Top of PageGun Policy News, 9 July 2009
Ban Replica Guns Before 'Stupid, Posturing Teenagers' Die in Canada
9 July 2009
Victoria Times Colonist (British Columbia), Editorial
Replica guns serve no necessary legitimate purpose. They are used in robberies and to intimidate and are carried by young people who apparently find the idea of playing with pretend guns amusing.
The knockoff handguns are a nightmare for police, who have no way of knowing whether they are dealing with a deadly threat or a stupid, posturing teenager or young man. Officers must make an almost instant decision with potentially deadly consequences.
In 2006, Burnaby RCMP... (GunPolicy.org)
Republican Legislator, NRA Member Fights Tennessee 'Guns in Bars' Law
9 July 2009
Nantucket Inquirer and Mirror (Massachusetts)
Why is Tennessee Republican Adam Dread, a gun-owning, card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association, working so hard to fight a bill supporters say will protect the rights of gun-owners in his home state?
Because, says Dread — a long-time summer visitor who in his younger days tended bar on the island — he's also a former restaurant worker, father, and an otherwise "intelligent human being" who sees nothing but trouble in the recently-passed law allowing... (GunPolicy.org)
El Salvador,Guatemala,Nicaragua,Central America
More Central America 'Peacetime' Gun Deaths Than in Civil Wars - Report
9 July 2009
Reuters
GENEVA — Some Central American countries are experiencing more gun killings now than during their civil wars and face serious security threats from firearms in civilian hands, the Small Arms Survey report released on Thursday showed.
Armed robberies, extortions, kidnappings for ransom, organised riots and community violence threaten to destabilise post-conflict nations in Latin America, Asia and Africa where fighting has officially stopped, the annual publication... (GunPolicy.org)
United States Observes International Small Arms, Gun Destruction Day
9 July 2009
US Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs, Media release
The United States is pleased to join in observing International Small Arms Destruction Day, initiated by the United Nations in 2001, as part of the United States' ongoing efforts to reduce armed violence and support the rule of law around the world.
Since 2001, the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs has invested over $110 million dollars to help destroy over 1.3 million small arms and 50,000 tons of ammunition and other conventional weapons... (GunPolicy.org)
Permissive US Gun Laws Support 28 Percent Rise in Global Gun Sales
9 July 2009
Bloomberg (USA)
Permissive U.S. gun controls rewarded pistol, shotgun and sniper-rifle manufacturers worldwide after Americans spent more on buying and selling weapons than anyone else on earth, the Small Arms Survey said.
The U.S. exported around 22 percent and imported around 27 percent of the world's small arms, light weapons and ammunition between 2000 and 2006, the Geneva-based group said today in its 344-page "Small Arms Survey 2009." The $4 billion trade may be a "significant... (GunPolicy.org)
US Demand for Handguns Fuels Spike in Global Gun Trade - Survey
9 July 2009
Agence France Presse
GENEVA — Ballooning US demand and the handgun's surge in popularity drove up the global trade in small arms by more than a quarter between 2000 and 2006, a UN-backed study showed Thursday.
Those weapons in the hands of civilians, security forces or armed groups were behind the deaths of 450,000 people, said the authors of the Small Arms Survey 2009.
Pistols, revolvers, rifles and heavy machine guns accounted for 60 percent of deaths through intentional violence of... (GunPolicy.org)
FBI Agent Illegally Bought, Sold Guns Used in Mexican Drug Shootings
9 July 2009
New York Times
An F.B.I. agent in El Paso has been arrested and charged with dealing guns, some of which ended up being used in gunfights between the authorities and drug dealers in Mexico, law enforcement officials said.
The agent, John T. Shipley, was indicted Wednesday on charges he dealt firearms without a license for more than two years, buying the weapons from dealers on the Internet and then reselling them to unidentified buyers.
Mr. Shipley sold more than 50 weapons, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Thai Farmers Killed for Their Guns, Carried for Self Defence
9 July 2009
Bangkok Post
PHATTHALUNG — The slaying of a rubber tapper and the theft of his pistol has highlighted concerns the province is developing a thriving black market for stolen firearms.
Police identified the latest victim as Thawee Phromboonkaew, 36, of Khao Chaison district. He was killed early yesterday while on his way to his plantation.
Police said Mr Thawee was shot by two gunmen about 4.30am just 300 metres from his home.
The attackers, on a motorcycle with no licence... (GunPolicy.org)
