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Gunshop closure a clear message
26 May 1999
Independent Radio News
Christchurch Police hope shutting down what's believed to be the country's biggest gun dealer will send a clear message to other gun shop owners.
They claim the owner of Gun City didn't comply with the Arms Act, and have revoked his arms dealers' licence.
Inspector Grant Buchanan says police are serious about arms issues.
He says they warned the owner of Gun City over a two year period, but he did nothing to rectify the... (GunPolicy.org)
House GOP Rejecting Democrats' Rush for New Gun Controls
26 May 1999
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Democrats are urging House Republicans to capitalize on the momentum of the Senate's gun control restrictions by voting on them this week, but GOP lawmakers want time to propose changes.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde expressed support in broad terms for the new restrictions on gun sales voted by the Senate, but refused to be rushed into a vote before mid-June.
"We support common-sense legislation that keeps... (GunPolicy.org)
Alabama House Refuses to Approve Gun Safety Course in Public Schools
26 May 1999
Associated Press
MONTGOMERY, Alabama — The Alabama House refused to approve a bill that would allow hunting safety classes in public schools.
The sponsor, Rep. Jimmy Warren, D-Castleberry, could not get a vote on the bill Tuesday after the 10 minutes he had allotted as part of a special work agenda.
Reps. Andrew Hayden, D-Uniontown, and Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, spoke against the bill and blocked the vote.
The bill remains on the House calendar with three meeting days left in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Republicans Reject Rush; GOP Wants Time in Considering Gun Control Measures
26 May 1999
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Democrats are urging House Republicans to capitalize on the momentum of the Senate's gun control restrictions by voting on them this week, but GOP lawmakers want time to propose changes.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde expressed support in broad terms for the new restrictions on gun sales voted by the Senate, but refused to be rushed into a vote before mid-June.
"We support commonsense legislation that keeps guns... (GunPolicy.org)
End to Gun Hunting Lessons Sought
26 May 1999
Associated Press
WAUSAU, Wisconsin — Rifles and shotguns are regularly brought to schools across Wisconsin for courses to train thousands of young hunters.
But at least one district has reconsidered the gun safety program after activists questioned the wisdom of bringing weapons on campus.
"Let's find another place for it so we don't send mixed messages to our students about weapons," said Andrea Utrie, a teacher in Beaver Dam about 60 miles northwest of Milwaukee.
Citing reaction... (GunPolicy.org)
26 May 1999
Chicago Sun-Times
Former Cubs first baseman George Altman was thinking about his 16-year-old grandson when he tolled a bell Tuesday outside Holy Name Cathedral.
He was among more than a dozen family members of shooting victims who gathered to support the Bell Campaign, a victims-led anti-gun effort modeled after Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
His grandson, Jonas Anthony Altman, was killed April 17 when a 14-year-old neighbor in Chicago fired a semiautomatic handgun that he thought was... (GunPolicy.org)
26 May 1999
Washington Post
House Republican leaders yesterday endorsed mandatory background checks for all sales at gun shows and other steps to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and youths, virtually ensuring that at least modest gun controls will become law this year.
The expedited plan to bring the proposals to the floor for a vote in June represented a dramatic shift for a GOP leadership that has staunchly resisted gun control measures in the past, and highlighted the continuing... (GunPolicy.org)
26 May 1999
Long Beach Press-Telegram (California)
LONG BEACH — Bells rang at news conferences in Long Beach and six other American cities Tuesday morning in memory of victims of gun homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings.
"The bell will toll in memory of our loved ones and will peal in victory when we have responsible gun laws throughout the country," said Charles Blek, speaking at a 10 a.m. news conference, held at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach to herald the birth of a national grass-roots campaign... (GunPolicy.org)
8 Year-old Accidentally Exercises Second Amendment Rights
26 May 1999
The Onion (USA)
NORFOLK, Virginia — Gun owners nationwide are applauding the patriotic, though accidental, exercise of Second Amendment rights by 8-year-old Timothy Cummings Tuesday.
"Timothy is a symbol of American heroism," said NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre from Cummings' bedside at Norfolk General Hospital, where the boy is in serious but stable condition from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. "While praying for his recovery, we should all thank God that his... (GunPolicy.org)
Boston Prepares Anti-Gun Lawsuit
26 May 1999
Boston Globe
Riding the nation's wave of anti-gun sentiment, the city of Boston intends to hire three heavy-hitting law firms today to file a $100 million lawsuit against gun manufacturers.
Boston could file as early as this week, becoming the 19th municipality in the country to sue gun manufacturers and distributors, after six California cities and two counties joined the mounting battle yesterday.
Straddling the legal theories put forth in claims first filed in Chicago and New... (GunPolicy.org)
Homes Hit by Gunfire from Police Range
26 May 1999
Washington Post
Submachine gun bullets fired by police officers training at the wrong shooting range rained down on a Fairfax County neighborhood Monday afternoon, hitting 12 houses and three cars, authorities said yesterday. One round crashed through a dining-room window, narrowly missing a baby being held in her father's arms.
A D.C. police weapons instructor took eight to 12 officers from several suburban jurisdictions for assault drills at a District-owned complex on the grounds... (GunPolicy.org)
26 May 1999
USA Today
WASHINGTON — Olivia Pozy, a mother of three in the Denver suburb of Aurora, says gun control will be on her mind when she enters a voting booth next year. Pozy, a Democrat who occasionally votes Republican, wants stricter laws on youth access to firearms and considers her children's safety "non-negotiable."
Her attitude illustrates how public support for new gun-control laws has intensified in the aftermath of the Littleton, Colo., school massacre, particularly among... (GunPolicy.org)
House Speaker Expects a Gun Bill to Pass
26 May 1999
New York Times
WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders announced Tuesday that they were drafting a broad package of gun-control measures similar to those passed by the Senate last week, and Speaker Dennis Hastert predicted that at least some of the provisions would succeed in the House as well.
Hastert signaled his support on Tuesday for one of those proposals in particular: mandatory background checks on all buyers at gun shows. He suggested that he also favored some type of... (GunPolicy.org)
Bell Campaign Seeks an End to Gun Toll
26 May 1999
Los Angeles Times
Victims of gun violence, convinced that their united voice can be effective in the firearms debate, launched their own national organization Tuesday with simultaneous news conferences in eight cities.
They call their group the Bell Campaign and expect to open chapters in all 50 states.
"We love our children more than the gun lobby loves its guns," said Mary Leigh Blek of Trabuco Canyon, a founder and western regional director of the Bell Campaign.
The organization is... (GunPolicy.org)
Brazil Moves to Crack Down on Guns With Harsh Law
25 May 1999
Reuters
BRASILIA — Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso will send to Congress next week a gun control bill aimed at turning Brazil from a haven for violence into one of the world's toughest places to buy and carry firearms.
The law would ban the sale of firearms across Brazil, except to the army, law enforcement and private security firms, Cardoso said in his weekly radio address Tuesday.
Private citizens would no longer be allowed to carry a gun, even with a... (GunPolicy.org)
International Small Arms Conference in Tokyo Next Week
25 May 1999
Kyodo News
TOKYO — Japan will hold an international meeting Monday in Tokyo to discuss restricting the use of small arms in conflicts, Foreign Ministry officials said Tuesday.
Experts on small arms from 23 countries, including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — are scheduled to attend the four-day meeting, the officials said.
The meeting is part of a series of international talks to prepare for a... (GunPolicy.org)
Christchurch Store Has Arms Licence Revoked
25 May 1999
New Zealand Press Association
CHRISTCHURCH — Police have revoked the arms licence of Gun City, a Christchurch business reputed to have the largest trade in firearms nationwide.
Inspector Grant Buchanan said the licence had been revoked this morning for 23 reasons relating to the shop operating contrary to the requirements of the arms act.
'This relates in particular to the administrative nature of recording the details of purchases and dealing with MSSAs (military-style semi-automatics) and... (GunPolicy.org)
Los Angeles, San Francisco to File Gun Lawsuits
25 May 1999
Reuters
LOS ANGELES — The cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco will file lawsuits Tuesday against the handgun industry, joining other cities' attempts to use the courtroom as a tool for gun control, Tuesday's Los Angeles Times reported.
The lawsuits are designed to financially pressure gun makers to better control sales and add safety features to firearms, Los Angeles City attorney James K. Hahn said.
The two California cities join Chicago; Miami-Dade County, Florida;... (GunPolicy.org)
US House Leaders Move Toward New Gun Controls
25 May 1999
Reuters
WASHINGTON — Top Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives moved Tuesday toward passing modest gun control measures by mid-June similar to those approved by the Senate, but Democrats demanded immediate decisive action.
The effort to approve new gun controls, especially among youths, has gained momentum in the wake of the Littleton, Colorado, school massacre on April 20 in which a teacher and 14 students, including the two shooters, died.
House Speaker Dennis... (GunPolicy.org)
US House Leaders See Gun Votes in Mid-June
25 May 1999
Reuters
WASHINGTON — Top Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives moved Tuesday toward passing modest gun control measures by mid-June similar to those approved by the Senate.
The effort to approve new controls aimed at keeping guns away from youth or criminals gained momentum after the Littleton, Colorado, school massacre on April 20 in which a teacher and 14 students, including the two shooters, died.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said... (GunPolicy.org)
