United States
Nearly 700 Guns from Brooklyn Buyback will be Melted into Coathangers
NY1 TV News (News York)
21 July 2008
City officials are calling Brooklyn's gun buy-back program a success. A joint program between a group of Brooklyn pastors and the Brooklyn district attorney netted almost 700 guns. The event allowed people who owned illegal guns to drop them off at six churches in exchange for a $200 debit card, no questions asked. Twenty dollar bank cards were given for B.B. guns and air pistols. Overall, 697 illegal and functioning... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Swapping Guns for Cash, at Church: New Yorkers Give Up Their Weapons
New York Times
20 July 2008
There was a time, in the 1970s and '80s that handguns were so coveted on the streets of Kings County, that the borough gave rise to a law enforcement legend known as the Brooklyn Bounce. If you were to throw a gun from a window in Bay Ridge or Bushwick, so the legend went, it would be eagerly grabbed before it had a chance to bounce more than once. Over the last decade or so, violent crime has dropped in Brooklyn, as it has in the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Pakistan
Buyback Saw 20,000 Guns Destroyed in Pakistan, Shootings Due to Politics
Daily Mail (Islamabad)
17 July 2008
UNITED NATIONS -- Reaffirming its determination to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, Pakistan on Wednesday called for addressing the root causes of conflicts to eliminate a major source of demand for such weapons. "Focus on conflict prevention and dispute resolution is thus a sine qua non for the attainment of the common goals of strengthening peace and security in conditions of economic... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Mayor Asks Chicago Businesses to Raise $1million for City Gun Buyback
Chicago Sun-Times
17 July 2008
Mayor Daley wants to raise $1 million to buy back guns and remove them from Chicago streets, but the latest in a string of corporate fund-raisers got off to a slow start. Sources said former Board of Education President Michael Scott was asked to co-sign a wave of fund-raising letters and make fund-raising phone calls after the initial response was lukewarm from a business community that's also being called upon to bankroll Chicago's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Brooklyn Pastors, NYPD Pay $200 for Each Illegal Weapon in Gun Buyback
NY1 TV News (New York)
16 July 2008
A group of Brooklyn pastors joined forces with the NYPD and the Brooklyn district attorney's office Wednesday to get guns off the streets. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced a one-day gun buy-back initiative for Saturday, July 19. Gun owners who possess illegal, functional guns can drop off the weapons at one of six Brooklyn churches in exchange for a $200 bank card. Hynes... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations, World
Annual Report Launched at UN: Global Gun Theft, Trafficking, Gun Violence
United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), New York, Media release
14 July 2008
As delegates gathered in New York to consider the implementation of the Programme of Action on the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, the Small Arms Survey 2008: Risks and Resilience, was launched at a Headquarters press conference this morning. The book is the eighth annual review of global small arms issues, which is produced by a team of researchers based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a worldwide network of local... ( gunpolicy.org )
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea Tells UN of 'Radical Action Plan' to Curb Illegal Guns
Pacific Magazine
14 July 2008
PORT MORESBY -- Papua New Guinea Internal Security Minister Sani Rambi will announce an executable plan to deal with illegal guns when he returns from a four-day international forum on gun control in New York. Rambi told Pacific Magazine said his delegation is comprised of PNG Police Commissioner Gari Baki and other government officials. They left Port Moresby yesterday morning to attend the Biennial Meeting of States on Small Arms... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Buybacks May Fail in One Aim, But They Remain Vital in Phoenix
Arizona Republic, Editorial
29 June 2008
Look, a new gun-buyback program Phoenix will probably not result in any perceptible reduction in violent crime in the four south Phoenix neighborhoods where it's being held.If the buyback goes anything like the others across the country over the past decade, middle-age, law-abiding residents will turn in older guns, mostly revolvers, in return for $100 gift cards that can be used in any Bashas' or Food City stores. The AK-47 rifles... ( gunpolicy.org )
Papua New Guinea
National Gun Buyback Planned to Curb Crime in Papua New Guinea
Radio New Zealand International (Pacific shortwave)
23 June 2008
The Papua New Guinea Police Minister, Sani Rambi, says his Government is planning a nationwide gun buyback scheme as part of efforts to reduce crime. He says too many illegal guns are in the hands of the wrong people. Mr Rambi told the Post Courier newspaper he is weighing up on the issue of time and cost to attack the root cause of an upsurge in organised crime. The paper quotes the Minister saying he is for the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Renewed Growth in Australian Gun Numbers Must Be Tackled Urgently
Sunday Times (Western Australia), Editorial
25 May 2008
If there was anything positive to emerge from the tragedy of the Port Arthur massacre it was that our nation was forced to seriously confront for the first time the issue of gun control. The action that followed was swift with the introduction of tougher national gun laws and a buyback scheme. Understandably, given the atrocities committed by lone gunman Martin Bryant, there was widespread community support for these measures.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Western Australia Now Has More Guns Than Before Port Arthur Massacre
Sunday Times (Western Australia)
25 May 2008
WA has more guns now than before the 1996 Port Arthur massacre -- a reversal of a near decade-long downward trend in weapon ownership. The jump coincides with a scathing national report, which found many firearms owners were failing to properly store them, including high-powered weapons left unlocked in cases, cars and cupboards. Inadequate security was to blame for more than half the gun thefts in Australia. Also,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kazakhstan
Unregistered Rifles, Pistols Collected in North Kazakhstan Gun Buyback
BBC Monitoring Service (Astana) / Kazinform
11 May 2008
During a campaign to voluntarily hand in unregistered rifles, pistols and explosives to police in [Kazakhstan's northern] Pavlodar Region, people brought 611 weapons, a Kazinform [news agency] correspondent has reported. Police valued the arsenal at 3.79m tenge [over 30,000 dollars], Maskhat Yeshmuratov, deputy head of the public security directorate of the [regional] interior affairs department, said. The explosives, which were... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian Gun Control Laws Did, Did Not Reduce Firearm Homicide, Suicide
ABC Radio (Australia) / PM, Transcript
21 April 2008
LISA MILLAR: The former prime minister, John Howard, recently told an American audience that one of his proudest achievements in office was introducing tougher gun laws after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. But a new study by researchers from the University of Sydney claims the previous federal government's gun control laws have done nothing to reduce firearm deaths in Australia. Gun control advocates though, disagree. Michael... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States
London, Ontario Police Say Most Crime Guns Come from Canada, Not USA
London Free Press (Ontario)
15 April 2008
One of the world's largest arms merchants is funding a new program to get illegal guns off London's streets. Meanwhile, Londoners are again urged to take advantage of a federal amnesty for handing over unregistered guns. General Dynamics Land Systems, maker of military vehicles, helped launch a new "cash for guns" Crime Stoppers program with city police. "London is our home -- it's where we live, work and raise... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
'Strict Gun Laws, Fewer People Shot,' Says Toronto Mayor. Is It That Clear?
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
12 April 2008
The way Judith Ross describes her favourite hobby, you'd swear she was talking about hatha yoga or a Buddhist pursuit. "It's almost like a meditation," she says, "an experience of focus and concentration. You have to be relaxed and calm." Dr. Ross, a 69-year-old retired psychologist who worked for 30 years at the University of Toronto, is a sport shooter, regularly heading off to her gun club to pursue her passion. When she started... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington DC Scales Back Plan to Search Kids' Homes for Guns, Drugs
Washington Post
4 April 2008
D.C. police have scaled back plans to go door-to-door asking residents in high-crime neighborhoods whether officers can search their homes for guns as part of a new amnesty program aimed at getting weapons off the streets. The Safe Homes program instead will be offered by appointment only at residents' request, said Chief Cathy L. Lanier. The program was supposed to begin last month but was delayed after a backlash from... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
20 Chicago Public School Students Fatally Shot So Far This School Year
Washington Post
2 April 2008
CHICAGO -- Chavez Clarke, 18, had spent this past Saturday taking catch-up classes so he could graduate on time. As he left a South Side high school that afternoon, he was fatally shot, in broad daylight and in plain view of other students. His death marked a grim end to a week when police and school officials had stepped up their efforts to combat a spike in killings of public school students. The day before, an eighth-grader at... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Lesbians Accuse Australian Pro-Gun Activist Ron Owen of Vilifying Gays
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
1 April 2008
Controversial gun lobbyist Ron Owen is being taken to court by a group of lesbians who allege he has breached the Anti-Discrimination Act by publicly vilifying gay people. The case, set for hearing from Thursday, could have landmark repercussions based on Mr Owen's use of the Bible, the Koran and the Jewish Torah for his defence, along with a "freedom of speech" defence. The case is being brought by Rachelle Menzies, Tina... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Cash Reward Offered to Baghdad Fighters Who Give Up Their Guns
Los Angeles Times
29 March 2008
BAGHDAD -- Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Friday extended a deadline for fighters to disarm after nobody responded, and U.S. forces were pulled deeper into the showdown between Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen. The United States military said a Navy jet had strafed a mortar-launching position in the southern city of Basra with 20-millimeter cannon fire Thursday night, killing three "criminal militia members." It was the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Caribbean, Central America, South America
Guns and Gun Running: Small Arms Trade in Latin America - NACLA Report
NACLA Report on the Americas Vol. 41, No. 2
19 March 2008
Small arms and gun violence present the most dramatic threat to public safety in Latin America and the Caribbean. After decades of uncontrolled proliferation, at least 45 million to 80 million small arms and light weapons -- that is, weapons operated by an individual or small group, including handguns, assault rifles, grenades, grenade launchers, and even man portable surface to air missiles -- are circulating throughout the region. (1)... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Amid Little Evidence of Benefit, US Critics Assail 'Feel Good' Gun Buybacks
USA Today
17 March 2008
Gun buyback programs from Miami to the San Francisco Bay are coming under fire by critics who question whether the bucks are reducing the big bangs. "It's like trying to drain the Pacific with a bucket," says Alex Tabarrok, research director at the Independent Institute, a think tank in Oakland. "More guns are going to flow in." Tabarrok and others complain the programs are feel-good events that do not reduce gun crimes... ( gunpolicy.org )
Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, Caribbean, Brazil, Argentina
Women's Groups Demand to Know Where Caribbean Gangs Get Their Guns
Stabroek News (Guyana)
5 March 2008
A two-day meeting for parliamentarians and NGOs to review the impact and "responses to small arms diffusion and violence in the Caribbean" is set for Trinidad today and a women's group is asking where the gangs are getting guns and ammo for killings like those at Lusignan and Bartica . According to a press release the Women's Institute for Alternative Development (WINAD) said the meeting hopes to explore a Caricom instrument to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
As Street Values Rise, US Gun Thieves, Interstate Gun Runners Get Bolder
Virginian-Pilot (Virginia)
4 March 2008
Most of us know the gun debate as a war of words -- a battle of sound bites between this side and that. The real front lines are on the streets, where good guns try to hold back the bad ones, and no one takes the time to hold rallies, give speeches or argue about the Second Amendment. There, the struggle is as intense as ever. "In so many murders and robberies, the weapon of choice is a gun," said Norfolk Police... ( gunpolicy.org )
Yemen
Over 88,000 Firearms Seized, Crime Falls in Yemen as Gun Ban Continues
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
3 March 2008
SANA'A, Yemen -- Yemeni police have confiscated more than 88,000 firearms since a nationwide campaign to enforce a ban on carrying weapons in cities began in last August, the interior ministry said on Monday. It said in a statement that more than 3,000 weapons have been seized in major cities across the Arab country, and over 85,000 pieces were confiscated at checkpoints outside the capital Sana'a and other cities since August 23, 2007.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
White Male Suburban Gun Owners Flock to Oakland to Sell Guns at Buyback
Contra Costa Times (California), Opinion
1 March 2008
Contrary to your criticism of state Sen. Don Perata's, "One Less Gun," gun buy-back program as bungling, I want to thank Perata for enlightening, albeit indirectly, many Oakland residents as to the source of crime guns in Oakland, Richmond and all of the U.S. I was at all three sites for the buy-back in the morning and spent the rest of the day at True Vine Church in West Oakland. There was universal bewilderment at all... ( gunpolicy.org )
Brazil
Brazil Gun Deaths Outpaced Births: Gun Buyback Saw 8% Homicide Drop
ISN Security Watch (Switzerland), Web Page
28 February 2008
Results from a recently released study that measured population growth and homicides in Brazil between 1996 and 2006 revealed that homicides dropped by eight percent between 2003 and 2006, a time period that overlaps with a nationwide gun buy-back program during which nearly 500,000 firearms were removed from circulation. Gun buy-back programs have met with mixed success in Latin America, but according to the study, authored by... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
America's Troubling Culture of Gun Violence 'Aberration In Civilized World'
Marin Independent Journal (California), Editorial
24 February 2008
Fatal shootings have become so commonplace that it takes something truly horrific to get national attention. Even then, after the outrage subsides, little is done about a level of carnage that is an aberration in the civilized world. And even as we try to make sense of the latest wave of senseless killings, the body count keeps piling up. - A disgruntled resident opened fire at Kirkwood City Hall in Missouri. Charles... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
First in Line at California Gun Buyback Were Dealers 'Selling' for a Nice Profit
Oakland Tribune (California), Opinion
23 February 2008
On Feb. 9, Oakland police, led by state Sen. Don Perata, D-Oakland, offered to buy handguns and assault weapons for $250 each, "no questions asked, no ID required." The "One Less Gun" buyback program attracted so many eager sellers that the money quickly ran out, but instead of closing up shop, the police handed out IOUs good for a future buyback. The Oakland police are now stuck with a bill for $170,000. The buyback has been criticized... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
To Save Children and Teens, US Supreme Court Must Uphold DC Gun Ban
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
18 February 2008
This year, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to overturn a lower court decision striking down the District of Columbia's 1976 handgun ban designed to reduce violent crime. If the Court reverses the lower court and upholds the ban, it will keep in place a crucial measure for the protection of the health and safety of our children in our nation's capital and communities nationwide. At issue in the case, District of Columbia... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
California Gun Buyback Nets 1,000 Assault Weapons, Handguns for Smelter
San Francisco Chronicle
10 February 2008
Soon after Oakland streets again exploded in violence, police collected more than 1,000 handguns and assault weapons Saturday in three no-questions-asked buyback events. State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, who was carjacked at gunpoint Dec. 29 in North Oakland, was the first to surrender a gun. He gave police the handgun he bought 15 years ago after receiving death threats during his fight to ban assault weapons.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Californians Line Up to Surrender Assault Weapons, Pistols in Gun Buyback
Mercury News (California)
10 February 2008
OAKLAND -- State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata was the first among hundreds of people Saturday to turn in a gun, kicking off the "One Less Gun" voluntary gun buyback program. The event caused heavy traffic in east, west and central Oakland as people pulled up at buyback locations with trunk loads of assault weapons. Others stood in long lines that stretched for several city blocks, waiting to turn in handguns. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Oakland, California Gun Buyback Sends Hundreds of Weapons to Furnace
Oakland Tribune / AP
10 February 2008
OAKLAND, California -- Hundreds of guns are set to be melted down following an Oakland gun buyback held hours after two more victims died in a shooting in the violence-plagued city. The Saturday event organized by Democratic state Sen. Don Perata had enough funding to take in 300 guns for $250 a piece but ran out of money as people arrived to turn in trunkloads of assault weapons. Oakland police issued vouchers for guns... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Basketball Star, Ex-Firearm Offender Donates $100,000 to Gun Buyback
Hampton Roads Daily Press (Virginia)
16 January 2008
WASHINGTON -- Basketball star Allen Iverson is donating $100,000 to support the Newport News Police Department's "Gun Buy Back" program, U.S. Rep. Robert C. Scott announced Wednesday night. The program, used in many major urban centers, offers money to residents who turn in guns to police, with no questions asked. The Newport News program is a joint effort of the police and the Peninsula Community Foundation. Iverson, a... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Ban Handguns: Gun Hobbies Less Important Than Protecting Canadian Lives
Toronto Star (Ontario), Editorial
15 January 2008
Handguns keep taking Canadian lives; yet this dangerous class of weapon remains too readily available across the country. In light of the grievous harm they do, it would make sense to ban handguns, thereby making them harder for criminals to obtain and impossible for law-abiding people to misuse. Toronto's latest handgun victim is 42-year-old John O'Keefe, shot in the head on the weekend while walking on Yonge St., the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan Legislates for Gun, Ammunition Amnesty, Buyback, Destruction
BBC Monitoring Service / Interfax, Transcript
15 January 2008
The law on buying firearms, ammunition and explosives that are in illegal possession of population, if people voluntarily hand over these weapons, comes into force as of 1 January 2008, the head of the Kazakh Interior Ministry's press service, Bagdat Kozhakhmetov has said. "With the aim of ensuring public safety and preventing crimes committed with the use of firearms, the law stipulating buying firearms, ammunition and explosives... ( gunpolicy.org )
Argentina
Argentina Destroys 70,000 Guns Under Buyback, Civilian Disarmament Plan
Xinhua
27 December 2007
BUENOS AIRES -- The Argentine government has destroyed 70,000 guns collected from civilians as part of the National Voluntary Gun Handover Plan, local media reported Wednesday. Andres Meiszner, director of the National Arms Register with the justice ministry, said the plan offered up to 150 U.S. dollars per gun in reward and guaranteed the anonymity for those who handed over the guns, starting from July 10. He said that... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Universal Gun Registration in Australia Brings Sharp Decrease in Gun Thefts
Herald Sun (Melbourne) / AAP
24 December 2007
The latest figures show about 1500 guns a year are stolen in Australia, and authorities fear many of them will be used to commit more crimes. The Australian Institute of Criminology also revealed that about one-third of gun owners who were victims of theft in the year to June 2006 had failed to store their guns securely. In a new report, Firearms Theft in Australia 2005-06, the federal agency said 1445 firearms were stolen... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
San Francisco Gun Buyback Reaps Plaudits, Assault Weapons for Furnace
Associated Press
2 December 2007
Armed citizens packing everything from an AK-47 assault rifle to a couple of sawed-off shotguns and enough antique pistols to set a collector's heart racing massed across the street from San Francisco's City Hall on Saturday -- but pulling triggers was the furthest thing from anybody's mind. They came to dump the weapons so these firearms could be forever kept from falling into the hands of criminals. Or from killing someone during... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
San Francisco Buyback Attracts Gun Enthusiast for Quick Profit, PR Plug
Associated Press
1 December 2007
SAN FRANCISCO -- A man carrying a semiautomatic handgun approached a group of San Francisco police officers Saturday afternoon and, with a smile, handed over the pistol in exchange for $150 in gift cards. "I used to fire it at bottles or do some plinking in the woods," said the gun's owner, 48-year-old Bruce Bourne. "But I have a 6-year-old daughter now and my wife was uncomfortable with it being in the house." For a few... ( gunpolicy.org )
Africa
A Better Strategy for Africa: Development and Security in Exchange for Guns
InterPress Service News Agency (Johannesburg)
27 November 2007
DAR ES SALAAM -- Increasing international co-operation in exchange for guns and improving the sense of domestic security are promising strategies for reducing the number of small weapons in the hands of civilians in developing countries, a leading expert on the matter says. Keith Krause, programme director of the Small Arms Survey, told IPS that taking weapons from civilians in developing countries is the toughest part of cutting... ( gunpolicy.org )
Papua New Guinea
Owners of Illicit Guns in Papua New Guinea Suggest Buyback, Death Penalty
National (Port Moresby)
23 November 2007
Gun-related problems in the country will continue to stay unless the National Government introduces a "buy-back gun policy" or impose death penalty in the country. Dokta Puk, who claimed to represent 100 criminals and ordinary villagers with guns in the Western Highlands province, who are willing to come out with their guns to assist police in the province, said the current laws were too lenient. Mr Puk said unless the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Cleveland Police Take 421 Guns off Streets in Firearm Gift Card Buyback
Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio)
11 November 2007
A line of cars stretched three city blocks in downtown Cleveland on Saturday while people waited to swap their guns for money. More than 350 people went to the Convention Center to exchange handguns for a $100 gift card to BP or Dave's supermarket. Cleveland police collected 421 weapons. As part of the program, officers did not ask questions about the guns during the five-hour event. Officials said they... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Cleveland Offers $100 Gasoline Cards in Return for Surplus Guns
Associated Press
9 November 2007
CLEVELAND -- Armed residents can give up their guns and get gasoline cards worth $100 at the pump. The first 450 people who show up at Cleveland's convention center Saturday and surrender a working handgun will receive a card. Police, who will be at the center to ensure the guns are turned in safely, asked for the weapons to be brought in unloaded and in a clear plastic bag. The city has recorded 119 homicides so far this... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
In Light of Finnish, US Shootings, Australian PM's Gun Ban Was a Godsend
Gold Coast News (Queensland), Editorial
9 November 2007
Prime Minister John Howard understood perfectly, back in 1996, why Australia had to ban guns from most households. With the grief of the Port Arthur massacre still washing through the nation, the PM seized the opportunity to take firearms away from those who didn't really need them. His legislation cost Australia more than $500 million in a guns buy-back scheme and resulted in more than 650,000 weapons being taken out of the hands... ( gunpolicy.org )
Namibia
Namibia Plans to Ban Civilian Firearms, Considers Buyback, Destruction
Namibian (Windhoek)
27 September 2007
WINDHOEK -- Government intends to impose a temporary moratorium on issuing firearm licences and to amend several sections of the law regulating the possession of arms. In a ministerial statement, Peter Tsheehama, who is the Minister of Safety and Security, told the National Assembly on Tuesday that one of the proposed amendments would be to prohibit the sale of small firearms and light weapons "to individual, natural persons." ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Early Use of Guns by Australian Children 'Not the Harbinger of Apocalypse'
ABC News (Australia), Opinion
21 September 2007
Tasmania firearms legislation may soon be brought in line with other Australian states by allowing monitored firearms use by junior permit holders from 12 onwards. The increasingly shrill voice of the anti-gun lobby tells us this will put a gun in the hand of every child, and cries of 'God Bless Aus-merica' on every lip. Questions of whether Tasmanian laws should reflect other states' legislation have been obscured by a... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian Federal Govt Should Force States to Honour 'Kids & Guns' Pledge
ABC News Online (Australia), Opinion
18 September 2007
In 1996 the Commonwealth and the States and Territories decided upon a response to the mass shooting at Port Arthur in Tasmania. In that shooting 35 people were murdered and 18 people grievously injured by a young man using two high powered semi-automatic rifles. Australia was stunned by the lethal capacity of these weapons in the hands of a civilian. The response was swift. Led by Prime Minister John Howard, only... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Bounty, Crime Gun Tipsters' Line, Firearm Buyback Launched in Florida
Times-Union (Florida)
11 September 2007
BRUNSWICK -- Glynn County police are taking aim at gun violence with a reward program targeting illegal firearms and people who use a gun to commit a crime. Beginning today, police will pay a $1,000 bounty to people "who report a gun that was unlawfully obtained, or who report someone who used a gun in a crime," Police Chief Matt Doering told the Times-Union. "I want to target guns specifically that we have a problem with.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Tasmania Should Reject Any Weakening of Gun Laws, No Matter How Minor
Hobart Mercury (Tasmania), Editorial
11 September 2007
Members of parliament should reject any weakening of state gun laws, no matter how minor. A parliamentary committee has recommended the laws be amended to allow children aged between 12 and 16 to shoot in the bush as long as they are under approved supervision. Apart from the fact that such a regulation would be almost impossible to police or enforce, changing the legislation would send a message that politicians have relaxed... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Gun Control Next Target if Washington Loses in Supreme Court
Chicago Tribune
5 September 2007
WASHINGTON -- Those who would do away with Washington's near-total ban on handguns will tell you point-blank their next target: Chicago. Gun-rights advocates scored a stunning success earlier this year when a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court in Washington swept aside the District of Columbia's ban on owning handguns, which had been in place since 1976. On Tuesday, the district government appealed the decision... ( gunpolicy.org )
Yemen
Yemen Seizes 2,500 Firearms, Launches Buyback, Bans Guns in Cities
PressTV (Tehran) / AGB / KB
3 September 2007
SANA'A, Yemen -- Police in Yemen have seized more than 2,500 firearms in the first week of a campaign to implement a ban on carrying weapons in cities. The Interior ministry said in a statement that weapons have been confiscated at checkpoints outside the capital Sana'a and other major cities since August 23. The campaign was aimed at reducing the visibility of arms that discourage tourism and investments in the country.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australia Ranks Low in World Gun Ownership Following Buybacks: Survey
ABC News (Australia) / AFP / Reuters
29 August 2007
Australia has one of the lowest rates of gun ownership in the world, according to the annual Small Arms Survey, released in Europe overnight. The independent research project, based at the Graduate School of International Studies in Geneva, catalogues weapons production, stockpiles and illicit arms transfers. In recent decades the Government has tried to reduce civilian gun ownership, notably through a weapons buyback scheme... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Alberta Cop Charged with Gun Trafficking, Leaking Amnesty Guns to Dealer
Calgary Sun (Alberta)
16 August 2007
Five criminal charges have been laid against a veteran city cop after high-profile allegations of attempting to make deals for several guns during the 2006 Gun Amnesty Program. The charges laid today against Const. Dean Pankewicz follow a nearly seven-month criminal investigation and a recommendation by Alberta Justice after allegations of deals done for guns. The 18-year veteran faces charges of trafficking in firearms,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Crowds Rush Alabama Gun Buyback, Police Chiefs Use Own Money to Pay
Press-Register (Mobile)
12 August 2007
Operation Safe Gun opened for business shortly before 10 a.m. Saturday with $10,000 in Wal-Mart gift certificates, or enough to buy and remove 100 firearms from Mobile area streets and homes. In the next three hours, Mobile Police Chief Phillip Garrett and members of his staff made seven frantic trips to Wal-Mart, each time using their own money to buy more $100 gift certificates and feed the frenzy of gun-selling taking place at... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Kentucky 'Mothers Against Guns' Born Out of 13yr-old's Shooting Death
Courier-Journal (Kentucky)
8 August 2007
As police continued yesterday to investigate the accidental shooting death of 13-year-old Richard A. Quire, his mother struggled to understand how he got hold of a gun. The Taylorsville teen fatally shot himself Monday afternoon while he and two other youths were playing with a gun in a relative's home in the 200 block of South Spring Street in Louisville, police said. Richard died of a gunshot wound to the head just before... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Firearms in Australia: a Parliamentary Library Guide to Electronic Resources
Parliamentary Library, Federal Parliament of Australia, Web Page
6 August 2007
Introduction On 28 April 1996, 35 people were killed and 18 others were wounded at Port Arthur in Tasmania by an assailant using a semi-automatic rifle. In response, The Australasian Police Ministers' Council convened a special meeting on 10 May 1996 and agreed to a national plan for the regulation of firearms -- the Nationwide Agreement on Firearms. This agreement banned self-loading rifles and self-loading and pump-action shotguns,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
San Francisco 'Leads the Nation' with Toughest Gun Control Laws - Mayor
San Francisco Sentinel
2 August 2007
San Francisco today has the toughest gun control laws in the nation, Mayor Newsom said Wednesday as he signed a package of legislation into law. With the District Attorney, Police Chief, and City legislators representing districts hard hit by gun violence at his side, Newsom also noted the City's gun buy-back project revived Saturday garnered success beyond expectation. The July 29 Civic Center gun buy-back event retrieved... ( gunpolicy.org )
Yemen
Yemen Seizes 'Medium and Heavy Arms,' Licensed Owners Can Keep Guns
Yemen Times (Sana'a)
2 August 2007
SANA'A -- A security expedition was undertaken, last week, to collect heavy and medium arms, which are considered to pose one of the biggest threats to Yemen's security. Based on the strategy that aimed to collect arms and compensate their owners, Jihana souk of arms, 40 km from Sana'a, was closed during this expedition, according to 26 September newspaper. A source in the Ministry of Interior indicated that the strategic arms limitation... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington DC Publishes Study on Number, Origin of Seized Crime Guns
Washington Post
28 July 2007
The District issued a report on guns and crime yesterday, indicating an increase in the proportion of offenses involving guns and offering figures on the relative prevalence of guns in neighborhoods. Titled the 2006 Annual Report on Guns in the District of Columbia and termed the first of its kind, it was released as the city prepares to challenge a court ruling that rejects one of its principal curbs on firearms. Also... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington's Handgun Ban Saves Lives in Homes, But Not on the Streets?
Washington Post, Opinion
28 July 2007
In announcing his intention this week to seek a Supreme Court ruling upholding the District's strict gun laws, Mayor Adrian Fenty said, "The handgun ban has saved many lives and will continue to do so if it remains in effect." Can't argue with that. Gun control advocates tell us that a gun kept in the home is more likely to be used in an unintentional shooting or in an attempted or completed suicide than in self-defense. What's more, the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Argentina
Argentina Launches Voluntary Buyback of Firearms [Espanol]
La Nacion (Argentina), Editorial
26 July 2007
La posesión de armas de fuego por la población mayor de edad es objeto de particular preocupación para una ciudadanía consternada ante trágicos episodios de honda repercusión. Esos hechos demostraron una vez más que la tenencia de medios ofensivos y defensivos, como los aludidos, constituye un peligro latente que se convierte en real cuando obran la imprudencia, el descontrol o la súbita descarga agresiva. Para reducir esos riesgos,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Papua New Guinea
Leaked Weapons Feed Gun Culture's Deadly Toll in Papua New Guinea
Al Jazeera (Qatar)
23 July 2007
PORT MORESBY -- The disappearance of 5,000 guns from police and military armouries in Papua New Guinea has added a dangerous element to crime in the country. High-powered factory-made weapons are now in the hands of tribal fighters and criminals, replacing more traditional bows and arrows and raising fears that existing tribal and gang conflicts may get even more deadly. In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, guns have become... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Buy-back Trashes 6,705 Guns, Assault Weapons: 5,960 Handguns
Chicago Sun-Times
22 July 2007
Maybe it was because of Schanna Gayden, 13, killed in a park, buying fruit at a vendor's cart. Or because of Enrique Chavez, 14, killed in a hail of gunfire while joyriding in his uncle's van. Or maybe the inspiration was Blair Holt, 16, killed by a spray of bullets on a CTA bus. "I think it's all of them -- Siretha White, Starkesia Reed, Terrell Bosley ... The list goes on," First Deputy Supt. Dana Starks said... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Gun Buy-back Collects Almost 6,000 Handguns, Assault Weapons
Chicago Tribune
21 July 2007
Almost 6,000 handguns and assault weapons were turned over to Chicago police on Saturday in exchange for $100 debit cards, officials said. The third "Don't kill a Dream, Save a Life" program was a "huge success" and the most successful attempt at taking guns off the street, said police spokeswoman Monique Bond. "In light of the recent tragedies with so many young people's lives being taken, I think that people are starting to recognize... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Mexico
'Unstoppable' Flood of Illegal Guns from America Fuels Drug Wars in Mexico
San Francisco Chronicle
15 July 2007
MEXICO CITY -- For more than a decade, Mexico has had military checkpoints on all northbound highways leading to the United States. It's part of the campaign to crack down on the flow of drugs to the United States. This summer, things have changed, and Mexico's military is inspecting vehicles traveling on the southbound lanes, checking for shipments of weapons. This reversal is testament to the dangers Mexico faces, bordering the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian Doctor Hid an 'Arsenal' of Illegal Assault Weapons, Machine Gun
Courier-Mail (Brisbane), Opinion
13 July 2007
The Queensland courts website includes a scarcely used sub-section called "sentencing remarks" in which judges record wise things they think might be of particular significance or public interest. One who thinks her remarks are worthy of recording is north Queensland judge Sarah Bradley, who recently presided over the trial of Dr John Di Palma, who she let walk away with a two-year suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to owning... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Queensland Collector Had 50 Illegal Firearms, Submachine Guns in Bunker
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
10 July 2007
When police raided the luxury property of a north Queensland doctor they found a huge cache of banned military-style weapons and ammunition hidden in a purpose-built underground bunker. Some initially feared it was the "sinister" stockpile of some militia group or blackmarket international arms dealer. But it simply proved to be the private stash of highly respected Innisfail GP and avid gun collector John Di Palma. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Savannah, Georgia Offers $2,500 for Tips Leading to Gun Seizure, Arrest
Savannah Morning News (Georgia), Editorial
9 July 2007
The problem with many gun buy-backs is that people bring in the most rickety, non-working firearms imaginable. The guns that bad guys are actually using to commit crimes are rare gems at typical gun buy-back programs. But that might not be the case with the plan just rolled out by the Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department and the CrimeStoppers program. That's because the appeal isn't for people to bring... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Melbourne Shooting Prompts Calls for Illegal Gun Crackdown in Australia
ABC News (Australia) / 7.30 Report, Transcript
4 July 2007
ALI MOORE: Last month, Melbourne's CBD came to a chilling standstill when a triple shooting claimed the life of a father of three and injured two others. The violent act has ignited calls by the anti-gun lobby to push for tougher laws to deal with handguns. While police have confirmed a handgun was used, they won't give details of the brand or whether it had a serial number. But that hasn't stopped a growing debate over the illegal gun trade... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia, United States
It's Time to Pick Off the Thriving Illegal US-Australia Gun Running Trade
Age (Melbourne), Editorial
24 June 2007
"Something should be done" could be the catchcry of this or any age. Occasionally, maybe once every decade or so, a situation gets so bad so quickly or public outrage becomes such that governments do react. Usually that reaction is swift and seen to be decisive. Often it is to change laws amid strong rhetoric about crackdowns. The amnesty, buyback and crackdown on guns after the Port Arthur massacre was widely welcomed and seen... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian PM Leaves Door Open on Tighter Gun Controls After Shooting
Advertiser (Adelaide) / AP
18 June 2007
Prime Minister John Howard has left the door open to tougher gun laws following today's deadly triple shooting in Melbourne. A gunman shot dead one person and wounded two more at an intersection in Melbourne's city centre before fleeing as people were arriving for the new working week. Tough national gun laws were brought in following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, restricting the right to own rifles and semi-automatic... ( gunpolicy.org )
Argentina
Argentina Launches National Firearm Buyback to Slow Rising Gun Violence
InterPress Service News Agency
15 June 2007
BUENOS AIRES -- With strong support from peace and disarmament groups and the families of shooting victims, the Argentine government launched a programme Friday that encourages people to voluntarily swap their legal or illegal firearms for cash. The disarmament campaign, similar to one that was carried out in Brazil in 2004, forms part of a comprehensive violence prevention policy, which includes stricter controls on both the legal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
800 Guns Recovered as Buffalo Residents Take Advantage of Gun Buyback
Buffalo News (New York)
5 June 2007
When Wayne Brown of Buffalo walked into the True Bethel Baptist Church lobby to turn in a gun about 11 a.m. Saturday, he figured the elderly women standing in line were waiting for church services. He soon realized they had hundreds of dollars worth of armed weaponry in their hands. Brown was impressed. By the end of the day, so were city officials who organized the "No Questions Asked" Gun Buyback Program, which recovered... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Australia, United Kingdom
Gun Control in America? Not on Your Life - the NRA Won't Allow It
Morning Sentinel (Maine), Opinion
15 May 2007
"History has shown that no law will stop a madman intent on doing evil." -- National Rifle Association press release, April 27 The National Rifle Association is wrong. Gun control laws can stop madmen. They can prevent evil. History offers proof. After a string of mass shootings in the 1980s and early 1990s, Australia was horrified by the slaughter of 35 people at the Port Arthur Historical Site in... ( gunpolicy.org )
World
Immediate Reduction in Gun Availability is a World Public Health Priority
The Lancet, Editorial
30 April 2007
The blood had not yet dried in the lecture rooms of Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, before polarised camps claimed that the slaughter of 32 students and teachers vindicated their particular stance on gun control. So shrill was the debate about whether the tragedy would have been better prevented by reducing firearms through stronger gun laws or by increasing availability through liberalising right-to-carry legislation, that the more... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Australia
US Democrats Still Silent on Gun Control: Australian Laws Show the Way
Boston Globe, Column
30 April 2007
As senate majority leader Harry Reid bares his fangs on President Bush and Iraq, he betrays how toothless the Democrats are on guns at home. Reid said last week of Iraq, "This war is lost," partially because of "the extreme violence." On Monday, he said that Bush is in a "state of denial" about American casualties and the trauma to Iraqi children. Reid said, "What a shame that after five-and-a-half years, so many lost lives and... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Australia
A Cry to Control Gun Violence: US 'Could Learn from Australia's Response'
San Francisco Chronicle, Editorial
26 April 2007
The deadliest known gun shooting didn't occur at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., but on April 28, 1996, when Martin Bryant killed 35 people at a popular tourist spot in Tasmania, Australia. The United States could learn from Australia's response to that tragedy. Australian Prime Minister John Howard, an anti-gun control conservative, switched his views. The government banned handguns, and established a buy-back program that removed... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia, World
Australia's New Gun Laws Saved up to 2,500 Lives Since 1997 - New Study
Sydney Morning Herald
23 April 2007
The tough gun controls introduced after the Port Arthur massacre have probably saved about 2500 lives, economists say. Debunking a widely reported study to the contrary, their analysis suggests that removing 600,000 guns from circulation has sharply reduced suicide and murder rates. Andrew Leigh, at the Australian National University, and Christine Neill of Canada's Wilfrid Laurier University found a sharp, statistically... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
New University Study Shows Gun Control Saved Lives in Australia
Independent (South Africa) / SAPA
23 April 2007
SYDNEY -- Stricter gun controls implemented after the world's worst shooting massacre 11 years ago may have saved 2 500 lives, Australian researchers said on Monday. After lone gunman Martin Bryant shot dead 35 people in a theme park in Tasmania in 1996, Prime Minister John Howard banned semiautomatic rifles and pump-action shotguns in a crackdown that took 600 000 firearms off the streets and cost taxpayers AUS$500-million (about... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian Gun Buyback Has Saved 120 to 280 Lives Each Year Since 1997
ABC News (Australia)
22 April 2007
A group of researchers say Australia's gun buyback scheme that followed the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania 11 years ago could have saved up to 280 lives per year. A 2006 study that concluded the gun buyback had no impact on gun homicide or suicide rates has been revisited by economists in Canberra and Canada. They say the original study was flawed because of the data used. Dr Andrew Leigh from the Australian... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Gun Lobby Critique of Australian Gun Buyback 'Seriously Flawed'
IBN News (Australia)
22 April 2007
A 2006 study that claims Australia's gun buyback scheme in the wake of the Port Arthur killings had no effect on homicide or suicide rates is "seriously flawed", a Canberra economist says. Dr Andrew Leigh from the Australian National University, together with Dr Christine Neill from the Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, analysed a study published in the British Journal of Criminology last year by Dr Jeanine Baker and Dr Samara... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
More Gun Owners Registering Their Weapons in Australia's Largest State
Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)
22 April 2007
The number of registered guns in NSW has surged since the end of the Federal Government's buyback in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre. Latest figures from the NSW Firearms Registry show a 28 per cent increase in the number of registered guns in NSW in just six years. In July 2001 there were 516,468 guns registered, compared to 663,412 as of April 9 this year. The number of licence holders has fallen slightly... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australia Avoided US Gun Culture Through Tight Controls, Says PM
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
17 April 2007
SYDNEY -- Stricter gun controls enacted after a 1996 shooting massacre are to thank for preventing a US-style gun culture from developing in Australia, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Tuesday. The prime minister's comments came in reaction to news that a gunman killed 32 people at Virginia Tech university before shooting himself dead. Howard made his reputation for firm leadership when he instituted a gun buy-back... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Australia
Shooting Shows American 'Gun Culture' is a Negative, Says Australian PM
Associated Press
17 April 2007
SYDNEY, Australia -- The leader of Australia -- where a lone gunman went on one of the world's deadliest killing sprees 11 years ago -- said Tuesday the university shooting in Virginia showed that America's 'gun culture' was a negative force in society. Prime Minister John Howard staked his political leadership on pushing through tough laws on gun ownership in Australia after Martin John Bryant, armed with a bagful of automatic... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia, United States
Tight Laws Helped Australia Avoid US 'Gun Culture,' Says PM John Howard
Agence France Presse
17 April 2007
SYDNEY -- Prime Minister John Howard, responding to a deadly rampage at a US university, said Tuesday that strict controls after one of the world's worst massacres by a lone gunman had helped Australia avoid a US-style "gun culture." Howard ordered tougher controls after Martin Bryant killed 35 people in a shooting spree through Port Arthur in Tasmania in 1996. "We had a terrible incident at Port Arthur," he said. "But... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Straw Purchasers, Careless Dealers Put Guns in Hands of Florida Criminals
Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville)
9 April 2007
Two-thirds of all murders in Jacksonville are from guns, and according to a Times-Union study, in one-third of all those solved cases, police say a convicted felon was the triggerman. How are these felons getting the guns? According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, more criminals become armed by getting someone to purchase guns for them than through street dealers or burglarizing homes. "It's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Places Personal Liberty Above Public Safety, Gun Murder Rate Soars
Minnesota Daily, Editorial
21 March 2007
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court struck down a law in the District of Columbia that banned handguns inside of homes. Immediately after the ruling, Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty criticized the decision, calling it a major setback to reducing violent crime in the district. The National Rifle Association, however, applauded the decision as a "significant victory for individual Second Amendment rights." This series... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Tough New Australian Firearm Laws Fail to Dent Queensland Gun Tally
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
22 February 2007
Gun ownership is continuing to climb in Queensland, despite the introduction of tough restrictions 10 years ago in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre. The need to eradicate pests during drought and the continued growth in sports shooting after recent Olympic success has fuelled the boom. Police records show 7975 more firearms in the community than this time last year, bringing the total number of firearms to 535,747.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian Gun Dealer Gets 14yrs for Putting 746 Handguns on the Streets
Australian Associated Press
21 February 2007
A record jail term has been handed down to a Brisbane-based pawnbroker found guilty of conspiring to illegally sell more than 700 guns in Sydney. In Sydney's District Court, Francis Lawrence Curr, 63, was given a 14-year maximum prison sentence -- the longest sentence for a firearms offence, according to the NSW Police Force. Curr earlier had been convicted of one count of conspiring to sell 746 guns to various people in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Licensed Firearm Dealer Gets Record Jail Term in Australian Gun Plot
Sydney Morning Herald
21 February 2007
A gun dealer who rorted the national guns buyback scheme and flooded NSW with more than 700 illegal hand guns was sentenced to a record 14 years jail today. Francis "Frank" Curr, 64, of Wacol, Queensland, stood silent and unmoved when Judge Brian Boulton delivered the sentence in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court. Curr exploited a loophole in the Queensland Firearms Act at the time of the Federal Government guns buyback... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Licensed Gun Dealers, Ex-officers, Gun Nuts Led Aussie Crime Gun Racket
Sydney Morning Herald
12 February 2007
A former Queensland prison officer, John Glaister, had guns to sell, in particular a .38-calibre Smith & Wesson pistol for $2000. His mistake was trying to sell it to undercover NSW police posing as illegal arms traders, using weekend markets in Brisbane to ply their trade. Operation Talamanca had already uncovered one big fish -- the Queensland gun dealer Frank Curr. It was about to pull in Glaister and broaden the net in another... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Philadelphia Police to Destroy 267 Guns Collected in Food Voucher Buyback
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
11 February 2007
Scores of people dropped off 267 guns in West Philadelphia yesterday in exchange for $200 worth of food vouchers each plus two tickets to a 76ers game, no questions asked. Near the corner of 46th and Market Streets, police deposited the weapons -- mostly handguns but also rifles, some of them collectors' items -- into a large footlocker in the back of an SUV. Bill Johnson, 73, a retired Streets Department crew chief who... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australia's Main Supplier of Illegal Handguns Was a Licensed Gun Dealer
Sydney Morning Herald
10 February 2007
Frank Curr wasn't afraid to use a pistol when he was attacked by a gang of drug dealers outside his pawnshop and firearms shop in south-west Brisbane in 1998. He had caught the heroin dealer and violent gang boss Sung Trung Luu stealing a ring from his store, but Luu's cohorts had sprung to his aid and were laying into Curr with their fists and boots. As he lay bleeding on the ground with his shirt torn, Curr reached for a Glock... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, Australia
Canadians Can Still Buy Semi-automatic Gun Used in Australian Death Spree
National Post (Toronto) / CanWest
10 February 2007
MONTREAL -- On a sunny day in April 1996, Martin Bryant went to a cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, and pulled out a semi-automatic AR-15. He fired 29 shots in 90 seconds, killing 20 people. Bryant, 28, moved into the parking lot, where he switched to another military-style rifle and got into his car. By the time he was arrested the following morning, Bryant had murdered 35 people. The response was swift. Within 12... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, Australia
Canadians Consider Restricting Rapid Fire Guns, Cite Australian Example
Ottawa Citizen (Ontario), Series
10 February 2007
Before different types of firearms are regulated, they have to be defined, and that is the challenge of changing current firearms law to prohibit "assault weapons." Gun owners point out that most firearms in circulation were originally designed for military purposes. Even antique flintlock muskets were at one time considered high-tech assault rifles. After an elementary school massacre in Stockton, California, U.S. lawmakers... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada, United States, Australia
Comparison of Canadian Gun Laws With America and Australia
Ottawa Citizen (Ontario), Series
10 February 2007
UNITED STATES -- Since the early days of the United States, proponents of individual firearm ownership have pointed to the Bill of Rights' Second Amendment, which protects the "right of the people to keep and bear arms." But, unlike Canada, where the federal government legislates firearm regulations, U.S. laws vary by state. Most states allow some form of concealed weapon carrying in public; many do not require a permit or licence for handgun... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Licensed Gun Dealer Diverted 2000 Australian Buyback Guns to Criminals
Sydney Morning Herald
10 February 2007
A network of firearms dealers has rorted the $600 million national guns buyback scheme, and weapons supposedly destroyed years ago have resurfaced in criminal hands in NSW. The Herald can reveal that at least two of the so-called "phantom guns" -- both pistols written off by the Queensland Firearms Registry -- have been fired at the scene of separate unsolved robberies in Sydney in the past six months. Police believe there are hundreds... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico, United States
US Guns, Newly Unregulated Assault Weapons Fuel Gun Violence in Mexico
USA Today / Arizona Republic
18 January 2007
MEXICO CITY -- Combat-style rifles are pouring into Mexico, thanks to the end of the U.S. Assault Weapons Ban in 2004 and an arms race among several Mexican cartels battling for control of lucrative drug routes. The weapons are purchased at stores and gun shows, then smuggled into Mexico under car seats or tucked into suitcases. "There is a direct relationship between the flow of these weapons and the explosion of violence,"... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico, United States
US Ban Lifted, Assault Weapons 'Sell Like Candy' to Mexican Gun Runners
Arizona Republic
16 January 2007
MEXICO CITY -- The Mexican village of Zazalpa got a chilling lesson in American-made firepower recently. Homes, cars, everything was destroyed. Even the cows were shot. About 60 Mexican drug smugglers rolled into Zazalpa, 300 miles southeast of Douglas, looking for a rival trafficker in November. They rounded up residents, then raked the empty village with American-made AR-15 rifles. The destruction of Zazalpa is just one... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New US Law Prevents Police from Tracing 'Steady Stream' of Crime Guns
Herald News (New Jersey)
14 January 2007
PATERSON -- Kids who once got caught up in crime say it's easy to get a gun if you know the right people. Cops admit the same, and are frustrated with how difficult it is to stem the flow of firearms into this city. Even if the handgun used to murder Officer Tyron D. Franklin was legally purchased, that weapon is now one of thousands of "crime guns" New Jersey law enforcement agencies will eventually track in 2007. And,... ( gunpolicy.org )
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