Top of PageGun Policy News, 26 September 2006
4yr-old Detroit Boy Finds Handgun Under Bed, Dies: Veteran Cop Charged
26 September 2006
Detroit Free Press
A veteran Detroit police officer was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter and child abuse after a 4-year-old boy fatally shot himself with the officer's department-issued handgun last month.
The child, Kenneth Thomas, was staying at the house of Officer Louis Anderson, 58, of Detroit, along with his three children, ages 1, 3 and 5, on Aug. 10 when the boy apparently found Anderson's .40-caliber Glock handgun that he stored under a bed.
Anderson told police he... (GunPolicy.org)
Limiting Handgun Sales to 13 per Person per Year is a Reasonable Step
26 September 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer, Editorial
Pennsylvanians closer to the center of the state seem more willing to try new ideas than their lawmakers in Harrisburg dare to believe.
Why? Because when it comes to a proposal as reasonable as a purchase limit of 13 handguns per person per year, many members of the General Assembly have their priorities and loyalties all wrong.
They would rather be on the leash of the absolutist gun rights lobby than lead Pennsylvanians to greater safety from gun violence. That's as... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvania Law Would Limit Each Couple to Buying 26 Handguns a Year
26 September 2006
Centre Daily (Pennsylvania), Editorial
The National Rifle Association, when it sniffs a proposal to limit handgun purchases, responds with a version of this argument:
"Limiting the sale of handguns deprives law-abiding Americans of their constitutional right to bear arms and defend themselves."
Now, look at the photos around this text. You will see 26 handguns — the number a married couple could buy every year in Pennsylvania if House Bill 871, sponsored by State Rep. John Myers (D., Phila.), becomes... (GunPolicy.org)
Mother of 5yr-old Philadelphia Girl Shot in Street Joins Gun Control Rally
26 September 2006
Philadelphia Daily News
A weary Alisha Corley will climb on a bus and head to Harrisburg this morning, less than 72 hours after her 5-year-old daughter, Cashae, was killed by a bullet to the chest while riding in a car.
Corley will be among hundreds who will descend on the Capitol in a crusade for strict gun laws aimed at curbing the surge in bloodshed that has gripped Philadelphia's neighborhoods.
Cashae Rivers will be the latest tiny human face of the tragedy.
This little girl with a... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Sycophants in US Congress Propose Law to Aid Rogue Gun Dealers
26 September 2006
New York Times, Editorial
House sycophants of the National Rifle Association are aiming this week to hobble the federal government's power to revoke the licenses of rogue gun dealers who arm the underworld. A shameless proposal would replace existing law with wrist-slapping penalties and an impossible definition of "willful intent" that would hamstring efforts to close lawless marketeers.
The rhetoric of the approaching debate will undoubtedly invoke sportsmen's rights, but the real issue is... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Mayor Scores Bull's Eye in Fight Against Negligent Gun Dealers
26 September 2006
New York Daily News, Editorial
Mayor Bloomberg has hit the bull's-eye again in his war on gun trafficking, scoring legal settlements with three more out-of-state dealers whose lax sales procedures have made it all too easy for the city's criminals to get their hands on deadly weapons.
There was just plain smoking-gun evidence that gun dealers in Savannah, Ga.; Stroudsburg, Pa., and South Boston, Va., were directly responsible for many of the firearms coming into the shooting-gallery streets of New... (GunPolicy.org)
Thousands of Philadelphians Travel to State Capitol to Call for Gun Control
26 September 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer
Thousands of Philadelphians will travel to the state Capitol to urge tougher gun laws. In opposition will be sportsmen's groups and gun-rights advocates.Anticrime Agenda
Here are some of the more than 100 anticrime measures that will be considered in Harrisburg:
- Limiting handgun purchases to one a month, with exceptions for gun and antiques dealers.
- Banning the sale of assault weapons in Philadelphia.
- Allowing the search, without warrant, of parolees who have... (GunPolicy.org)
Montreal College Shooting Victim Wants to Debate PM on Gun Control
26 September 2006
Canadian Press
MONTREAL — A victim of Montreal's Dawson College shootings wants to debate the prime minister and change his mind about gun control.
Hayder Kadhim still has two bullets in his head after Kimveer Gill went on a shooting rampage, killing 18-year-old Anastasia De Sousa and wounding 20 people before committing suicide two weeks ago.
Kadhim, who says he's slowly recovering, tells CTV's "Canada AM" he's going to write a letter and he hopes to have a discussion with... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA's Renowned, Notorious 'Gunner's Guru' Jeff Cooper is Dead at 86
26 September 2006
Prescott Daily Courier (Arizona)
World-renowned firearms expert Jeff Cooper, founder of the Gunsite firearms training center in Paulden, died Monday afternoon at his home near the training center.
Cooper, 86, had been battling several health problems in recent years.
The family plans a private burial ceremony and will announce a memorial ceremony at the National Rifle Association Whittington Center in New Mexico in the near future.
Cooper had been a member of the NRA Board of Directors.
Born on May... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Ownership is a Privilege, Not a Right, Says Canadian Prime Minister
26 September 2006
Canadian Press
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't agree with Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean that Quebecers are disconnected from the rest of Canada but stopped short Tuesday from criticizing her.
"I think not," was Harper's reply when asked in an interview whether he believed Quebecers are disconnected from other Canadians.
In a weekend interview, Jean was reported to have reproached Quebecers for turning to Europe or other parts of the world instead of building alliances... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvanians Generate Rare Spark in Moribund US Gun Control Debate
26 September 2006
Reuters
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — Pennsylvania lawmakers held a special session on Tuesday to discuss 94 initiatives to tighten the state's relatively loose gun controls in an effort to reduce gun crime.
The two-day meeting was attended by the mayors of New York and Trenton, New Jersey, who believe their cities' crime rates are affected by the laxer rules in Pennsylvania. The state has one of the strongest pro-gun lobbies in the country.
"What happens in Pennsylvania or... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearm Amnesty Limits Guns Gangs Can Steal, Says Alberta Police Chief
26 September 2006
Canadian Press
CALGARY — A gun amnesty program designed to get firearms out of Alberta homes could reduce gang violence over time, Calgary's top police officer says.
"I do not expect gang members will turn in their weapons during this amnesty program and neither should you," Chief Jack Beaton said yesterday after the province announced Albertans who want to get rid of unwanted weapons and ammunition can do so without penalty next month.
Chief Beaton said crimes involving firearms... (GunPolicy.org)
Nigeria's President Laments Lack of UN Action on Global Gun Trade
26 September 2006
This Day (Lagos)
ABUJA — President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for greater global action to curb the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in West Africa and other parts of the world, just as he observed that the illicit supply of small arms and light weapons to "non-state actors" was a major causative factor for political instability and insecurity in West Africa.
In an address delivered on his behalf to the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly by the... (GunPolicy.org)
Russia Accuses Bulgaria Over Illegal Kalashnikov Assault Rifle Sales
26 September 2006
RIA Novosti (Russia)
ZELENOGRAD — Russia suffers major losses from the counterfeit manufacture of Kalashnikov assault rifles in Bulgaria, the defense minister said Tuesday.
The armies of 47 countries use the AK-47 assault rifle, known as the Kalashnikov after designer Mikhail Kalashnikov. About 100 million AK-47s and modifications are believed to circulate around the world, but many of them are produced illegally.
"Russia loses billions of dollars from illegal production of the... (GunPolicy.org)
