Top of PageGun Policy News, 30 April 2010
Hearings on Canadian Long-Gun Registry Close in, Debate Rages
30 April 2010
Winnipeg Free Press (Manitoba)
OTTAWA, Ontario - In three days, the House of Commons public safety committee will begin hearings on a bill to get rid of the 15-year-old registry for legal long guns.
If it passes, Bill C-391 will wipe out a computer database of more than 6.8 million non-restricted long guns that cost an estimated $2 billion to develop.
It promises to be a highly emotional debate filled with all the usual political half-truths and mudslinging all the parties can muster. Because... (GunPolicy.org)
Open Carry of Handguns Only Supported by Minority of Americans
30 April 2010
Wall Street Journal, Opinion
Like a fly on a birthday cake, the subject of open carry — legally wearing a gun in public — keeps landing in the news and nobody can swat it down. Those who would like to be rid of it range from some of the most ardent gun-controllers to some of the fiercest believers in the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Many of the latter live in the 43 states where it already is legal to openly wear a handgun (although rules vary about whether it can be loaded, etc.). That... (GunPolicy.org)
UN Secretary General Exhorts Central Africans to Combat Gun Runners
30 April 2010
UN News Centre (New York)
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today exhorted ministers from Central African nations to work towards adopting a legal instrument to combat illicit arms trafficking, a move that will help reduce violence and bring peace and security to countries in the sub-region.
"The link between arms trafficking and other illicit activities is increasingly undeniable," said Mr. Ban. "Yet Central Africa remains one of the few African sub-regions without a legally binding instrument to... (GunPolicy.org)
Macedonian Police Discover Large Gun, Ammo Cache at Kosovo Border
30 April 2010
Balkan Insight (Sarajevo)
Macedonian police on Thursday seized a large stash of personal firearms and explosives hidden in several bunkers in the mountainous terrain near the border with Kosovo. On Friday, the police reported that they had found an additional large cache of weapons, including sniper rifles, mortars, and missiles, in the same area, as their search continues.
Unofficially local media reported that several armed and uniformed men who were guarding the weapons on Thursday opened... (GunPolicy.org)
Kosovo Police Find Another Gun, Ammo Cache Near Macedonia Border
30 April 2010
Balkan Insight (Sarajevo)
Seven people have been arrested on suspicion of weapons smuggling near Kosovo's border with Macedonia. Kosovo Police said that it discovered a stash of weapons in a car on Thursday in the village of Begrac, near Kacanik, southern Kosovo.
A search of nearby homes and businesses then uncovered more weapons, military uniforms, six boxes of fuses, an automatic rifle, six grenades and detonation wires.
The incident came after another stash of weapons were found near Blace... (GunPolicy.org)
Victoria Police Swap Old Revolvers for S&W M&P Semi-automatic Pistol
30 April 2010
Age (Melbourne) / AAP
Victoria Police will swap its antiquated revolvers for semi-automatic pistols, bringing it into line with every other police force in the nation.
More than 10 years after New South Wales and Queensland switched to semi-automatic pistols, Victoria will follow with the new rapid-fire guns, to be in police holsters by 2012.
It was a pledge former police chief commissioner Christine Nixon made in 2008, saying most of the force would have the pistols by the end of that... (GunPolicy.org)
Victoria Police to Re-arm 10,500 Officers with S&W Semi-auto Pistol
30 April 2010
Advertiser (Adelaide)
More than 10,500 Victorian police officers are expected to be armed with semi-automatic guns in early 2012.
The police force announced yesterday that a Smith & Wesson .40 calibre semi-automatic pistol had been selected as its new gun.
The guns will be imported from the US and are expected to be in the hands of operational police in the "first quarter" of 2012, police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said yesterday.
The selection followed an independent and extensive... (GunPolicy.org)
Victoria the Last Australian State to Swap Police Revolvers for S&W Pistols
30 April 2010
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
Victoria Police's decision to upgrade to a semi-automatic pistol makes it the last police force in the nation to ditch the old-fashioned revolver.
From late this year, police on the beat will be issued a Smith & Wesson M&P (military and police) .40 semi-automatic pistol in a $7 million rollout announced yesterday.
The decision to upgrade the weapons was made in April 2008 and came after close to 35 years of using revolvers.
All other Australian state police forces... (GunPolicy.org)
