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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)
Gun Smuggling and Renting are Rising Problems in Malaysia say Police
15 May 2013
Asia One (Singapore)
KUALA LUMPUR - An influx of cheap weapons coming through our porous borders from neighbouring countries has led to a rise in gun-toting criminals and assassins for hire.
Police say there are more than 200 jalan tikus or hidden entry points along the border which syndicates use to smuggle in the guns.
The firearms are believed to be from the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
According to Federal CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin, who announced the... (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)
Kenya Authorities Plan Crackdown on Illegal Guns
10 May 2013
Star (Kenya)
Western PC James Serian has said the regional security team is profiling people with illegal arms. "There are illegal firearms in Western particularly in Mt Elgon, Malaba, Teso, Busia, along the Kenya and even Kakamega. Currently we are profiling all persons we suspect have fire arms," said Serian.
He said the provincial security team will start an operation to recover all guns in wrong hands in the area. Serian said the porous Kenya-Uganda border could be blamed for... (GunPolicy.org)
German Man Kills Wife Then Shoots, Injures 3 Neighbours
10 May 2013
Local (Germany)
German police are picking through the remnants of a blood bath after a man shot dead his wife, and then roamed the neighbourhood ringing door bells and shooting people who answered. He then shot himself and is in a coma.
Aachen public prosecutor Robert Deller said on Thursday that the man turned his gun on himself before the police could arrest him.
The 63-year-old man from the town of Langerwehe in North Rhine-Westphalia shot dead his 64-year-old wife with a... (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)
Licensed Indian Gun Owner Shoots Son in Dispute
7 May 2013
Times of India
LUCKNOW - A man shot at his son in Alambagh area on Monday morning, reportedly after a heated argument. The injured youth was rushed to the Trauma Centre by family members for treatment and was under observation till late Monday night.
Surjeet Singh, an ex-defence personnel, was arrested by police and the licensed revolver with which he shot his 36-year-old son Jaspal recovered from his possession, said Shreekant Prasad, the sub-inspector who made the... (GunPolicy.org)
Concerns Raised Over Licensing Rules After Jamaica Shooting Death
7 May 2013
Jamaica Observer
BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — The question continues to haunt loved ones, friends and others two weeks after Ann Marie Campbell's death.
Why was a well-liked 40 year-old businesswoman and mother of three shot by someone she knew well and with whom she had no quarrel?
The alleged shooter, Wayne Lewis, a licensed firearm holder, is in police custody and is scheduled to appear in the Black River Resident's Magistrates Court on May 8 on a charge of murder. The supposition... (GunPolicy.org)
US Girl's Death By Gunshot is Rejected as Symbol
5 May 2013
New York Times
BURKESVILLE, Kentucky — Last Monday, Kristian Sparks and his sister, Caroline, visited a Fred's Super Dollar store here. A store manager recalled that it was an ordinary shopping trip, saying that the boy was outgoing and energetic, his little sister was cute and their grandmother was "like any grandmother — she bought them anything they wanted."
The next day Kristian, 5, shot and killed his 2-year-old sister with a gun marketed for children as "My First Rifle" in... (GunPolicy.org)
One Shooting a Week in Swedish Town, Gangs Blamed for Half Shootings
29 April 2013
Local (Sweden)
After a man was shot dead through his kitchen window in Gothenburg this weekend, local police said easier access to weapons has lead to one shooting a week in the western Sweden city.
"It's been really easy for criminals to get their hands on weapons and they don't hesitate to use them," Erik Nord of the Västra Götaland police told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper (DN).
DN reported that for the past two years, Sweden's second largest city has seen on average one... (GunPolicy.org)
45 Weapons Seized in Anti-Poaching Operation in Cameroon [Français]
29 April 2013
Cameroon Tribune / Camer (Belgium)
[Translated summary: 20 poachers were arrested and 45 firearms seized after an operation in south east Cameroon, while two people were injured. Officials are concerned about the effects of poaching on wildlife and the proliferation of weapons.]
20 braconniers arrêtés et 45 armes à feu saisies à l'EstC'est le bilan de l'opération conduite le ministère des Forêts et de la Faune du 15 au 26 avril.
Le bilan de l'opération coup de poing organisée par le Ministère... (GunPolicy.org)
2 Injured After Thai School Shooting
29 April 2013
SINA (China)
BANGKOK - Two people was hurt in a gun attack on a school in the restive southern province of Narathiwat late Sunday night [sic].
Police said a number of assailants arrived at Buke Bakong School in Narathiwat's Yingo district on a pick-up truck when seven people, including assistant teachers and members of village defense unit, were on security duty in front of the school.
One of the men fired three shots at them with a war weapon. One bullet grazed the ear of Amran... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunshots Fired As Italian Government Sworn In, Three Injured
28 April 2013
al Jazeera
Two Italian paramilitary police officers have been shot and wounded outside the Rome office of new premier Enrico Letta as he was being sworn in nearby presidential palace.
The gunman and a female passerby were also injured in Sunday's incident outside Palazzo Chigi, the building the hosts the premier's office, Italy's ANSA news agency said.
A police official said that one of the wounded police officers had been shot in the neck and was in a serious condition after... (GunPolicy.org)
Swedish Police Shoot Drunk Gun-Toting Man
27 April 2013
Local (Sweden)
A drunk man was shot in the foot by police in Umeå in northern Sweden on Friday night after he pointed a pistol at them in an attempt to evade arrest.
"They determined that they were faced with a deadly threat," said Benny Ahlenius at Umeå police.
Police were called to an address in the Umedalen area of the city on Friday night following a report that a man had assaulted and threatened his wife.
When the police unit arrived the apparently drunk man pointed a gun at... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: Easing Gun Rules Ignores the Pain of Those Grieving
26 April 2013
Sydney Morning Herald, Opinion
This Sunday marks the 17th anniversary of the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, where 35 people were killed and 18 wounded by a lone gunman brandishing high-powered longarms.
In response to the killings, Australia's gun laws were significantly tightened. The prime minister at the time, John Howard, was able to gain bipartisan support from all state governments for a 10-point plan to regulate firearms - known as the 1996 Nationwide Agreement on Firearms.
This agreement... (GunPolicy.org)
4,000 Air Guns Seized in Hong Kong, Cops Allege Illegal Modifications
25 April 2013
South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)
Police have arrested 12 people and seized a quantity of air guns suspected of being illegally modified on Wednesday as part of a crackdown on illegal firearms and ammunition in Hong Kong.
Officers seized 40 air guns from a shop at 224 Wan Chai Road and then raided a warehouse in Chai Wai, where they found and seized almost 4,000 more air guns.
The power of approximately 400 of the guns seized were suspected of having modified to exceed the Hong Kong legal limit of 2... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunman Kills Three with Assault Weapon in 'Random' French Shooting
25 April 2013
Local (France)
Three people were killed in the south of France on Thursday when a gunman opened fire apparently at random in the southern town of Istres. French President François Hollande has sent his Interior Minister to the scene of the shooting.
A gunman opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle in the southern French town of Istres on Thursday killing three people.
A 55-year-old woman was also left slightly injured after a bullet grazed her ear and police found a Kalashnikov... (GunPolicy.org)
Chinese Shooter Jailed for Injuring Man with Illegal Homemade Gun
24 April 2013
Shanghai Daily (China)
A drug user who shot a man in the leg with a homemade gun after a quarrel was sentenced to 33 months in prison, a local court ruled yesterday.
The shooter, Chen Rongbin, 34, was convicted of three crimes including intentional injury, illegal possession of firearms and illegal possession of drugs, Hongkou District People's Court officials said.
Prosecutors said Chen was playing a game on a machine in a game room at 710 Tangshan Road at 8pm on December 16. He had a... (GunPolicy.org)
The Gun Fighter: Garen Wintemute's Battle for US Gun Violence Research
24 April 2013
Nature
With his crisp blue suit and wire-framed spectacles, Garen Wintemute hardly looked frightening as he stepped to the podium last month to address a conference on paediatric emergency medicine in San Francisco, California. But his presence there made the organizers nervous.
Wintemute, an emergency-department doctor, is better known as the director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California (UC), Davis. As such, he has published dozens of... (GunPolicy.org)
Russian Mass Shooting Suspect Has Criminal Record, History of Aggression
24 April 2013
BBC News
A gunman suspected of shooting six people dead in the western Russian city of Belgorod on Monday has been captured, Russian police have said.
Sergei Pomazun, 31, was detained after being caught trying to flee the city on a freight train.
The manhunt lasted more than 24 hours and involved over 2,000 police.
Mr Pomazun is believed to have shot dead three people in a hunting shop and three passers-by. He is said to have wounded a policeman during his capture.
When... (GunPolicy.org)
Amid Gun Control Debate, US Asks How Bombing Suspects Got Guns
22 April 2013
Leader Post (Canada)
WASHINGTON - Just days after U.S. senators defeated a bid to expand background checks on potential gun buyers, Americans are asking how the Boston Marathon bombing suspects acquired a cache of firearms alongside their explosives.
Among the weapons officials have said were in the possession of Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were not only several bombs, but handguns, an M-4 carbine rifle and more than 250 rounds of ammunition.
Much of that arsenal was on fiery display... (GunPolicy.org)
Concerns Grow Over Korean Gun Violence
21 April 2013
Korea Herald
Calls for more stringent regulations on guns are mounting in the wake of four shooting incidents within a month in a nation that many believed to be free from the dangers of firearms.
On Tuesday, a 42-year-old man shot a 38-year-old man who had an affair with his wife with an air gun in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. He had held the weapon for years to fend off wild animals.
The three other cases involved unauthorized guns. On the previous day, a man in his 30s... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Bill Defeated Amid Heavy Lobbying by NRA, Obama 'Furious'
18 April 2013
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona was in an empty hallway in the Capitol on Tuesday when he bumped into Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic member of Congress from his home state who was critically wounded in a mass shooting. Both froze in anticipation of the painful minute about to unfold.
Ms. Giffords, who had been fiercely promoting a background check bill for gun buyers, knew that Mr. Flake, a Republican and an old friend, had announced on his... (GunPolicy.org)
Nepal Extends Illegal Arms Amnesty Programme
18 April 2013
Khabar South Asia
As Nepal gears up for fresh Constituent Assembly (CA) elections, the government has extended a campaign to recover illegal weapons that proliferated in the country during its decade-long insurgency.
In late February, the cabinet announced a one-month amnesty in which those possessing illegal small arms could surrender them to police or district officials without legal repercussions. Normally, the penalty for possession of illegal weapons is a five-year prison term and... (GunPolicy.org)
US Senate Blocks New Laws, Ignore Pleas from Gun Victims
18 April 2013
Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans backed by a small band of rural-state Democrats scuttled the most far-reaching gun control legislation in two decades Wednesday, rejecting tighter background checks for buyers and a ban on assault weapons as they spurned pleas from families of victims of last winter's school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
"This effort isn't over," President Barack Obama vowed at the White House moments after the defeat on one of his top domestic... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: US Senate in the Gun Lobby's Grip
17 April 2013
New York Times, Opinion
Senators say they fear the N.R.A. and the gun lobby. But I think that fear must be nothing compared to the fear the first graders in Sandy Hook Elementary School felt as their lives ended in a hail of bullets. The fear that those children who survived the massacre must feel every time they remember their teachers stacking them into closets and bathrooms, whispering that they loved them, so that love would be the last thing the students heard if the gunman found... (GunPolicy.org)
Swiss Man Shoots, Injures Neighbour with Rifle Over Noise
16 April 2013
Local (Switzerland)
An American expat rapper living in Biel in the canton of Bern says he is lucky to be alive after a neigbour fired at him with a gun for making too much noise in his apartment.
"I really dodged a bullet today," the man said on his Facebook page, according to a report online from the 20 Minutes newspaper.
The bearded man posted a photo showing a burn mark on his cheek about the size of a two-franc coin.
"My neighbour arrived with a pump action rifle in my apartment... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia Police Investigate Criminals Stealing Guns from Farmers
12 April 2013
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
A police sting has uncovered a criminal network stealing guns from farmers.
The Herald Sun has been told Taskforce Griffin, set up in February, is probing a breakout in gun crime.
More than 100 firearms have been stolen in 41 burglaries, and there have been aggravated burglaries and two non-fatal shootings.
Detective Inspector Adrian Dalzotto, of the armed crime taskforce, said there were concerns the stolen guns, in particular the handguns, might have been sold on... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Gun Owner Used Legal Gun to Kill 14 in Serbian Mass Shooting
11 April 2013
Guardian (UK)
The Serbian veteran suspected of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage and then turning the gun on himself and his wife died on Thursday, hospital officials have said.
Belgrade Emergency hospital said Ljubisa Bogdanovic, 60, died from head wounds. His wife Javorka Bogdanovic, also 60, was recovering from surgery and in a stable condition.
Bogdanovic went on a pre-dawn house-to-house rampage on Tuesday, police said, killing his mother, his son and a two-year-old... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Hails Drop in Drug Killings but Day Brings More of the Same
11 April 2013
Guardian (UK)
At least 14 people have died in a series of clashes between gunmen and federal police in Mexico, just as the government announced a 14% drop in drug-related killings.
The deaths took place in Michoacan state, a western area that has seen a surge of violence in recent years attributed to drug cartels.
Federal police said in a statement the first gun battle began when officers aboard a helicopter spotted armed men traveling in four vehicles in the town of Gabriel... (GunPolicy.org)
Serbia Considers New Gun Law After Mass Shooting
10 April 2013
Balkan Insight (Sarajevo)
BELGRADE - Milorad Veljovic, head of Serbian Police, said police were working on a draft Law on Weapons and Ammunition that would provide greater control over people who possess guns. "The draft will be passed to the government in the coming days," Veljovic said.
The move comes after a 60-year-old man, named only as Ljubisa B., went on the rampage on Tuesday morning, killing six men, six women and a boy aged two in Velika Ivanca, 60 kilometres south of... (GunPolicy.org)
Serbia,United States,England & Wales
Motives Unclear in Serbian Gunman's Rampage, Law Change Demanded
10 April 2013
Montreal Gazette (Québec) / Associated Press
Serbia held a national day of mourning Wednesday as police searched for possible motives in the Balkan nation's worst peacetime shooting massacre, which left 13 villagers dead and triggered demands for tighter gun-control laws.
Police say a 60-year-old veteran went on a pre-dawn, house-to-house rampage Tuesday in a village near Belgrade, including killing his mother, his son and a two-year-old cousin before shooting himself and his wife. The two are in critical... (GunPolicy.org)
War-Affected Serbian Man Kills 13, Injures Self and Wife in Mass Shooting
9 April 2013
CTV News (Toronto) / Associated Press
He went from house to house in the village at dawn, cold-bloodedly gunning down his mother, his son, a 2-year-old cousin and 10 other neighbours. Terrified residents said if a police patrol car hadn't shown up, they all would have been dead.
Police said they knew of no motive yet in the carnage Tuesday that left six men, six women and a child dead in Velika Ivanca, a Serbian village 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of Belgrade.
After the rampage, police said suspect... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Lobby Group Plans Giving Guns to Homeowners to Fight Crime
7 April 2013
The DePaulia (USA)
The nonprofit organization known as the Armed Citizen Project recently announced its plans to start a gun giveaway in Tucson, Ariz., that would function as a crime-fighting measure.
Fighting guns with guns? It's a novel idea. Undoubtedly, this will create a world of controversy, especially in a city such as Tucson, which was the site of the shooting of former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the mass killing of six other people in 2011.
Yet the measure, which is... (GunPolicy.org)
Legally-Owned Guns Weapons of Choice in Domestics in Canada
5 April 2013
Ottawa Sun (Ontario)
Police say it's nearly impossible to prevent domestic-related murders like the one that rocked a Gatineau daycare Friday morning.
Hunting shotguns similar to the gun used in Friday's incident can be legally owned but police no longer know who they belong to.
"Since the long gun registry was abolished, there's absolutely no way now for law enforcement to know who owns or possesses long guns," said Ottawa police weapons expert Det. Chris O'Brien.
Most often, it's women... (GunPolicy.org)
Jilted Lover Kills Indian Girl's Dad, Injures Mom
4 April 2013
Times of India
NAGPUR - A 49-year-old office superintendent with joint director of technical education was shot with a country made revolver and stabbed to death by his daughter's male friend at his residence in ShriHarinagar near Manewada Ring road on Wednesday. YogeshDakhode's wife Kusum was also assaulted a number of times. The perpetrator Anwar Khan, 28, who was once in a relationship with Dakhodes' daughter, wanted to kill the girl too but was overpowered by neighbours before... (GunPolicy.org)
Concerns Raised as Convicted Bermuda Gunmen get Reduced Sentences
27 March 2013
Royal Gazette (Bermuda), Opinion
The Court of Appeal made two decisions last week which won't have escaped the attention of anyone worried about spiralling gun violence in this country.
As reported in The Royal Gazette on Friday, 22-year-old armed robber Jaron Roberts had his sentence for a crime spree involving an imitation firearm cut by almost a third.
And gunman Marico Bassett, also aged 22 and serving 25 years in prison for shooting Randy Lightbourne, was told he'd be eligible for parole two... (GunPolicy.org)
Russians Debate the Right to Bear Arms After Shooting
26 March 2013
Russia and India Report
"If you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns" – so goes the famous slogan of the National Rifle Association in the US. Until recently, few people thought that this would ever be a contentious issue in Russia. But the case of Alexandra Lotkova, a 21-year-old Moscow student, is stoking the fire of a debate that will eventually spill into the open.
Lotkova was jailed for three years this month because she injured a man with a shot from a travmatichesky pistol, or... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns and Family Violence: How Many Tragedies Does It Take?
25 March 2013
al Jazeera, Opinion
On December 1, 2012, NFL linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. He then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and then shot and killed himself in front of his two coaches and the general manager of his team, the Kansas City Chiefs. On February 14, 2013, South African track star Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the bathroom door of his home. Two well-known athletes, two horrifying acts. While we don't know... (GunPolicy.org)
In US Around 88 People Die Every Day to Gun Violence
12 March 2013
Mother Jones (USA)
LF: What do you say to people who argue that these kinds of regulations don't work, that criminals will always find some way to get guns?
GW: All of the research evidence shows that increasing regulation of firearms—whether the firearms themselves, the people who are allowed to have them, or the conditions under which they are bought and sold—makes a difference. I think it can be hard to prove that any one law makes a difference because laws are enacted in groups,... (GunPolicy.org)
Switzerland Debates Gun Registration Law in Shootings' Aftermath
7 March 2013
Bloomberg Business Week
On a snowy late-February morning, a man walked into the cafeteria of a wood-processing plant in the Swiss village of Menznau and opened fire with a Sphinx AT .380 pistol. Four people died, including the gunman. Six others were wounded. It was Switzerland's second mass shooting in less than two months. In January a man with a history of mental illness fired a rifle from his window in the Alpine village of Daillon, killing three and injuring two. The shootings have... (GunPolicy.org)
More Gun Laws May Be Linked to Lower Rates of US Gun Fatalities: Study
6 March 2013
Journal of the American Medical Association
METHOD
Importance - Over 30 000 people die annually in the United States from injuries caused by firearms. Although most firearm laws are enacted by states, whether the laws are associated with rates of firearm deaths is uncertain.
Objective - To evaluate whether more firearm laws in a state are associated with fewer firearm fatalities.
Design - Using an ecological and cross-sectional method, we retrospectively analyzed all firearm-related deaths reported to the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Control Fight in Danger of Being Lost
3 March 2013
United Press International
WASHINGTON - As the images of 20 first-graders massacred in Connecticut, of the horrific attack on former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others in Arizona, of the slaughter of movie-goers in Aurora, Colo., and of numerous other mass killings in the United States fade in the national memory, the fervor to restrict access to some types of weapons and magazines appears to be abating.
The debate on gun control itself has largely been subsumed in recent weeks by concern over... (GunPolicy.org)
American Doctors Beg Govt to be Able to Do Gun Research
28 February 2013
NBC News (USA)
Dr. William Begg wiped away tears as he pleaded with Congress on Wednesday to help rescind laws that limit medical research into gun deaths and that restrict doctors from asking patients about guns in their homes.
Begg's testimony highlighted a growing battle between some doctors and some gun advocates over whether federal health dollars should be spent on research into gun violence, and on whether doctors should counsel their patients about gun safety.
Medical groups... (GunPolicy.org)
Swiss Man Kills Three, Injures Seven in Mass Workplace Shooting
27 February 2013
New York Times
GENEVA — At least three people were killed in a shooting at a Swiss factory on Wednesday, the police said, adding that the gunman was among the dead. The episode was the second mass shooting in Switzerland this year.
The shooting occurred at about 9 a.m. in the canteen of a Kronospan wood processing factory in the town of Menznau, about 14 miles west of Lucerne, the police said in a statement. A spokesman for the police in Lucerne said that the gunman was a... (GunPolicy.org)
Three Dead, Seven Injured in Swiss Factory Shooting
27 February 2013
BBC News / Associated Press
Three people have been killed and seven injured during a shooting at a factory near the Swiss city of Lucerne, police have said.
The killer, a 42-year-old man who had worked at the factory for 10 years, is among the dead.
Shooting broke out in the canteen at the Kronospan wood processing plant in the town of Menznau at around 09:00 (08:00 GMT).
A prosecution spokesperson said the shooting took place over a few minutes.
Five of the injured are reported to be in a... (GunPolicy.org)
Growing Rate of 'Suicide by Cop' Shootings in Canada
27 February 2013
CBC News (Canada)
On the evening of Jul. 17, 2010, the RCMP in Okotoks, Alta., received a report of a domestic assault, and about six hours after the initial call, with the emergency response team deployed around his house, 39-year-old Corey Lewis stepped out the door.
"He took up a kneeling stance and raised an object to his shoulder and pointed it at the loudspeaker. The object he was holding appeared to have a silver tip and was dark in colour," according to Cliff Purvis, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Homicide Rate Rising in Argentina as Drug War Heats Up
26 February 2013
Independent (UK)
ROSARIO - The events of that evening in January are etched into Vilma Jaime's memory. The sun had set, but it was still oppressively hot and neighbours were outside in the street, chatting and drinking traditional mate tea. Then the gunshots began.
Ms Jaime ran into her house, and watched through the keyhole of the front door as the blood started to spill. Three people were shot that night – miraculously, no one was killed. But many others have not been so lucky.
Ms... (GunPolicy.org)
Editorial: Violent, Drunk And Holding A Gun in the US
23 February 2013
New York Times, Editorial
Multiple mass shootings by deranged young men have made keeping firearms out of the hands of mentally ill people a big part of the gun debate.
Given the enormity of those crimes, that is understandable. Federal law does, in fact, prohibit gun ownership by mentally ill people if a judge has found them to be dangerous or they have been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital. President Obama has also issued executive orders to ensure that federal background checks... (GunPolicy.org)
Proposed US Assault Weapon Ban Leaves Out Over 2,200 Guns
18 February 2013
Washington Post
WASHINGTON — Congress' latest crack at a new assault weapons ban would protect more than 2,200 specific firearms, including a semi-automatic rifle that is nearly identical to one of the guns used in the bloodiest shootout in FBI history.
One model of that firearm, the Ruger .223 caliber Mini-14, is on the proposed list to be banned, while a different model of the same gun is on a list of exempted firearms in legislation the Senate is considering. The gun that would... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland,United States,European Union,Germany,Switzerland,Russia,South Africa,Mexico
Registry Shows Germans Fourth in World For Guns
17 February 2013
Local (Germany)
Figures compiled for Germany's new National Weapons Registry reveal that there are 5.4 million legally owned guns in the country, making it the world's fourth most-armed nation per capita.
Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday that the state of Bavaria topped the list with 1.1 million, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 1 million and Baden-Württemberg with 700,000.
The new national gun register bundles together the data from over 500 local authorities, which... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Norway,Australia
Former Australian PM on Gun Suicide Prevention, Mass Shootings
17 February 2013
CNN / Global Public Square, Transcript
Fareed Zakaria: On April 28, 1996, in Port Arthur, Australia, a man named Martin Bryant went on a killing rampage. In the first 15 seconds of his spree, Bryant killed 12 people and injured another 10, all with an AR-15 assault rifle. In the end, 35 people lie dead, men, women and children.
If his weapon of choice sounds familiar, it should. That's what Adam Lanza is believed to have used in the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre of 20 school children and six educators.
In... (GunPolicy.org)
Passionate Obama Speech Proposes Gun Control
14 February 2013
Salon (USA)
In a way, it was fitting that the cable news networks were forced by the drama in Big Bear to blow up hours of long-planned pre-State of the Union coverage Tuesday night. Only a few minutes before President Obama entered the House chamber did the news channels finally cut away from California, where it was becoming clear that Christopher Dorner had died inside a burning cabin, and return to Capitol Hill. His demise was confirmed in the middle of Obama's speech.
Dorner,... (GunPolicy.org)
Yemeni Culture a Barrier to Gun Control
12 February 2013
Atlantic (USA)
SANA'A, Yemen - With shops lining the main road and hard bargaining merchants abounding, Jihana appears to be your average Yemeni market. But instead of shopping for food or clothes, customers peruse a vast assortment of glocks, pistols, AK47s, M16s, anti-aircraft artillery, bazookas, and nearly any other weapon short of an actual tank.
"In Yemen, no matter if you're rich or poor, you must have guns. Even if it's just one piece," insists Abdul Wahab al-Ammari, a tribal... (GunPolicy.org)
Switzerland Guns: Living with Firearms the Swiss Way
11 February 2013
BBC News
Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, but little gun-related street crime - so some opponents of gun control hail it as a place where firearms play a positive role in society. However, Swiss gun culture is unique, and guns are more tightly regulated than many assume.
Throughout the attack, Anne Ithen kept her eyes shut.
"I didn't want to see it. I didn't want those images in my head for the rest of my life… but I remember... (GunPolicy.org)
Over 100 Guns Seized After Venezuela Prison Massacre
8 February 2013
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Authorities have seized over 100 firearms, as well as ammunition and drugs, from the Venezuelan prison where dozens recently died in a riot, yet another indication of the total lack of state control over the country's infamously violent prison system.
In a February 7 press conference, Venezuelan Head of Penitentiary Affairs, Iris Varela, stated that 106 firearms, over 8,500 rounds of ammunition and an unspecified amount of cocaine and marijuana were found at Uribana... (GunPolicy.org)
Yemen,France,United States,Switzerland
Three Dead, Two Injured in Swiss Shooting
8 February 2013
Washington Post
DAILLON, Switzerland — On Jan. 3, the day Sandy Hook Elementary students returned to school in Newtown, Conn., Florian Berthouzoz leaned out his window and opened fire on this tranquil Swiss village with an old military carbine and a 12-gauge shotgun.
By the time he finished shooting, three women were killed, apparently at random, and two men were wounded. Berthouzoz was brought down by a police officer's bullet in the chest.
The shooting in Daillon, on a steep... (GunPolicy.org)
Australian Gun Crime Data Misused by US Pro-Gun Groups
5 February 2013
CNN / Global Public Square, Blog
I had a stark introduction to gun violence when I moved from Australia to Tucson, Arizona 12 years ago.
As I walked to my hotel room one evening, I passed some young people apparently holding a party in another room. They seemed mostly harmless, and I acknowledged them with a "g'day." A short time later, I heard a car pull up, followed by the sound of gunfire and screaming. The next morning I saw police tape and markers in the car park. There were bullet holes in a... (GunPolicy.org)
Tom Diaz on Converting to Gun Control and the Effect of Newtown
4 February 2013
Macleans (Canada)
Tom Diaz, 72, is one of the most prominent gun control advocates in the United States. A former senior policy analyst at Washington's Violence Policy Center — which considers firearms violence to be a public health issue rather than criminal issue — Diaz wrote Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America in 1999. It explored the links between political lobbying by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun manufacturers. Last year, dismayed by a decade of... (GunPolicy.org)
Russia,Afghanistan,Israel,Belgium,United States
How Video Games Fund Arms Manufacturers and Sell Guns
31 January 2013
EuroGamer
The American confectionery company Victoria Sweets claims to have invented the candy cigarette. A thin stick of chocolate, wrapped in edible paper and designed to impersonate a roll-up, it debuted in 1915 and soon became the accessory of choice for children keen to play grown-up. Hollywood star, GI Joe, team captain: the sweet gave kids the chance try out one of the vogue props of adulthood.
Within 20 years it was so popular that cigarette companies began to take... (GunPolicy.org)
Expert Clears Up 'Misrepresentations' of Australian Gun Data
31 January 2013
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
With the debate raging in the US over firearms laws, several misperceptions are being aired in their media about guns and their relationship to crime in Australia.
Some misrepresentations are linked to reports and statistics published by the Australian Institute of Criminology.
Older data and findings from the early-2000s are being used to argue that the Howard government gun reforms had little effect on violent crime in Australia.
Australia is often cited in the US... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Hospitals Not Sharing Gun, Knife Crime Data
31 January 2013
BBC News
A coalition pledge to make hospitals share violent crime data with police is being carried out in only a third of areas in England, an audit shows.
The government has written to hospitals and chief constables for an explanation after the Department of Health audit.
Accident and emergency departments are meant to share information about where knife or gun attacks are happening with the police and local council.
This was part of the government's programme for... (GunPolicy.org)
Answers to Ending Gun Violence May Lie in Nonsmoking Campaigns
30 January 2013
Christian Science Monitor
For those looking for quick action by Congress to curb guns in America, here's a lesson from the effort to ban smoking in public places: An official curb on risky products or practice isn't nearly as powerful as a shift in public attitudes about what is acceptable.
Nonsmoking zones became commonplace in the 1990s, but not until public concern about the hazards of tobacco smoke to nonsmokers had doubled in the 1970s and the '80s. By the '90s, smoking was already in... (GunPolicy.org)
Tunisia, Algeria, Libya Work to End Gun Trafficking [Français]
29 January 2013
Jeune Afrique (Paris) / Agence France Presse
[Translated summary: Special forces have been deployed to guard Tunisian oil and gas installations after workers were kidnapped. Tunisia, Algeria and Libya have signed as agreement to address increased trafficking of weapons and other items.]
Dans le centre du pays, à Kasserine, deux agents des forces tunisiennes ont été blessés lors de heurts avec des jihadistes présumés dans la nuit du lundi 28 au mardi 29 janvier. Des forces spéciales sont déployées depuis... (GunPolicy.org)
US Could Learn From South Korea's Gun Control
25 January 2013
Korea Times
The recent shooting tragedies in the United States and ensuing debates on gun control are shocking and almost incomprehensible to South Koreans because they don't face such issues pertaining to firearms.
There are strict laws here regarding the possession of hand guns. Citizens can only buy hunting guns and air rifles after obtaining a license from the police. They are only allowed to use guns for a limited period of time, usually during the hunting season.
At other... (GunPolicy.org)
US Author Attacks 'Propaganda-Savvy Gun-Pimps', Gun Culture
25 January 2013
Guardian (UK)
Stephen King has entranced millions with tales of dread but his latest volume will read like a horror only to the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights advocates. The best-selling author made an unexpected charge into the national debate on gun violence on Friday with a passionate, angry essay pleading for reform.
King, who owns three handguns, aimed the expletive-peppered polemic at fellow gun-owners, calling on them to support a ban on automatic and... (GunPolicy.org)
Asia,Europe,Germany,South America,United States,Austria,Italy,Croatia,Belgium
European Arms, Money Fuel US Gun Addiction say Experts
23 January 2013
Deutsche Welle
After each massacre in the US, Europe laments America's gun culture and violence. At the same time, European companies have no problem selling arms to Americans and supporting the NRA's fight against tougher gun laws.
It is not widely reported, but European firearms for a long time have played a pernicious role in US mass shootings and Europe's gun makers are among the strongest backers of the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Handguns by Austrian arms manufacturer... (GunPolicy.org)
Three Shot and Injured at Texas University
23 January 2013
BBC News
Three people were injured as gunfire rang out during an argument at a college in the US state of Texas, say police.
A sheriff's official said both people involved in the altercation at Lone Star College in the Houston area were wounded and taken to hospital.
A college maintenance man was also injured in the cross-fire.
The latest in a series of US shootings, it comes amid a push for gun control by the Obama administration.
Hiding under table
Lone Star College's... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control Becomes Life's Work for Some US Mass Shooting Survivors
20 January 2013
Washington Post
The mass shootings that have rocked communities across the country in recent years — from Blacksburg, Va., to Tucson to Aurora, Colo., to Oak Creek, Wis., to Newtown, Conn. — have left a well-documented trail of carnage and grief.
But those tragedies and others like them also have produced what could prove to be the most formidable, fervent advocates in the looming fight over U.S. gun-control policy: survivors who know what it feels like to be in the crosshairs of... (GunPolicy.org)
5 People Shot at 3 Different Gun Shows on US Gun Appreciation Day
19 January 2013
Think Progress
If the gun advocates behind this year's inaugural Gun Appreciation Day had hoped to use the day's festivities to build support for their anti-regulation platform, they are going to have to wait another year.
Emergency personnel had to be called to the scene of the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, North Carolina after a gun accidentally discharged and shot two people at the show's safety check-in booth just after 1 pm. Both victims were transported to an area... (GunPolicy.org)
Colombia,Paraguay,Brazil,United States
What the US Can Learn From Brazil's Epidemic of Gun Violence
18 January 2013
Latitude News
A man walks into an elementary school with two handguns. Within minutes, more than thirty children are dead or wounded.
This isn't Newtown, Connecticut, but Realengo, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On April 7th, 2011, Wellington Oliveira murdered twelve children and wounded twenty others. The tragedy sparked a national conversation on gun violence, a huge problem in Brazil.
On Wednesday, in reaction to a different massacre, President Obama proposed a series... (GunPolicy.org)
US Public Health Experts Applaud Gun Violence Research Funding
17 January 2013
Toronto Star (Ontario)
In the mid-1990s, Stephen Teret received an unnerving phone call from a friend at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the time, Teret was director of a CDC-funded injury-prevention centre at Johns Hopkins University. It studied all manner of injury risks: fire, poison, motor vehicles and guns.
"That person told me they would appreciate it if I did not speak about gun policy anymore," recalled Teret, who left the centre shortly after to create Johns... (GunPolicy.org)
Blackout on Gun Violence Research May End After Obama Calls for Action
17 January 2013
USA Today
President Obama's demand Wednesday for research into gun violence could usher in a flood of data on the nation's 32,000 annual gun deaths after decades of an information blackout.
Scientists and policy makers say they have little scientific data about gun violence after Congress prohibited federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), from offering research grants to study anything that could... (GunPolicy.org)
Irish Personalised Gun Tech Shown at Obama's Gun Control Meeting
17 January 2013
Irish Times (Dublin)
President Barack Obama signalled he is ready for a fight with House Republicans and the National Rifle Association over gun control when he announced the most far-reaching initiative on the issue in nearly 20 years.
"I intend to use whatever weight this office holds," Mr Obama vowed. Referring to the December 14th massacre of 20 six and seven-year-olds and six adults at Sandy Hook school in Connecticut, he said, "This is our first task as a society; keeping our... (GunPolicy.org)
Iraqis Celebrate Soccer Win with Fatal Gunfire, Authorities Blame Culture
17 January 2013
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Prague), Blog
Iraq's soccer team sparked widespread jubilation across the country on January 15 when Ahmad Khalil's last-gasp goal gave them victory over Bahrain in the semifinals of the Gulf Cup.
Now only the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) stands between "The Lions of Mesopotamia" and their first major international trophy since they surprised the world by winning the Asian Cup in 2007.
In a proud soccer country that has long been starved of success, it's no surprise that many... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Violence Summit: Experts on What the Evidence Really Shows
15 January 2013
Slate (Washington)
The headquarters of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry's trade association, is 3.2 miles, a seven-minute drive, from Sandy Hook Elementary School.
After last month's massacre, all the pictures of NSSF executives had been taken down from the organization's website, said Garen Wintemute, director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the UC-Davis Medical Center.
"I suspect they were taken down because they were involved. This was their... (GunPolicy.org)
Legal Gun Rate Up But Australian Police Say Problem is Illegal Guns
15 January 2013
Sydney Morning Herald
Police figures have revealed there are almost 790,000 registered firearms in NSW, but an average of five weapons are held by each licensed owner.
A University of Sydney study revealed this week that Australians now own as many guns as they did at the time of the Port Arthur massacre, despite more than 1 million firearms being handed in and destroyed nationally.
Philip Alpers, an adjunct associate professor at the university's school of public health, said the nation... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,France,United States,England & Wales,Switzerland,Australia
Editorial: Three Million Guns In Australia is More Than Enough
15 January 2013
Sydney Morning Herald, Editorial
It should be troubling to Australian governments that since 1988, after more than 1 million guns have been destroyed as a result of government buyback programs, numerous amnesties, voluntary returns, the banning of semi-automatic weapons and the tightening of gun import controls, the number of guns in private hands in Australia is as large as it has ever been.
It's not hard to see why. Since 1988, while governments have been running
a variety of gun control programs,... (GunPolicy.org)
Three Dead, One Injured After Shooting in Sweden
14 January 2013
Local (Sweden)
A shooting on Sunday night has Örebro police investigating the deaths of three people, including one suspected gunman, while a 19-year-old woman has been seriously injured.
A gun was involved in the incident but the police would not give any details, nor would they specify what the woman's injuries were.
The suspect is believed to have killed himself after fatally shooting at least one other man, also in his twenties.
The police were alerted at about 1am on Monday... (GunPolicy.org)
British Girl Shot Dead in Jamaica, Authorities Condemn 'Senseless' Act
13 January 2013
BBC News
An eight-year-old girl from south London shot dead when a gunman opened fire in a shop in Jamaica was a "happy, playful and popular" pupil, her head teacher has said.
Imani Green was inside her cousin's shop in the rural north coast town of Duncans on Friday when a man entered the store and an argument broke out.
Police said the man then opened fire, shooting at people inside.
Imani, from Balham, was hit and died later in hospital.
Three other people are being... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia Re-Stocks Private Arsenal to Pre-Buyback Gun Numbers
13 January 2013
Sydney Morning Herald
Australians own as many guns now as they did at the time of the Port Arthur massacre, despite more than 1 million firearms being handed in and destroyed, new research reveals.
A University of Sydney study has shown there has been a steady increase in guns imported into the country over the past decade, with the number of privately owned guns now at the same level as 1996.
Estimates suggest there were 3.2 million firearms in Australia at the time of the Tasmanian... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunman Critically Injures US Student as Authorities Debate Gun Control
11 January 2013
Reuters
A 16-year-old boy armed with a shotgun opened fire in a California high school classroom on Thursday, critically wounding a fellow student before two staff members talked him into surrendering the weapon, authorities said.
The accused gunman was arrested at Taft Union High School in inland Kern County following the shooting and investigators later said he felt he was being bullied by one or two students in the class, including the boy who was shot and seriously... (GunPolicy.org)
Swiss Govt Proposes National Gun Registry, Debates Other Measures
9 January 2013
Agence France Presse / Channel News Asia (Singapore)
GENEVA - A week after an apparently deranged gunman killed three women in an idyllic Swiss village, the lower house of parliament called Tuesday for the equivalent of a national gun registry.
The lower house security policy commission voted with 12 in favour and seven opposed for linking existing gun registries at a cantonal level into a national network, commission president Chantal Gallade was quoted by the ATS news agency as saying.
The commission had asked the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Agence France Presse / Channel News Asia (Singapore)
Uganda,Ethiopia,Kenya,South Sudan,Somalia,East Africa,Tanzania
Special Investigation: How Smugglers are Flooding Kenya with Guns
8 January 2013
Star (Kenya), Series
There are estimated 530,000-680,000 firearms in the wrong hands in Kenya. The number of illegal arms has grown over the years and is said to fuel the conflicts witnessed within Kenya and the region.
In an investigation that took close to a year, our correspondent Kassim Mohamed tracked down some of the people who smuggle small arms and light weapons into Kenya and unveils a dangerous trend that can affect the current peace if nothing is done by not just the Kenyan... (GunPolicy.org)
Turkey's Gun Regulation Remains Lax, Mental Health Checks a 'Formality'
6 January 2013
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
"Things just aren't what they used to be," may seem like a knee-jerk truism in Turkey, but few seem to say it with more conviction than Fatih Demirok, a counter clerk at a gun store in İstanbul's old banking and warehouse district of Karaköy.
"Things have changed quite a bit in the gun industry. You can't just walk in and buy a gun these days," the 25 year old says from behind a counter of neatly arrayed shotguns and hunting rifles. "There's a detailed process with... (GunPolicy.org)
US School Shooting a Watershed: Think Pearl Harbour, 9/11 – Wintemute
4 January 2013
Sacramento Bee (California)
Gun violence has not been far from our collective minds since the nation was shocked Dec. 14 by the shooting of 20 first-graders in Newtown, Conn. Now a New Year's Eve shootout in Old Sacramento has left two people dead and three wounded in our own community, bringing the issue of public violence closer to home.
Perhaps no one in the Sacramento region is better known for his research on gun violence than Dr. Garen Wintemute, who as director of the UC Davis Violence... (GunPolicy.org)
In Past 9 Years, Insurgents Mounted 171 Raids to Steal Guns in Thailand
4 January 2013
Nation (Bangkok)
A total of 3,380 people have been killed and 8,388 wounded in terror attacks since the resumption of insurgent violence in the deep South nine years ago today, according to figures released yesterday by the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Centre.
The attacks included 2,480 roadside and vehicular bombings, the centre said.
Of the 1,629 assault rifles and handguns seized by insurgents during their attacks - including 413 M16 rifles taken in the January 4, 2004,... (GunPolicy.org)
8 Dead in Philippines Shooting, Unlicensed Guns Rife Say Police
4 January 2013
CBC News (Canada) / Associated Press
A man with domestic problems fatally shot eight people, including a pregnant woman and two children, after taking alcohol and drugs in a rampage Friday near the Philippine capital that ended when he was shot dead by police, officials said.
At least eight other people were wounded in Kawit township, about 16 kilometres south of Manila, Cavite provincial Gov. Jonvic Remulla said.
The violence happened days after the death of a 7-year-old girl who was hit in the head by... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunman Kills 7, Injures 6 in Philippines Town of Kawit
4 January 2013
BBC News / AP
A gunman has opened fire in a town near the Philippine capital, Manila, killing at least seven people and wounding six before being shot dead by police.
The gunman, reported to be a former local election candidate, ran through the streets of Kawit, 40km (25 miles) south of Manila, shooting at random.
A seven-year-old girl and a pregnant woman were among the dead, police said.
They are searching for an accomplice who reportedly helped the gunman load his... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunman Kills Three in Swiss Village
4 January 2013
Local (Switzerland) / AFP
A gunman has opened fire in a village in southern Switzerland, killing three people and wounding two others, police said on Thursday.
The man, who had reportedly been drinking heavily before the shooting and was armed with a hunting rifle, launched the attack in the village of Daillon late on Wednesday.
As police rushed to the scene to stop the attack, they exchanged fire with the gunman and wounded him, police said. He had been taken to hospital, they said.
"Three... (GunPolicy.org)
Shooter Uses Ex-Army Rifle, Kills 3 Women in Swiss Village Spree
3 January 2013
Bloomberg Businessweek (USA)
A gunman shot dead three people and injured another two in a mountain village in southern Switzerland, police said.
Officers were alerted to the shootings in Daillon, near the city of Sion in the Valais canton, at 8:50 p.m. yesterday by a caller, who reported seeing "several wounded people lying on the ground," the regional police force said in a statement posted on its website late yesterday.
An elite police unit deployed to the village opened fire on the gunman... (GunPolicy.org)
9 US States Gave Millions in Tax Breaks to Support Assault Rifle Makers
2 January 2013
Pine Tree Watchdog (Maine)
Taxpayers across the country are subsidizing the manufacturers of assault rifles used in multiple mass killings, including the massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. last month.
A Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting examination of tax records shows that five companies that make semi-automatic rifles have received more than $19 million in tax breaks, most within with the past five years.
"I feel horrified at the power of... (GunPolicy.org)
Taking the Opportunity to End Gun Violence In America
26 December 2012
Joyce Foundation
After the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007 and the tragic 2011 Tucson shootings that wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others, I hoped philanthropy would join forces with other Americans to finally take meaningful action to protect Americans from gun violence.
Both times we failed to make change happen.
This time is different. And we must demand a different outcome.
The murders in Newtown awoke our nation to the urgency of acting now to put in place... (GunPolicy.org)
Zimbabwe,Pakistan,Colombia,United States,Brazil
Brazil Should Continue Responsible Gun Control, Reduce Deaths Further
25 December 2012
Rio Times, Opinion
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Last week's slaughter of twenty elementary school children in the United States has tragic echoes with the massacre in Realengo, Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. At 8:30 AM on April 7th, Wellington Oliveira calmly walked into a classroom with two .38 and .32 caliber handguns, and shot twelve children dead.
At least sixty shots were fired and twenty boys and girls were critically wounded. It was the worst school massacre in Brazilian history.... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby 'Rant' After Newtown Shooting Shows Ignorance
21 December 2012
New York Times, Editorial
Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, would have been better advised to remain wherever he had been hiding after the Newtown, Conn., massacre, rather than appear at a news conference on Friday. No one seriously believed the N.R.A. when it said it would contribute something "meaningful" to the discussion about gun violence. The organization's very existence is predicated on the nation being torn in half over guns. Still, we were... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Deaths Projected to Top Car Fatalities by 2015
20 December 2012
Independent (UK) / Bloomberg (USA)
Guns and cars have long been among the leading causes of non-medical deaths in the U.S. By 2015, firearm fatalities will probably exceed traffic fatalities for the first time, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.
While motor-vehicle deaths dropped 22 percent from 2005 to 2010, gun fatalities are rising again after a low point in 2000, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Shooting deaths in 2015 will probably rise to almost 33,000,... (GunPolicy.org)
Swiss Are Very Serious about the Right to Own, Carry Firearms
20 December 2012
Time (USA)
Even as the gun-control debate rises again in the U.S. in the aftermath of the horrific school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the gun-loving Swiss are not about to lay down their arms. Guns are ubiquitous in this neutral nation, with sharpshooting considered a fun and wholesome recreational activity for people of all ages.
Even though Switzerland has not been involved in an armed conflict since a standoff between Catholics and Protestants in 1847, the Swiss are very... (GunPolicy.org)
Switzerland,Israel,United States
Israel, Switzerland Have Stringent Gun Control, Fewer Guns Than US
19 December 2012
Foreign Policy (America)
Following the tragic shooting last week in Newtown, Conn., two stories leapt out at me. The first was the astonishing tale of a teacher, Victoria Soto, who hid her first-graders in closets and took a bullet rather than risking the children's lives by hiding with them. The second featured a photograph of an Israeli woman with a military-style long gun slung across her back, herding children protectively. The contrast between the powerful Israeli woman and the unarmed... (GunPolicy.org)
How US Congress Blocked Gun Violence Research in 'Ugly Campaign'
19 December 2012
Slate (USA)
After the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, calls for gun-control legislation have begun. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said on NBC's Meet the Press that she plans to introduce a bill to ban assault weapons. Even West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who calls himself a gun supporter, says he sees no reason for these types of weapons.
But as Congress considers new laws, the scientific research we need to craft the best policies is in short... (GunPolicy.org)
