Mexico,United States
Tennessee Gun Collector, Drug Dealer Blows Whistle on US-Mexico Trade
Scripps Howard News Service (USA)
8 March 2010
The U.S. boss of a violent Mexican drug cartel who admitted ordering a hit on someone who ran afoul of him has been a busy man since authorities nabbed him and 34 kilograms of his cocaine at the border. He's traveled to Williamsport, Pa., to accompany his son on a Little League baseball trip. He's attended his sister's graduation from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. He's vacationed with his family in Panama City, Fla.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago's Pointless Handgun Ban: Crime Weakens Case for Gun Control
Chicago Tribune, Column
4 March 2010
When Chicago passed a ban on handgun ownership in 1982, it was part of a trend. Washington, D.C., had done it in 1976, and a few Chicago suburbs took up the cause in the following years. They all expected to reduce the number of guns and thus curtail bloodshed. District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer told The Washington Post in 2007, "It's a pretty common-sense idea that the more guns there are around, the more gun violence... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Landmark One-handgun-a-month Sales Limit Faces Reversal in Virginia
Washington Post
4 March 2010
RICHMOND,Virginia - The latest and most significant effort to repeal Virginia's gun laws faces a critical vote on Thursday, when senators will consider a measure that would undo the state's landmark one-gun-a-month law. Democrats, who control the Senate, will try to kill the legislation through a newly formed subcommittee that they stacked with anti-gun lawmakers. Republicans and other gun rights advocates have protested, saying... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Case Courts Disaster: Inevitable Increase in Illegal Gun Trafficking
Philadelphia Inquirer, Editorial
4 March 2010
A gun-rights decision by the Supreme Court two years ago threatened to make it more dangerous to walk the streets of Washington. Now the top court's conservative voting bloc seems intent upon expanding the risk to other U.S. cities by dismantling strong gun-violence safeguards. Chicago's long-standing handgun ban came into the crosshairs of the National Rifle Association this week, as the group sought to extend the reach... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Virginia Bows to Gun Lobby, Moves to Scrap One-gun-a-month Sales Limit
Washington Post, Editorial
1 March 2010
When then-U.S. Attorney Richard Cullen, a Republican, gave vigorous support in 1993 to Virginia limiting the purchase of handguns to one a month, some people questioned the propriety of a federal prosecutor getting involved in a state legislative matter. But Mr. Cullen believed that it was his duty to speak out because the gun running made possible by Virginia's lax laws was a national problem. That is just as true today -- and it's why... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Current Laws Not Stopping Illegal Gun Epidemic in East Bay, California
San Francisco Chronicle, Column
23 February 2010
Since the start of the year, Oakland police have confiscated more than 200 illegal guns during routine traffic stops and planned police arrests. In Richmond, police seized more than 25 guns in vehicles during routine traffic stops in January alone. Illegal guns have become an epidemic problem in the East Bay. It seems we've become numb to the constant gun violence and remain unfazed when the gunman turns out to be too young... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Arizona Gun Maker, Dealer Pleads Guilty to Illegally Selling Firearms
Arizona Republic
22 February 2010
A Gilbert firearms manufacturer will cease its gun operations after the company's owner pleaded guilty to illegally selling rifles, shotguns and handguns. Cavalry Arms Corp. says on its Web site that it has been "engaged in an ongoing dispute" with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, for two years over "regulatory and compliance mistakes." But in federal court last week, owner Shawn Nealon admitted... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Milwaukee Police, DA Blast Law Designed to Suppress Gun Tracing Data
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin) / Watchdog Reports
22 February 2010
As a candidate, Barack Obama promised to get rid of a law - quietly passed by Congress - that hides information from the public about guns used in crimes and the stores that sell them. Instead, President Obama has embraced most of the law and added even more rules that could make it harder for law enforcement to crack down on dealers and stores selling guns to criminals. While supporters of the secrecy law say shielding... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Getting Rid of Gun Control: One-gun-a-month Limit Hurts the Law-abiding
Washington Times, Editorial
19 February 2010
Virginia finally is poised to repeal its unusual law that prohibits law-abiding citizens from buying more than one gun per month. It's about time, because the red tape has not had the desired effect in lowering crime. There is no academic research by criminologists or economists that shows that one-gun-a-month regulations reduce crime in either the states that pass them or their neighbors. The laws have merely inconvenienced honest Americans... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
If Virginia Lifts One-gun-a-month Pistol Sale Limit, Get Ready for Mayhem
Washington Post, Editorial
18 February 2010
In a rare moment of gun law sanity, Virginia enacted a bill 17 years ago limiting the purchase of handguns to one a month. Almost immediately, the numbers of guns traced to Virginia that were used in crimes in the Northeast, particularly in New York, dropped sharply. Now, thanks to Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter, a Prince William County Republican who is pushing to repeal the law, the Old Dominion may regain the dubious distinction of being... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Texas Gang Smuggled 340 Guns from Houston to Mexican Drug Cartels
CNN
18 February 2010
HOUSTON, Texas - John Phillip Hernandez and a friend walked into the Collector's Firearms gun store in Houston, Texas, to buy a cache of weapons. Hernandez was wearing sunglasses and a dark T-shirt with the words "I Am the Scene" scrawled across the front. It was April 28, 2007. Collector's Firearms was one of two gun stores they visited that day as part of a scheme to arm Mexican cartels across the border, according to federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Russia,Thailand
New Charges in US Battle to Deport Russian Gun Runner from Thai Jail
Associated Press
17 February 2010
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. prosecutors filed new charges Wednesday in their global pursuit of a suspected arms dealer, hoping to convince reluctant officials in Thailand to extradite him over objections from Russia. An updated indictment charges that Viktor Bout and his former business associate, Richard Chichakli, conspired to violate United Nations sanctions aimed at stopping bloody fighting in Africa. The new charges appear... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Senator Aims to Jail NY Mayor's Men Who Uncover Illegal Gun Sales
New York Daily News
15 February 2010
West Virginia has a message for Mayor Bloomberg: Don't come 'round here to buy our guns. A legislator there wants to ban the type of undercover stings that Bloomberg has used to showcase illegal gun sales in other states - and throw the mayor's investigators in jail if necessary. "It's for us to handle within our own borders," said state Sen. Jeffrey Kessler, who is running for governor in 2012. "We jealously guard our... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Shame on Maine Lawmakers Who Condone Gun Trafficking Loopholes
Bangor Daily News (Maine), Opinion
10 February 2010
The Brady law requires a criminal background check to find out if a prospective gun buyer is prohibited from purchasing a gun. It is a critical law enforcement tool that prevents felons, domestic abusers and other prohibited people from buying guns. The law works. Since it was passed in 1994, almost 2 million criminals and other prohibited people have been stopped from purchasing a gun. In 2007, 297 people in Maine where prevented... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Texas Gun Show Closed for 'Ongoing' Sales to Felons, Illegal Immigrants
Austin Chronicle (Texas)
5 February 2010
More than 200 people gathered at Austin Police Department headquarters Jan. 25 to protest what they consider unconstitutional police action in shuttering a monthly North Austin gun show -- an action they say infringes on Second Amendment gun rights. Protesters with Texans for Accountable Government, Ladies of Liberty Alliance, and followers of radio show host Alex Jones used dueling bullhorns -- often simultaneously -- to declare that... ( gunpolicy.org )
Lebanon,Israel,United States
22 Prominent Gun Dealers Arrested in Arms Trade Plagued by Corruption
United Press International
25 January 2010
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Four Israeli business executives were arrested in Las Vegas, along with 18 Americans, Britons and other nationals, on charges of trying to bribe someone they thought was an African defense minister to obtain a $15 million arms contract. The swoop on Jan. 19 was the culmination of a two-and-a-half-year undercover sting operation by the U.S. Justice Department. It was the largest single investigation under... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Control: If Not After Shooting Deaths of 6 US Police Officers, When?
Olympian (Washington), Opinion
22 January 2010
Enough. Neither gun manufacturers' profits and quasi-interpreted Second Amendment rights, nor the convenience of packing heat are valid reasons to endanger innocent lives any longer. Six police officers were shot and killed within two months in Puget Sound. A young man was shot over an iPod and two teenagers were shot in Burien at an apartment complex. Enough. We need gun control, and we need it now. There... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Brady Campaign Accuses Obama of 'Running Away from Gun Control'
The Hill (Washington DC)
19 January 2010
President Barack Obama on Monday received a failing grade from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for running away from gun control. The group, which endorsed Obama in 2008, gave him an "F" on every issue it scored, including background checks, gun trafficking, guns in public, the federal assault weapons ban, standing up to the gun lobby and leadership. "It's been a very disappointing year for us, especially considering... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pennsylvania Gun Show Patrons Far Too Honest to Traffic in Firearms
Philadelphia Inquirer
17 January 2010
They began arriving well before the 9 a.m. Sunday opening, cramming the parking lots and forcing latecomers onto snowy fields. At least half the vehicles were pickups, peppered with road salt and bearing such bumper stickers as "Don't blame me, I voted for McCain" and "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." When the doors to the Lebanon Valley Exposition Center finally opened, they stepped inside and paid $5 to attend... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
No Reason to Repeal Virginia's One-gun-a-month Law
NewsAdvance, Opinion
13 January 2010
Who needs to buy more than one handgun a month? And why? Those were reasonable questions raised 17 years ago when the General Assembly approved then-Gov. Douglas Wilder's proposal to limit the sale of weapons in the state's fight against crime. That limitation to the purchase of one handgun (or pistol, if you prefer) a month reduced the proliferation of weapons traveling up and down Interstate 95 and the violence that accompanied... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Caribbean,Virgin Islands (US)
Gun Homicide Soars as Firearms, Drug Crime Swamp Caribbean Nations
St. Thomas Source
12 January 2010
With an all-time record of 56 homicides in the territory last year, the U.S. Virgin Islands was not spared by the Caribbean-wide surge in violent crime in 2009 that experts say was fueled by drug trafficking, the proliferation of gangs and an influx of guns. An average homicide rate of more than 30 per 100,000 residents already made the Caribbean and Latin America the most violent region in the world, according to the World Bank... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
America's Law Enforcers Shift Focus from War on Drugs to War on Guns
Christian Science Monitor
10 January 2010
In the roll call room of Baltimore's Northwestern District Police Headquarters, a squat building in a neighborhood of liquor stores and crumbling row houses, photos of the city's most wanted suspects flash on a new, flat-screen TV. They are not necessarily drug kingpins or murderers or even dealers. But to Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, they are top priority in this city with one of the highest homicide rates in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Vietnam,Yemen,United States
Virginian Company Fined for Attempted Yemeni Arms Brokering Deal
Associated Press
7 January 2010
Alexandria,Virginia - A Virginia company run by a would-be arms merchant pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to sell guns, night vision goggles and other military equipment to people in Yemen, Libya and other foreign countries. Ioannis "John" Papathanassiou, 51, of Vienna, Va., entered the guilty plea on behalf of his company, Taipan Enterprises Ltd., at a hearing Thursday in U.S. District Court, admitting that his company sought... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Fort Worth Man Convicted of Firearms, Ammunition Smuggling
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)
6 January 2010
FORT WORTH -- A Fort Worth man who was among more than 300 people arrested in October as part of a nationwide crackdown on a violent drug cartel was convicted late Tuesday of federal firearms and ammunition smuggling charges. Daniel Bernardino was tried and convicted by a federal jury in connection with Operation Coronado, the largest single strike at Mexican drug operations in the United States, federal officials said. Bernardino,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Guatemala,Costa Rica,Mexico,United States
Latin America to Test US Gun-Tracking System
USA Today
6 January 2010
MEXICO CITY -- Police in Latin America will soon have access to a Spanish version of a U.S. gun-tracking system that could widen efforts to hunt down crime suspects and weapons traffickers. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said Wednesday that it is about to begin testing a Spanish-language version of eTrace, the computer system that helps police trace who buys U.S. firearms. "This is to allow... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
21 Face Gun-trafficking Charges in Philadelphia Crackdown
Philadelphia Daily News
30 December 2009
A 61-year-old man who shot his 16-year-old autistic son to death last month, then shot himself, got his gun from a straw purchaser, authorities said yesterday. Segundo Duque shot his son, Fabian, once in the head after pulling over in his minivan at Wyoming Avenue and H Street, in Juniata Park, on the morning of Nov. 9, police have said. He then drove nearly two miles to Sanger Street and Loretto Avenue, in Summerdale,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New Yorkers 'Got Their Money's Worth' from Video Sting of Lax Gun Shows
New York Daily News
20 December 2009
Mayor Bloomberg's crusade against guns comes with a price tag attached. Bills obtained by the Daily News show the city Law Department has paid almost $1.5 million to Kroll Associates, a high-end detective firm, for its undercover probe of out-of-state gun sales. The mayor announced the results of that investigation with a big splash in October, playing secretly recorded videos of dealers improperly selling guns at gun shows.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Philadelphia Man Regrets Trafficking, Wants Gun Dealers Accountable
Philadelphia Inquirer, Column
20 December 2009
Reading my colleagues' recent investigation, "Justice: Delayed, Dismissed, Denied," you may have noticed a theme in the criminal cases that stall and die in Philadelphia's crazy court system: guns. Specifically, guns that their owners had no earthly right possessing, given their age or rap sheets. Today, I introduce you to a guy who put guns in criminals' hands. I'll call him "Jerome," because now that he's served 4½ years... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Poll Finds Most NRA Members Favour 'Reasonable' US Gun Control
New York Times, Editorial
20 December 2009
The National Rifle Association has long fulminated in the gun control debate in Washington like the Great Oz in the Emerald City. Now along comes Frank Luntz, a conservative Republican pollster who, Toto-like, has snatched back Oz's curtain to reveal that gun owners favor much more reasonable gun controls than the gun lobby would ever allow the public to imagine. Mr. Luntz queried 832 gun owners, including 401 card-carrying N.R.A.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Canada
Chicago Gun Shop Owner Gets 7.5yrs for Smuggling 200 Guns to Canada
Chicago Sun-Times
18 December 2009
A former suburban gun shop owner has been sentenced to 7½ years in federal prison for illegally exporting more than 200 firearms to Canada -- some of which authorities say have been used in violent crimes. Ugur 'Mike' Yildiz, 39, of Park Ridge, owned the Chicagoland Bells gun store in Franklin Park until federal authorities revoked his license for violating the gun-control act in 2003. Canadian authorities have recovered... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pistols from Virginia Gun Shows Fuel New York Gang, Street Crime
Daily Press
17 December 2009
NEW YORK - Hundreds of guns are seized in New York City everyday by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Semi-automatic pistols are the most popular crime guns that are recovered on the streets of New York today. In fact, it was the same type of gun used in Times Square last Thursday, when a street peddler tried to take on a New York City police sergeant and lost. Raymond Martinez was killed in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Most NRA Members Want to Close Gun Show Loophole to Curb Trafficking
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
16 December 2009
Gun control is one of those culture-wars issues on which liberals and conservatives often don't even seem to be speaking the same language, let alone coming to consensus. Gun owners -- especially the hard-core enthusiasts who belong to the National Rifle Assn. -- are often thought to oppose any restriction on their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms. Except that, according to a recent poll, they don't. The gun-control debate is replete... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pennsylvania Legislators Should Listen to Law Enforcement, Not the NRA
Philadelphia Inquirer, Editorial
11 December 2009
If more lowlifes got the message that gun trafficking in Philadelphia would earn them years behind bars, maybe city streets would be less dangerous for brave officers like slain Police Sgt. Patrick McDonald. That message - along with a measure of justice - was delivered loud and clear this week. A federal jury convicted the man who transported the illegal handgun used by an ex-con to kill McDonald during a September 2008... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Canada
Smuggling Crime Guns from US to Canada 'So Easy,' No Need to Conceal
National Post (Toronto)
8 December 2009
Smuggling handguns into Canada was so easy for Earle Cooke that the dual citizen and status Indian eventually took very few precautions when crossing the border. "At first, I was concealing them, hiding them with the panelling in the vehicle. Then I realized how lax they were at the border. I didn't bother. I could buy a bag of bread and drop them in there. Buy groceries and mix them up with the groceries," Mr. Cooke testified in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Indiana Leading Source State for Crime Guns Found in Illinois, Chicago
Times (Indiana)
7 December 2009
Illinois and Chicago maintain some stiff gun laws, but recently released federal statistics suggest a lot of guns seized last year by police in Illinois came from a source beyond the reach of those laws: Indiana. The relationship seems intuitive, said Chicago-based Special Agent Thomas Ahern of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The states share a border, and Chicago contains no gun stores. Ahern said... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Smart Gun Control Proposals Could Deny Weapons to US Terrorists
Washington Post, Editorial
6 December 2009
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan coalition of roughly 500 U.S. mayors, has been pushing for smart and sensible law enforcement solutions to reduce the number of illegal guns obtained by criminals or would-be criminals. Last month the mayors renewed their call for adoption of two relatively modest but potentially powerful proposals. The first aims to close the so-called "terror gap" in existing gun laws by prohibiting any... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NY Mayor Slams US Congress for Hiding Gun Trace Records from FBI
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
3 December 2009
The news from Fort Hood shocked the nation: American soldiers shot on American soil. Thirteen dead and 38 injured. It was almost too terrible to believe. Almost. Unfortunately, the Fort Hood rampage was not the first time that our military personnel have been murdered in the United States this year. In June, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad shot and killed an Army private and wounded another soldier at a military recruiting... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Prosecutors Vow to Stem Flood of US-Mexico Border Gun Smuggling
Latin American Herald Tribune (Caracas) / EFE
3 December 2009
PHOENIX -- The head-on fight against weapons trafficking along the border with Mexico is one way to weaken the drug cartels, according to U.S. attorneys general assembled at their national convention on Wednesday. "The United States has increased its efforts to halt the flow of weapons toward Mexico," Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told Efe. "The weapons are used by the cartels to carry out violent acts and try... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Mexico-US Gun Traffic Exposed as Feds Visit 1100 Licensed Gun Dealers
Government Executive (USA)
1 December 2009
U.S. officials estimate that more than 90 percent of the cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines that enter the United States are funneled through Mexico across the Southwest border. A less frequently cited figure is equally alarming to anyone living south of the border: Ninety percent of the weapons seized from the drug cartels by Mexican authorities are traced to the United States. While the cartels are moving drugs north, arms traffickers... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Congress Needs Courage to Tear Down Gun Lobby Interference
Washington Post, Opinion
27 November 2009
The news from Fort Hood shocked the nation: American soldiers shot on American soil. Thirteen dead and 38 injured. It was almost too terrible to believe. Almost. Unfortunately, the Fort Hood rampage was not the first time that our military personnel have been murdered in the United States this year. In June, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad shot and killed an Army private and wounded another soldier at a military recruiting station in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada,United States
Americans Amazed at Arrest for Smuggling Hidden Handgun to Canada
KIRO-TV News
26 November 2009
SEATTLE, Washington -- Canadians will welcome you and your money when the winter Olympics begin in February. But trying to take something else across the border could land you in jail. Gerald Burke of Tacoma knows that first hand, and is facing an uncertain future because of it. "The charge that the Crown is after is that I do three years in prison," he told KIRO 7 Investigative Reporter Amy Clancy recently. Burke... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York Democrats Gillibrand, McCarthy Tout Bill to Curb Gun Trafficking
Associated Press
24 November 2009
NEW YORK -- New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy are introducing a bill to crack down on illegal gun trafficking. They said Tuesday the bill would make it a crime to traffic in firearms and would also go after middlemen who buy a gun for someone else so that person can evade background checks. The bill would provide funding for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to hire 1,500 agents... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
South Carolina Puts Sick Twist on Black Friday, Offers Tax Break on Guns
New York Daily News
24 November 2009
The great state of South Carolina is putting its own sick twist on Black Friday with a tax holiday on firearm purchases. Not cars. Not clothes. Certainly not books. Just guns. For the 48 hours following Thanksgiving, gun buyers will enjoy a break of up to 9% in state and local taxes. Firearms traffickers are not expected to pass the savings on to New York criminals, but what is called... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Florida Gun Shows, Pawn Shops Fuelled New York Gun Running Gang
New York Times
23 November 2009
Against a backdrop of recent shootings of bystanders, including a 13-year-old boy from Queens and a 15-year-old girl from the Bronx, city officials and members of a civil rights group took action against gun violence on Monday, albeit in different ways and at different events. At City Hall, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and other officials announced they had broken up an illegal gun-sales operation in Brooklyn, while in Times Square... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Bush Aide Recommends US Assault Rifle Ban to Slow Mexican Drug War
Washington Times
17 November 2009
The former head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection called Monday for the U.S. to reinstitute the ban on assault weapons and take other measures to rein in the war between Mexico and its drug cartels, saying the violence has the potential to bring down legitimate rule in that country. Former CBP Commissioner Robert C. Bonner also called for the United States to more aggressively investigate U.S. gun sellers and tighten security... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,Canada
Using 'Straw Buyers,' Particularly Women, Part of US Gun Crime Trend
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
17 November 2009
Katrina Wickett was 23 in the summer of 2007 when her life spiraled out of control. The father of her children moved out of their Bangor apartment, leaving her with a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old and a newborn. A few months later, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services placed her children in the custody of her parents. By fall, she was without work, without a relationship and without her children, according to documents filed in U.S.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Washington State Gun Show Dealers Feed Weapons to Mexican Cartels
Yakima Herald-Republic (Washington)
17 November 2009
YAKIMA, Washington -- ATF agent Jessie Summers tried to deal with misconceptions before he talked about the illegal gun trade in Central Washington. "We're not here to take anybody's guns," he told a group of city and law enforcement officials from across the state gathered at the Yakima Convention Center. "The image of us being jackbooted thugs doesn't hold water." Not that Summers is worried so much about public image... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Mexico Border Control Task Force Seeks US Ban on Assault Weapons
Washington Post
13 November 2009
A binational task force on U.S.-Mexico border issues will call Friday on the Obama administration and Congress to reinstate an expired ban on assault weapons and for Mexico to overhaul its frontier police and customs agencies to mirror the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The recommendations are among a broad set of security, trade, development and environmental proposals that come as President Obama and his Mexicans counterpart,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Connecticut Police Abandon Crime Gun Tracing, 'Problem Doesn't Exist'
Fairfield Weekly (Connecticut)
12 November 2009
A 22-year-old thug from Stamford is convicted on Oct. 14 of possessing a "Street Sweeper 12-gauge revolving cylinder shotgun." Five days later, a Bridgeport coke dealer gets time added to his sentence for having a loaded Glock 23. The end of last month saw a career criminal from Hartford charged with carrying a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol. If you're wondering where the hell these low-lifes are getting all this firepower, you... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Politicians Said Trafficking in Illegal Guns, Bangladeshi Woman Arrested
New Nation (Dhaka), Editorial
8 November 2009
The president of the female wing of the Kushtia District Awami League was arrested along with some others by the police the other day with firearms including one AK-47 rifle. There have been noted some other arrests of females on charges of possession of unauthorised arms. The seizure of unauthorised arms is nothing very surprising. For the last two decades, the numbers of unauthorised arms being either produced in local clandestine... ( gunpolicy.org )
Thailand,United States,Russia,Colombia
Documents Shed New Light on Viktor Bout 'Merchant of Death' Arms Deal
Washington Times
5 November 2009
Newly obtained documents prepared by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) describe an elaborate sting operation to capture purported weapons trafficker Viktor Bout in Bangkok and America's current appeal to extradite him to New York. However, the documents, made public recently, do not confirm that Mr. Bout had access to the weapons or where the arms and ammunition were located. Mr. Bout, a Russian citizen, has... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
600 Seized Guns Just a 'Tiny Fraction' of US-Mexico Cartel Weapon Flow
Associated Press
3 November 2009
SAN DIEGO -- U.S. authorities on Tuesday reported a spike in seizures of guns and cash along the Mexican border since they began assigning more agents to stem the flow of southbound contraband. Nearly 600 illegal weapons were seized along the border by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials from March through September, an increase of more than 50 percent from the same period of... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Tracing, Registration Aid US Feds to Find Another Interstate Trafficker
FOX-5 TV News (San Diego)
3 November 2009
LA MESA, California -- Federal agents arrested a La Mesa man after finding 48 guns and more than 200,000 rounds of ammunition at his house, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced Tuesday. David F. Morgan, 55, was arrested last week after ATF agents searched his home in the 4300 block of Avon Drive. Investigators said that Morgan used falsified information and a phony address to obtain a legitimate Arizona... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
60 Small-town Mayors Quit 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns,' But 110 Join Up
National Public Radio (USA), Transcript
1 November 2009
JACKI LYDEN, host: This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Jacki Lyden. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, led by New York's Michael Bloomberg, is losing members after the National Rifle Association mounted a campaign against the group. The NRA and other gun proponents contend that the mayors' efforts represent a slippery slope. WNYC's Arun Venugopal reports. ARUN VENUGOPAL: Pennsylvania has about 100 members... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,United States
Key UN Committee, US Diplomats Back Global Gun Trade Treaty
Associated Press
31 October 2009
A key General Assembly committee voted Friday to allow the U.N. to start negotiations on a new treaty regulating the global arms trade to help prevent the illegal transfer of guns that kill and maim thousands every day. John Duncan, Britain's ambassador for multilateral arms control and disarmament, hailed the 153-1 vote with 19 abstentions in the General Assembly's disarmament committee, saying the international community is now... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Ohio Gun Show Promoter Dismisses Hidden Camera Evidence as 'Stunt'
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
31 October 2009
Hidden-camera investigations in July haven't resulted in changes at this weekend's Westland Mall Gun Show, although a Dayton show has made adjustments. Private investigators posed as buyers at seven U.S. shows, including Westland's, to see whether vendors would sell a gun even if the buyer said he would fail a background check. The report said sellers in 19 of 30 purchases didn't follow the law. Annette Elliott, who promotes... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines,United States
US Gun Dealer Sold 'Cop Killer' Pistols to Alien Now Back in Philippines
Manila Standard
31 October 2009
BALTIMORE -- City police are looking for a Filipino who had accompanied a Filipino couple who had owned a notorious bar in connection with the acquisition of four handguns whose bullets can go through body armor. The Investigative Voice said that a police report confirmed that police raided the Cheerleaders Bar in Fells Point last August looking for four FN 5.7 millimeter guns, The guns had disappeared since they were purchased... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,United States
Clinton Backs UN Global Gun Trade Treaty, Abandons Bush Opposition
Bloomberg (USA)
30 October 2009
The Obama administration voted today to support United Nations-sponsored talks on a treaty to regulate the $55 billion-a-year trade in conventional weapons, reversing prior U.S. opposition to negotiations begun in 2006. The General Assembly, consisting of all 192 UN member governments, adopted a resolution setting out a timetable for talks during the next two years on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty, including a UN conference to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,United States,Russia
US On Board, Russia Abstains in UN Global Gun Trade Treaty Talks
Reuters
30 October 2009
UNITED NATIONS -- The world's top weapons exporters agreed to back negotiations on a global treaty to regulate the world's $55 billion arms trade, but Russia refused to show support, diplomats said on Thursday. The deal came after negotiators from four of the top arms traders -- the United States, Britain, France and Germany overcame sharp disagreements on the wording of a U.N. General Assembly resolution that will guide negotiations... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Illegal Alien Bought Guns for Mexican Drug Cartel at Kansas Gun Show
Kansas City Infozine (Missouri)
29 October 2009
KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Guatamalan national pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally possessing firearms that he purchased at a local gun show and intended to sell to an intermediary who would deliver them to Mexico. Mynor Guerra, 25, a citizen of Guatamala who was residing in Overland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Gary... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Firearm Registration Permits String of US-Mexico Gun Running Arrests
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)
28 October 2009
The man known as "Zorra" is the latest catch for federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents in Las Vegas. Five days ago he pleaded guilty in federal court, and when he is sentenced in January he faces up to five years in prison. The agents placed Claudio Caesar "Zorra" Penunuri at the center of a gun smuggling ring from here to Southern California and then south into Mexico. He provided the more than $100,000 in cash... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Nevada Gun Dealers Sold 28 Weapons to Trafficker for Mexico Drug Cartel
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)
26 October 2009
A man has pleaded guilty to using straw buyers to purchase at least 28 rifles and handguns in Las Vegas, knowing that the weapons were going to be taken to Mexico for criminal activity, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of Nevada said today. Claudio Caesar Penunuri, 34, pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to dealing in firearms without a license, Bogden said. Penunuri, also known as "Zorra" and... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,United States
Obama, Clinton Stir 'Perfect Storm' at UN for Anti-US Gun Control Agenda
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Blog
26 October 2009
The folks at United Nations headquarters in New York City, and our "allies" at Number 10 Downing Street in London, must be rubbing their hands with glee. Gun control groups here and abroad likewise are at last quietly cheering. Why? After a decade and a half of pushing unsuccessfully to secure America's support for a legally-binding, international instrument to regulate the marketing, transfer and brokering in firearms, they are now on the... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada,United States
Canadian Student Smuggled 22 Handguns from US to Canada, Got 5yrs
KFYR-TV News (North Dakota)
22 October 2009
BISMARCK, North Dakota -- A man has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for buying about two dozen handguns smuggled into Canada by two North Dakota college students who traded the pistols for cash and drugs. Gokhan Ozturk was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Bismarck on charges of conspiracy to export firearms and conspiracy to distribute the drug Ecstacy. Ozturk, 23, of Winnipeg, was given a 57-month sentence... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada,United States
Another American Couple Found Smuggling Handguns Into Canada
Vancouverite (British Columbia)
21 October 2009
VANCOUVER -- Suspicious Canadian border officials have thwarted an attempt by an American couple to smuggle guns into B.C. Two easily concealed weapons were found by border officials at the Douglas crossing when suspicious officers sent the couple in for secondary examination, said border services agency spokeswoman Faith St. John. "During the vehicle examination, border services officers found weapons and ammunition hidden... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Vast Majority of Virginians Want to Plug the US Gun-show Loophole
New York Times, Editorial
21 October 2009
Lost in the public polling fine print of the Virginia governor's race is a strikingly vital statistic: a vast majority of Virginians want to plug the gun-show loophole that for years has fed the "Iron Pipeline" of weapons flowing into states and cities with stricter gun controls. The issue of gun control has traditionally been a third rail in Virginia campaigning, and it still is. But a new poll for The Virginian-Pilot by Christopher... ( gunpolicy.org )
Costa Rica,United Nations,United States
Costa Rica's Arias Celebrates US Support for Global Gun Trade Treaty
Daily News (Costa Rica)
20 October 2009
President Oscar Arias is viewing the United States' interest in an Arms Trade Treaty as one more trophy to put on his wall. The disarmament advocate celebrated a statement made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which announced the commitment of her country to the establishment of international standards for arms trading. Arias said the U.S. interest "is encouraging" because it represents "a radical" change from... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Politicians 'Notorious for Cowardice' Over Gun Slaughter in America
Express (Milwaukee)
20 October 2009
Milwaukee officials united behind a major new effort to reduce the devastation caused by handguns in Wisconsin until, inexplicably, some of those same officials began negotiating against themselves. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Police Chief Ed Flynn and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm put together an impressively coordinated campaign against handgun violence after tracing the last six shootings of Milwaukee police... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada,United States
Canadian Double Homicide Gun Just One of Many from Maine Gun Shop
CBC News (Canada)
19 October 2009
A gun allegedly used in two Ottawa homicides in 2007 was smuggled hundreds of kilometres from a rural corner of Maine into Canada. The gun -- a .40 calibre HiPoint semi-automatic pistol -- costs less than a base-model iPod in the U.S., and was allegedly used to shoot Ziad Ahmad, 32, and Phillip Salmon, 23, at Pari's Motel in Ottawa's east end two years ago. Jury selection begins Monday in the trial of Kawku Frimpong, the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Dealers Flout Law: Congress Should Close the Gun Show Loophole
Toledo Blade (Ohio)
19 October 2009
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people attend gun shows across the United States. Most buyers and sellers are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who enjoy hunting, shooting, or just collecting firearms. But some of the federally licensed dealers and private sellers at these firearms flea markets ignore established safeguards, putting difficult-to-trace guns in the hands of terrorists, gang members, drug sellers, street criminals, and schoolyard... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Most Virginians Want to Close Gun Show Loophole, Ban Guns in Bars
United Press International
18 October 2009
NEWPORT NEWS, Virginia -- Most Virginians say they want required criminal background checks on those who buy guns from unlicensed dealers, a survey found. The survey, conducted by the Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, also found a majority said they prefer a ban on concealed weapons in restaurants serving alcohol, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reported Sunday. The... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Strong Support for Tougher Gun Show Law, Handgun Control in Virginia
Virginian-Pilot (Virginia)
18 October 2009
Most Virginians say they want to close the so-called gun-show "loophole" that permits some gun sales without criminal background checks and they dislike the notion of someone carrying a concealed firearm into a restaurant that serves alcohol, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by Christopher Newport University's Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy, found that eight of every 10 likely voters interviewed wanted to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NRA Has Yet to Explain Why It Wants to Help Killers, Criminals Get Guns
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
16 October 2009
For shock value, they may not rank with the videos released last month showing ACORN workers giving tax advice to a couple of undercover investigators posing as a prostitute and her pimp. But New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's covert recordings of what really goes on at gun shows are appalling nonetheless. In the midst of a reelection campaign in a Democratic-majority city, the Republican (sort of) Bloomberg has latched on to... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Texas Gun Dealer Jailed for Doing What Never Happens at Gun Shows
KVUE-TV News (Texas)
16 October 2009
A 58-year-old Luling man will be keeping his nose clean for the next few years. Thursday Alfred Dwight Watkins was sentenced to ten months in federal prison for dealing firearms without a license. After his prison sentence he will be under supervised release for three additional years. The judge also ordered him to pay a $11,232 fine. Last August Watkins admitted to selling firearms at Austin and San Antonio gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,Africa,United States
US U-turn on Global Gun Trade Treaty 'Great News for Africa' - IANSA
Xinhua
16 October 2009
Africa campaigners against gun violence hail the U. S. decision to join the negotiations for a comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty. In a joint statement issued in Nairobi, Kenya, the campaigners also urged governments to control deadly trade in weapons. "The U. S. decision to support strong global controls on the arms trade is great news for Africa," said Joseph Dube, Africa coordinator for IANSA, the global movement against... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,United States
Clinton Backs Global Gun Trade Treaty Only If Any One Nation Can Veto It
Washington Post
15 October 2009
UNITED NATIONS -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced late Wednesday that the United States is prepared to begin negotiations on a global treaty regulating trade in conventional weapons but said Washington would sign the accord only if all other states agreed. The move marks a shift in policy from the Bush administration, which staunchly opposed U.N. negotiations to regulate the $55 billion-a-year arms trade. The... ( gunpolicy.org )
Mexico,United States
Mexico-US Task Force Urges Obama to Reinstate Assault Weapon Ban
Associated Press
14 October 2009
MEXICO CITY -- The United States should reinstate a Clinton-era ban on assault weapons to prevent such guns from reaching Mexican drug cartels, former officials from both countries said in a report released Tuesday. The group, which includes two former U.S. ambassadors to Mexico, also said the U.S. should do more to stop the smuggling of firearms and ammunition into Mexico by stepping up investigations of gun dealers and more strictly... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Ohio Gun Show Makes 'Educational' Changes, Short of Closing Loophole
WHIO-TV News (Ohio)
14 October 2009
DAYTON, Ohio -- Some changes have been announced by the Bill Goodman's Gun & Knife Show that's been operating at Hara Arena for years. Bill Goodman said he has conducted over 2,500 shows and he is looking into allegations by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's undercover operation and welcomes any law enforcement officials to take a closer look at his operation. Just last week, the Mayor of New York said he uncovered illegal gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,United States
Statement of US Support for UN Global Gun Trade Treaty by Hillary Clinton
US Department of State (Washington, DC), Media release
14 October 2009
Conventional arms transfers are a crucial national security concern for the United States, and we have always supported effective action to control the international transfer of arms. The United States is prepared to work hard for a strong international standard in this area by seizing the opportunity presented by the Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty at the United Nations. As long as that Conference operates under the rule of... ( gunpolicy.org )
Thailand,United States,Russia
US Pushes Thais to Extradite Suspected Russian Gun Runner
Associated Press
14 October 2009
BANGKOK -- A senior U.S. Justice Department official on Tuesday told Thai officials the extradition of suspected arms dealer Viktor Bout is "a matter of great importance to the United States." U.S. Deputy Attorney General David Ogden told reporters he was "disappointed" by the decision of a Thai lower court in August to reject a U.S. extradition request for the Russian and was hopeful an appeals court would rule to extradite him.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United Nations,United States
US Reverses Stance on Global Gun Trade Treaty, But Pushes Veto for All
Reuters
14 October 2009
WASHINGTON -- The United States reversed policy on Wednesday and said it would back launching talks on a treaty to regulate arms sales as long as the talks operated by consensus, a stance critics said gave every nation a veto. The decision, announced in a statement released by the U.S. State Department, overturns the position of former President George W. Bush's administration, which had opposed such a treaty on the grounds that... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
450 US Mayors Tout Enforcement, No New Laws to Curb Gun Trafficking
Cox Newspapers (USA), Column
12 October 2009
A new organization has urged President Barack Obama to confront firearms violence, particularly by strengthening the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Here's hoping that he doesn't take up the challenge set out by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Obama's plate already is heaped. But here's also hoping the president keeps the pitch floating near the top of his to-do pile, to be taken up as soon as time allows. The appeal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Tennessee Gun Show Dealers React to Video Sting, Both Pro and Con
Tennessean (Nashville)
12 October 2009
FRANKLIN -- Stephanie Rhodes heard about New York City's undercover investigation of gun shows, including some in Tennessee, and wants Mayor Michael Bloomberg to know how she feels. "He needs to keep his business in New York and let Tennessee deal with Tennessee," said Rhodes, a Smithville resident who attended a gun show on Sunday in Franklin. Rhodes and her friend Rick Foster, who purchased a rifle at the show, said they've... ( gunpolicy.org )
Germany,Syria,Iran,United States
US Seizure of Iran-Syria Ammunition Cargo 'Embarrassing' for Germany
Spiegel (Germany)
12 October 2009
US troops boarded a German-owned freighter in early October and found eight containers full of ammunition, allegedly headed to Syria from Iran. The shipment is in violation of a UN weapons embargo and has become a source of chagrin in Berlin. An "embarrassing affair," is how one German diplomat described it. The official could also have added: potentially damaging to trans-Atlantic relations. In an operation reported on... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Honest US Gun Owners Should Get Involved, Close Gun Show Loophole
Commercial Appeal (Memphis), Editorial
11 October 2009
Some of the most vocal defenders of private gun rights in Tennessee say that they don't want firearms in the hands of criminals. With their help, perhaps a wide-open gun market for the crooks could be closed. Any doubt that stricter regulation would be helpful was removed last week when the results of an undercover investigation of gun show sales in Tennessee and two other states was released by the office of New York City... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Congress Needs Courage to Buck the NRA on Gun Show Loophole
New York Times, Editorial
11 October 2009
A new report from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office should end any debate about the need to close the lethal gap in federal law that allows purchasers at gun shows to buy weapons from unlicensed private dealers without submitting to a federal background check. Private investigators, hired by the Bloomberg administration, went to gun shows in Nevada, Ohio and Tennessee. Posing as buyers, they told the dealers that they probably could... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Feds May Act Against Gun Show Dealers Exposed in NYC Video Sting
Daily News (New York)
11 October 2009
Smile, gun show dealers: You were on hidden camera, and the federal government may be coming after you. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is looking into Mayor Bloomberg's gun show sting project and may take action against the dealers involved. The city had private investigators pose as buyers in three states -- Tennessee, Ohio and Nevada -- to highlight how easily they obtained weapons at... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
America's Lying Gun Nuts: Bloomberg Gun Show Sting Exposes Loophole
Daily News (New York), Editorial
8 October 2009
The latest gun sting ordered up by Mayor Bloomberg has blown a cannonball-size hole through some of the National Rifle Association's bloodiest lies. Thanks to the NRA, Congress exempted many sales at gun shows from background-check requirements. Second Amendment fanatics won the day by portraying unlicensed vendors who sold weapons at gun shows as making: (1) occasional sales, (2) from personal collections and... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Show Footage Exposes Deadly Lawlessness, Lies of US Dealers
Daily News (New York)
8 October 2009
Mayor Bloomberg is sending every member of the U.S. Congress a DVD of a new reality show called "Gun Show: Undercover." The three-minute, 35-second DVD is produced by Bloomberg, who hopes to shame Congress into finally closing the "gun show loophole" that puts guns by the thousands in the hands of violent criminals. The DVD features hidden-camera footage of a city-funded undercover investigation into out-of-state gun shows... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Lobby Threatens the Only 'Mayor Against Illegal Guns' in Texas
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)
8 October 2009
He's been called "idiot mayor." Worse, he's been called anti-gun. But Hurst Mayor Richard Ward, a hunter and gun owner, knows how to pull the trigger himself. "It's as if we're going to take their first born," Ward said of the National Rifle Association and other critics who don't like that he's joined a national mayors effort to tighten restrictions on some gun sales. "They've just been giving us fits." Ward... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
74% of Unlicensed Gun Show Dealers 'Fail Integrity Test' in US Study
Washington Post
7 October 2009
Undercover investigators working on behalf of the New York City mayor's office repeatedly bought guns from unlicensed dealers at gun shows even though they disclosed they probably couldn't pass a background check. That finding is among those outlined in a 36-page report released Wednesday by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office that documents alleged illegal gun sales by private and licensed dealers earlier this year at seven gun shows... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States,United Nations,South America,Central America,Caribbean
Drugs, US Guns 'Gravest Problem' Facing Caribbean, Latin America
Caribbean Life (New York)
7 October 2009
A former Antigua and Barbuda diplomat has warned that unless the United States put measures in place to curb the trafficking of weapons and drugs through the region, the situation will worsen. Sir Ronald Sanders, who twice served as the Caribbean nation's High Commissioner of London said the issue of drugs, arms and crime is "the gravest problem" facing the countries of the Caribbean and Latin America -- with the exception of Cuba.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Illegal US Gun Show Sales Caught on NY Mayor's $1m Undercover Video
New York Times
7 October 2009
In one video, a man trying to buy a gun at a gun show in Ohio tells the dealer that he probably couldn't pass a background check. The dealer, smiling, says that does not matter, "Because I wouldn't pass either, bud." In another video, this time at a gun show in Nashville, a man asks a female friend to buy a Glock handgun on his behalf, in what appears to be violation of federal law. Instead of asking the actual buyer to fill out... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Jewish, Interfaith Activists Close Philadelphia Gun Shop, Aim for More
Jewish Daily Forward (USA), Editorial
7 October 2009
Rabbi Yitzhak Nates and four other religious activists walked into a Philadelphia gun shop in January, and told the owner they wouldn't leave until he signed a code of conduct intended to reduce "straw purchases" -- the sale of numerous firearms to a single buyer, an indirect way too many guns get into the hands of violent criminals. The owner of Colosimo's Gun Center refused, police were called, Nates and the others were arrested... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New York Mayor Offers Hidden Camera Evidence of Gun Show Trafficking
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
7 October 2009
Ever wonder how criminals are able to get guns so easily? It's depressingly simple. On any given weekend, at dozens of gun shows held in states across the country -- criminals can buy guns from "private sellers" who are not required to perform background checks. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has identified gun shows as the source of more than 30% of all illegally trafficked guns in the country. Those are the guns most... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NY Mayor's Interstate Undercover Stings Expose 'Gun Show Loophole'
Associated Press
7 October 2009
NEW YORK -- New York City officials secretly videotaped dozens of firearm purchases they say were illegal at gun shows in states that have not closed the "gun show loophole." The sting, described in a city report released Wednesday, was conducted at seven gun shows in Tennessee, Ohio and Nevada. Those states are among the many that permit private unlicensed dealers, known as "occasional sellers," to sell weapons at gun shows without... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NYPD Sting Busts Gang Accused of 'Iron Pipeline' Interstate Gun Running
North Country Gazette (New York)
7 October 2009
QUEENS -- Four individuals have been indicted in connection with an illegal firearms ring that sold approximately 30 handguns and other weapons and numerous rounds of ammunition to undercover police officers posing as black market buyers over a nine-month period. The price allegedly paid for each weapon ranged from $500 to $1,300 with most weapons typically going for about $1,000. "These defendants brazenly attempted to... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Police Officer's Wife Paralysed by Gun Illegally Sold at Ohio Gun Show
Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
7 October 2009
It comes as no surprise to John Beall that Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife Show at Hara Arena has been called out by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as a source of illegal firearms sales. Raham Twitty, the man who shot and paralyzed Beall's wife, Dayton police Officer Mary Beall, in 2000, had obtained his M-1 SuperEnforcer illegally at a Goodman show. Mary Beall died of complications of her paralysis in 2002. "I'm... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Sting Operation Finds Illegal Gun Sales in 3 US States, NYC Report Says
CNN
7 October 2009
NEW YORK -- An investigation commissioned by the city of New York found private gun vendors selling weapons to buyers who admitted not being able to pass background checks, breaking federal law, a report released Wednesday says. The sales were made at seven gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada, the report says. Hired investigators with hidden cameras were able to purchase guns from private sellers after announcing to the vendors... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
450 US Mayors Petition Obama to Adopt Broad Gun Trafficking Reform
Washington Post
5 October 2009
A new report from a national coalition of mayors urges President Obama to adopt dozens of reforms to help curb gun violence, including steps to crack down on problems at gun shows and the creation of a federal interstate firearms trafficking unit. The "Blueprint for Federal Action on Illegal Guns," a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, presents 40 recommendations that "would dramatically improve law enforcement's... ( gunpolicy.org )
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