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70 Guns Seized and Destroyed in Venezuela Town [Español]
22 May 2013
Entorno Inteligente (Venezuela)
[Translated summary: 70 guns were seized and destroyed in the parish of El Recreo, in accordance with Decree 9,194.]
Este procedimiento de inutilización consiste en el aplastado del cañón de cada arma.
70 armas de fuego, que fueron incautadas en diferentes procedimientos realizados por efectivos de la Policía del municipio Libertador, fueron inutilizadas este miércoles.
La actividad se realizó detrás de la Plaza Andrés Bello, en la parroquia El Recreo, y... (GunPolicy.org)
Concerns Over 'Self-Aiming' Rifle That Turns Novices Into Expert Snipers
21 May 2013
New Scientist
First time firing a gun? There's help at hand – a new "self-aiming" rifle can help even a novice hit the target at long range on the first go. But the technology has its critics, who see it as a serious threat to public safety.
Just weeks after the firing of the world's first 3D printed handgun, a smart rifle that allows the user to accurately hit targets up to 900 metres away has gone on sale in the US.
Made by TrackingPoint, a start-up based in Austin, Texas, the... (GunPolicy.org)
80% of Crimes in Honduras Committed with Unregistered Guns
21 May 2013
InSight Crime (Bogota)
According to a Congressional committee that handles public security issues, some 80.5 percent of all crimes in Honduras are committed with unregistered guns, as the country prepares to debate a new set of gun reform laws.
A member of the committee told El Heraldo that only 23 percent of the weapons circulating in Honduras are registered.
This is slightly lower than a previous estimate released by the Honduran government's human rights commission (CONADEH), which... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,Nigeria,China,United States,United Kingdom
Former Doyen of UK Gun Lobby Pleads Guilty to More Gunrunning
17 May 2013
Democrat and Chronicle (USA)
British arms dealer Gary Hyde has admitted helping smuggle illegal AK-47 magazines into the United States for sale by a Chili-based firearms wholesaler, federal court records show.
Hyde signed a plea agreement in late April but it was not filed until this week, records show.
Hyde admitted that he had helped alter the markings on the 5,760 magazines so their country of origin — China — would not be known. In the U.S., there is a federal ban on the importation of... (GunPolicy.org)
Brazil,Iceland,United States,United Kingdom,Denmark
Low Rates of Gun Homicide in Iceland Despite High Gun Ownership
16 May 2013
BBC News
Even though I grew up in New England, there was something novel about seeing an Icelandic blizzard. It was paralysing, with epic wind gusts that made snowflakes feel like razors.
As I dragged my bags along Reykjavik's snowy pavement, an older man in a Jeep pulled alongside me.
"You want to get in?" he asked.
It sounded crazy. Why would I ever get in a stranger's car?
Despite everything I was taught about riding in cars with strangers, I climbed in the backseat. And... (GunPolicy.org)
Dominica,United States,Virgin Islands (US)
Dominica Man Jailed for Smuggling Guns from US to Virgin Islands
15 May 2013
CBS News (USA) / Associated Press
HOUSTON — A man with ties to the Caribbean has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for sending guns bought in Texas to the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A federal judge in Houston on Wednesday sentenced 22-year-old Tyrone Reid. Investigators say Reid is a citizen of Dominica who's been living in Houston.
A jury in February convicted Reid of a conspiracy-related firearms count and two charges of making false statements to a firearms dealer.
Prosecutors say Reid was... (GunPolicy.org)
US Govt Moves to Stop Spread of 3D Gun Plans Online
15 May 2013
Red Deer Advocate (Alberta), Opinion
The story so far: Cody Wilson, who describes himself as a "crypto-anarchist" and almost certainly wears a Second Amendment belt-buckle, had a bright idea early last year. No government could ever oppress its people again, reasoned the 25-year-old law student at the University of Texas, if everybody in the world was able to manufacture their own guns at home.
Well, not everybody in the world, exactly, but at least everybody with $8,000 to buy a 3D printer on eBay, or... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: Appearances To The Contrary, Gun Control Not Dead in the US
15 May 2013
Sydney Morning Herald, Opinion
They were dancing in the street to celebrate Mother's Day in New Orleans when the bullets started whipping through the crowd.
Shermaine Tyler, a 32-year-old woman, was with her mother heading towards a parade following a band when a man shot in the hand and groin tumbled into her lap.
"This is all ridiculous. We all bleed the same blood. We all come from the same God," Tyler told The Times-Picayune. "Everyone is getting shot, and for what?"
By the time the gunfire... (GunPolicy.org)
US Defence Considers New Gun Policy as Military Suicide Rate Soars
15 May 2013
New York Times
After Specialist Freddy Hook, a medic with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, killed himself in 2010, the trail of possible causes seemed long.
He had used illegal drugs: Was it the demons of addiction? His rocky relationship with his fiancée? A wrenching deployment to earthquake-ravaged Haiti or the prospect of an impending tour in Afghanistan?
As with most of suicides plaguing the military today, no one will know for sure.
"There are so many factors," said his... (GunPolicy.org)
US Pediatricians Take on Gun Lobby – Carefully
13 May 2013
NBC News (USA)
To pediatricians, gun control is a public health issue, not a political one. But they're treading a fine line, and they know it.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has begun a renewed push to try to get Congress to pass gun control measures, sending more than 100 pediatricians to Capitol Hill earlier this month. But others who have taken on the issue over the past decade have a warning for them: they can run afoul of the National Rifle Association and other pro-gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Technology Helping Canadian Police Dig Up Firearm History
13 May 2013
CBC News (Canada)
Advanced technology is helping Toronto police learn more about the history of the guns they seize from city streets, but wary criminals are paying attention and taking steps to thwart that process.
Police say that when they retrieve bullets, fragments or shell casings from crime scenes, investigators can tell if they have come from a firearm that they have seen before. They do this using the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, a Canadian-designed technology... (GunPolicy.org)
19 Injured After Shooting at US Parade
13 May 2013
BBC News
Nineteen people have been wounded in a shooting at a Mother's Day parade in the US city of New Orleans, police say.
The victims included two children who were grazed by bullets. Police say most injuries are not life-threatening,
It is unclear what sparked the shooting in the city's 7th Ward on Sunday afternoon. Police say three suspects were seen fleeing the area.
The incident happened at about 14:00 (19:00 GMT) at the intersection of Frenchmen and Villere... (GunPolicy.org)
Brazil's Firearm Sales Reach Record High as Gun Deaths Also Soar
13 May 2013
News Track India (Delhi)
RIO DE JANEIRO - The number of new guns legally sold in Brazil shot up in the last eight years, growing from 5,161 in 2004 to a record 31,500 in 2012, a media report said.
Figures from the Brazilian Federal Police showed a total of 183,722 new guns were registered in the country between 2002 and 2012, which equals two every hour, reported Xinhua citing O'Globo.
Among those sold in 2012, 60 percent of the weapons were purchased by policemen.
The newspaper said the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Homicide Falls, What Does This Mean for Gun Control?
9 May 2013
Economist, Blog
HOUSTON - Gun-control legislation fell short last month in a close Senate vote, but some spy flickers of hope in the "world's greatest deliberative body". However, the sense of urgency that followed the Newtown massacre has definitely faded, and new studies from the Department of Justice and the Pew Research Center showing an astonishing drop in gun violence over the past two decades seem to call into question the need for new, stricter regulations. Americans have been... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: Why Real Guns That Look Like Toys Should be Banned
9 May 2013
Washington Post, Opinion
CHICAGO — Two summers ago, my husband and I took our sons to a shooting range for multiple days of firearms training with a certified instructor. Our logic was simple: In our low-income community with lots of gang activity, it was laughable to imagine that our boys wouldn't someday find themselves in a situation where a pal had brought a gun to school or asked them to come see his parents' gun.
Did we want them to clumsily handle a deadly weapon — seduced by the... (GunPolicy.org)
Antigua Gun Club Suggests More Training Needed Before Licence Issued
8 May 2013
Antigua Observer
ST JOHN'S, Antigua – The president of a local shooting club said he is "concerned" licensed gun owners are not fully prepared for the responsibility – and is calling on police for more training.
"It is a problem for us in terms of the club. There is a breakdown in communication between the police and the clubs," Antigua & Barbuda Shooting Club president Frank Theodore said in an interview with OBSERVER media.
Theodore, who is also the treasurer of the Riffle... (GunPolicy.org)
32 Crime Guns Linked to Over 230 Murders in Guatemala
8 May 2013
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Forensic analysis has revealed that the MS-13 gang in Guatemala used 32 guns to allegedly commit 238 murders, offering insight into the gang's modus operandi and highlighting some of the difficulties of tackling organized crime with gun control.
Members of Guatemala's National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif) used the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (Ibis) to identify 1,133 guns that had been used in multiple crimes, reported Prensa Libre.
Of those... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Mexico,Guatemala
Report Traces Arms Trafficking From US to Guatemala
8 May 2013
InSight Crime (Bogota)
A new report sheds light on a little-studied subject: the trafficking of US weapons into Guatemala, a relatively limited phenomenon that could be far bigger than suggested by the available data and may play a role in the continuing violence and criminality in that Central American nation.
The report (pdf), from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, reviews an analysis that the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted of... (GunPolicy.org)
What is Gun Control Like in Ecuador?
8 May 2013
El Telégrafo
Most guns used by citizens Ecuador are still handmade.
Manufacturing guns in Ecuador has been illegal since Feb. 2012. However, most private security companies are still arming their guards with locally-made weapons acquired before February 2012.
In recent years, efforts to register and decommission guns that don't meet safety standards have increased. Last year, in most populated province Guayas, 9,958 guns were registered. In Pichincha in 2012: 9,145 guns. In... (GunPolicy.org)
Report Shows Drop in US Gun Violence but Most Killings Still With Guns
8 May 2013
Washington Post
Gun violence dropped dramatically nationwide over the past two decades, but nearly three-quarters of all homicides are still committed with a firearm, the Justice Department said in a report released Tuesday.
The report, by the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics, painted an encouraging picture of long-term trends at a time of divisive political debate over guns and legislation to regulate them. Firearms-related homicides declined 39 percent between 1993 and... (GunPolicy.org)
