Top of PageGun Policy News, 3 January 2008
Stray Bullet Crashes Into Hospital Ward for Manila's Newborn Babies
3 January 2008
Star (Philippines)
A stray bullet narrowly missed a nurse, a nursing aide, and a newborn child inside the nursery of the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRMMC) in Sta. Cruz, Manila in the afternoon of the first day of 2008.
Stray bullets also caused serious injuries to two persons in Cotabato City, and a marine trooper is facing possible court-martial for alleged indiscriminate firing during the New Year revelry that wounded two minors in Pasay City.
Dr. Arthur Platon,... (GunPolicy.org)
Italians Killed, Injured as Celebratory Gunfire, Stray Bullets Rattle New Year
3 January 2008
United Press International
Wild West-style gun play during New Year's celebrations is symptomatic of a growing gun culture in Italy, authorities said.
Gunshots rang in the new year in several cities, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday.
A 30-year-old father in Naples was killed when a stray bullet went through a window and struck him in the chest as he played cards with his family. A 10-year-old Naples boy clung to life after a bullet ricocheted and lodged in his brain, while a... (GunPolicy.org)
Washington Fires Lead Counsel in Landmark DC Handgun Ban Case
3 January 2008
Washington Post
Acting D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles has fired the city lawyer who had been preparing to defend the District's longtime ban on handguns before the Supreme Court this spring, a move that some city officials fear could harm the case.
Alan B. Morrison, who has argued 20 cases before the high court, was asked to leave his post as special counsel by the end of this week. Morrison had been hired by then-Attorney General Linda Singer and put in charge of arguing the... (GunPolicy.org)
Georgia Business Lobby Slams 'Shameless' NRA 'Take Guns to Work' Bill
3 January 2008
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
Three years ago, the Washington-based National Rifle Association raised eyebrows at the Georgia Capitol with introduction of a bill to establish a peculiar new right in Georgia:
The right of any person to enter any other person's personal or private property and park so long as the driver had a gun in the car.
Yes, I know, sounds bizarre, but 'tis true.
The NRA bill ran roughshod over the rights of all property owners and trampled on trespassing laws and common... (GunPolicy.org)
Woman, Child Killed by Colorado Man Celebrating New Year with Handgun
3 January 2008
KWGN-TV News (Denver)
DENVER, Colorado — The Fort Collins woman and her 11-year-old cousin who were shot and killed while celebrating New Year's Day early Tuesday were both victims of the same stray bullet, fired by another holiday reveler, police said Wednesday.
Rebecca "Becky" Yanez, 48, of Fort Collins was gathered with family and friends inside a house in the 4700 block of West Eleventh Avenue, when the bullet pierced the home's exterior just after midnight. Yanez was hit in the head... (GunPolicy.org)
Public Safety Trumps Outdated, Irrelevant US 2nd Amendment 'Gun Rights'
3 January 2008
Seattle Times, Opinion
Having scheduled a March 2008 hearing for the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, over whether the Second Amendment forbids Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban, the Supreme Court will face a fusillade of angry responses — no matter who wins.
Both sides (plus National Rifle Association lobbyists and gun-control advocates) will use the Second Amendment to buttress their briefs. But regarding tangled and contentious issues of ownership and regulation of guns in the 21st... (GunPolicy.org)
Ugandan Army Warns Refugees Not to Buy Guns Smuggled in from Sudan
3 January 2008
New Vision (Kampala)
The army has warned the internally displaced persons (IDPs) living on the border of southern Sudan and Karamoja, currently returning to their homes, against the buying and selling of military hardware.
There has been an influx of guns and other military hardware from southern Sudan and Karamoja into some parts of Acholi sub-region. This is especially so along the border in Agoro and Orom sub-counties in Kitgum district.
The UPDF 5th Division public relations... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Man Caught with Assault Weapons, Machine Gun, Illegal 'Arsenal'
3 January 2008
Newsday (New York)
Police radios, body armor, combat knives and an arsenal of firearms — including an assault rifle and a machine gun — were found along with 20,000 rounds of ammunition in a police search Wednesday after NYPD officers arrested a Flushing man, city police said.
Police officers first approached Suwei Chuang, 36, of 135-11 40th Rd., Apt. 7A, after someone reported at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday that he was carrying a weapon.
Then the officers got two search warrants, for his... (GunPolicy.org)
Baltimore Man Gets 5yrs Jail for Plot to Smuggle Guns from US to Sri Lanka
3 January 2008
Baltimore Sun
Before consummating the arms deal, buyers for a South Asian rebel group needed an expert.
So they turned to Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, a citizen of Sri Lanka and a member of the Tamil Tigers, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Prosecutors say he knew how to inspect the fully automatic weapons and surface-to-air missiles to determine whether they had flaws.
Varatharasa was arrested in Guam after inspecting the military hardware... (GunPolicy.org)
Missouri Chaplain Shoots Police Officer Brother-in-law During Practical Joke
3 January 2008
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
FESTUS — Police believe that a practical joke led to the shooting of a 23-year-old Ste. Genevieve police officer Tuesday.
The rookie officer allegedly faked a break-in around 9:45 p.m. at his brother-in-law's home in Festus, said Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis.
"He didn't tell the family he was coming and decided to sneak in the back door," Lewis said. "The resident asked him to call out who he was, and he didn't, and he shot him."
A short time later, Festus police... (GunPolicy.org)
'Reckless, Illegal' New Year's Stray Bullet Pierces Antigua Woman's House
3 January 2008
Antigua Sun (St John's)
A householder in the Horsford Hill area had an unpleasant New Year's Day surprise when a shot was fired through a window in her home.
According to information reaching the Antigua Sun, the woman was at home shortly after midnight on New Year's Day, when she heard the sound of breaking glass.
When she got up to investigate, she stepped on the bullet that had broken her window.
The incident occurred during the fireworks display at English Harbour, and the noise of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Stray Bullet Hits 5yr-old Tucson Boy in New Year's Celebratory Gunfire
3 January 2008
Associated Press
With blood streaming down his face, the parents of a little Tucson boy didn't know what hit him early New Year's day.
The mother and father of Rafael Moreno-Razo, 5, later learned the boy was struck by a stray bullet that ripped through their apartment.
Rafael's father Humberto Moreno, 42, called 911 and Rafael went to the hospital, where he was treated and released that morning.
The little boy escaped with a grazed scalp, but the incident may leave his family... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Justices May Prove Blind to the Need for Gun Control
3 January 2008
Scripps Howard News Service (USA), Column
If the Supreme Court is as hermetically sealed from outside influence as many believe, then the recent carnage in Nebraska and Colorado will have no influence on its decision whether the Second Amendment gives individual Americans the right to bear whatever arms they choose or limits it to a collective right controlled by the state for the national defense.
But if the justices do not operate in a vacuum, then the two disturbed individuals who shot up an Omaha shopping... (GunPolicy.org)
