United States
Detroit Boy, 4, Finds Sleeping Dad's Loaded Handgun, Shoots Him
Detroit Free Press
26 Nov 2008
A 4-year-old Detroit boy accidentally shot and wounded his father today after the man fell asleep with a handgun tucked under his pillow, police said. Police spokesman James Tate said the father, 40, is in temporary serious condition at an area hospital after being struck once in the stomach. Tate said the father fell asleep on a couch this afternoon at his home on the 19100 block of Danbury. The boy saw the gun under the pillow, grabbed it and it accidentally discharged around 2:30 p.m., Tate said. "This appears to be accidental," Tate said. Police are still investigating. ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Election of Obama a Polarizing Moment in World of US Gun Control
Daily Local (Pennsylvania)
26 Nov 2008
When Barack Obama became the president-elect earlier this month, there were two distinct reactions in the world of firearms. One reaction was cheering and praise, which came from those who support stricter gun laws. "We have a very sane, a very intelligent person in the White House now who understands how to protect everyone's rights in this county," said Barbara Montgomery, president of the Brady Campaign's Pennsylvania Chapter of the Million Mom March. "We're very heartened that at last we can get a dialogue going and try and save some lives." The other reaction came from gun owners who rushed to gun shops across the country to purchase rifles,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Extremists on Both Sides Cloud Gun Debate Since Obama's Election
Detroit Free Press / Outdoors, Column
26 Nov 2008
The extreme gun nuts, who think the Bill of Rights is limited to the Second Amendment, are panicked that a Barack Obama administration is going to take their firearms rights away. And the ignorant idealists who see guns as the root of all evil are hoping he will. That's not going to happen, although Obama might throw a sop to the idealists by pushing for some changes that will have no effect on 99% of the people who own guns. Most of the idealists don't know what they are talking about. They don't know anything about guns nor how hopelessly ineffective gun laws are at curbing crime and gun violence. The phrase "assault rifle" often shows up... ( gunpolicy.org )
Papua New Guinea
Islands 'Traumatised by Gun Culture,' Gun Control Urged in Bougainville
ABC Radio Australia (Shortwave)
26 Nov 2008
There has been a call for the government of Bougainville and the international community to do more to deal with the gun issue in the south of the autonomous PNG region. Three residents of south Bougainville involved in peace-building work in the region have told a seminar at the Australian National University in Canberra the south is being traumatised by the weapons culture. Unresolved conflicts from the region's civil war and the breakdown of traditional authority is worsening the situation. Rose Pihei, a community worker from the Konnou area told Radio Australia a weapons disposal program initiated by donor nations and the UN remains unfinished.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
New South Australian Gun Laws Target Bikies, Drug Gangs
Advertiser (Adelaide)
26 Nov 2008
New gun laws described by Premier Mike Rann as the toughest in Australia will come into effect from midnight tonight. The main target of the new laws are outlaw motorcycle gangs and police will have the power to issue prohibition orders against people found near an illegal weapon or in the company of someone with a weapon. The maximum sentence under the new laws has been increased from two years to 15. A three-month gun amnesty will also begin on December 1 and run until February 28. Mr Rann said the laws had been designed to target unlawful use of firearms to commit violence and criminal acts. He said they created a new range... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama Victory Prompts US Gun Rush, Fear in Full Flood at Texas Range
BBC News
26 Nov 2008
HOUSTON, Texas -- In a quiet side street not far from where the Texas freeway system knits the sprawling suburbs of Houston into something like a city centre, business is booming at the Top Gun shooting range. Recession is not biting here in the oil-rich Energy Capital of the World as it is in the rest of the United States -- but that is not the only reason why it is difficult to find a parking space outside Top Gun towards the end of the working day. America's gun owners are worried that the incoming Obama administration, which is coming to power offering hope and change, is going to mean something rather different for them -- restriction and regulation.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
South Carolina's Thanksgiving Weekend Offers Tax-free Guns for All
Associated Press
26 Nov 2008
COLUMBIA, South Carolina -- TVs and laptops won't be the only hot items in South Carolina this Black Friday. The state is offering an unusual perk to shoppers: no sales tax on handguns, rifles and shotguns. The so-called "Second Amendment Weekend" is thanks to a little-debated amendment legislators tacked on this summer to a tax break for energy-efficient appliances. While the energy-efficiency measure doesn't go into effect until next year, on Friday and Saturday gun buyers won't have to pay state and local sales taxes that can total 8 percent. Taxes still apply to ammunition and accessories. "We are a gun-owning-tradition state, a hunting-tradition... ( gunpolicy.org )
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