Yemen
Yemen Confiscates 90,000 Weapons, But Gun Culture Defies Rule of Law
Agence France Presse
31 Mar 2008
SANAA -- Lawlessness, corruption and an inadequate judiciary combined with age-old customs fuel Yemen's "gun culture" despite government efforts to curb the use of firearms, politicians say. Carrying weapons is so entrenched in the traditions of the Arabian peninsula republic that one resident of the eastern tribal province of Marib was ostracised by his kinsfolk when he decided to ditch his machine-gun. "After graduating from university (in Iraq), I felt that my education, not the machine-gun flaunted by tribesmen, was my real weapon," said the 36-year-old doctor, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Ahmad. But Ahmad's decision... ( gunpolicy.org )
Vietnam
Two Men Arrested for Trafficking Pen Guns, Handguns in Vietnam
Thanh Nien News
31 Mar 2008
Police in the northern port city of Hai Phong Saturday arrested two men and seized 24 guns, dozens of bullets, along with other gun parts, binoculars, and knives. Nguyen Minh Tri, 51, and Pham Cao Son, 42, who are permanent residents of the city, were caught carrying specialized arms in their pockets, a police source said. Authorities caught Tri with a pen-shaped gun and 12 bullets, while Son was nabbed carrying three firearms containing 30 bullets. After searching their houses, police discovered a trove of weapons, including teargas and electric clubs. Tri, who has two previous theft convictions on record, admitted that he often bought... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kenya
Study Estimates 127,000 Illegal Guns Loose in Kenya's North Rift Districts
Nation (Nairobi)
31 Mar 2008
The recent spate of violence in Laikipia District could be attributed to the proliferation of illegal arms in the region. Laikipia is bordered by Baringo and Samburu districts, which are thought to have up to 25,000 small arms being held illegally. In a book titled Terrorised Citizens by a retired Air Force officer and two university dons, Samburu is suspected to have 16,000 guns in the wrong hands with Baringo having about 7,000. Profiles insecurity The 2003 book by Lieutenant Colonel Jacob Kamenju, who is also a director with the Nairobi-based Security Research and Information Centre, and Moi University dons Francis Wairagu and Mwachofi... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
So Many Packing Loaded Guns on US Airlines, Someone Bound to Get Shot
Guardian (UK) / Reuters
31 Mar 2008
CHICAGO -- The recent accidental discharge of a pilot's gun highlights tensions over whether the number of authorized guns aboard U.S. commercial aircraft translates into safer skies. A long list of travelers are permitted by law to carry guns on planes, including federal air marshals, certain pilots and law-enforcement agents traveling for business. Supporters of the practice insist that the presence of armed pilots and law enforcement agents -- on and off duty -- cuts the chances of hijacking. But others argue that the sheer number of guns on planes greatly increases the likelihood of an accident such as the one on a US Airways flight on March... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Philadelphia Tries Again to Force Gun Owners to Report Stolen Firearms
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania), Editorial
31 Mar 2008
Are Pennsylvania House lawmakers willing to stand tall this week -- or will they run for cover, leaving the communities they claim to represent to fend for themselves against the tide of gun violence? That's the choice faced by legislators in Harrisburg today, when handgun-control advocates begin yet another push for a modest rule requiring the reporting of lost and stolen handguns. Before Easter, House members got more tangled up than a bunch of Twister contestants by raising one bogus objection after another to the proposal. One lawmaker, Rep. Bryan Cutler (R., Lancaster), had the audacity to suggest the measure somehow would violate the rights... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Mother of 3 Killed by Stray Bullet as Locals Mourn Death of New York Rapper
Post Chronicle (New York) / UPI
31 Mar 2008
A stray bullet fired by a mourner killed a mother of three as she walked by a memorial for a popular local rapper in New York. Police say Nancy Williams, 27, of Brooklyn, was struck once in the chest as she passed an area Sunday night where fans of hip-hop performer Leval Lyde had gathered to mourn his death, The New York Post reported. They were all out back having an Irish wake and someone decides to fire an automatic weapon, a policeman at the scene told the Post. Williams was pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital about 40 minutes after the shooting took place in an area behind her apartment building in Bedford-Stuyvesant. It was... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
More Than 10% of US Pilots Allowed to Fly Armed: 15% of Pilots Carry Guns
USA Today
31 Mar 2008
WASHINGTON -- More than one in 10 of the nation's airline pilots are cleared to carry a handgun while flying, and the number will continue to grow, according to a Transportation Security Administration projection. The TSA, which has declined to disclose the number of armed pilots, revealed in a recent budget document that 10.8% of airline crewmembers were authorized to carry guns. The Federal Air Marshal Service, a TSA agency that runs the armed-pilots program, reports that 85,000 to 90,000 pilots and crewmembers flying domestic passenger and cargo planes are eligible to carry a gun. That puts the number of armed pilots at about 9,500 -- a figure Air... ( gunpolicy.org )
South Africa
More South Africans Renew Gun Licences Under Firearm Control Act
South African Broadcasting Corporation News
31 Mar 2008
Today is the deadline for people to renew their firearm licenses in line with the Firearm Control Act. People who had gun licences under the previous legislation and who were born in the months of July, August and September must apply for their renewals by the end of today. The SA Gun Owners Association says, however, that the legislation is not working. Spokesperson Martin Hood says: "Most people are prepared to do what the law says, they would do the training, get a safe, have a background check, they will prove that they are safe responsible members of society." He added: "The problem is that the police don't do their part of social contract, we do... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Licensed Gun Owner Killed Wrong Person, 2 Others in US Hospital Shooting
San Francisco Chronicle / AP
31 Mar 2008
COLUMBUS, Georgia -- A man who held a grudge against a worker at the hospital where his mother died shot and killed the wrong person, investigators testified Monday, citing a confession to the slayings of three people. Charles Johnston, 63, told authorities he took extra ammunition and three guns to the scene because he "didn't know what to expect," the detectives said. Johnston was ordered held without bond at the hearing in Columbus Recorders Court, where he appeared in a wheelchair. An officer shot Johnston in the shoulder after the killings Thursday at Doctors Hospital in Columbus. A court-appointed attorney for Johnston has not been named.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
It's Obama Over Clinton for Pennsylvania Gun Owners - US Shooters' Group
US News & World Report / Washington Whispers, Blog
31 Mar 2008
Gun owners in Pennsylvania, which has the highest per capita National Rifle Association membership in the nation, could provide Sen. Barack Obama with a key inroad to rural white voters who have so far backed Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to gun advocates. "The gun vote matters," says Ray Schoenke, founding president of the American Hunters and Shooters Association. And in Pennsylvania, he says, gun owners who follow key Washington legislation aimed at limiting ownership are moving in Obama's direction because of his support of past legislation to prohibit the use of federal money to confiscate weapons during a disaster like Hurricane Katrina. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
India
Gang of Home-made Gun Manufacturers Arrested in India, 8 Held
Times of India
31 Mar 2008
BELGAUM -- A gang manufacturing and selling country-made pistols at Raibag was arrested by a special police team of Chikkodi sub-division on Saturday. Six country-made pistols and 12 live cartridges were recovered from the gang. Eight persons along with two former Gram Panchayat members have been arrested. Based on a tip-off, the police arrested two persons, Tammanna Ningappa Sutar (65) and Sadashiv Ramappa Kamble (55), both of Hidkal in Raibag near Borgaon in Chikkodi. The duo were going to Ichalkaranji in Maharashtra. During interrogation the arrested revealed that Tammanna and his son, Babasab, were making the country-made pistols while Sadashiv was... ( gunpolicy.org )
India
Celebrated Senior Indian Cop Killed with 'Lost' Police Handgun in Debt Row
Yahoo! News (India)
31 Mar 2008
In a startling disclosure on Sunday, the Gurgaon Police investigating ACP Rajbir Singh's murder claimed the .32 bore revolver with which the encounter specialist was killed by a property dealer was a service revolver and belonged to a senior police official of the Haryana Police. Police said the police official holding the rank assistant superintendent of police (ASP) lost it during an operation while chasing down criminals in Bhiwani in July last year. Police are now investigating how the service revolver reached Rajbir as property dealer Vijay Bhardwaj claims Rajbir gave him the weapon three days before his murder. Police reiterated it was none other... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Canada's 'Wild West' Calgary Plagued by 30% Spike in Shooting Injuries
Calgary Sun (Alberta)
31 Mar 2008
Harmful and often deadly gunplay that has plagued Calgary streets jumped nearly 30% in 2007, city police stats show. Year-end police statistics reveal the number of shootings causing injuries last year were up 27.8% over 2006 -- from 36 to 46 -- despite that the use of guns in Calgary crept up just 4%. Insp. Guy Slater said the numbers are concerning and pose a public safety threat for law-abiding citizens as well as police officers. "We can look at numbers on a page, but the data translates to increased public safety concerns and increased officer safety concerns," he said. "We should all ... be concerned about this change and condemn... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Campaign for Students, Staff to Carry Guns on Campus Fizzles in Oklahoma
Associated Press
31 Mar 2008
Oklahoma City -- After strong protests, Oklahoma Senate leaders decided Monday to shelve a bill to allow military veterans and others with firearms training to carry concealed weapons on college campuses. Sen. Mike Johnson, a Republican, said he and Sen. Johnnie Crutchfield, a Democrat, made a joint decision to leave the bill off the agenda of the committee that would debate the measure. According to Crutchfield, he and Johnson "couldn't agree" to hear the bill. "The bottom line is the bill will not be considered this session," he said. University presidents, faculty members and students had loudly opposed the measure, which sponsors... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Barack Obama, 1996: 'Ban Manufacture, Sale, Possession of Handguns'
CBS News (USA) / Politico
31 Mar 2008
During his first run for elected office, Barack Obama played a greater role than his aides now acknowledge in crafting liberal stands on gun control, the death penalty and abortion -- positions that appear at odds with the more moderate image he's projected during his presidential campaign. The evidence comes from an amended version of an Illinois voter group's detailed questionnaire, filed under his name during his 1996 bid for a state Senate seat. Late last year, in response to a Politico story about Obama's answers to the original questionnaire, his aides said he "never saw or approved" the questionnaire. They asserted the responses were... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
America's Founders Didn't Foresee Bloodshed, Mass Murder on Campus
Austin American-Statesman (Texas), Opinion
31 Mar 2008
"Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? [T]he unlimited power of the sword is not in the hands of the government, but in the hands of the people." -- Federalist Tench Coxe proposing the Right to Bear Arms in 1791 Today gun legislation is plagued by loopholes and lack of information, the power of the sword is, unfortunately, increasingly to be found in the hands of our children and mentally ill. Two centennials ago, Coxe could not foresee his beloved law manifesting itself as bloodshed and mass murder across our nation's high schools, colleges, and universities. According to the National School Safety Center for grades K-12, 323 students died in... ( gunpolicy.org )
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