United States, Afghanistan, China, Albania, Iraq
US Offers 22yr-old Miami Man $300m for Old, Often Dud Afghan War Ammo
New York Times
27 Mar 2008
Since 2006, when the insurgency in Afghanistan sharply intensified, the Afghan government has been dependent on American logistics and military support in the war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. But to arm the Afghan forces that it hopes will lead this fight, the American military has relied since early last year on a fledgling company led by a 22-year-old man whose vice president was a licensed masseur. With the award last January of a federal contract worth as much as nearly $300 million, the company, AEY Inc., which operates out of an unmarked office in Miami Beach, became the main supplier of munitions to Afghanistan's army and police forces. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Albania, Afghanistan, United States
US/Afghan Ammunition, Gun Trafficking Scandal Implicates Albanian PM
Balkan Insight (Sarajevo)
27 Mar 2008
TIRANA -- Albanian leaders are accused of profiting from a murky arms deal with a company whose contract with the U.S. Army was suspended this week. The allegations implicate politicians as high as Prime Minister Sali Berisha and former Defence Minster Fatmir Mediu, with corruption. The allegations were the subject of a heated debate in Parliament on Thursday. "You are thwarting our integration into NATO and should resign," Ndre Legisi, a deputy from the opposition Socialist Movement for Integration told Berisha. "How is it possible that our institutions can enter this murky network, when we have sworn allegiance to NATO and in the mean time... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Oklahoma Legislators Encourage Students, Staff to Carry Guns on Campus
Bloomberg (USA)
27 Mar 2008
Oklahoma lawmakers have a plan to prevent violent outbreaks at colleges: let students carry guns. The state's House of Representatives voted March 13 to allow students and employees who have law-enforcement or military backgrounds, or who undergo training, to carry concealed weapons on public campuses. If the measure is enacted, Oklahoma will be the fourth state where collegians can be armed legally, as a result of legislative, court or administrative action in the past five years. A group called Students for Concealed Carry on Campus has sprung up, claiming 23,000 supporters including members at Harvard University, since a senior at Virginia Tech in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Murder Now Leading Cause of US Youth Death: 81 Percent Is Gun Homicide
New York Times / AP
27 Mar 2008
CHICAGO -- The morning trip to school for dozens of teenagers here had all the normal signs: bleary eyes, oversized jackets zipped up against the chill, the seemingly endless wait for the bus. But there was tension underlying the routine: The trip was under the watchful eyes of parents, an alderman, a principal and police. The escort to and from Crane Tech High School this week, dubbed "Operation Safe Passage" is just one of the ways Chicago is dealing with a wave of violence that has stunned the city. Since September, 20 Chicago Public Schools students have been killed, 18 by gunfire. Last school year, 24 of the more than 30 students killed... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Most Americans Support Existing or Tougher Gun Laws, Says Gallup Poll
Gallup (USA), Poll
27 Mar 2008
PRINCETON, New Jersey -- A solid majority of the U.S. public, 73%, believes the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the rights of Americans to own guns. Twenty percent believe the amendment only guarantees the rights of state militia members to own guns. The Supreme Court will soon weigh in on this issue, after recently hearing the arguments in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, in which the Washington, D.C., ban on handgun ownership by city residents is facing a Second Amendment challenge. The precise language of the Second Amendment reads: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
Marines in Philippines 'Diverted' 77 Brand New H&K Submachine Guns
Manila Standard Today
27 Mar 2008
A retired Marine commandant and seven other people were charged before the anti-graft court yesterday over the unexplained disappearance of 77 sub-machine guns in June 2000. The Ombudsman charged retired Brig. Gen. Percival Subala, now deputy administrator for port operations at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority; Col. Cesar de la Peña, former Marines chief-of-staff; Navy Capt. Teodoro Briones; SPO4 Richard Zules; and private individuals Edelbert Uybuco, Gerardo Vijandre, Manuel Ferdinand Trinidad, and Michael Boregas with illegal disposition of firearms after it was discovered that 77 H&K MP5 sub-machineguns were missing. In the charge sheet, the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Marking, Microstamping Ammunition 'Phony Remedies for Violent Crime'
Hartford Courant (Connecticut), Opinion
27 Mar 2008
Every year during the legislative session, Connecticut plays host to a medicine show of phony remedies for violent crime. Now that spring is here, so is the snake oil. Two purported anti-crime bills are now being considered by the General Assembly. Both bills promise amazing results, but the buyer should beware. Senate Bill 603 would outlaw the sale of firearms ammunition that does not bear a serial number on the bullet and the cartridge case. The serial number is supposed to help police track criminals who use guns. The other nostrum, Senate Bill 607, would outlaw the sale of firearms unless they micro-stamp a unique number or other mark on... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Florida's 'Take Your Guns to Work' Bill Overrides Business Property Rights
Orlando Sentinel (Florida) / AP
27 Mar 2008
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida residents could pack guns along with their briefcases as part of their workday routine, under a controversial measure endorsed by the Florida House on Wednesday. With little debate, the House gave the gun lobby a major victory by passing a bill allowing employees to take their guns to work, as long as the owner has a permit and the weapon is locked in a car. The guns-at-work bill forced the Legislature's Republican leaders to choose between two core constitutional principles: the right to bear arms and private-property rights. Each is advocated by powerful and deep-pocketed interests: gun groups and big business. The bill... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Florida Bill Allows Guns in the Workplace, a 'Major Victory' for US Gun Lobby
South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale)
27 Mar 2008
TALLAHASSEE -- Without debate, the Florida House gave the powerful gun lobby a major victory today by passing a bill to allow employees to take their guns to work -- as long as the employee has a concealed weapons permit and the weapon is left in the car. The bill (HB503) passed on a nearly party-line vote, 72-42, with Republicans largely supporting the guns-at-work legislation despite a last-minute lobbying push by business interests to kill the measure, which they called an attack on business owners' ability to regulate the workplace. The controversial legislation for years has cleaved the Legislature's Republican leaders between two core principles:... ( gunpolicy.org )
|
|
