. In the wake of a horrific campus shooting at Northern Illinois University, where 21 students were shot, we're reminded again that national gun laws must be strengthened. Sadly, gun laws have only been weakened since the massacres at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech. To be sure, these headline-grabbing mass shootings may not have been preventable. But beyond the headlines, consider this news: 83 Americans die each and every... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Business Lobby, Gun Lobby Battle Over 'Bring Your Gun to Work' Laws
USA Today
20 Feb 2008
Some companies in several states could be barred from telling their employees to keep their guns at home if lawmakers prevail in a battle that pits gun rights advocates against private businesses. While no state allows workers to carry weapons into the workplace, at least six states -- Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi and Oklahoma -- have enacted legislation prohibiting some employers from barring their workers from leaving guns locked in their cars in employee parking lots. Now, several more states are considering such laws. Supporters say licensed gun owners should have access to their weapons in case they need them for self-defense... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
UK Police Find 'Gun Which Killed Rhys,' the 11yr-old Liverpool Soccer Player
Guardian (UK)
20 Feb 2008
Detectives investigating the death of 11-year-old Rhys Jones today said they had found a gun they believe is the murder weapon, as the schoolboy's parents said the past six months had been "a living nightmare". Rhys, a keen Everton supporter, was shot dead a few hundred metres from his family home in Croxteth park, Croxteth, Merseyside, as he returned from football practice last August. Merseyside police said the gun was one of 108 removed from the streets since the schoolboy was murdered. Forensic tests on the weapon linked it with the killing and further inquiries about the gun's history were continuing. Detective Superintendent Dave Kelly,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Tonga
Rising Number of Illegal Weapons, Shooting Spur Gun Amnesty in Tonga
Tonga Broadcasting Commission
20 Feb 2008
Illegal weapon holders are being given a chance to license or register their firearms and ammunition to the ministry of police. Police authorities are to grant an amnesty to unlawful firearm and ammunition which will come into force on Friday February 15th to 29th of this month. Assistant Police Commander says the recent shooting incident at Kolofo'ou and also the rising numbers of illegal weapons used to commit crime are among initiatives that police is granting this amnesty. 'Unga Fa'aoa said this is an opportunity for persons who have unlawfully imported firearms or ammunition without obtaining from ministry a valid import license to license... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
In Response to Campus Shootings, Utah Students Pack Hidden Handguns
CNN / CNNU, Web Page
20 Feb 2008
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- The senior at the University of Utah gets dressed and then decides which gun is easiest to conceal under his clothes. If he's wearing a T-shirt, he'll take a smaller, low-profile gun to class. If he's wearing a coat, he may carry a different weapon, he said. He started carrying a gun to class after the massacre at Virginia Tech, but the student says he's not part of the problem of campus shootings and could instead be part of a solution. Nick, who asked not to be fully identified so his fellow students wouldn't know he carried a gun, says he has had a concealed weapons permit for more than three years. But it was Seung-Hui... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Guns in US Parks: 'Gun Culture's Dangerous End Run Around Public Interest'
New York Times, Editorial
20 Feb 2008
A sound and bipartisan public lands bill is being held up in the Senate in behalf of the gun lobby's attempt to overturn decades-old safety regulations barring people from carrying loaded guns in national parks. Owners are now required to keep their guns unloaded, disassembled and stored when in national parks and wildlife refuges. Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, is threatening to block the public lands bill unless it includes his amendment to allow the packing of live firearms in the parks. There is no justification for such a change. Senator Coburn's office is reduced to offering a scenario out of a "Death Wish" movie: "Guns locked in your... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Gun Deaths Down in Canada, But More Youths Using Guns in Violent Crime
Globe & Mail (Toronto) / CP
20 Feb 2008
More young Canadians are using guns in assaults, robberies and homicides, even as Canada's overall rate of violent crime involving firearms remained stable in 2006, Statistics Canada reports. The rate of young people aged 12 to 17 accused of a firearm-related offence rose 32 per cent between 2002 and 2006, driven primarily by robberies, the Statscan study said. In 2006, 1,287 youths were accused of a violent offence involving a gun. Canadian police services reported just over 8,100 victims of violent gun crime, accounting for 2.4 per cent of all victims of violence. Other types of weapons were used more often: Knives accounted for 6.2 per cent of violent... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Georgia Youth Says Sorry for Playing With His AK-47, Killing His Mother
WSB-TV News (Georgia)
20 Feb 2008
HALL COUNTY, Georgia -- A Gainesville woman is dead after being shot by her son. Mary Bailey, 52, was sleeping nearby when her son discharged his AK-47 early Tuesday morning. Hall County Sheriff's authorities said the case is still under investigation but based on their preliminary investigation, they said it appears to be an accident. "To make a long story short, I shot my mother," Derrick Bailey told Channel 2's Rachel Kim. Derrick Bailey, 19, said out of boredom, he began to clean his AK-47 around 2 a.m. Tuesday. His mother, Mary, was sleeping on a sofa nearby. "It was like a removing of the clip, then I placed it on the side. She... ( gunpolicy.org )
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