United States
Alaskan Voters Want to Ban Hunting from Planes: Gun Lobby Plots a Veto
Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), Opinion
25 Mar 2008
HB 348 seems an innocuous little bill -- several lines that merely redefine Alaska's wildlife as an "asset." The Department of Law has argued that it and related bills, SB 176/HB 256, simply clarify existing statutes governing wildlife management. However, the intent of these bills is far-ranging, and hardly innocuous. These pieces of stealth legislation are designed to subvert the right of Alaska's people to vote in this August election on the issue of shooting wolves and bears from private aircraft, and to prevent all future ballot initiatives regarding wildlife management. All three bills are backed by well-connected special interest groups, notably... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Control Could Get Sticky for US Democratic Hopefuls In Pennsylvania
National Journal (Washington, DC)
25 Mar 2008
When Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton square off in an April 16 debate in Philadelphia, they may be forced to spend time discussing an issue neither has talked much about in this campaign: gun control. April 16 will mark one year since the murder of 32 students at Virginia Tech, the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence will stage events around the country that day calling for stronger gun regulations, and for the candidates, gun control will be thrust on the table suddenly and unavoidably. Guns are an especially potent issue in Pennsylvania, which is home to 300,000 members of the National Rifle Association... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Installing Cable, US Man Uses Pistol to Drill Hole in Wall, Fatally Shoots Wife
Kansas City Star (Missouri) / AP
25 Mar 2008
SEDALIA, Missouri -- Officials are trying to determine whether to file charges against a man who fatally shot his wife while trying to install a satellite television system in their home. Patsy D. Long, 34, of Deepwater, was pronounced dead early Saturday evening after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means. The woman, who was outside the house, was hit by the second of two shots fired by Ronald Long, the Henry County Sheriff's Department said. Sheriff's Department... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Many UK Judges Ignore Minimum 5yrs' Jail for Gun Crime - Police Chief
Times (UK)
25 Mar 2008
The fight against gun crime is being undermined by judges who fail to ensure that tough penalties set down in law are imposed in the courts, a senior police chief has told The Times. Bernard Hogan-Howe, Chief Constable of Merseyside, said last night that the mandatory five-year minimum sentence for possession of a firearm was being ignored by some members of the judiciary. Mr Hogan-Howe, whose force is investigating the murder last year of 11-year-old Rhys Jones, said "very heavy sentences" were essential to deter criminals and teenage gang members from carrying weapons. It was, he said, "simply wrong" for judges to overlook the legal requirement to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Off-duty San Diego Cop Shoots 8yr-old Boy, Mom in Parking Lot Road Rage
Mercury News (California) / AP
25 Mar 2008
OCEANSIDE, California -- An 8-year-old boy who was with his mother when both were shot by an off-duty San Diego police officer in a parking lot confrontation was hit once in the leg, police said Tuesday. The boy's mother, Rachel Silva, was hit twice in the arm, said Oceanside police Lt. Fred Armijo. Both were hospitalized after the shooting but have now been released. The officer, Frank White, fired five shots during the March 15 altercation outside a Lowe's store in Oceanside. Police are still trying to piece together what happened immediately after one vehicle cut another off in traffic at around 9:15 p.m. White was driving his own car and... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Texas Woman Pulls Gun on Deliverymen for Not Taking Off Shoes
Beaumont Enterprise (Texas)
25 Mar 2008
Two furniture deliverymen fled a home after a customer produced a gun because they wouldn't take their shoes off, according to police reports. Two employees of Howell's Furniture Gallery were making a delivery to a house in the 5300 of Downs Road last Friday afternoon, the report stated. The homeowner, who was not identified, asked the deliverymen to take off their shoes. They replied removing their shoes was against company policy and pointed out they were wearing protective covers so as not to damage her carpet, the report stated. An argument ensued, which expanded to cover other problems the woman had with the store, and the woman... ( gunpolicy.org )
Uganda
Ugandan Army Cancels Karamojong Gun Amnesty, Will Jail Firearm Owners
Monitor (Kampala)
25 Mar 2008
MOROTO -- The army will not grant any more amnesty to Karimojong warriors arrested with guns. According to the division commander, Brig. Patrick Kankiriho, any Karimojong warrior arrested with an illegal gun shall be court martialled immediately and sentenced to imprisonment. Under the UPDF amnesty -- any Karimojong warrior who voluntarily hands over a gun or is arrested with a gun during cordon and search operation, is to be set free after handing over the gun. The army's decision to scrap amnesty was reached last Sunday in response to an earlier request by the council of leaders for Karamoja region chaired by five speakers of the five districts in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Virginia Gun Range, Gun Shop Lose Another 86 Handguns, Rifles to Thieves
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia)
25 Mar 2008
Once thieves pried their way through an exterior, side steel door at Dominion Shooting Range, the world was their oyster. The range's security system wasn't operating properly, and the thieves needed only to batter their way through a flimsy wooden door frame inside the range on Turner Road to get to what they wanted. To the right, there was a wall full of rifles for sale and display cases of handguns. To the left, there was a wall full of weapons for on-site rental, most of them handguns of various calibers. "We think they went that way," Dominion manager Joel Kliesen said yesterday, pointing to the now partly empty wall to the left.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Why Have Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama Ducked the Gun Control Issue?
McClatchy Newspapers (USA)
25 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- When Supreme Court justices debate the legality of the District of Columbia's ban on handguns in coming weeks, their file will include a legal brief from Vice President Dick Cheney, Arizona Sen. John McCain and 54 other senators asking that the law be overturned. But they won't find anything from Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York or Barack Obama of Illinois. They didn't sign the rival brief from other members of Congress who back the tough handgun restrictions. The Democratic presidential candidates' silence is part of a pattern. For years, the national party has downplayed its historic sympathy for gun control for fear that... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom
Why UK Judges Find Ways to Ignore the Law in Gun Crime Sentences
Times (UK)
25 Mar 2008
Passing sentence in the case of the death of Kamilah Peniston, Mr Justice Holland condemned Britain's gang-gun culture. "At the heart of this case is the status of handguns in parts of our society," the judge said. "A handgun in circulation gives the holder a spurious self-confidence and a perverted self-respect, the status of the armed man." The judge, sitting at Manchester Crown Court in October, then passed a sentence many involved in the gun culture debate would view with concern. He jailed Kamilah's mother, Natasha Peniston, for three years for possessing the firearm that killed her 12-year-old daughter. According to the judge, there were... ( gunpolicy.org )
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