United States
US: Incremental Gun Control 'Strikes at the Very Heart of American Liberty'
Register-Guard (Oregon), Editorial
22 Feb 2008
The National Rifle Association's new buzz phrase is "incremental gun control." The NRA's supporters and the members of Congress in the gun lobby's thrall somehow have come to believe that "incremental gun control" strikes at the very heart of American liberty and must be resisted at all costs. Opposition to all sensible gun regulation, incremental or otherwise, has fueled the NRA's largely successful efforts to make sure that nothing stands in the way of virtually anyone obtaining virtually any kind of gun imaginable, from the high-capacity, semiautomatic pistols favored by urban gangs to the Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifle that can penetrate steel from more... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
School Shootings: Honor the Dead by Curtailing Availability of Guns
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
22 Feb 2008
Last month, my colleagues and I at Georgia Gwinnett College led a field trip to the General Assembly. Students had the opportunity to witness debate on an important -- albeit misguided -- proposed law: one permitting many Georgians to keep guns in their cars at work. When our three-hour visit was over, the gun bill, House Bill 89, had passed the Senate by a wide majority. Another measure is in the works that would allow guns on college campuses. It strikes me as terribly hypocritical that the men and women trying to expand on the "right to bear arms" can feel reasonably safe from gun violence, at least at work. After all, upon entering the Capitol, one... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Mental Health a Blind Alley: In US Mass Shootings, Gun Availability the Key
Chicago Sun-Times, Opinion
22 Feb 2008
Once again in America, a disturbed young man with an arsenal of guns has turned a quiet college campus into a slaughterhouse. This time, absent the sort of self-promoting homicide infomercial produced in 2007 at Virginia Tech by Seung-Hui Cho -- whose alienated, seething rage left no doubts in anyone regarding the psychotic nature of his descent into uncontrollable violence -- we are left to puzzle over the terrifying forces within Steven Kazmierczak that prompted the human carnage at Northern Illinois University last week. If we are to believe those who say they knew the NIU gunman as a passive, nonviolent soul, his actions would seem as inexplicable as they... ( gunpolicy.org )
India, Russia
Kalashnikov Faces Tough Fight Rebuilding Gun Sales in India, World
Telegraph (Calcutta)
22 Feb 2008
NEW DELHI -- Mikhail Timofeyevich's terrible legacy spawned a culture that changed the face of war forever. But now the Avtomat Kalashnikov assault rifle that bears his surname is struggling to recreate a culture in which everything Russian was the preferred choice for the Indian armed forces. The makers of the Kalash, arguably the best-known name in small arms, were tucked away in a five-foot-by-five-foot prefab stall in the Russian zone of arms trade fair Defexpo 2008 that ended yesterday. Light gleamed off the polished wooden butt of an original AK put up on one wall. And behind the limp and straggly locks of Izhmash's lanky marketing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Honolulu Police, Hawaiian National Guard Want Ban on .50-cal Sniper Rifles
KITV-News (Hawaii)
22 Feb 2008
HONOLULU -- A battle is brewing between the Honolulu Police Department and the Hawaii Rifle Association over a proposed ban of a high-powered sniper rifle. KITV's Catherine Cruz reported that the 50-caliber rifle is dubbed the most powerful rifle on the market today, and the HPD said it is their worst nightmare. That is why they said they want it out of civilian hands. It's a weapon that's long been used by the military and law enforcement, but in most states, a person can buy it over the Internet or from a gun store, which is making law enforcement uneasy. "There is nothing we have that can withstand this. If you look at an armored car, those... ( gunpolicy.org )
Sudan, China, Chad, Austria
Guns, Grenade Launchers in Chad, Darfur Traced Back to China, Austria
Mother Jones (USA)
22 Feb 2008
My first glimpse into the flow of small arms into Darfur began at 4:45 on a February morning in 2006. The lights were off in the first-class Sudan Airways lounge at Khartoum International Airport. Sitting to my left was Abdallah, resplendent in white robes, sporting spectacles and a sharply trimmed goatee. Back then, Abdallah's younger brother, Mahamat Nour, was the leader of an 8,000-man rebel force sworn to overthrow the government of Chad. The Sudanese government, which has a long record of meddling in Chad's affairs, supported Nour's group, the United Front for Democracy and Change (its French initials are fucd), and had been providing it with refuge in Darfur. A... ( gunpolicy.org )
Germany
Germany Tightens Gun Control, Bans Replica Firearms, Airsoft, Airguns
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
22 Feb 2008
BERLIN -- The German parliament approved tighter gun-control laws on Friday in a move designed to stop the spread of violent crime. The new legislation bans the carrying of replica firearms and so-called airsoft guns as well as certain types of knives. "The change to the gun control laws will ensure greater security ... and counter threatening situations in public places," said Reinhard Grindel, a domestic affairs spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. There are around 3 million imitation and airsoft guns in circulation in Germany. It is often difficult for police to tell them from real ones when confronting suspects. The... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
America Need Students, Teachers to Be Armed and Ready to Shoot Back
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
22 Feb 2008
Another tragic, senseless shooting, this time at Northern Illinois University, has again brought the gun issue to the forefront. However, have you ever thoughtfully considered just how we got to where we are regarding the ownership of firearms? Our nation was founded and evolved as a uniquely free society during the same time that modern firearms were invented and became readily available due to the Industrial Revolution. Combine those two events with our founding fathers' genuine fear of tyrannical government along with a need for protection on a dangerous frontier and you have the answer -- a modern society with an estimated 250 million guns. These... ( gunpolicy.org )
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