North Korea
Defector Tells How North Korea Exports Arms - AK-47s Very Popular
ChoSun Ilbo (Seoul)
11 March 2010
Curbing North Korea's illicit arms trade is difficult since the renegade country launders containers carrying weapons three or four times, a defector who was in charge of illicit arms deals told the Chosun Ilbo on Monday. The defector revealed that a factory in Jagang Province, which is believed to produce tractors, is the center of the communist country's weapons production, including chemical warheads. The defector, who is under... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Baltimore Prosecutor Wants Long Guns to Earn No-parole Jail Sentence
Associated Press
10 March 2010
ANNAPOLIS -- Baltimore's top prosecutor is heading to Annapolis to push state lawmakers to pass stronger gun laws. Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy says she plans to appear Thursday at a Senate hearing to recommend expanding a no-parole law that has helped cut violent crime. Under the 2000 law, convicted felons charged with gun possession face a mandatory no-parole penalty of five years in prison. The state's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Bulletproof Body Armour Ban Fails, Moves to California Supreme Court
San Francisco Chronicle
10 March 2010
SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear a prosecution appeal of a ruling throwing out a state law that bans anyone who has been convicted of a violent felony from owning body armor. The unanimous order was a victory for Attorney General Jerry Brown, who had asked the court to take up the case, and for San Francisco Police Chief George Gascón, who had urged Brown to appeal. The law, passed... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Cleveland to Fight for Its Gun Restrictions In Front of Ohio Supreme Court
Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio)
10 March 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio - If Cleveland had its way, every gun in the city would have to be registered, no one would carry a weapon openly and assault weapons would be banned. All three of those rules, however -- and there are others the city would like to impose -- run contrary to an Ohio gun law that took effect three years ago establishing one set of firearm rules for everyone from Lake Erie down to the Ohio River. The city has... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Iowa Attorney General Pleads for Law to Take Guns from Domestic Abusers
Des Moines Register (Iowa), Opinion
10 March 2010
The Iowa House of Representatives has an opportunity this week to make Iowa a safer place - by passing a law that will help keep firearms and offensive weapons out of the hands of persons who are subject to a domestic abuse protective order, or who have been convicted of abusing their partners. This bill will save lives. It will help prevent women, men and children from being terrorized, maimed and killed by violent abusers. More... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Janitor Shoots Fellow Workers, Himself After Being Fired by Ohio University
Associated Press
10 March 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State University said Wednesday a background check on a janitor who shot two supervisors before killing himself didn't reveal that he had a criminal record, raising more questions about how his past prison sentence was missed. The school released a background report from September on Nathaniel Brown, 50, who police say entered a maintenance shop Tuesday morning and fatally shot a supervisor, injured another... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Massachusetts Supreme Court Rules Gun Storage Law Not Unconstitutional
Associated Press
10 March 2010
BOSTON, Massachusetts - The highest court in Massachusetts on Wednesday upheld the constitutionality of a state law that requires gun owners to lock weapons in their homes in a ruling applauded by gun-control advocates. The case had been closely watched by both gun-control and gun-rights proponents. Massachusetts prosecutors argued that the law saves lives because it requires guns to be kept in a locked container or equipped... ( gunpolicy.org )
Australia
Australian Arms Lobby Claims Gun Owner Privacy Threatened in Victoria
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
9 March 2010
Victoria's gun safety regime is under fire after a string of privacy breaches and other police gun register blunders. Shooters and traders say public safety is at risk from errors that could see information about guns fall into the wrong hands. In one of the worst examples, one person received about 80 registration certificates for a single gun. And a gun dealer was sent five application forms for a dealer's licence it... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
California Refused, But Mentally Unstable Pentagon Shooter Got 2 Guns
WUSA-9 TV News (Washington DC)
9 March 2010
ARLINGTON, Virginia - How did a man with a history of mental illness and run-ins with the law get two semi-automatic handguns? Handguns that John Patrick Bedell allegedly used to attack two Pentagon police officers last Thursday? Bedell tried to buy a handgun in California and was turned away, apparently because of his mental illness. But the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says it's still unsure... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Estranged Husband Stalked, Shot Ex-wife, Killed by Police in California
Associated Press
9 March 2010
GARDENA, California - Police near Los Angeles say officers have fatally shot a man who chased his estranged wife down the street and fired a gun at her multiple times, riddling her with bullets. Gardena police Lt. Steve Prendergast says the incident may have been preceded by a domestic dispute early Tuesday morning. Police say the suspect went to the apartment where his wife was staying with a relative. Neighbors reported... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Fired Ohio University Janitor Kills Co-worker, Then Self, Police Say
New York Times
9 March 2010
An Ohio State University custodian who had been told he was being fired killed a co-worker and wounded another before killing himself early Tuesday morning at a university maintenance building, officials said. No students were involved in the 3:30 a.m. shooting, and classes were held as scheduled on Tuesday. The gunman was identified as Nathaniel Brown, 51. The university released documents indicating that Mr.... ( gunpolicy.org )
South Africa
Gun Amnesty Road Show Aims to Mop Up Illegal South African Firearms
BuaNews (Tshwane)
9 March 2010
MORETELE, South Africa -- The North West Department of Public Safety has kicked off the 2010 Firearms Amnesty roadshow in the Moretele Local Municipality. Public Safety spokesperson Lesiba Kgwele said the campaign sought to amplify the call for residents to surrender illegal firearms and ammunition without being arrested before the April 11 deadline. The call came after Public Safety MEC Howard Yawa on Friday launched the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Montana School Superintendent Unintentionally Fires Gun During Class
Associated Press
9 March 2010
BILLINGS, Montana - The superintendent of a rural Montana school district says he was showing students his black powder muzzleloader when he accidentally fired the weapon into a classroom wall during a history lesson. Dwain Haggard, who used to be a Civil War re-enactor, was showing the gun to five students in Reed Point High School's American history class Friday when it fired. No one was injured, and Haggard says he can't... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Student Openly Wears Pistol at Utah University, Insists He Has the Right
Fox News (USA)
9 March 2010
OREM, Utah - A Utah Valley University student says he is within his rights openly displaying a gun while carrying a concealed gun permit, even while on campus. And that is what student Nick Moyes did Friday morning when he was stopped by the campus police and was told to put the gun away. As president of UVU's Republican Club, Moyes was hanging posters for an event when he was detained. "We are allowed to open carry on... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Tennessee 3yr-old Grabs Wii 'Gun,' Kills Herself with Dad's Loaded Pistol
Tennessean (Nashville)
9 March 2010
NORENE, Tennessee -- A mix-up between a Wii game and a .380 caliber pistol led a 3-year-old to pluck the real gun from an end table and shoot herself in the abdomen, ending her life, Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe said. Cheyenne Alexis McKeehan's stepfather, Douglas Cronberger, and her mother, Tina Ann Cronberger, both 32, were inside their rural Norene home when the child shot herself Sunday night. Her mother was on the computer... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Tiny Ohio Town Faces Lawsuit for Excluding Gun Shop, Banning Guns
Vindicator (Ohio)
9 March 2010
CAMPBELL, California - Council is reconsidering a citywide gun-sales ban after a lawsuit threat. Law director Mark Kolmacic told city council at its caucus meeting last week that a group called Ohioans for Concealed Carry has threatened a lawsuit over the ban, which stemmed from an effort by a Hubbard man to open a gun-repair shop on property he owns at 120 Robinson Road. Kolmacic would not elaborate after the meeting,... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
160 Civil Servants Among 1300 Violators of Philippine Election Gun Ban
ABS-CBN News (Manila)
8 March 2010
MANILA - The Philippine National Police on Monday said a total of 160 government employees have violated a nationwide gun ban since it was implemented last January 10. A PNP report said law enforcers have arrested a total of 1,294 gun ban violators including 1,134 civilians and 160 government employees. Seized during the period were 1,117 firearms, 798 airguns/replicas, 304 bladed weapons and 218 grenades or explosives.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Mayor Makes Annual Call for Gun Control, Microstamping Pistols
Chicago Tribune
8 March 2010
Flanked by several parents who had lost children to gun violence, Mayor Richard Daley on Monday called for new laws to restrict gun sales and stiffen penalties for criminals who use them. Although Daley announces new gun-control initiatives every year, this year's announcement took on added significance because the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether to overturn the city's handgun ban. "The aggressiveness of the gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Mayor Recycles Gun Control Slate, Adds Pistol Microstamping
Chicago Sun-Times
8 March 2010
Mayor Daley today unveiled his annual package of gun control legislation and denied he's "swimming upstream" at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court has signaled its intention to overturn Chicago's handgun ban. Most of the ideas are re-treads, but there are a few new wrinkles. They include a proposal to make it a mandatory Class 1 felony to "knowingly sell or transfer a gun to a known gang member." Daley also wants to strengthen... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Disgruntled Former Client Shoots 2, Himself at Texas Finance Company
Associated Press
8 March 2010
DALLAS - A gunman apparently angry over business dealings wounded a father and son at their financial services company inside an office building Monday, then shot himself as police closed in, authorities said. The gunfire at about 10:30 a.m. created a frightening, grisly scene at the 15-story building, with one of the injured men making his way down an escalator with blood gushing from his neck and scared bank employees and customers... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Owners Flaunting Weapons in Public 'Expose Rifts' in US Gun Lobby
New York Times
8 March 2010
For years, being able to carry a concealed handgun has been a sacred right for many gun enthusiasts. In defending it, Charlton Heston, the actor and former president of the National Rifle Association, used to say that the flock is safer when the wolves cannot tell the difference between the lions and the lambs. But a grass-roots effort among some gun rights advocates is shifting attention to a different goal: exercising the right... ( gunpolicy.org )
Indonesia
Police Arrest Alleged 'Terrorist Gun Suppliers' in Indonesia
Jakarta Post
8 March 2010
The National Police said Monday it had arrested two gun dealers for supplying weapons to terrorists in Aceh. National Police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said one supplier was arrested in West Java and another in Jakarta. He said police would divulge the identity of the two suppliers and how they obtained their weapons later. Bambang vowed to continue cracking down on terrorism despite the fact three of his officers... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pro-gun Lobby Stirs It Up At Starbucks, Obama Fails to Deliver Gun Control
Sunday Times (UK)
8 March 2010
WASHINGTON - It is not exactly Gunfight at the OK Corral -- more like Lattes at High Noon -- but the Starbucks coffee chain has become an unlikely battleground for US gun owners campaigning to carry their weapons openly in public. Last Thursday morning, Jim Snyder walked into a Starbucks cafe in Virginia and ordered a tall hot chocolate without cream. On his left hip was his mobile phone. On his right hip was a semi-automatic Browning... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Gun Control Case Could Have Broad Impact - George Will
Washington Post, Column
8 March 2010
WASHINGTON -- It is said, more frequently than precisely, that the reasons the Supreme Court gives for doing whatever it does are as important as what it does. Actually, the court's reasons are what it does. Hence, the interest in the case the Supreme Court considered last week. It probably will result in a routine ruling that extends a 2008 decision and renders dubious many state and local gun control laws. What could -- but, judging... ( gunpolicy.org )
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 )
Australia
Crime Busters Hail 'DNA for Guns' as Australians Solve Killings, Cold Cases
Sydney Morning Herald
7 March 2010
A process hailed as DNA for guns has helped to clear up many crimes that would otherwise remain unsolved. The NSW Police Force has lifted the lid on its integrated ballistics identification system (IBIS) which has just scored it 350th "cold hit". IBIS is an electronic database of bullets and cartridge cases collected from crime scenes or seized firearms. Using state-of-the-art lasers and microscopes, it scans the unique... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Owner Fired Shots, Visited Texas Wal-Mart, Officers Shot Him Dead
Associated Press
7 March 2010
COMMERCE, Texas - A man walked into a Walmart in Texas carrying at least two guns before engaging in a shootout with police outside the store, authorities said. The man was killed and an off-duty officer in the store who had tried to stop him was injured. The incident in the east Texas city of Commerce began when police received a call of shots being fired from a car in nearby Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas, said... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Irish Gun Law Flaw Feared Forcing Hunters to Shoot Unlawfully
Sunday Business Post (Ireland)
7 March 2010
The Department of Justice took four months to inform the Department of the Environment about a major error in its new firearms licensing system. The justice department has already confirmed that it accidentally omitted a declaration on the new licence which permits gun-owners to hunt legally in the state. The mistake means holders of the new licence who shot protected animals during the recently-closed hunting seasons for... ( gunpolicy.org )
Uganda
Police Abandon 'Crude' AK-47 Assault Rifles for Pistols in Kampala
Observer (Kampala)
7 March 2010
Mean looking AK-47 toting Police constables will soon disappear from the streets as the force moves to introduce sidearm pistols, the universally accepted weapons in modern policing. The Inspector General of Police, Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura, told a press conference at the Police Headquarters in Kampala on Friday that the change of weapons was part of a broader plan to transform the Police from a force into a service. "We... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Student Buys Gun Show Pistol, Ignores Campus Gun Ban, Shoots His Leg
WDAY-6 TV News (North Dakota)
7 March 2010
GRAND FORKS, North Dakota - A Saturday night turned dangerous for a UND student after he accidentally shot himself in the leg. Law enforcement and weapon experts say this brings to light a very important issue: gun safety. Yesterday, authorities responded to a 9-1-1 call that a U-N-D student had shot themselves on U-N-D property. The student had purchased the gun earlier that day form the Grand Forks gun show which is a lengthy... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Weighs, Could Weaken US State, Local Gun Control Laws
San Francisco Chronicle
7 March 2010
WASHINGTON - Gun-control advocates think, if not pray, they can win by losing when the Supreme Court decides whether the constitutional right to possess guns serves as a check on state and local regulation of firearms. The justices will be deciding whether the Second Amendment - like much of the rest of the Bill of Rights - applies to states as well as the federal government. It's widely believed they will say it does. But... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
America's Love Affair With Firearms Won't Be Quelled By Mere Statistics
Irish Times
6 March 2010
AMERICA -- Cities and states that restrict gun ownership are seeing that prerogative threatened by the Supreme Court "We Americans, we cling proudly to our guns and religion," Sarah Palin, the failed vice-presidential candidate and darling of the Tea Party movement, said at a recent rally for Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas. The historian Richard Hofstadter coined the phrase "gun culture" to describe America's... ( gunpolicy.org )
Tanzania
Machine Gun Gang Invade Tanzanian Wedding Party, Kill 5, Steal Cattle
Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
6 March 2010
TERIME, Tanzania -- A wedding party was thrown into disarray in Tarime district on Thursday night, when armed gangsters stormed a homestead and shot dead five people. Six other people, including two children, were seriously injured in the attack that rocked Kimusi village, some 40 kilometres from Tarime Township. However, the bride and bridegroom, whose big day had started on a brighter note, with hundreds of their relatives... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pentagon Shooter 'Brilliant' Conspiracist with Mental Problems and a Gun
Associated Press
6 March 2010
HOLLISTER, California -- John Patrick Bedell was a brilliant and seemingly gentle computer whiz, yet so withdrawn that people in this rural community where his parents and grandparents are civic leaders knew little about him -- until he opened fire at the Pentagon this week. Family and friends now paint a portrait of a troubled man who sank deep into mental illness and anti-government rants, even as his mother -- a nursing instructor... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Virginia Kills Attempt to Reverse One-handgun-a-month Limit on Sales
Washington Post
5 March 2010
A Virginia Senate panel designed to eliminate House gun rights proposals went about its work efficiently Thursday, killing an attempted repeal of the state's 17-year-old ban on buying more than one handgun a month and several other bills. The Senate Courts of Justice special subcommittee, which was composed of four Democrats and one Republican, voted 4 to 1 along party lines to table the gun-a-month repeal sponsored by Del. L. Scott... ( 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 )
Finland
Commission Proposes Ban on Semi-automatic Handguns in Finland
Macleans (Canada)
4 March 2010
On Sept. 23, 2008, a culinary student named Matti Juhani Saari walked into a vocational college in Kauhajoki, Finland, drew a semi-automatic pistol, and killed 10 people before taking his own life. Less than a year earlier, an 18-year-old fatally shot eight people at a high school in Tuusula, 50 km north of Helsinki, before killing himself. In the wake of Saari's rampage, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen promised a grieving nation that... ( 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
Maine Lawmakers Consider Removing Guns in Cases of Domestic Abuse
Bangor Daily News (Maine) / Capital News Service
4 March 2010
AUGUSTA, Maine -- Members of the Legislature's Criminal Justice Committee have voted to allow a bill to be considered this session that would require police to seize all guns in the possession of a person charged with a domestic violence offense. Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, co-chairwoman of the committee, said the bill is based on language from a working group created by law last year to examines issues concerning domestic violence... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pentagon Police Officers Shot, Gunman Killed in State with 'Lax Gun Law'
New York Times
4 March 2010
WASHINGTON -- Two police officers at the Pentagon were wounded Thursday evening when a man walked up to the entrance of the complex's subway station and, without a word, opened fire on them, Pentagon officials said. Police officers quickly returned fire, fatally shooting the gunman after hitting him once in the head and once in the shoulder. The gunman was identified as John Patrick Bedell, 36, according to a police official here... ( 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
Bill Would Stop Florida Using Hidden Handgun Money for Public Projects
Associated Press
3 March 2010
TALLAHASSEE, Florida - The Florida Senate has passed a bill that will force lawmakers to keep their hands off a trust fund that covers the costs of the state's concealed weapons permitting program. The bill (SB 1158), a top priority for the National Rifle Association, passed Tuesday. It now goes to the House where a similar measure (HB 651) has cleared committee and awaits floor action. The Legislature recently has been... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Constitutional Bookends Close In, Corral US Gun Control Movement
Atlantic (USA), Column
3 March 2010
The second Constitutional bookend corralling the modern American gun control movement is just about in place. The Supreme Court's oral argument Tuesday morning strongly suggests that a majority of the justices intend to extend onto the state and local scene the Second Amendment's individual gun rights. Once such a ruling is in place (bet the house on the last week of June) we'll see a sea change in the way gun ordinances are written, enacted,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Effort to Tighten Minnesota's Gun Show Law Getting Folks Riled Up
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St Paul)
3 March 2010
From Virginia to Arizona, federal and state gun laws are loosening everywhere from national parks to Amtrak trains. But in St. Paul, a proposal that would send Minnesota in the opposite direction is headed toward its first hearing Friday -- a bill requiring background checks on the purchaser of any firearm sold at a gun show. The proposal pits its DFL sponsor, St. Paul Rep. Michael Paymar, against the mighty arsenal of... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Laws: US Supreme Court Should Toss Out Chicago Handgun Ban
El Paso Times, Editorial
3 March 2010
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a strict handgun ban in the District of Columbia. Now the court is considering a strict gun ban in Chicago. But there's a big difference between the two cases. The D.C. case covered only federal jurisdictions. According to a McClatchy Newspapers story, "District of Columbia v. Heller applied only to federal jurisdictions, because the Bill of Rights, as originally written, covers federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Lobby Overreacts, Objects to Pennsylvania 'No Shotguns at Work' Rule
Erie Times-News (Pennsylvania), Editorial
3 March 2010
In Albion, an issue that should have been confined to the local level has escalated into a skirmish involving the National Rifle Association. Gun owners are quick to act when they fear their Second Amendment rights are at risk, but in the Albion example, protesters are misfiring. As Tim Hahn reported on Feb. 6, Jeff Paul, 57, was cited by Albion police in November for disorderly conduct. Police say that Paul, chief operator... ( gunpolicy.org )
New Zealand
Judge Tosses New Zealand Police Reclassification of Assault Weapons
New Zealand Herald
3 March 2010
A High Court decision has set back efforts by police to impose greater controls on a wider range of firearms. The court has ruled against a move by police to reclassify many "sporting configuration" firearms as military-style semi-automatics (MSSAs). Police spent $60,000 advertising the changes. Owners would have had to undergo more stringent vetting, register each affected weapon and have a more expensive gun safe. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Nurse Shot 4 Times by 85yr-old Heart Patient in Connecticut Hospital
Associated Press
3 March 2010
HARTFORD, Connecticut - Investigators are looking into an elderly heart patient's possible "psychiatric issues" after he allegedly tucked a revolver into the folds of his hospital gown and shot a nursing supervisor who tried to wrest the gun away. The 85-year-old patient, Stanley Lupienski, shot himself once in the leg during the scuffle in Danbury Hospital's cardiac unit Tuesday, police said. He remained under guard Wednesday in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Ireland,United Kingdom
Report Details Last Acts of Gun Surrender, Destruction in Northern Ireland
Associated Press
3 March 2010
DUBLIN, Ireland - The governments of Ireland and Britain praised their disarmament commission Wednesday and published its final achievements in removing weapons from Northern Ireland's underground armies. Both governments in 1997 asked Canadian Gen. John de Chastelain to persuade a half-dozen militant factions to surrender their hidden arsenals. That mission finally ended last month with a flurry of weapons moves. Wednesday's... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
85yr-old Patient Pulls Gun, Shoots Nurse, Himself in Connecticut Hospital
Associated Press
2 March 2010
DANBURRY, Connecticut - Police say an 85-year-old patient shot and wounded a nursing supervisor in a Connecticut hospital. They say the nurse suffered non-life-threatening wounds while trying to subdue the patient Tuesday afternoon. They say he was rushed to the emergency unit for treatment. Police say the man pulled a gun after the nurse went in to treat him and shot the victim three times after he tried to grab the weapon.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
All US Gun Laws Could Be in Jeopardy, Depending on High Court Case
National Public Radio (USA), Transcript
2 March 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court steps back onto the firing range, so to speak, as it takes up the controversial question of gun rights Tuesday. At issue is whether the Second Amendment right to bear arms puts constitutional limits on state and local laws as well as federal laws. For the first 100 years of America's history, the Bill of Rights -- protecting rights of free speech and religion, among others -- limited only what the federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Another Landmark Constitutional Duel Over Right to Bear Guns in America
Wall Street Journal
2 March 2010
The Supreme Court today is the scene of a Constitutional duel in a case that will decide if the Second Amendment's guarantee of an individual right to bear arms applies to the states. The answer will determine whether the Court's landmark 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller is a hollow legal anomaly, or if it extends nationwide. In McDonald v. Chicago, the Justices will consider whether the Windy City's ban on handguns... ( gunpolicy.org )
Nigeria
Armed Groups Fight with Home Made Guns, AK-47s in Nigeria Gang War
Daily Independent (Lagos)
2 March 2010
ENUGU/ABAKALIKI, Nigeria -- Residents are now counting their losses after the ceasefire that followed Ezza/Ezzilo communal clash in Ebonyi State, while security forces have started recovering arms. Though, the number of casualties and quantum of material losses are still not clear, the police command admits that much had been lost. The hostilities ceased shortly after Governor Martin Elechi in the company of the Police... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
At Least 5 US Supreme Court Justices Poised to Relax US Gun Controls
New York Times
2 March 2010
WASHINGTON -- At least five justices appeared poised to expand the scope of the Second Amendment's protection of the right to bear arms on Tuesday, judging from comments at an unusually intense Supreme Court argument. By its conclusion, it seemed plain that the court would extend a 2008 decision that first identified an individual right to own guns to strike down Chicago's gun control law, widely considered the most restrictive... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Black Chicago Supreme Court Plaintiff 'Pawn of Wealthy White Gun Nuts'?
Chicago Sun-Times
2 March 2010
Otis McDonald doesn't care what you think. You can accuse the black inner-city grandfather of betraying Chicago neighborhoods overrun by thugs with guns. Go ahead, call him a pawn of wealthy, white gun-nuts suing to lift the city's handgun ban. But the 76-year-old Morgan Park man who has become the face of one of the most important Second Amendment lawsuits in history wants you to know this: He is not a "showpiece"... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Found with Machine Gun, AK-47s, Gun Owner Decries 'Most Wanted' List
Daily Record (New Jersey)
2 March 2010
PARSIPPANY, New Jersey - A lawyer defending a Parsippany man accused of owning illegal assault guns and trying to sell a machine gun wants prosecutors to reveal whether his client or the buyer were on any county-wide lists of targeted alleged criminals. Filed on behalf of defendant Adam Coughlan, attorney Gregg D. Trautmann's motion was filed in Superior Court, Morristown, in response to a law enforcement initiative announced in... ( gunpolicy.org )
Netherlands
Gang Spotted Loitering at Amsterdam Airport, Loaded Handgun Seized
Radio Netherlands
2 March 2010
Dutch border police say a 30-year-old man carrying a loaded gun was arrested at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on Monday. Two other men, aged 24 and 26 and thought to be accomplices, were also detained. The three men were reportedly loitering in the airport's shopping zone and behaving suspiciously. Their movements were first followed on CCTV, then a special observation team shadowed them for a while. Finally the police decided to take... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Government Has No Right to Deny Divine Right of US Gun Ownership
Augusta Chronicle (Georgia), Editorial
2 March 2010
In the comedy Roxanne , Steve Martin is a fire chief of an incompetent department that's as likely to start a fire as put one out. "I have a dream," he tells the men after dousing one of their own little fires. "It's not a big dream, it's just a little dream. My dream -- and I hope you don't find this too crazy -- is that I would like the people of this community to feel that if, God forbid, there were a fire, calling the fire department... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
High Court Justices Suggest They May Overturn More US Gun Control Laws
Associated Press
2 March 2010
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court suggested Tuesday it will strike down U.S. cities' outright bans on handguns, a ruling that could establish a nationwide ownership right fervently sought by gun advocates. But the justices indicated less severe limits could survive, continuing disputes over the "right to keep and bear arms." Chicago area residents who want handguns for protection in their homes are asking the court to extend its 2008... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Husband & Wife Security Guards Had Gun History Before US Cop Killing
Associated Press
2 March 2010
FRESNO, California - Fresno County court records show that the wife of a man accused of instigating a deadly shootout with authorities has her own criminal past. Diane Liles was known as Diane Shepherd in 2005 when she was convicted of threatening to kill a co-worker with a gun while working as a security guard. She served jail time for the crime, later reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. Liles was questioned last week... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Iowa Man Gets Life for 'Delusional' Fatal Shooting of Football Coach
Associated Press
2 March 2010
ALLISON, Iowa - Mark Becker stood passively Tuesday as a jury found him guilty of murder in the shooting of a nationally known Iowa high school football coach. He seemed far removed from the man whose mind was filled with images of angels and horned demons who lurked in the shadows of every room, telling him that the community was plotting against him and that Aplington-Parkersburg coach Ed Thomas -- known for his winning record... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Learning from DC Handgun Ban: Less Gun Control Leads to Less Crime
Washington Times, Editorial
2 March 2010
The year after the Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia's handgun ban and gun-lock requirements, the capital city's murder rate plummeted 25 percent. The high court should keep that in mind today as it hears oral arguments about a Chicago handgun ban. Gun controllers screamed to high heaven that impending disaster would follow the court's decision to junk some of the district's gun controls. One of those screaming... ( gunpolicy.org )
Iraq
Senior Spy Accuses Iraqi PM of Giving Away US Guns in Bid to Buy Votes
Sydney Morning Herald
2 March 2010
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A senior Iraqi spy has accused the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, of handing out thousands of guns to tribal leaders in an attempt to win votes. The claim was made by a former spokesman for the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, Saad al-Alusi, a week before Iraq's general election, in which allegations of vote buying and exorbitant handouts have been widespread. Mr Maliki, who faces a bitterly contested... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Starbucks: Allowing American Customers to Wear Guns Is Just Business
Associated Press
2 March 2010
SEATTLE -- Coffee chain Starbucks said Wednesday it's sticking to its policy of letting customers carry guns where it's legal and is asking not to be put in the middle of a larger gun-control debate. The company's statement, issued Wednesday, stems from recent campaign by some gun owners, who have walked into Starbucks and other businesses to test state laws that allow gun owners to carry weapons openly in public places. Now,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Likely to Strike Down Some US Gun Laws, But How Many?
Talk Radio News (USA)
2 March 2010
Even liberal Justices seemed to agree in today's Supreme Court oral arguments that the Second Amendment must prevent cities and states from passing certain gun regulations. The Supreme Court in 2008 ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear firearms, but that ruling applied to only the federal government, and today's case, McDonald v. Chicago, raised the question of whether states as well are prevented from restricting... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Poised to Rule on Chicago's Longstanding Handgun Ban
ABC News (USA)
2 March 2010
Otis McDonald, 76, is afraid for his life in his crime-saturated Chicago neighborhood and he is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his city's strict ban on handguns in the home. "In my home, this is the only time I worry," McDonald said. "There's more guns coming into this city than the police can take away from them. So if I've got a gun, and if others have guns in their homes to protect themselves, then that's one thing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Refuses to Release Same-day Audio of US Gun Ban Case
Associated Press
2 March 2010
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court is declining to release the audio of Tuesday's high-profile argument over gun rights upon its conclusion. Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said the court turned down a request by broadcasters, often made in closely watched cases, to provide the same-day audio recordings of the argument. With television cameras and reporters' tape recorders barred from the court, the availability of audio provides the public... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Seems Ready to Up-end Gun Control in US Cities, States
Christian Science Monitor
2 March 2010
WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court appears to be on verge of extending the constitutional protection of the Second Amendment's right to keep and bear arms to every jurisdiction in the nation. During an hour-long oral argument at the high court on Tuesday, several justices exhibited a willingness to enforce their landmark 2008 gun-rights decision at the state and local level. If they do so, the decision may doom not only... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Considers National Expansion of Right to Bear Arms
Reuters
2 March 2010
The Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared likely to extend the federal right to own guns to state and local governments, but some justices said firearms still could face regulations and restrictions. In a legal challenge to Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban, the high court seemed deeply divided along conservative and liberal lines in considering how broadly to extend its landmark 2008 ruling that individual Americans have a federal... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Virginia Allows Hidden Handguns in Bars - As Long As Owners Don't Drink
Washington Post, Blog
2 March 2010
Gun-rights supporters had reason to cheer Tuesday after the Virginia General Assembly gave final approval to a bill allowing concealed weapons permit holders to enter restaurants that serve alcohol. Two other bills friendly to gun owners also won final approval. On a day when the U.S. Supreme Court was hearing perhaps the most widely followed Second Amendment case in years, Virginia's House of Delegates gave final passage to a Senate... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Virginia Democrats Aim to Quash Gun Lobby Bills in 'Gun-running State'
Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia)
2 March 2010
A number of House of Delegates bills that would make it easier to purchase, carry and use guns have been routed to a newly created Senate subcommittee loaded with legislators opposed to expanding gun rights. Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, chairman of the Democrat-controlled Senate Courts of Justice Committee, announced the shift. The new panel appears to be an attempt to defeat firearms legislation that would stand... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Wisconsin to Compel Gun Dealers to Check Mental History of Purchasers
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
2 March 2010
MADISON, Wisconsin -- Dealers would have to check the mental health histories of handgun buyers before selling them firearms under a bill passed unanimously Tuesday by the Senate. Senators also advanced a bill that could lead to limits on the areas where tickets for Milwaukee Brewers and Green Bay Packers games could be resold outside the stadiums. The handgun measure is meant to help prevent shootings such as the one at... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Anti-abortion Activist, Ex-boss Killed by 'Passionate' Michigan Gun Owner
Associated Press
1 March 2010
CORUNNA, Michigan - A man who has his mother's name tattooed on his chest was out to avenge her when he killed an anti-abortion activist in a drive-by shooting and then gunned down her former boss in a small Michigan community, a prosecutor said Monday. Jurors heard opening statements in the first-degree murder trial of Harlan Drake, 33, who has admitted shooting the men but claims he was insane last September and should not be... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Chicago Handgun Ban Presents Quandary for US Supreme Court Justices
Washington Post
1 March 2010
As a member of the Junior ROTC, teenager Antonin Scalia toted his rifle on the subway ride back and forth to Queens. As a hunter, he speaks lyrically of stalking wild turkeys. And as a justice, he may have reached the pinnacle of his more than two decades on the Supreme Court when he wrote the majority opinion that said the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own a firearm. But when the justices on Tuesday confront... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
Chieftains Fear for Lives, Seek Philippine Election Gun Ban Exemption
Manila Bulletin
1 March 2010
DAVAO CITY, Philippines -- About 19 village chieftains from the three districts of the city urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to exempt them from the gun ban so that they can defend themselves against any possible harm by individuals behind the threat text messages they received from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. last Friday. Joji Lumanog, village chieftain of Barangay Cabantian, Buhangin, said all recipients of the threat text messages... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Handpicked Gun Owners the 'Face' of Drive to Lobby US Supreme Court
Associated Press
1 March 2010
CHICAGO -- A couple worries that burglars who tried to break in when the wife was home alone will return. A retiree fears the drug dealers and junkies just outside his window will attempt -- again -- to steal what he spent a lifetime earning. And a businessman wants to protect himself as he could when he was a police officer. Together, they are the face of the most serious challenge yet to Chicago's 28-year-old handgun ban. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
Nigeria
Highway Robbery Gang Arrested with 16 Rifles, AK-47s in Nigeria
Vanguard (Lagos)
1 March 2010
ASABA, Nigeria -- Men of the Delta state police command have arrested a five-man gang along Patani/Ughelli road with dynamites and AK-47 rifles. State police command's spokesman, Mr. Charles Muka who confirmed the incident said that policemen on patrol duty successfully dislodged the gang before they could strike. According to him, "police command has recovered 16 assorted rifles seized from five members of the gang terrorizing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Las Vegas Police Officer, Mother Charged After 2yr-old Son Shot Himself
Fox News (USA)
1 March 2010
LAS VEGAS - A Las Vegas police officer and his wife will be charged with child abuse and neglect with substantial bodily harm after their 2-year-old shot himself with the officer's gun in February. Las Vegas Metro police officer Jared Bledsoe and his wife, Shawnee Bledsoe, both 27, face one count of the felony charge after their son discovered a loaded gun in their night stand after he was put to bed. The complaint, made in Moapa... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Licensed Florida Gun Dealer Loses 29 Firearms, AK-47s to Thieves
Ledger (Florida)
1 March 2010
Orlando police are asking the public for help in finding thieves who broke into a gun shop and stole firearms and ammunition. Police said Monday that last week employees of Buffalo Bills Shooting Store arrived to find the store had been burglarized. Authorities said the stolen items include 29 firearms and at least 20 boxes of ammunition. Stolen guns include a Norinco AK-47 rifle, Yugo AK-47 rifle and SKS rifle. ( gunpolicy.org )
Nigeria
Nigerian Bird Hunter Says He Shot, Killed 15yr-old Boy by Accident
Daily Independent (Lagos)
1 March 2010
LAGOS -- Kamilu Kamoru, a peasant farmer, had set out to harvest tubers of yam for his family on Saturday, February 6, 2010. Armed with a Dane gun and a cutlass, he rode on his Suzuki motorcycle and had hardly settled down in his farmland situated at Afowowa, Isale Oyo, Oyo Town, Oyo State, when he sighted scores of guinea fowls feeding on his maize crops. "Immediately, I sighted the birds, I was happy, hoping that I would... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Right of Americans to Protect Themselves Against Other People's Guns
New York Times, Editorial
1 March 2010
Two years ago, the Supreme Court struck down parts of the District of Columbia's gun-control law. On Tuesday, the court will consider whether that decision should apply everywhere in the country, not just in the federal territory of the nation's capital. We disagreed strongly with the 2008 decision, which took an expansive and aggressive view of the right to bear arms. But there is an even broader issue at stake in the new case:... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Tories Used 'Every Trick in the Book' to Stall Police Gun Registry Report
Toronto Star (Ontario), Editorial
1 March 2010
As Parliament resumes sitting this week, among the issues on the order paper will be gun control -- specifically, a private member's bill to abolish the long-gun registry. The bill passed second reading last fall by a vote of 164-137 as some Liberals and New Democrats joined the Conservatives in supporting it. Critics of the long-gun registry insisted that it is of little use to the police and not worth maintaining. This argument... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Second Amendment Has Become a Frivolous Challenge to Gun Law
San Francisco Chronicle, Opinion
1 March 2010
In 2006, Harvey Jackson pleaded guilty to illegal drug distribution and firearm possession after he was caught selling cocaine out of his home. Two years later, when the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment protects a right to possess a firearm in the home for self-defense, however, Jackson challenged his conviction, arguing that the amendment guaranteed his right to keep a gun to protect himself while conducting his home drug... ( 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
Campaign Grows as More US Gun Owners Flaunt Handguns in Starbucks
Associated Press
28 February 2010
Dale Welch recently walked into a Starbucks in Virginia, handgun strapped to his waist, and ordered a banana Frappuccino with a cinnamon bun. He says the firearm drew a double-take from at least one customer, but not a peep from the baristas. Welch's foray into the coffeehouse was part of an effort by some gun owners to exercise and advertise their rights in states that allow people to openly carry firearms. Even in some... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Lobbyists Packing Handguns Startle San Francisco Beachgoers
Associated Press
28 February 2010
SAN FRANCISCO, California - Men and women, armed with handguns strapped to their sides in holsters, fanned out across San Francisco's Baker Beach to help pick up trash and to increase awareness of gun-owners' rights. Robert Montgomery, 39, of San Jose, said he joined in the event Saturday to get out the message that "it's not just criminals who carry guns." Montgomery also wore a miniature video camera and recorded audio... ( gunpolicy.org )
Uganda
Peaceful Disarmament 'Failed,' Uganda Army Goes for Karimojong Guns
New Vision (Kampala)
28 February 2010
KAMPALA, Uganda -- Karimojong warriors who do not voluntarily surrender their guns risk being court-martialled, the Government has warned. Information minister Kabakumba Masiko said about 70 warriors who refused to surrender their guns had been tried in the Court Martial. "The rustlers will be dealt with firmly and decisively and cattle rustling will be a thing of the past," she told a media briefing at the Kampala Media... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Hidden Handgun Permit Holder Loses Son to Careless Firearm Storage
NBC News (Miami )
28 February 2010
An 11-year-old boy was pronounced dead in Deerfield Beach last night after being accidentally shot in the face by his little brother. The boys' mother said the pair had been asked to go to the parking lot outside their home to their father's truck to retrieve a hat. While searching for it, 10-year-old Terrence Reddick found a gun inside the vehicle and shot and killed Randy Reddick. "[Terrence] just said, 'It was a mistake.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines
11 Die in Mass Shooting as 'al-Qaida' Militants Sack Philippine Village
Associated Press
27 February 2010
MANILA, Philippines - Suspected al-Qaida-linked militants raided a village in the southern Philippines early Saturday, killing 11 people in the country's worst militant attack on civilians in nine years. Gunmen from the extremist Abu Sayyaf group backed by renegade Muslim separatist rebels fired grenade launchers and automatic rifles on houses while residents were asleep, killing one government-armed militiaman and 10 civilians... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Alabama Senate Approves Guns in Cars at the Workplace
WKSR Radio (Alabama)
27 February 2010
The Alabama State Senate has passed legislation that would make it easier for people to keep guns in their vehicles. This comes just two weeks after the fatal shootings at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Democratic Sen. Roger Bedford of Russellville got the Senate to vote 26-2 for his bill Thursday, which would ban policies that prohibit licensed guns from being locked away in private vehicles in company parking lots. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Collector, 'Paranoid' Security Guard Kills Police Officer in California
Associated Press
27 February 2010
FRESNO, California - The man who authorities say killed one law enforcement officer and wounded two others in a gunbattle at his mobile home was a paranoid private security guard who kept a gun collection and told his wife he would rather die than go to prison, authorities said Friday. Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer identified Rick "Ricky" Ray Liles, 51, as the shooter and said he had been taking medication for depression and probably... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Infatuated Gun Owner Stalks, Shoots, Kills US Teacher At Her School
Associated Press
27 February 2010
TACOMA, Washington - The stalking began with bursts of phone calls -- 10 or 15 in a day, about once a year, from an old college acquaintance. Then, flowers and unwanted visits, an anti-harassment order, an arrest -- and bail. Jennifer Paulson, a 30-year-old special education teacher at a Tacoma elementary school, knew she was in danger this week when her alleged stalker was released from the Pierce County Jail, three days after... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Ohio Gun Owners Push Obama Fear Factor, Hidden Handgun Permits Soar
Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio)
27 February 2010
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio issued a record 56,691 concealed handgun licenses in 2009, shattering the previous one-year high of 45,497 set in 2004, according to the state attorney general's office. That means Ohio is now approaching 200,000 concealed permits issued since 2004, when the state started handing out licenses to qualified people. And those for and against tougher gun control laws agree the smoking gun for the 2009... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Tipped to Loosen Reins on City, State Gun Control
Associated Press
27 February 2010
WASHINGTON - Gun control advocates are hoping they can win by losing when the Supreme Court rules on state and local regulation of firearms. The justices will be deciding whether the right to possess guns guaranteed by the Second Amendment -- like much of the rest of the Bill of Rights -- applies to states as well as the federal government. It's widely believed they will say it does. But even if the court strikes down handgun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Eerie Echoes in Tale of Alabama Professor's Family, School Shootings
Associated Press
26 February 2010
CANTON, Massachusetts - Investigators have discovered that a newspaper on triple murder suspect Amy Bishop's bedroom floor when she killed her brother more than 20 years ago described an incident strikingly similar to what she did that day, raising questions about her claim it was an accident. Norfolk District Attorney William Keating said investigators found the date of the newspaper after enlarging a police photo of the scene.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Philippines,United States
Montana Shooting Promoter Touts Illegal Trophy Hunting in Philippines
AllHeadLineNews (USA)
26 February 2010
MANILA, Philippines - A U.S.-based group offering trophy hunting in the Philippines has caught the attention of Filipino officials. Hunting wildlife is illegal in the Philippines under the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act. In an advisory issued on Friday, the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau reminded foreign nationals not to transact with groups offering trophy hunting in the Philippines. "Any person who will... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
'No Question' Alabama Professor Killed Brother by Accident, Says Lawyer
Associated Press
26 February 2010
BOSTON - The attorney for the parents of a woman accused of a triple murder at an Alabama college said Friday there's "no question" it was an accident when she fatally shot her brother in Massachusetts in 1986, despite doubts now being raised by the district attorney there. "The DA has not gotten his facts right, but that's characteristic of the whole proceeding," said attorney Bryan Stevens. He made the comments a day... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Decision Could Further Weaken Gun Laws Across America
USA Today
26 February 2010
WASHINGTON -- In 2008, when national gun rights advocates were looking for residents to challenge Chicago's ban on handguns, Otis McDonald was in effect looking for them. McDonald, 76, says he had seen his neighborhood on the far South Side of Chicago turn from bad to worse over the years with "gangbangers and drug dealers." "My wife and I are here alone all the time now," says McDonald, a retired maintenance engineer, who with... ( gunpolicy.org )
South Africa
Thousands of Guns, Ammunition Surrendered in South African Amnesty
BuaNews (Tshwane)
26 February 2010
PRETORIA, South Africa -- Over 6 300 firearms and more than 90 000 rounds of ammunition have been surrendered to the South African Police Service to date. This is in line with the Ministerial Amnesty which expires on 11 April this year. Under the amnesty, anyone who has an illegal or unregistered gun, ammunition or firearm parts can hand them in without being prosecuted. The theme is "Together we can do more against crime.... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Women's Groups Pressure Opposition MPs to Save Canada's Gun Registry
Canadian Press
26 February 2010
MONTREAL, Canada - Gun-control advocates pleaded with Ottawa's opposition parties to stand united against a move to shelve the gun registry when Parliament reconvenes next week. The call came Friday from a coalition that included police, politicians, women's groups, and Heidi Rathjen, a survivor of Montreal's 1989 Polytechnique massacre. They said they hold no hope of persuading the governing Conservatives to back away... ( gunpolicy.org )
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