Top of PageGun Policy News, 15 February 2000
Murder Charge for West Philadelphia Girl
15 February 2000
Philadelphia Daily News
A 12-year-old West Philadelphia girl has been arrested by Philadelphia police and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old friend during a sleep-over last month.
Lakesha Graham, a sixth grader at the Sulzberger Middle School at 48th Street and Fairmount Avenue, was taken into custody about 6 p.m. Sunday at her residence in the 5500 block of Race Street, detectives said. Graham also was charged with possession of an instrument of crime and recklessly... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Murders Increasing
15 February 2000
African National Congress
The number of murders in which firearms were used had increased over the past five years, Parliament's safety and security portfolio committee heard on Tuesday.
Briefing the committee on the draft Firearms Control Bill, National Crime Prevention Centre official Dr Bernie Fanaroff said that over the period 1994 to 1999 there had also been an increase in the number of robberies involving firearms, as well as in the theft of the weapons themselves.
The bill aims to... (GunPolicy.org)
Crowd Packs Capitol to Debate Gun Issues
15 February 2000
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Opponents of gun control and supporters of stricter gun laws squared off this morning in one of the most crowded hearings this year at the Legislature.
The hearing, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, was on a number of proposals, among them having gun owners register their weapons every five years; requiring that guns be stored in commercial weapons' safes, and allowing only registered gun owners to be able to buy ammunition and then, only for their specific... (GunPolicy.org)
Webb Unveils Wall of Tragedy
15 February 2000
Denver Rocky Mountain News (Colorado)
Mayor Wellington Webb on Monday unveiled a wall of names of 3,094 people who've died in gun violence since the Columbine High tragedy.
It was part of a barrage of complaints officials leveled against the Colorado legislature for not passing what they call meaningful gun laws.
The cardboard wall put identities to more than half of the roughly 5,000 people killed nationally by gun violence since the April 20 shooting at Columbine.
A dozen gun-law advocates joined Webb... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control: Taking Aim at Tougher Laws
15 February 2000
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
If you get shot, be warned that it's nothing like it happens in the movies.
On the big screen, if the shot doesn't kill you, someone pulls out the offending bullet and off you go with a bandage. In real life, the trauma caused by a projectile traveling 1,500 feet per second before it slams into soft flesh and bone is enormous.
"No matter where you are shot, it is a long process of diagnosis," said Dr. Sidney Lee, an emergency room physician at Queen's Medical Center.... (GunPolicy.org)
Ontario Govt Should Tackle 'Gun Epidemic' Instead of Opposing Federal Gun Registry, Says Liberal Justice Critic
15 February 2000
Canadian Press
TORONTO — The Ontario government should abandon a challenge of new federal gun laws and instead take its own steps to curb the province's "gun epidemic," a provincial Liberal justice critic says.
Michael Bryant outlined a five-point plan of action Tuesday that includes taking U.S. gun manufacturers to court to recoup health costs, a tactic already in use south of the border.
Bryant also wants Premier Mike Harris to require trigger locks on new guns sold in Ontario,... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns Kill as Many People as Cars in South Africa
15 February 2000
Reuters
CAPE TOWN — Guns kill as many people as cars in South Africa, the head of the national crime prevention unit said on Tuesday, noting that one in every four non-natural deaths was caused by gunshot wounds.
Briefing parliamentarians on the need for tough new gun laws, Bernie Fanaroff said there were 12,000 gunshot murders each year, a figure that had risen sharply in the past five years while the total number of murders had stabilised.
"Murder with a firearm... (GunPolicy.org)
Clues Sought in Littleton Shooting
15 February 2000
Associated Press
DENVER — Investigators worked to identify a suspect Tuesday in the killings of two Columbine High students at a sandwich shop, where a surveillance camera failed to capture the shootings.
A woman who works at the Subway shop noticed a light on in the shop about 1 a.m. Monday, three hours after it was supposed to have closed. She went inside and discovered the bodies of Nicholas Kunselman, 15, and his girlfriend, Stephanie Hart, 16.
Kunselman worked in the sub shop,... (GunPolicy.org)
