Top of PageGun Policy News, 31 May 2007
Kansas Congressman, New York Mayor Locked in Battle Over Gun Tracing
31 May 2007
Wichita Eagle (Kansas)
WASHINGTON — Rep. Todd Tiahrt of Kansas and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City are waging a gunfight.
It's not quite loaded pistols at 20 paces; more like political sniping via long distance.
Their feud: an amendment that Tiahrt wrote in 2003 that puts strict limits on how broadly the government can share gun tracing data. The data identifies the original dealer and buyer of a weapon used in a crime.
Tiahrt and others say the restrictions are necessary... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvania Governor Vows Support for One Gun a Month, New Gun Laws
31 May 2007
Philadelphia Daily News, Editorial
We would like to be more optimistic that this week marks a turning point in the gun issue, with hopes that the city's battle with the state over gaining local jurisdiction might have a good outcome.
After all, Gov. Rendell joined mayors from cities across the state for a news conference yesterday to vow that he would support one-gun-a-month and other gun-control laws.
But this is also the week that the Upper Darby Police Department was found to have been selling its... (GunPolicy.org)
The .50-Caliber Sniper Rifle - Outlawing an American Weapon of War
31 May 2007
Philadelphia Inquirer, Editorial
It would be a misnomer to call proposed New Jersey legislation to outlaw certain .50-caliber firearms a gun-control measure. The bill places them in the category of "destructive devices," along with explosives, incendiary bombs, mines and grenades, which is exactly where these weapons belong.
The measure, which unfortunately has been detoured, takes aim mainly at what gun-control advocates call the .50-caliber sniper rifle. Gun-rights advocates call it the .50-caliber... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Fights Cleveland's Attempt to Enact Its Own City Gun Control Laws
31 May 2007
Cleveland Plain Dealer (Ohio)
Cleveland's challenge of a state law that prevents Ohio cities from making their own gun laws faces a new opponent — The National Rifle Association.
The NRA reported Wednesday that it intervened in a lawsuit that Cleveland filed against the state in March in an attempt to overturn the law.
"We have joined in this lawsuit as a defendant-intervenor to protect law-abiding gun owners in Ohio from harassment by an unreasonable and confusing patchwork of municipal gun... (GunPolicy.org)
US Court Rules Paranoid, Mentally Incompetent Cop Hater Can Own Guns
31 May 2007
Nashua Telegraph
CONCORD, New Hampshire — A person found mentally incompetent to stand trial doesn't necessarily lose the right to own guns, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The court overturned a finding by Concord District Court Judge Michael Sullivan in the case of Scott Buchanan, who was charged with theft, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest following a 2004 outburst at the state Division of Motor Vehicles.
Police sought an order to destroy two guns seized from... (GunPolicy.org)
