Top of PageGun Policy News, 5 September 2008
Blair Bodyguard Left Loaded Gun on Toilet Floor at London Starbucks
5 September 2008
Agence France Presse
A police officer guarding former British prime minister Tony Blair left her loaded gun in a London coffee shop where it was found by a member of the public.
The Sun newspaper reported that the female officer left the semi-automatic Glock 17 on the floor of the toilets in a Starbucks café, where it remained for nearly 20 minutes before being found by an employee, who called the police.
London's Scotland Yard confirmed that a gun belonging to a member of the police... (GunPolicy.org)
Home Invader Killed as Texan Couple Wrest Away Shotgun, Shoot Back
5 September 2008
Associated Press
When two gunmen smashed through the glass front door of her Texas home, Kellie Hoehn didn't think twice.
The 34-year-old mother of two grabbed a shotgun that had been pointed at her face, starting a struggle that ended with one intruder killed with his own weapon and another in the hospital.
"I wasn't going to let them get to my babies," she said, recalling the moment on Wednesday when she pushed up the muzzle of the shotgun, pointing it away from her children's rooms... (GunPolicy.org)
Ban on Montreal School Shooting 'Assault Rifle' Would be Easy, Says MP
5 September 2008
Montreal Gazette (Quebec)
Designating the type of semiautomatic rifle Kimveer Gill used in the Dawson College shooting as a prohibited weapon would require very little effort from the federal government, Bloc Québécois MP Serge Ménard says.
Gill fired 72 shots from a CX4 Storm semiautomatic rifle, made by Beretta, during his Sept. 13, 2006 rampage, which left an 18-year-old student dead. In his report on the shooting, provincial coroner Jacques Ramsay calls on the federal public safety... (GunPolicy.org)
Aussie Teen Finds Loaded Handgun, Kills Friend, Gun Owners Charged
5 September 2008
Sydney Morning Herald
The owners of a pistol that was used to shoot dead a 15-year-old West Haven schoolboy have been charged with possessing an unlicensed firearm and not storing it safely.
Joshua Astill was killed when playing with the pistol with a 15-year-old relative in the sleepy town near Port Macquarie on Wednesday. The boy was arrested and has been released pending further investigations.
Yesterday afternoon the owners of the weapon presented themselves to Port Macquarie police... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Eager to Tell US Shooters 'I'm Not Going to Take Away Your Guns'
5 September 2008
Wall Street Journal, Blog
DURYEA, Pennsylvania — The Obama campaign talks a lot about new ideas and expanding the political map, but in the swing state of Pennsylvania, which the campaign has focused on almost exclusively since the Democratic convention, old-school issues still rise to the fore.
The latest example came Friday during a small political event at SCHOTT North America Inc., a glass factory in Duryea, Pa., where even a hand-picked crowd threw Barack Obama a curve ball.
A woman... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Promises 'We're Not Going to Mess With' Americans' Guns
5 September 2008
CBS News (USA) / From the Road, Blog
DURYEA, Pennsylvania — It's been almost 6 months since Obama suggested that people cling to guns because they are bitter, a.k.a. "bitter-gate," but he is still plagued by questions about his position on gun control. At a town hall meeting today, a voter told Obama that there are rumors that he is going to take away guns. "People love hunting," the man told Obama.
Obama said he is aware that the issue is being "peddled again and again," but he assured the crowd that... (GunPolicy.org)
125 Shot Dead in Chicago Over Summer: Twice US Iraq Troop Death Toll
5 September 2008
CBS-2 TV News (Chicago)
CHICAGO — An estimated 125 people were shot and killed over the summer. That's nearly double the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq over the same time period.
In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps. Information compiled from our reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 125 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May... (GunPolicy.org)
African Nations Discuss Curbs on Gunrunning, Global Gun Trade Treaty
5 September 2008
African Press Agency
NAIROBI — A two-day conference which brought together ministers and civil society organizations from 50 African countries, United Nations officials and arms control groups to help form a united position on a convention on arms proliferation, ended in Nairobi on Thursday night with African countries agreeing to propose imposing sanctions to countries behind irresponsible arms transfers leading to the destabilization of African governments.
Speaking to reporters in... (GunPolicy.org)
'Scared' Americans Rush to Buy Guns in Case Obama Wins Election
5 September 2008
Marshall Messenger (Texas) / Cox Newspapers
Gun sales are going boom around the country as gun owners and gun advocates brace for a potential Democrat in the White House for the first time in almost 10 years.
Democrats, meanwhile, say there's no reason to worry that presidential hopeful Barack Obama would attempt to curtail access to most guns, though that hasn't stopped the buying spree.
"You'd be surprised," said Jeff Mercer, manager of George's Pawn and Gun Shop on High Street. "It's people of all races,... (GunPolicy.org)
In Fear of Crime, Miami Suburb Talks More Guns, Armed Vigilantism
5 September 2008
Miami Herald
Tired of worrying that it's unsafe to walk at night or let children play outside by day, some residents in Hollywood's Royal Poinciana neighborhood are calling for residents to take up arms in the area north of downtown.
Thursday night, the civic association heard from a local security firm that teaches self-defense, Taser training, pepper-spray use, concealed-weapons laws and handgun safety.
At the sometimes-tense meeting, residents also discussed other self-defense... (GunPolicy.org)
Netherlands,Ireland,United Kingdom
Raids Target 'Major' Gun Running Operation in Ireland, UK, Netherlands
5 September 2008
Independent (Dublin)
A major supply line used by Ireland's most dangerous criminal gangs to import deadly weapons has been smashed, it emerged last night.
Dutch police swooped to seize 181 high-powered firearms at an illegal gun wholesaler in Amsterdam as part of an international investigation involving gardai and the PSNI.
The wholesaler is believed to have been the source of the mini-arsenal of 41 guns seized by gardai and PSNI officers on both sides of the border on Tuesday afternoon... (GunPolicy.org)
