Top of PageGun Policy News, 19 January 2008
Stray Bullet Ended Toronto Father's Dreams of Building a New Family Life
19 January 2008
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
In a neighbourhood nicknamed "airport" for all the Chinese newcomers it attracts, Mao Hou Chang had fast become a fixture on the sidewalks of Gerrard Street East, building his new life one orange at a time.
He could be found there most days, pointing customers to the best fruit in his bins in front of the Fu Yao Supermarket, a teeming hub for shoppers in Toronto's East Chinatown.
Thursday evening was no different, until just after dark. In the place where he made his... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearm Laws Not Being Enforced, Says Canadian Gun Control Activist
19 January 2008
Toronto Sun (Ontario)
There is no simple cure to the plague of gang-related gun violence on our streets, a leading gun control advocate said yesterday.
"Every time a tragedy strikes people want a simple solution and there isn't one," said Ryerson prof Wendy Cukier. "You have to have a long-term view."
Cukier, who heads the Coalition for Gun Control, said the idea of an outright handgun ban is tricky because there's no clear-cut definition of what that is.
"Are people talking about an... (GunPolicy.org)
Canadian Tories Shoot Down Handgun Ban, Stand By Lawful Gun Owners
19 January 2008
Winnipeg Sun (Manitoba)
Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day has rebuffed calls for a ban on handguns, insisting tougher jail terms, more police and strict border security will win the war against gun violence in Canada's cities.
Calling the death of an innocent bystander in Toronto "very tragic," Day said penalizing law-abiding firearm owners won't stop the scourge of street shootings.
"It would be counter-productive," he told Sun Media in an interview. "The handgun situation in Canada... (GunPolicy.org)
Third Innocent Bystander Shot to Death in Canada's Toronto This Year
19 January 2008
Xinhua
OTTAWA — A 47-year-old man was stacking oranges at a grocery store in the east end of Canada's Toronto when he was killed by a stray bullet, becoming the third innocent victim of the city's rising gun violence in the new year.
Hou Chang Mao, 47, was working at Fu Yao Supermarket at 643 Gerrard St. East when he was hit in the chest by a stray bullet shortly after 6 p.m. local time Thursday. He was taken to hospital but proclaimed dead there, Toronto police said at a... (GunPolicy.org)
Canadian Gun Clubs, Firearm Owners Outraged at Calls for Handgun Ban
19 January 2008
Toronto Sun (Ontario)
Gun clubs and registered gun owners are outraged at Toronto Mayor Miller's suggestion of a total ban on all guns in Toronto.
It would punish law-abiding sportsmen who target shoot, said Gary Gordaneer of the South Peel Rod and Gun Club and the Burlington Rifle and Revolver Club.
Gordaneer, 63, said he's been shooting since he was 11 and has never had an incident with his registered guns.
"Problems only happen when guns get into the hands of bad people, so the... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Politicians OK Guns for Felons, Abusers, Mentally Ill, Says Governor
19 January 2008
Roanoke Times (Virginia)
RICHMOND — Despite emotional pleas from parents of Virginia Tech shooting victims, a House of Delegates committee on Friday voted down legislation that would require criminal background checks for all firearms purchases at gun shows.
The party-line vote by the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee is a setback for Gov. Tim Kaine and families of Tech shooting victims who want to close Virginia's "gun show loophole," which exempts private, unlicensed... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Tech Parents Rebuffed in Their Efforts to Close Gun Show Loophole
19 January 2008
Virginian-Pilot (Virginia)
Tearful parents of students murdered and wounded at the Virginia Tech shooting rampage in the spring were rebuffed Friday in their efforts to broaden laws requiring Virginians to undergo police background checks before buying guns.
State law now orders licensed gun vendors to conduct the checks on potential buyers to weed out illegal sales to felons and mentally ill people. However, one-on-one sales between citizens are allowed without the check.
Republicans... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Rejects Victims' Families' Attempts to Close Gun Show Loophole
19 January 2008
Washington Post
RICHMOND — A Virginia House committee on Friday defeated an effort to close a major loophole in the state's gun laws, angering families of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who had pushed hard for the law.
The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted along party lines to kill a requirement that all sellers conduct background checks on firearms buyers at gun shows, a move that makes passing a bill on the checks this... (GunPolicy.org)
Director of Los Angeles Antigang Group Sold Illegal Assault Weapons
19 January 2008
New York Times
LOS ANGELES — The director of an antigang organization here that sought to reduce gun violence and received $1.5 million from the City of Los Angeles pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges that he sold illegal assault weapons to a federal undercover agent.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested the director, Hector Marroquin, in May after video surveillance showed him selling weapons and silencers to an agent and an informant.... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Legislature Ignores Pleas to Stop Gun Sales to Felons, Mentally Ill
19 January 2008
Associated Press
RICHMOND, Virginia — Emotional pleas by relatives of Virginia Tech shooting victims failed Friday to persuade a legislative committee to close a loophole that allows criminals and the mentally ill to buy firearms at gun shows.
The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted 13-9 to kill legislation that would require unlicensed sellers at gun shows to conduct criminal background checks on buyers. Such checks now are required only on transactions by... (GunPolicy.org)
Outrage Builds, Handgun Ban Mooted as Another Innocent Dies in Toronto
19 January 2008
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
Outrage blended with grief yesterday as homicide detectives probed a wild shootout in Toronto's East Chinatown that killed a "dearly loved" 47-year-old bystander — the second innocent man felled by gunfire in less than a week.
As police scoured a taped-off block of Gerrard Street for clues, and sought two men seen fleeing in a car, a funeral was under way in Scarborough for the first such victim, and a chorus of civic leaders urged swift action to curb the city's... (GunPolicy.org)
British Military Lost 109 Guns, 54 Assault Rifles Since 2000, Many to Theft
19 January 2008
Sun (UK)
A deadly arsenal of high-powered weapons has disappeared from military barracks, The Sun can reveal.
Cops believe most have ended up in the hands of organised crime gangs.
A total of 109 guns have been lost or stolen in the last seven years.
They include 54 high-velocity SA80 automatic assault rifles that can fire off 30 rounds in five seconds and are lethal from up to a kilometre away.
Police suspect many guns were nicked to order by bent squaddies in Iraq and... (GunPolicy.org)
In 'Dramatic' Law Change, Texans Can Now Carry Guns In, To and from Car
19 January 2008
Dallas Morning News (Texas)
The state's new castle law has grabbed the spotlight. But some say a lesser-known gun law, which also took effect in September, could have greater consequences.
The law allows Texans to carry guns in their cars, even without a concealed handgun license. As long you meet the law's other requirements — such as not being a gang member, refraining from criminal acts and keeping the gun out of sight — you can pack heat in your glove box.
"Castle is just kind of... (GunPolicy.org)
Pro-American Georgia Ditches Kalashnikov AK-47 for US M4 Assault Rifle
19 January 2008
Agence France Presse
TBILISI — Ex-Soviet Georgia's army began yesterday to switch from the Russian-designed Kalashnikov to the modern US M4 rifle, pro-Western president-elect Mikheil Saakashvili announced.
"Today is a historic day for the Georgian armed forces: we start to switch to Western armament. From today, we will use the best weapon in the world-the M4 assault rifle," Saakashvili told troops at a new military base at Gori, in the north of the strategic former Soviet republic.... (GunPolicy.org)
