United Kingdom, United Nations
UN Global Gun Trade Treaty Faces 'Crucial Vote, Make-or-break Moment'
Guardian (UK) / Comment is Free, Opinion
27 Oct 2008
In these days of giant bank bail-outs and financial calamity involving sums in the billions, 1,000 seems like a small number. Except it is the average number of people killed by small arms every day, and to me that number is devastating. Many of these deaths happen because armed weapons are too easy to buy and sell. There are at least 640m firearms in existence in the world today and up to 14bn bullets are manufactured every year, the vast majority of which are shipped across borders and oceans with practically no regulation. There is a human side to these dry numbers. In my seven years of campaigning for greater arms control I've met many families whose... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Texas Cop Sold Firearms to US-Mexico Gun Runners, Faces Years in Jail
Associated Press
27 Oct 2008
BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A former South Texas police officer has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally selling guns that wound up in Mexico. Ramon Martinez, who at the time was a Palm Valley police officer, would buys guns from dealers and private citizens, often over the Internet, then sell them for a profit. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, guns found in Mexico and traced back to Martinez triggered the investigation. Martinez, 37, faces five years in prison and as much $250,000 in fines for dealing in firearms without a license. U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle set sentencing for Jan. 28. ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Sales of Assault Weapons Spike as Texas Gun Owners Gird for Obama
WFAA-TV News (Texas)
27 Oct 2008
GARLAND -- With nine days left until the election, people aren't only lining up to vote early; they are also apparently heading to sporting goods stores and gun shops as owners have reported an increase in business. Gun owners have expressed concern that Barack Obama, if elected, will not only renew the ban on assault weapons, but also make it permanent. "Not that people are fear-buying," said John Mannewitz, a manager at Target Master. "But, if there's something cool you want to get, people are saying sooner is better than later." Target Master, a gun store in Garland, used to sell a couple of assault weapons, such as AR15s and AK47s, every... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Police Probe US Machine Gun 'Fun' Event After 8yr-old Boy Dies Firing Uzi
Reuters
27 Oct 2008
BOSTON -- Authorities in Massachusetts are investigating a gun fair where an 8-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself in the head with an Uzi submachine gun while under adult supervision, police said on Monday. Christopher Bizilj lost control of the weapon on Sunday at the Machine Gun Shoot & Firearms Expo at a sportsman's club in Westfield, a city about 96 miles west of the state capital Boston, police said. He was rushed to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Under Massachusetts law, children can legally fire a weapon if they are supervised by a licensed instructor and have consent from a parent or legal guardian, but gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama Polls, Wall St Slump Prompt Scared Americans to Buy More Guns
Washington Post
27 Oct 2008
Americans have cut back on buying cars, furniture and clothes in a tough economy, but there's one consumer item that's still enjoying healthy sales: guns. Purchases of firearms and ammunition have risen 8 to 10 percent this year, according to state and federal data. Several variables drive sales, but many dealers, buyers and experts attribute the increase in part to concerns about the economy and fears that if Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois wins the presidency, he will join with fellow Democrats in Congress to enact new gun controls. Obama has said that he believes in an individual right to bear arms but that he also supports "common-sense safety measures." ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NRA Spends $40M to Defeat Obama: 'Most Anti-gun President in History'
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)
27 Oct 2008
The National Rifle Association is pouring money and manpower into Nevada -- the state's 3rd Congressional District in particular -- in hopes of defeating Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and carrying Republican Rep. Jon Porter to a fourth term in Congress. The group is spending $40 million nationwide this election season to tell its 4 million members -- and tens of millions more gun owners -- Obama would be the most anti-gun president in history. In Southern Nevada, the NRA has organized 60 volunteers to promote early voting and absentee balloting. Through last week, they had made 3,800 phone calls, visited 1,800 households and dropped 11,500 pieces... ( gunpolicy.org )
India
Killings by Licensed Firearm Owners Spotlight Rising Gun Culture in India
Ludhiana Tribune (Chandigarh)
27 Oct 2008
LUDHIANA -- In a new-found penchant for guns, at least 400 apply for gun licences every month. The fact is important in the context of three gruesome killing on Saturday. All involved had licensed weapons that brings to the fore the dirty face of the prevailing gun culture in the city. The two incidents on Sunday, where a paramour killed his beloved and later in the day a lover shot his beloved and himself, were not the stray ones. Murders at the pistol point have been on the rise since past few months. First major killing came to light when the notorious Shiv Sena youth wing leader Suraj Ahluwalia allegedly shot the taxi driver Kawaljeet by using the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia
Kenyan Police Blame Flow of Illegal Guns on Somali, Ethiopian Dealers
Daily Nation (Nairobi)
27 Oct 2008
A security operation has been launched in North Eastern Province to curb the influx of illegal fire arms from Somalia and Ethiopia. Speaking to the Nation on phone on Monday, Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojodeh said the operation started two days ago. "We have ordered an operation in Mandera to flush out dealers in illegal arms from the neighbouring Somalia and Ethiopia," he said, noting that immigrants had taken the local residents hostage. But the residents said that the Administration Police, in conjunction with the Army officers, had tortured them and raped their women. Mr Osman Abdi, the principal of Elwak Secondary... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
'Guns Reduce Crime' US TV Debate Pits Pro-gun v Gun Control Advocates
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
27 Oct 2008
Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske thinks having more guns in the community doesn't deter crime, and he plans to argue that Tuesday night in a New York City debate. Kerlikowske will appear with leading researchers and advocates on both sides of the gun issue during the debate at Rockefeller University in New York City. The debate is sponsored by National Public Radio as part of its "Intelligence Squared" program -- a series of debates intended to provoke discussion of public issues. An edited version of Tuesday's debate will air later this week at www.npr.org, and video will be made available on YouTube.com, a spokeswoman said. Joining Kerlikowske... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Dad Stood Behind 8yr-old as He Fired Uzi, Killed Himself at US Fun Day
Republican (Massachusetts) / Boston Globe / AP
27 Oct 2008
WESTFIELD, Massachusetts -- An 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself to death Sunday had his father's permission to participate in a machine gun shoot at the Westfield Sportsman's Club. Christopher Bizilj, of Ashford, Conn., was firing a 9 mm Micro UZI machine gun at a pumpkin around 2 p.m. when he lost control of the automatic combat-type weapon and shot himself once in the head. He died at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. "I gave permission for him to fire the UZI," Charles Bizilj told the Boston Globe. "I watched several other children and adults use it. It's a small weapon, and Christopher was comfortable with guns,"... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
8yr-old American Boy Dies Firing Submachine Gun with Dad at Gun Club
Boston Globe
27 Oct 2008
An 8-year-old boy died yesterday at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield after he accidentally shot himself in the head at a Westfield gun club, Westfield Police reported. Police said the child's death, caused by a fully automatic Uzi machine gun, appears to have been an accident, but it remains under investigation. The Westfield Police Department released a statement about what they described as a self-inflicted, accidental shooting, which occurred at 2 p.m. at the Westfield Sportsman's Club on Furrowtown Road. In a telephone interview last night, Westfield Police Officer Carl Girard confirmed the boy died of his injuries at the hospital.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
30-year Decline in Canadian Gun Homicide Shows Gun Bans Don't Work
National Post (Toronto), Opinion
27 Oct 2008
There is no one more persistent than a liberal with a bad idea. He knows his intellectual and moral superiority make him infallible, so he easily convinces himself there is nothing wrong with his idea; it is the world that is mistaken. Even the facts cannot be the facts when they disagree with his idea. So he forges ahead against all reason, attempting to remake the world until it accepts he was correct all along. Which brings me to the subject of gun bans. As useless as bans have proven, liberal politicians will raise the subject over and over. Thankfully new, unconnected reports from Statistics Canada and Chicago once again point out the futility of banning... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Years Obscure a 'Plinking' Assault Rifle's Trail of Slayings in New Jersey
Star-Ledger (New Jersey)
26 Oct 2008
In the spring of 1992, two AT&T craftsmen in Georgia were chatting at work when the subject of guns came up. One of them, George Hill Jr., was a hobbyist from Greenville who competed in amateur target-shooting competitions. He mentioned that one of weapons he liked to use was an SKS rifle, an Eastern bloc predecessor of the AK-47 that had been redesigned for civilian use and was popular in the United States for backyard "plinking." The other craftsman, a collector named Charles Durham, said he'd like to own a gun like that. "I can get you one," Hill remembers telling him. Some 16 years later, a 19-year-old hospital orderly accidentally... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Kingdom, United Nations
UN Gun Trade Treaty: As of Last Week, 111 of 192 States Had Signed Up
Sunday Herald (Glasgow), Opinion
26 Oct 2008
Someone has just been killed. Soon their family will know. Their mother and father, or sons and daughters, or husband or wife will face the grief of a loved one lost, the expected future ended, and potential hardship as they face life without them. Today, as you are reading the Sunday papers and hopefully relaxing after your week, somewhere someone has been killed by firearms. Not just one person, but about 50 this hour and every hour. More than 1000 people will be killed today by firearms and the same tomorrow and the next day and every day. And in addition, many thousands more will die today as a consequence of armed violence, or be driven from their homes,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Jamaica
Rifle Association Shoots Down Senator's Call for Jamaicans to Carry Guns
Sunday Observer (Jamaica)
26 Oct 2008
The controversial call by Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) senator, Prudence Kidd-Deans for the arming of the society in the face of the prevailing high murder rate, has not found favour with the Jamaica Rifle Association (JRA), popularly known as the gun club. "First of all, it's not a right of every Jamaican to bear arms, like in the United States where their constitution states so explicitly," said Andrew Chin, acting president of the JRA. "There must be strict conditionalities. In some cases it can put the person at more risk." Chin is also a member of the recently established Firearm Licensing Authority that has replaced police commanders as... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Police Buyback Sees 500 Guns Exchanged for Cash in Harlem Churches
Associated Press
26 Oct 2008
NEW YORK -- Five Harlem churches collected hundreds of weapons -- in exchange for cash. Rifles, handguns and shotguns were handed over on Saturday -- no questions asked. Each person who brought a firearm was handed a $200 bank card. By late Saturday, more than 500 were collected. It's part of a program sponsored by the NYPD and the Manhattan district attorney's office to remove weapons from city streets with recent spikes in violence. BB guns and air pistols are accepted in exchange for a $20 bank card. So far, the buyback program started a half dozen years ago has succeeded in removing about 5,000 guns from New York streets. The city... ( gunpolicy.org )
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