Top of PageGun Policy News, 22 July 2009
Don't Retreat on Gun Control: Stem Flow of Illegal Firearms to Cities
22 July 2009
Star-Ledger (New Jersey), Editorial
A police officer hit in the face with a shotgun blast by a robbery suspect in Jersey City.
A mother of two gunned down while standing outside her apartment house on Elizabeth Avenue in Newark.
Two men killed in a blaze of gunfire on South 12 Street in the city the same day.
Their deaths within 24 hours are another snapshot of the routine carnage committed with guns in New Jersey.
As Jersey City Officer Marc DiNardo lay in critical condition after last week's... (GunPolicy.org)
Veteran Firearm Dealer Misled Police in Virginia Gun Show Shooting
22 July 2009
Roanoke Times (Virginia)
Police have charged a second man in the weekend gun show incident that injured one person at the Salem Civic Center.
David Jack Gold, 74, a gun dealer from Bland, is charged with obstruction of justice and recklessly handling a firearm, both misdemeanors, according to Salem police. He was replacing the stock on his military-style antique rifle with his friend, Thomas Raymond Allen, 53, when the gun accidentally went off and shot a wall, spraying concrete that injured... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed US Gun Dealer Went Bad, Smuggled 200 Handguns to Canada
22 July 2009
National Post (Toronto)
U. S. prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence for a Chicago gunrunner who smuggled more than 200 firearms into Canada and sold them to a Toronto organized crime ring.
Ugur Yildiz sold the handguns to a Toronto man known as Mikey at a meeting at a Canadian strip club in 2006, the prosecutors allege in a sentencing memorandum filed in U. S. District Court. The guns then made their way into the hands of gang members and drug dealers around Toronto, and several... (GunPolicy.org)
United Kingdom,England & Wales
London Schoolgirl, 13, Arrested After Assault Rifle Found in Her Wardrobe
22 July 2009
Daily Mail (UK)
A 13-year-old schoolgirl has been arrested by armed police — after they discovered a high-powered assault rifle in her wardrobe.
The teenager was taken into custody yesterday morning after the automatic machine gun — typically capable of firing up to 800 rounds-per-minute — was seized at a flat in Croydon, South London.
Around 15 officers carrying sub-machine guns, hydraulic battering rams and combat shields raced to the address after hearing reports of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Republican Shreds 'Pro-Crime' Push to 'Gut' US Hidden Handgun Laws
22 July 2009
Politico (Washington DC), Opinion
Today Congress is slated to vote on a bill that would effectively nationalize permits for those who wish to carry concealed guns. However, those of us who support conceal and carry laws must be concerned that Congress would force states to take the least restrictive and weakest current state laws as the standard. As conservatives, we usually oppose nationalizing what is best left to the states.
Congress is considering gutting state laws from the back end. Under the... (GunPolicy.org)
Senate Rejects Push to Slacken US Hidden Handgun Law - Roll Call
22 July 2009
US Senate
Question: On the Amendment (Thune Amdt. No. 1618 )
Vote Number: 237
Vote Date: July 22, 2009, 12:01 PM
Required For Majority: 3/5 Vote
Result: Amendment Rejected
Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 1618 to S. 1390 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010)
Statement of Purpose: To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to allow citizens who have concealed carry permits from the State in which they reside to carry concealed firearms in another... (GunPolicy.org)
US Senate Mulls Push to Relax Gun Control Law on Hidden Handguns
22 July 2009
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Gun control and gun rights advocates are heading for another clash with a Senate vote on a measure that would allow people with concealed weapons permits to carry those hidden weapons into other states.
Backers, led by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., say truckers and others with concealed weapons permits should be able to protect themselves when they cross into other states. Opponents say the measure would force states with strict procedures for getting permits... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handguns Across State Lines: Carrying Guns Deters Criminals
22 July 2009
USA Today, Opinion
The courts have held that the right to bear arms is a fundamental, individual right under our Constitution. My bipartisan amendment supported by more than 25 senators would ensure that right does not end at the state line, by allowing individuals to carry lawfully concealed weapons across state borders, while at the same time respecting the laws of the host state.
Misunderstandings about this amendment are rampant, fueled by interest groups and lobbyists predicting a... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Agenda 'Radical, Ill-conceived, Contemptuous' - USA Today
22 July 2009
USA Today, Editorial
In the early 1990s, then-President Clinton and congressional Democrats responded to a crime wave with a mix of gun control and additional funding for police officers, jails and crime prevention.
Two things happened. One is that crime dropped. The second is that Democrats got punished at the polls for enacting gun control measures, which included a ban on assault weapons, and the "Brady Bill," which ordered background checks on gun buyers. The party lost control of both... (GunPolicy.org)
Pakistan Gun Violence Cause of Soaring Prices for AK-47s, Ammunition
22 July 2009
Agence France Presse
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — The price of a Kalashnikov assault rifle is soaring as militant groups and private militias mushroom in an increasingly battle-torn northwest Pakistan, arms dealers and buyers say.
Civilians too, frightened by the upsurge in violence and citing a lack of government protection, are also forking out to arm themselves with a weapon that has come to symbolise violent struggle the world over.
Easy to use, hard to jam and the preferred killing machine... (GunPolicy.org)
Democrats, Polls Illustrate Continuing Decline of Gun Control in America
22 July 2009
CBS News (USA) / Political Hotsheet
A decade ago, the calculus was simple: Those who wanted greater gun control aligned with the Democrats. And those who wanted fewer restrictions on guns turned to the Republicans.
No longer.
Though an amendment to mandate that states recognize concealed weapons permits issued by other states, effectively allowing people to carry concealed weapons across state lines, narrowly failed on Wednesday, it garnered 58 votes in the Democrat-dominated Senate. (It needed 60... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Narrowly Misses Hidden Handgun Triumph in US Senate
22 July 2009
Reuters
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats stood up to the powerful gun lobby on Wednesday and rejected legislation to permit firearm owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines.
A majority of the 100-member Senate voted in favor of the measure, but backers fell two short of the required 60 votes agreed to by both parties for passage.
While the gun lobby won two legislative battles earlier this year in Congress, it lost this one amid opposition by police, big city... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handgun Permit Holder Leaves Gun in Car, 5yr-old Kills Himself
22 July 2009
Las Vegas Review-Journal (Nevada)
The Las Vegas 5-year-old boy who fired a fatal gunshot to his head in a car Monday night found the gun on the console of the car, according to a police report released today.
Giovanni Kopystenski died hours after the shooting, which occurred at a Walgreens pharmacy drive-through at Durango and Warm Spring roads.
The boy's father, Alex Kopystenski, was talking to the pharmacist when he heard a gunshot and saw his son bleeding from the head in the passenger seat,... (GunPolicy.org)
5 Million US Hidden Handgun Carriers Denied Interstate Carte Blanche
22 July 2009
New York Times / AP
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday rejected letting people carry hidden guns in 48 states if they have a concealed weapon permit in any one of them, a rare victory for gun control advocates in a Democratic-controlled Congress that has been friendly to the gun lobby.
Opponents said it would force states with tough concealed weapon permit restrictions to let in gun carriers from states that give permits to convicted criminals, minors and people with no firearms... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland Cops Probed for Buying Personal Glocks with Taxpayers Money
22 July 2009
Associated Press
ROCKVILLE, Maryland — Montgomery County officials have promised a full probe Tuesday of a continuing-education program for law enforcement officers that permitted them to buy guns at deep discounts that might have been subsidized with taxpayer funds.
Over the past three fiscal years, more than 300 county public safety officers were enrolled in the classes, which were conducted by Applied Sciences for Public Safety. They did so as part of a county program that pays... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Gun Dealer Loses 1,200 Firearms in Victoria Police Raid
22 July 2009
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
Police have seized more than 1200 guns in a raid on a Victorian firearms dealer.
The country dealer's licence was suspended and the guns, including rifles and pistols, were seized from the premises, as part of a major crackdown on breaches on the state's firearms code.
Under the Firearms Act the dealer must now appeal to the Chief Commissioner to have their licence reinstated.
Supt Wayne Ashley said police were committed to stamping out breaches of the Firearms... (GunPolicy.org)
Outrageous Senate Move Would Lower US Hidden Handgun Standards
22 July 2009
Baltimore Sun, Editorial
If certain members of the U.S. Congress seriously believe that Americans should be able to carry a loaded gun anywhere they like, let them introduce such a bill and debate its merits. But instead, senators will today consider legislation that accomplishes much the same thing with a "lowest common denominator" approach to concealed-carry permits.
Under this backdoor gun-deregulation effort, grafted by South Dakota Republican Sen. John Thune onto a wholly unrelated... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Tries Again to Strip US Cities of Their Right to Control Guns
22 July 2009
Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh)
Stymied by state law that insists only Harrisburg has the right to enact controls on guns despite the pressing individual needs of municipalities, Pittsburgh and other local governments have been doing what they can — defending modest ordinances requiring the reporting of lost or stolen guns to curtail "straw purchases" of firearms by criminals.
That battle is now in the state courts, where the National Rifle Association is finding the going unusually tough for an... (GunPolicy.org)
The Last Thing New York Needs Is More Guns, Says District Attorney
22 July 2009
Wall Street Journal, Opinion
You can be forgiven if you thought that Republicans are for states' rights. The Republican Party's 2008 platform insists that Congress should respect the limits imposed by the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, which declares that authority not granted to the federal government is reserved to the states. But for some Republicans, federal preemption of state authority seems just fine if it promotes the possession of guns.
That is the message of a bill sponsored by the... (GunPolicy.org)
Attempting to Overturn Pittsburgh Gun Control, NRA Loses Court Battle
22 July 2009
Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh)
The city of Pittsburgh may soon begin enforcing a law requiring owners to report lost or stolen guns within 24 hours after a Common Pleas judge tossed out a challenge by the National Rifle Association.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said he would meet soon with Police Chief Nate Harper to discuss using the ordinance, which sets a maximum fine of $500 for a first offense of not reporting a lost or stolen gun and maximum fine of $1,000 and up to 90 days in jail for additional... (GunPolicy.org)
