Gun Policy News
Gangs, guns and armed conflict
United States,Mexico
Mexico Gangs Prefer Guns from the 80s-90s as They Are Harder to Trace
31 January 2012
InSight Crime (Bogota)
According to Mexico's Defense Department, criminal organizations are equipping themselves with firearms that are between 20 and 30 years old. The government says this casts doubt on the claim that the gangs are better armed than the security forces.
The Mexican Army seized over 130,000 firearms since 2006, the majority of which were fabricated in the 1980s and 1990s, Excelsior reports. These include makeshift weapons that were modified or repaired using old parts from... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35789
Australia
Theft From Gun Owners Fuels Crime Gun Market in South Australia
30 January 2012
Advertiser (Adelaide)
The black market for guns is thriving in SA, fuelled by the theft of up to 200 guns each year.
Police figures show that a total of 1316 guns have been taken from homes, businesses and vehicles since 2004.
Experts warn the thefts are the likely source of illegal firearm sales.
Police say they recover a "substantial" number of guns annually but admit it can take many years to find them, with 64 of the firearms recovered last financial year reported stolen up to 15... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Advertiser (Adelaide)
35778
United States,Mexico
US Suggested Mexico Allow Illegal Guns to Cross Border to Cartels
28 January 2012
Washington Post / AP
WASHINGTON — Newly released Justice Department emails sent to Capitol Hill for a congressional inquiry into a gun-smuggling operation indicate that the head of the department's criminal division suggested letting some illicit "straw" weapons buyers in the U.S. transport their guns across the border into Mexico where they could be arrested.
According to the emails turned over to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday night, the Justice official,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post / AP
35780
United States,Mexico
Normally Law-Abiding Mexicans Take Up Illegal Guns for Protection
28 January 2012
National Public Radio (USA)
In Mexico, where criminals are armed to the teeth with high-powered weapons smuggled from the United States, it may come as a surprise that the country has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world.
Law-abiding Mexicans who want a gun to defend themselves have no good options. Either they fight government red tape to get a legal permit, or they buy one on the black market.
After an outbreak of violence, one embattled community in northern Mexico called... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: National Public Radio (USA)
35773
Brazil
Brazil: 4.3 Million Guns Sold in 5yrs, 40,000 Gun Deaths in 2009 [Portugues]
27 January 2012
Publica (Brazil)
[Translated summary: domestic manufacturers alone sold 4.3 million guns in Brazil over the past five years. Nearly 40,000 people died in 2009 in episodes involving firearms, including homicides, suicides and accidents, according to latest figures provided by the Ministry of Health. A study by Pablo Dreyfuss, who was a leading expert on the subject, showed that 90% of these deaths are the result of crimes and the risk of dying from injuries caused by firearms in Brazil... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Publica (Brazil)
35796
Mexico,United States
In Wake of Botched Gun Trafficking Probe, US Reveals New Sting Rules
27 January 2012
Chicago Tribune / Reuters
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration on Friday revealed new reforms undertaken to improve how it conducts undercover gun trafficking investigations in the wake of a botched operation in which scores of weapons disappeared.
The reforms require additional oversight of undercover operations, including those that involve more than 50 firearms, and, in most cases, ends the practice of paying gun dealers to serve as confidential informants.
Additionally, a new review... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Chicago Tribune / Reuters
35775
United States
Gang Deaths Often Involve Youth and Guns, Not Drugs - US Study
26 January 2012
Reuters
ATLANTA - Gang-related deaths typically aren't the product of fights over drugs -- as many assume -- but rather result from grudges between rival gangs that erupt into violence, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Gang homicides nearly always involve guns, usually occur in public places and the victims tend to be under the age of 19, the agency reported on Thursday in a study that examined 2003-2008 data from Los Angeles, Long... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Reuters
35771
Sweden
Swedish Govt Suggests Stricter Penalties for Carrying Gun in Public Place
20 January 2012
Local (Sweden)
In a proposal to the Swedish Council on Legislation's (Lagrådet) the government has suggested implementing stricter penalties for carrying a weapon in a public place.
However, at present they are not willing to grant police the wire tapping capabilities for less serious crimes, powers which police have long sought.
"We have made every effort to signal the need for this and we hope that the government will continue to work on it. We really do need to have these... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Local (Sweden)
35759
Spain
Spanish Police Dismantle Gang Accused of Arms Trafficking [Espanol]
20 January 2012
ABC News (Spain)
[Translated summary: Spain's Civil Guard has dismantled an organisation based in Almería, said to be dedicated to arms and ammunition trafficking across the country, with the arrest of sixteen people and the seizure of 45 firearms and more than 1,200 cartridges of different calibres.]
ALMERIA - La Guardia Civil ha desarticulado una organización asentada en Almería dedicada al tráfico de armas y municiones en todo el país con la detención de dieciséis personas y... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: ABC News (Spain)
35752
Mexico,United States
US Gun Dealers on Mexico Border Must Report Multiple Sales
18 January 2012
InSight Crime (Bogota)
A ruling by a US judge on tracking the sale of high-powered firearms in states on the southern border is a step forward for authorities trying to legislate against the flow of guns into Mexico.
Federal Judge Rosemary Collyer upheld an order made last year by the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The ATF asked more than 8,000 gun dealers in Arizona, Texas, California and New Mexico to report sales of multiple semi-automatic rifles to one... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35743
Kosovo,Bulgaria,Albania,Hungary,Croatia,Bosnia & Herzegovina
A 5th of Bosnia & Herzegovina Population Own 750,000 Unregistered Arms
12 January 2012
Southeast European Times
An estimated fifth of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) population own 750,000 unregistered weapons, according to officials who cite widespread availability and easy access on the black market as a major source of concern.
"After traffic accidents, illegal arms are the most common cause of death in BiH. About 90% of illegal acts are done with the use of illegal weapons," Denis Hadzovic of the Centre for Security Studies in BiH told SETimes.
Most illegal weapons are guns... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Southeast European Times
35736
United Kingdom,United States
Former Marine Gets 10yrs for Smuggling US Guns to English Crime Gangs
10 January 2012
News & Observer (North Carolina)
GREENVILLE -- A former U.S. Marine has been sentenced to 10 years in prison today for illegally trafficking dozens of handguns to the United Kingdom.
Steven Neal Greenoe, 37, a former Raleigh resident, pleaded guilty in federal court to the charges, which allege that the joint U.S. and U.K. citizen took nine trips from North Carolina – where he grew up – purchased handguns, and concealed a total of 63 pistols in his luggage before returning to England, where he... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: News & Observer (North Carolina)
35722
Sweden
Swedish Courts 'Go Easy' on Gangsters Needing Guns for Self Defence
8 January 2012
Local (Stockholm)
Being a member of a criminal gang in Sweden can actually result in milder sentences for weapons offences as courts provide leniency in cases in which offenders have been shown to live in a hostile environment and need extra protection.
Following the recent spate of killings in Malmö, politicians have promised changes in Sweden's current weapons laws to curb the violence.
According to some court's interpretation of current laws, criminals can actually receive milder... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Local (Stockholm)
35714
Denmark,Sweden
Swedish Customs 'Not Focused' on Weapon Smuggling from Denmark
5 January 2012
Local (Stockholm)
The Öresund bridge, connecting Sweden and Denmark, has long been known to be an important route for weapons smugglers to get their wares into Sweden. Despite this only seven illegal weapons were seized there over the course of 2011.
"We have been mainly focusing on drugs," said Anders Trägårdh, head of operations at customs in Malmö, to daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN).
The debate about the illegal smuggling of weapons has been given a new lease of life after a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Local (Stockholm)
35711
Sweden
Swedish Gun Laws May Be Tightened - Minister for Justice
4 January 2012
Local (Stockholm)
Sweden's minister for justice, Beatrice Ask, says Swedish weapons laws will be looked over, after recent events in Malmö where five people have been shot within the space of a month.
"The previous report didn't see a reason to change the law. I am not happy with that and we are looking into it at the moment," Ask told news agency TT.
The Chairman for the Committee on Justice, Social Democrat Morgan Johansson, has been demanding that Ask does something about the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Local (Stockholm)
35710
Australia
Murder Rate Halved, But Guns Still Kill in Australia's Largest State
31 December 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
SYDNEY'S murder rate has halved in the past decade, falling to its lowest level in recent history.
But Sydney's streets are no safer, said Don Weatherburn, the director of the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
Homicide cases have dropped from 88 in 2001 to 43 this year, reflecting a statewide trend in which murders fell from 119 to 77. The rate of one homicide per 100,000 people is the lowest Dr Weatherburn can remember.
"The puzzle is that homicide is... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Sydney Morning Herald
35696
Ireland
Gun Owners in Ireland Lose Hundreds of Firearms to Thieves Every Year
23 December 2011
Herald (Dublin)
More than 1,400 guns have been stolen here in the past five years.
Figures just released by Justice Minister Alan Shatter show that 1,451 firearms were recorded as stolen on the garda PULSE computer system in the years 2007 to December 12, 2011.
He said the figures for the individual years were 205 in 2011; 249 in 2010; 350 in 2009; 298 in 2008 and 349 in 2007.
The number of licensed firearms in Ireland is more than 233,000, with most of them being 12-gauge shotguns... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Herald (Dublin)
35691
Australia
South Australia Police Admit They Cannot Eradicate Black Market of Illegal Guns
21 December 2011
Advertiser (Adelaide)
Police admit they cannot eradicate a black market that is peddling illegal guns to criminals.
Motorcycle gang members and convicted criminals barred from buying guns in South Australia have no difficulty obtaining illegal firearms - including fully automatic weapons.
These are often used in drive-by shootings, robberies and murders.
Police seized a Soviet-made SKS semi-automatic rifle, a sawn-off .22 calibre rifle and an illegal silencer in raids on 11 suburban... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Advertiser (Adelaide)
35685
Brazil
Rio de Janeiro Police Caught Selling Seized Firearms to Criminal Gangs
13 December 2011
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Police in Rio de Janeiro arrested 16 people, including 11 military police, accused of selling confiscated firearms to criminal groups.
According to news site R7, the group operated a gun trafficking ring that sold weapons to gangs based in Rio's third-largest favela, Jacarezinho.
This is one of Rio's poorer areas, where crack cocaine use is widespread, and prison gang the Red Command (Comando Vermelho) is active.
Jacarezinho does not yet have a police pacification... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35671
India
Spurt in Use of Illegal Guns Reported in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, India
12 December 2011
Times of India
VISAKHAPATNAM - Illegal weapons are finding their way into the city. The firing incident that took place at railway station on Friday evening raised serious questions about the use of guns by criminal gangs. Police sources blamed criminals from other states for the use of illegal fire arms. A person, believed to be a CISF constable was arrested by police on Saturday, in related to Friday's firing incident. They suspect that he and his colleagues were involved in three... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Times of India
35658
Jamaica,Honduras,Israel,Canada,Norway,Australia,Colombia,El Salvador,United States,Venezuela,Pakistan,Mexico
Armed Societies, Another Tragedy for Women: Mexico, Pakistan, Venezuela
9 December 2011
Inter Press Service News Agency
CARACAS - Kairobis Arcia, 25, died from a bullet to her head shot by her husband, Oswaldo Mendoza, 32, who said he was blinded by jealousy in an argument fuelled by alcohol and drugs.
Her murder was just one of the more than 468,000 homicides a year that occur worldwide, 42 percent of which are committed with firearms. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the global murder rate is 6.9 per 100,000 people – 11.9 per 100,000 among men and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Inter Press Service News Agency
35654
Jamaica
Jamaica Mandates that All 25,000 Licensed Firearms Must Be Re-marked
9 December 2011
Jamaica Observer
The Government has mandated that all licensed firearms be provided with traceable security marks as it modernises the country's anti-gang legislation as part of the fight against crime.
Following a decision taken by the Cabinet, all holders of licensed firearms will have to present them to the licensing authority to be marked when being licensed by special machines to be acquired under an agreement with the Organisation of American States.
"This is important for us to... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Jamaica Observer
35648
Guatemala,Mexico,United States
Texas Gun Shop Sold 'Infantry Squad' Weapons to Mexican Cartel Smugglers
8 December 2011
Guardian (UK)
It was nothing more than a routine inspection for federal agents. But as they browsed the records of Carter's Country gun shop in Houston, investigators picked up on a series of big sales. For cash.
Federal agents were alerted not only by the number of guns involved – sometimes a dozen at a time – but the type. Time and again buyers walked out of Carter's Country clutching assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols with armour-piercing bullets and powerful sniper... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
35645
Guatemala
San Benito, Guatemala: 131 Gun Homicides per 100,000 Inhabitants in 2010
7 December 2011
InSight Crime (Bogota)
A disturbing new report by elPeriodico shows how the Internet is being used to target alleged criminals in Guatemala. As with Anonymous' threats to "out" Zetas in Mexico, the case illustrates how cyber justice can get ugly fast.
The investigation says that four websites have identified 39 alleged members of street gangs or other criminal groups in San Benito, a municipality in Peten, Guatemala's most violent state, over the past three years. At least 10 of these were... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35643
Mexico,United States
US Quietly Approves Massive Escalation in Number of Guns Sold to Mexico
6 December 2011
CBS News (USA)
Selling weapons to Mexico - where cartel violence is out of control - is controversial because so many guns fall into the wrong hands due to incompetence and corruption. The Mexican military recently reported nearly 9,000 police weapons "missing."
Yet the U.S. has approved the sale of more guns to Mexico in recent years than ever before through a program called "direct commercial sales." It's a program that some say is worse than the highly-criticized "Fast and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: CBS News (USA)
35637
Canada
Canadian Gun Laws, Scrapping of Long Gun Registry Explained, Debated
6 December 2011
CBC News (Canada)
The contentious long-gun registry is on the cusp of being abolished, meaning rifles and shotguns like those sold at Stephen Milton's King City, Ont., shop will disappear from government records.
But while police say that would make it harder for them to do their jobs, Milton says it would be a good move.
"We don't have a gun problem. We have a criminal problem, we have a gang problem, we have problems with people who have no regard for the law whatsoever," he said.... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: CBC News (Canada)
35631
Australia
Western Sydney Weathers a 20% Spike in Drive-by Property Shootings
6 December 2011
Sydney Morning Herald / AAP
Sydney's west has experienced a 20 per cent spike in drive-by shootings, the latest NSW crime statistics show.
The number of shootings at premises in western Sydney increased from 73 last year to 88 this year, the director of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) Don Weatherburn said on Tuesday.
He said while gun crime was stable across the state, it had spiked in western Sydney.
"Over the last 12 months we've seen a 20 per cent increase in the number... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Sydney Morning Herald / AAP
35625
Turkey,Pakistan
19,000 Handguns, 3 Million Rounds of Ammo Seized at Pakistani Airport
3 December 2011
International News (Karachi)
PESHAWAR - Two more consignments of arms were seized at the Peshawar Airport during the last couple of days while the Interior Ministry and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Home and Tribal Affairs have launched separate inquiries into the import of tens of thousands foreign-made weapons allegedly through illegal means.
Sources said the officials involved have started approaching different quarters to save their skin following the appearance of reports about the scam in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: International News (Karachi)
35620
Austria,Spain,Belgium,Eastern Europe,France
In 2010, French Police Seized 79% More Guns Than in 2009 [Francais]
2 December 2011
Le Figaro (France)
[Translated Summary: French Police seized 3,355 firearms since January 2011, 2,710 in 2010 or 79% more than in 2009; out of 3.14 million firearms lawfully possessed, 30,000 are unlawfully possessed in 2010; a report from 2009 says that theft of firearms increased by 38.6%.]
La Direction centrale de la police judiciaire a recensé 2710 saisies d'armes à feu en 2010, soit une explosion de 79% par rapport à 2009.
Les saisies de pistolets, révolvers, fusils à pompes... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Le Figaro (France)
35624
United States
Gun Nuts Need Fear, Conspiracies, Obama to Hate, Flourish, Raise Money
1 December 2011
New York Times, Opinion
PHOENIX — When it became clear in the early fall of 2008 that Barack Obama, son of a Kansan and a Kenyan, would be the 44th President of the United States, many citizens rushed to their gun shops, stocked up on ammo and camo, and tried to fortify their nests with all manner of lethal weapons.
Though he had said nothing about gun control in the campaign, Obama, to a certain kind of person, appeared to be a grave threat to the Second Amendment. He was urban —... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Times
35609
Turkey,Nicaragua,Mexico
Mexico Makes Biggest-Ever Seizure of Smuggled Guns, Source Unknown
29 November 2011
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Federal authorities confiscated 911 guns from a container ship in the port of Lazaro Cardenas, on Mexico's Pacific, which was headed to Nicaragua.
The guns were found on board a cargo ship en route to Nicaragua, during a planned stop at the Michoacan port of Lazaro Cardenas. The ship is believed to be of Turkish origin, but no information was provided on the origin or destination of the weapons.
The operation was carried out by Mexico's Navy, working with the Federal... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35607
France
Following Latest Shootings, France to Review Gun Control Law [Francais]
29 November 2011
AFP
[Translated Summary: Following recent shootings in which burglars and robbers used weapons of war against police officers, the French Senate will review a new gun-control bill to reinforce the fight against gun trafficking. Amendments to the Firearms Decree-Law of 1939 will include stricter maximum penalties: prison terms rising from seven years to ten years, and fines rising from 100,000 Euros to 500,000 Euros.]
PARIS — Le Sénat examinera le jeudi 8 décembre, une... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: AFP
35590
Venezuela,Peru,Ecuador,Chile,Bolivia,Paraguay,Brazil,Argentina,Mexico,Colombia,Uruguay,United States,North America,South America,Central America,Caribbean
Latin American Governments Target Gun Runners, Countries Making Guns
28 November 2011
United Press International
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay - Latin America's increasingly ambitious Mercosur regional bloc is aiming to focus on small arms suppliers who are seen as being behind the region's endemic and seemingly insurmountable problem of violent crime.
The area's disparate armed groups, guerrillas with political agenda and drug-related gangs have drawn attention from Mercosur's watchdog committees as senior officials explore ways of containing organized crime, rooting out myriad networks... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: United Press International
35594
Australia
Police Hunt Gun Thieves in West Australia: Hundreds Stolen in 18 Months
26 November 2011
West Australian (Perth)
Police are hunting for a thief who stole five firearms from Hamilton Hill recently.
A police spokeswoman said a shotgun, two lever action rifles, a handgun and one air-rifle was stolen from a poorly secured cabinet on Winterfold Street.
The deadly weapons were left in an unoccupied house, which was under construction, in an unlocked garage.
Police were called to the residence about 7am but it is unknown when exactly the weapons were stolen.
Gun owners are required... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: West Australian (Perth)
35587
Central America,United States,Mexico,Guatemala
Guatemala and the Black Market for US Weapons
25 November 2011
InSight Crime (Bogota)
The trafficking of weapons over the U.S.-Mexico border is well-documented -- lesser known but also significant is the sale of U.S. weapons to Guatemalan government contractors, which are then siphoned off to criminal groups.
The Mexican government has focused much of its efforts to stop arms trafficking on the smuggling of weapons over the U.S. border. This strategy ignores other sources of weapons, and other entry points. Central America, for example, represents a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35588
Guatemala,United States,Mexico,Costa Rica,South America,Caribbean,Central America
Gun Trade Drives Soaring Latin American Homicide Rates, say Experts
24 November 2011
AFP
SAN JOSE — Illegal weapons trafficking has turned Latin America into a region of bloodletting in which over 40 percent of the world's homicides take place, experts warned Wednesday.
"Forty-two percent of homicides with a firearm that happen worldwide take place in Latin America, though only 10 percent of the world's population lives here," said Nobel laureate and former president Oscar Arias, citing UN data, at a conference of experts.
Although weapons such as... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: AFP
35583
Mexico,United States
Texas Border Town a Hotspot for US-Mexico Ammunition Smugglers
22 November 2011
KVUE.com (Texas)
EAGLE PASS, Texas – The small border town Eagle Pass has become a big corridor for ammunition smugglers who supply violent drug cartels.
In November, there was a large spike in smuggling activity.
"Just this month alone there have been three separate seizures totaling 700 magazines for AK-47 rifles," said Randy Clark, Patrol Agent in Charge for the U.S. Border Patrol station in Eagle Pass.
On Nov. 3, Border Patrol agents seized three black duffle bags near the Rio... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: KVUE.com (Texas)
35573
Kenya
50,000 Illegal Guns in Kenya: Government Must Curb Cartels, Say NGOs
22 November 2011
Nairobi Star (Kenya)
More than 50,000 illegal guns are still in the hands of civilians, especially in urban areas and other regions prone to cattle rustling.
A report by civil society groups indicates that the government has been unable to deal with the infiltration of small arms into the country because of involvement of some well-connected individuals involved in the trade. Chairman of the NGOs Council Ken Wafula wants the government to crack down on the cartels.
Wafula says that unless... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Nairobi Star (Kenya)
35569
South America,Guatemala,El Salvador,Central America,United States,Mexico
Black Market Gun Runners Develop New Central American Routes - Report
21 November 2011
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Because the recent spike in drug-related violence in Mexico has coincided with the 2004 expiration of the U.S. assault weapons ban, and because a significant portion of the weapons used in Mexican crimes have been traced to U.S. vendors, Mexican officials often accuse liberal U.S. gun laws of being a major obstacle to a safer Mexico. Indeed, President Felipe Calderon made precisely this point during a speech to U.S. Congress in 2010.
U.S. officials have not denied that... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35568
Guatemala,United States,Mexico,Central America
Arms Trafficking, Business of Death: Guns in Central America [Espanol]
16 November 2011
Contralinea (Mexico)
[Translated Summary: Contralinea magazine details the routes by which guns are trafficked into Mexico, including the flow of arms from the US directly to Guatemala, and then over Mexico's southern border. English translation at: http://bit.ly/uBnEGu]
En la última década, México pasó del lugar vigesimosegundo al quinto en tráfico de armas en el ámbito mundial. Se calcula que cada día ingresan al país unas 2 mil para abastecer a los cárteles de la droga, la... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Contralinea (Mexico)
35574
Guatemala,El Salvador,Mexico,United States,Honduras,South America,Central America,Caribbean
Latin American Leaders Demand International Action on Arms Trafficking
11 November 2011
InSight Crime (Bogota)
The 2011 Ibero-American Summit, held in Asuncion, Paraguay in October, was criticized for its failures, but leaders used the platform to call attention to the global arms trade and demand international cooperation on more effective measures to fight weapons trafficking and organized crime.
At the close of the summit, the member countries issued a separate and special declaration (available in pdf format here) defining public security as a precondition for economic and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSight Crime (Bogota)
35537
United States,United Kingdom
UK Man Guilty of Receiving Handguns Smuggled from US, Selling to Gangs
10 November 2011
Guardian (UK)
A man has been found guilty of helping an international gun runner to smuggle dozens of handguns into Britain on commercial transatlantic flights.
Over a six-month period gun runner Steven Greenoe, 37, – an American who lived in Shrewsbury and is currently awaiting sentence in the US – repeatedly crossed the Atlantic to purchase weapons to sell on to the criminal underworld for a huge profit. He broke the guns down to their component parts and smuggled them into... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
35529
Mexico,United States
Obama's A-G Blames Congress for 'Losing Battle' in US-Mexico Gun Running
8 November 2011
Guardian (UK)
The Obama administration has warned that the US is "losing the battle" to stem the flow of weapons from American guns shops to Mexican drug cartels responsible for tens of thousands of killings.
The US attorney general, Eric Holder, told a Senate hearing that Congress is in part to blame because of its hostility to gun control, even going so far as to try and block federal law enforcement agencies from requiring gun shops to report multiple sales of automatic... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
35522
Mexico,United States
Attorney General Urges US Lawmakers to Slow US-Mexico Gun Running
8 November 2011
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday sought to move past the political furor over Operation Fast and Furious, the disputed Arizona gun trafficking investigation, to the wider problem of the flow of American firearms to Mexican drug cartels — and what he portrayed as roadblocks members of Congress have thrown up to stemming that flow.
In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Holder criticized a recent vote by the House of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Times
35516
North Africa,West Asia,South America,Africa,Thailand,Colombia,United States
Global Gun Runner, 'Merchant of Death' Viktor Bout Swiftly Convicted
2 November 2011
BBC News
A former Soviet military officer has been found guilty in a New York court of attempting to sell heavy weapons to a Colombian rebel group.
Prosecutors said Viktor Bout, 44, who has been dubbed the merchant of death, stood to make millions from supplying weapons to the group.
The defence argued Bout had only wanted to sell two cargo planes.
He was arrested in Bangkok in 2008 after a sting operation in which US informants posed as Colombian rebels.
He remained in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: BBC News
35497
Mexico,Congo (DRC),Sudan,Central African Republic,Sri Lanka,Colombia,Jamaica,Iraq,El Salvador,Central Africa,Caribbean,Central America,South America
Study Finds Again That Crime, Not War is Main Source of Gun Violence
29 October 2011
Associated Press
GENEVA — More people are killed by armed violence resulting from crime than are killed in war, with Latin America and a swath of countries through the middle of Africa among the hardest hit, an international study claimed Thursday.
About 526,000 people die violently every year — or more than 1,400 people every day — according to the 2011 Global Burden of Armed Violence report.
Only about 55,000 of those killed die in warfare, while an estimated 396,000 people... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
35488
Mexico,United States
US Defends Gun Sale Reporting Requirement in Court
26 October 2011
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Gun store owners in southwestern border states argued in federal court Tuesday that the Obama administration cannot require them to report when customers buy multiple high-powered rifles.
The Justice Department responded to a lawsuit seeking to block the two-month-old requirement by asking a judge to uphold its legality, arguing the measure could help stop the flow of guns to Mexican drug cartels. It requires sellers in California, Arizona, New Mexico... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
35475
Guatemala,El Salvador,Caribbean,South America,Central America,Mexico,United States
Authorities Discussed California's Role as a Pipeline for Illegal Guns to Mexico
25 October 2011
Southern California Public Radio (USA)
State and local officials were joined by Mexican law enforcement in Los Angeles Tuesday to discuss California's role as a pipeline for illegal weapons to Mexican drug cartels.
Authorities say California actually ranks much lower than other border states in gun trafficking. But the state's highways are often used to transport the weapons.
State Senator Kevin De Leon chairs the Senate Select Committee on Immigration and the Economy. The L.A. Democrat says federal... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Southern California Public Radio (USA)
35462
Afghanistan,Iraq,Canada
Canadian Groups Want Some Guns Banned Before Registry Is Scrapped
23 October 2011
Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
After finishing a rotation through Afghanistan with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, 22-year-old Dan Styles is back in Canada, safe and sound with his young family.
When he's not caring for his one-year-old baby daughter, Styles now spends a lot of his personal time at the shooting range near his home at CFB Petawawa, in eastern Ontario. There, he hones the skills he relied on in the field.
"It's practice, practice, practice," he says. "The better you get at it,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
35447
United States,United Kingdom
Gang Leaders Jailed for 24 Years for Smuggling Guns into UK from US
21 October 2011
Guardian (UK) / PA
Two ringleaders of a gang which smuggled guns into the UK from the United States have each been jailed for 24 years. Mohammed Tariq, 33, and Atique Arif, 32, were sentenced at Bradford crown court along with six other men who were sent to prison for up to 12 years. The gang imported guns concealed with electrical equipment including DVD players and portable radios. Police said they smuggled 13 firearms into the UK over a 12-month period. West Yorkshire police said the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK) / PA
35442
Mexico,United States
Second Bush Administration Gun-Trafficking Investigation
15 October 2011
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A second Bush administration gun-trafficking investigation has surfaced using the same controversial tactic for which congressional Republicans have been criticizing the Obama administration.
The tactic, called "gun walking," is already under investigation by the Justice Department's inspector general and by congressional Republicans, who have criticized the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama for letting it happen in an operation called... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
35418
Japan,United States,Philippines
Philippines Needs Stricter Gun Control Laws - Opinion
11 October 2011
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Opinion
Joke only: A Llama is a handgun.
But a Llamas is an AK-47.
* * *
Because of the AK-47 found in the vehicle of Presidential Political Adviser Ronald Llamas when it figured in an accident on Edsa (Llamas was away in Switzerland), the talk at the Kapihan sa Manila at the Diamond Hotel last Monday centered on guns in the hands of civilians.
And the guests were all well qualified to talk about guns: brand-new PNP chief, Director General Nicanor Bartolome,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Philippine Daily Inquirer
35398
Europe,North America,St Lucia,Barbados,Antigua & Barbuda,Trinidad & Tobago,St Kitts & Nevis,Jamaica,Bahamas,Caribbean
Caribbean Nations Demand Global Gun Trade Treaty to Curb Armed Crime
11 October 2011
Caribbean 360 (Barbados)
NEW YORK, United States - Battling the scourge of rising crime and violence and some of the world's highest murders rates, Caribbean nations are appealing to the United Nation for help.
They are urging the world body to help them stem the unrelenting flow of guns and ammunition to the region.
From the Bahamas, Jamaica and St. Kitts-Nevis, countries with some of the world's highest homicide rates, Trinidad and Tobago, which already has a state of emergency in place... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Caribbean 360 (Barbados)
35396
Caribbean,South America,Central America,Trinidad & Tobago
Increase in Trinidad Gun Crimes the Result of Drug-Trafficking, Gangs
11 October 2011
Guardian (Trinidad and Tobago)
National Security Minister Brigadier John Sandy says an increase in gun-related crimes is the result of drug-trafficking and gang violence over the past ten years in T&T. He said because of the country's geographical location T&T faced the direct effects of the illicit drug-trafficking and illegal firearms trades.
"We know full well that firearms remain a major threat to this country. These firearms fuel drug-trafficking and gang violence and other criminal activity."... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (Trinidad and Tobago)
35394
Mexico,United States
Smuggled US Ammunition Feeds Mexico's Ongoing Drug Gun Wars
9 October 2011
USA Today
PHOENIX - Every year, thousands of guns are smuggled into Mexico from the United States, fueling the brutal drug-cartel wars and stirring outrage on both sides of the border.
But often overlooked in the controversy are the tons of bullets that also make their way south of the border.
In Mexico, ammunition is strictly regulated and possession of even a single illegal round can lead to prison. But there is nonetheless a steady supply of bullets. Almost all of it comes... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: USA Today
35386
Burundi
Burundi Launches 5-yr Programme to Control Proliferation of Firearms
9 October 2011
Coast Week (Kenya)
BUJUMBURA (Xinhua) - Burundian First Vice-President Therence Sinunguruza Friday launched here in the east African nation's capital Bujumbura a five-year national action plan to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
During the official launch of the new program, the Burundian first vice-president said the proliferation of small and illicit arms exists in Burundi.
"The proliferation of small and illicit arms is real in Burundi and constitutes a real... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Coast Week (Kenya)
35383
Central America,Guatemala
Of 2,496 Murders in Guatemala, 86% Were Shootings [Espanol]
6 October 2011
EFE News Agency
[Translated summary: 2,496 murders, including 360 of women, were committed in Guatemala during the first nine months of 2011, says an NGO that monitors human rights. Firearms were used in 85,66% of the crimes committed between January and September 2011.]
Guatemala - Unos 2.496 asesinatos, 360 de ellos de mujeres, fueron perpetrados en Guatemala durante los primeros nueve meses de 2011, denunció hoy el Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo (GAM), una organización no gubernamental... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: EFE News Agency
35380
Sweden,European Union,Netherlands,Finland
Murder in Finland, Sweden, Netherlands: Drunk Friends v Criminals - Study
6 October 2011
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
Finland rightly appears rather high on the statistics for violent crime in Europe, but as so often behind the statistical data there lie a number of caveats and a lot of small print.
There are, for instance, large differences between different EU nations when it comes to the reasons for homicides and the methods used in such crimes.
In Finland, a typical person to commit a homicide is a middle-aged heavy consumer of alcohol and the victim is his drunken contemporary.... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
35379
India,Russia,Germany,United States
India's Unlicensed Gun Market Thrives on Smuggled, Home Made Firearms
5 October 2011
First Post (Mumbai)
A 10-year-old boy was accidentally shot dead by his 12-year-old neighbour while they were playing cop and thief in West Delhi earlier this week. On 24 September, 23-year-old toll attendant, Umeshkant Pandey, was shot dead by the driver of a white Bolero. His crime: he asked the driver to pay Rs 27 as toll tax.
Gun crime has consistently been on the rise in India, and every few weeks, there is a new tragedy. An armed gang shoots a woman over a small piece of jewellery,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: First Post (Mumbai)
35375
Colombia,Venezuela,Guatemala,Mexico,El Salvador,Honduras,South America,Central America,Caribbean
Epidemic of Gun Violence in Latin America - United Nations Data
4 October 2011
UN Dispatch (new York)
As the drug trade — and the organized crime it spawns — spread through Latin America, the region is facing an epidemic of gun violence, according to new U.N. data. Speaking at a conference on the subject in Lima, Peru, Camilo Duplat of the Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean announced that some 740,000 Latin Americans are dying annually in gun violence, and 500,000 of those deaths are linked to organized crime.... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: UN Dispatch (new York)
35352
Peru,Mexico,Venezuela,Colombia,Central America,El Salvador,Honduras,Caribbean,South America
80 Million Firearms in Latin America and the Caribbean [Espanol]
29 September 2011
Andina (Lima)
[Translated summary: There are 80 million firearms in Latin America and the Caribbean, the majority of them in the hands of civilians. In Honduras and El Salvador, there are respectively 77 and 62 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. Central America has the world's highest homicide rate.]
LIMA - Alrededor de 80 millones de armas de fuego existen en América Latina y el Caribe, la mayor parte en poder de civiles, lo que acrecienta el problema de la violencia en el... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Andina (Lima)
35345
Venezuela,South America,Colombia,Mexico
Venezuela Tries to Stem Violence and Easy Availability of Guns
22 September 2011
InSightCrime.org (Latin America and Caribbean)
Venezuela is altering its gun policy in an effort to stem the alarming level of street violence, but the entrenched nature of gun possession in the country will prove difficult to remedy in the short term.
On June 6, Venezuelan Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami announced the establishment of a commission which is charged with tightening the regulation of arms in the country. Since its creation, the body has enacted a number of reforms, including banning the possession... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: InSightCrime.org (Latin America and Caribbean)
35321
United States,Mexico
US Customs Seized 30 Assault Rifles Bound for Mexico
22 September 2011
Reuters
AUSTIN, Texas - U.S. customs agents in Texas seized 30 high-powered assault rifles when they searched a car heading into Mexico in what they said was the largest gun seizure at the state's border this year.
Agents at the Del Rio port of entry found the stash of Kalashnikov and M-4 type rifles in the trunk of a Nissan Altima headed into Mexico on Wednesday, and arrested the 18-year-old driver from Eagle Pass, the Customs and Border Protection agency said in a news... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Reuters
35320
Lebanon
Family Killings, Fear of Violence Prompt Lebanon to Tighten Gun Control
21 September 2011
Press TV (Beirut)
Lebanon has witnessed years of civil war and internal fighting. Lately, Lebanon is facing a phenomenon that surpasses any political agreement or even disagreement.
The ownership of personal guns has become something that many take for granted.
Three incidents in the last month led to the killing of several people in one family as a result of feuds, and others in mysterious circumstances. In one of those incidents a pump-action shot gun was used to kill a mother and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Press TV (Beirut)
35309
Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands Firearm Law Needs to Be Tweaked to Help the Police
20 September 2011
Cayman Islands News
Following a meeting with elected and official members of government Monday, the Cayman Islands governor announced possible changes to the law to help police get the suspects involved in the recent resurgence of gang violence behind bars, in particular the firearms law. The governor said it may be changed to allow police to search homes without a search warrant when they suspect illegal weapons are hidden there. Duncan Taylor said it was a priority to get the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Cayman Islands News
35296
Mexico,United States
Mexico Still Waiting for Answers on US Gun-running Programme
19 September 2011
Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Mexico City and Washington— Last fall's slaying of Mario Gonzalez, the brother of a Mexican state prosecutor, shocked people on both sides of the border. Sensational news reports revealed that cartel hit men had tortured Gonzalez, and forced him to make a videotaped "confession" that his high-powered sister was on the take.
But American authorities concealed one disturbing fact about the case from their Mexican counterparts: U.S. federal agents had... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Los Angeles Times
35303
United States,Bermuda
Bermuda Island Must Try Gun Buyback Scheme, Says Former Senator
19 September 2011
Royal Gazette (Bermuda)
The state of New Jersey has well-publicised problems with gangs and guns and one Bermudian has been doing his part to try to solve them.
The Rev Leonard Santucci, pastor of St Paul AME Church in East Orange, was involved in a gun buy back programme, which resulted in the recovery of almost 1,000 guns in just a couple of days.
The scheme saw prosecutors in Essex County join forces with churches of various denominations to encourage those with guns to turn them in.
Dr... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Royal Gazette (Bermuda)
35293
Pakistan
Computerisation of Firearm Licences in Pakistan: a Right Initiative
18 September 2011
Associated Press of Pakistan
ISLAMABAD - Proliferation of small arms are known to have played a pivotal role in fueling insurgency, terrorism as well as formation of urban gangs and at the same time undermined development initiatives or other moves to bring about peace in the country.Successive regimes kept adopting numerous measures to stop the relentless spread of firearms in society and also launched campaigns in their tenures, but all this went in vain.Today as the already fragile law and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press of Pakistan
35291
Australia
Black Market for Guns Flourishes in Australia Due to Improper Storage
17 September 2011
West Australian (Perth)
Hundreds of firearms have been stolen from registered gun owners and police have seized more than 100 high-powered rifles and handguns from organised crime figures in the past 18 months.
And a black market for guns appears to be flourishing because firearm owners are not properly securing their weapons.
A police operation this month in which the storage of licensed firearms was checked at 370 properties resulted in 74 gun owners being charged and 189 guns being... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: West Australian (Perth)
35294
Nepal,India
Small Arms Trafficking on Nepal-India Border Poses Security Threat
15 September 2011
Himalayan Times (Kathmandu)
DHANGADHI - Illegal transaction in small weapons has been on the rise on the Nepal-India border in the far west region for some time.
Police seized four small weapons in a month. A police patrol seized two American made automatic pistols and a revolver from Chaukidanda area Malakheti-3 on September 11.
According to police, the pistols were seized from six youths who were on two motorcycles, but they failed to nab the youths who fled. SP Bashanta Panta, District... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Himalayan Times (Kathmandu)
35285
United Kingdom
UK Gangsters Get 400yrs for Pistol Factory, Drug & Gun Trafficking
12 September 2011
London Daily News (UK)
A group of 37 gun traders and drug suppliers have been sentenced to a total in excess of 400 years imprisonment following a successful Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) sting operation.
The men appeared at Wood Green Crown Court following an undercover initiative designed to target serious and organised crime in and around Enfield borough. The last sentencing took place on 9 September 2011.
Codenamed Operation Peyzac, the initiative involved detectives launching a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: London Daily News (UK)
35269
Europe,United States,El Salvador,Honduras,Mexico,Venezuela
In Crime-Ridden Venezuela, Even Hospitals Are No Longer Safe
11 September 2011
San Francisco Chronicle / AP
CARACAS, Venezuela - A young man dies of gunshot wounds, and enraged friends and relatives react by shooting up the hospital. A medical student leaving another hospital at the end of her shift is shot to death by a robber. Doctors working late take to sleeping in their workplace rather than risk being mugged.
In crime-ridden Venezuela, even hospitals are no longer safe.
No one was injured in the Aug. 20 shooting rampage at the Domingo Luciani Hospital in Caracas, but... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: San Francisco Chronicle / AP
35262
Iraq,Caribbean,Jamaica,Trinidad & Tobago
Trinidad Now Rivals Jamaica As the Most Violent Country in Caribbean
10 September 2011
Trinidad and Tobago Express
Trinidad and Tobago now rivals Jamaica as the most violent country in the Caribbean, with the number of annual murders rising sharply from 98 to 550 over the last decade, with some areas in the Port of Spain police division being listed among the most dangerous in the world.
This is the finding of a new United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) draft report on Human Development and Citizen Security in the Caribbean, which noted, among other things, that the murder... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Trinidad and Tobago Express
35260
Puerto Rico,United States
Man Charged with Smuggling Hundreds of Guns to Puerto Rico from US
8 September 2011
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
Investigators have charged a New Jersey man with trafficking hundreds of .40-caliber Glock pistols from Central Florida to Puerto Rico though underground channels, a federal affidavit states.
Luis Velazquez-Pinero was indicted on Aug. 31 on charges that he illegally shipped firearms in interstate and foreign commerce, travelled from New Jersey to illegally acquire firearms and lied to investigators.
Records show agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
35274
Australia
Majority of Shootings in New South Wales Are Drug Related, Police
6 September 2011
Sydney Morning Herald
Police say they are frustrated the people targeted in the recent spate of Sydney shootings are not speaking up.
The comments followed two Sydney shootings in the past day in Arncliffe and Revesby.
The Revesby attack was the 12th Sydney shooting in three weeks.
"The majority of these incidents are drug-related," said Assistant Commissioner Frank Mennilli, the NSW Police South West Metropolitan Region Commander in a statement today.
He said the victims' reluctance to... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Sydney Morning Herald
35252
Mexico,United States
Mexico Arrests US Man Accused of Smuggling Arm Parts for Cartels
6 September 2011
Washington Post / AP
PHOENIX — Police have arrested an American man who allegedly smuggled parts for as many as 2,000 grenades into Mexico for drug cartels, more than a year after he was released by U.S. agents who stopped him at the Arizona-Mexico border for having more than a hundred grenade parts.
While a Department of Justice official said the case will be added to the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious, a flawed effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post / AP
35250
Mexico,United States
American in Mexican Custody Suspected of Gun Trafficking for Cartels
6 September 2011
CNN
Mexican authorities have an American citizen in custody who they say is suspected of trafficking firearms and grenades to a major Mexican drug cartel.
According to Mexico's attorney general's office, Jean Baptiste Kingery Moinssonm was allegedly smuggling firearm and grenade parts into the country. Once the goods were in Mexican territory, Moinssonm allegedly assembled and sold the weapons to the Sinaloa cartel.
Mexican federal police took Moinssonm into custody in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: CNN
35248
Montenegro,Bosnia & Herzegovina,European Union,Serbia,Eastern Europe,Southern Europe,Croatia,Kosovo,Albania
Balkan Countries Work To Round Up Privately Held Guns, Ammunition
5 September 2011
Southeast European Times (Pristina)
The statistics about gun ownership regionwide are surprising and the results can be deadly. In Albania alone, for example, analyst Jonuz Kola estimated this summer that 6% to 9% of the population has a weapon in the home. Scores of accidental shootings occur, including that of a 9-year-old in Shkodra, who died at the hands of his 11-year-old brother on July 18th.
Xhavit Shala, an expert within the Albanian Interior Ministry notes that in 1997, a considerable amount of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Southeast European Times (Pristina)
35244
Venezuela
117,145 Firearms Have Been Destroyed in Venezuela in 2011 [Espanol]
1 September 2011
Radio Nacional de Venezuela
[Translated summary: Venezuela is the first Latin American country with special measures for the destruction of firearms seized by public safety agencies. So far in 2011, 117,145 firearms have been destroyed as part of the policies implemented by the national government to ensure peace of the Venezuelan population.]
Venezuela es el primer país de Latinoamérica con medidas especiales para la destrucción de armas de fuego incautadas por los organismos de seguridad... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Radio Nacional de Venezuela
35241
Australia
Police Seize 600 Guns from Licensed Dealer in Victorian 'Drug Turf War'
30 August 2011
Star (West Melbourne)
Notorious warring crime groups in the North-West have been "lawful customers" of a St Albans gun dealership, where police seized 600 firearms last week.
On Monday 22 August, officers confiscated hundreds of guns from the Leslie St business.
The 79-year-old owner is expected to face charges of firearms offences, false accounting and using false documents.
The operation was launched three weeks after a tip-off and a police audit, which discovered bookkeeping... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Star (West Melbourne)
35225
Colombia,United States,Mexico,Central America,Iraq,El Salvador,Guatemala,Honduras
Honduras Standing As the Epicenter of Central America's Arms Trade
13 August 2011
Honduras Weekly / InSight Crime
A recent report released by the National Commissioner for Human Rights (Conadeh), in Honduras indicates that there are more than 850,000 weapons in circulation in the country. Only 258,000 weapons, however, are officially registered. It is therefore hardly surprising, in a country with hundreds of thousands of illegal weapons, that as many as 80 percent of homicides are firearm related.
Traditionally, Hondurans have taken a rather liberal approach to gun ownership,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Honduras Weekly / InSight Crime
35190
Turkey
NGO Criticizes Proposed Gun Law in Turkey, Offers Alternatives
11 August 2011
Hürriyet Daily News (Istanbul)
The Hope Foundation has criticized the draft law on guns that is set to be discussed in Parliament during the coming term by sending deputies a letter detailing new suggestions to regulate the sale and use of arms in the country.
"Some 4,500 people on average lose their lives due to gun fire in our country every year. If you include the victims' families, the lives of at least 25,000 people are negatively affected every year because of personal arms," said Nazire... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Hürriyet Daily News (Istanbul)
35182
Mexico,United States
US Gun Lobby Tries to Kill New Law on Reporting of Multiple Gun Sales
9 August 2011
USA Today, Editorial
Martin Johnson had a nice little business going in 2008 and 2009. He'd leave home in California and buy dozens of guns in Arizona, where the gun laws are much looser, using an Arizona driver's license to pretend that he still lived there. Back in California, Johnson sold the guns to his neighbor, a convicted felon who couldn't legally buy guns at all. The neighbor sold some of the guns to his buddies, none of whom was a legal buyer, either.
NRA: Gun form won't deter... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: USA Today
35170
Australia
Canberra Black Market Fed by Theft of Legal Guns, But Scope is Unknown
8 August 2011
Canberra Times (Australia)
The theft of legal guns is feeding Canberra's black market for firearms as authorities struggle to comprehend the scope of the illegal weapons trade in the territory.
ACT Policing has told The Canberra Times that a black market for guns exists in Canberra, but says its size is unknown.
Estimates put the number of illegal guns in Australia at between 400,000 and 700,000, compared to 2,675,785 licensed firearms.
Experts believe most black market guns have been stolen,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Canberra Times (Australia)
35171
Guatemala,El Salvador,Central America,Mexico,United States
US Gun Lobby, Congress Hamper, Slow Work of Feds' Gun Tracing Centre
5 August 2011
Houston Chronicle (Texas)
MARTINSBURG, West Virginia — No signs mark the outside of the hidden 1960s-vintage government facility in the bucolic countryside of West Virginia's panhandle.
Even the parking lot is obscured by black tarps lining a cyclone fence.
But just inside the warehouse-like brick building is the National Tracing Center, the epicenter of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' effort to combat and control illegal gun use.
When police need to trace a... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Houston Chronicle (Texas)
35166
Mexico,United States
US Gun Lobby Fights Mexico Border Semi-automatic Rifle Sale Control
3 August 2011
New York Times / Reuters
WASHINGTON - The U.S. gun industry on Wednesday sued to block requirements that weapons dealers along the border with Mexico report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles, escalating the fight with the Obama administration.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) last month ordered more than 8,000 gun dealers in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California to report such sales to try to stem the "iron river" of guns flowing to violent Mexican drug... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Times / Reuters
35158
United States
US Study on Stray-bullet Shootings Finds Most Harm Women and Youth
2 August 2011
Oregonian (Portland)
A University of California-Davis professor who studied stray-bullet shootings across the country found that most harm women, young children, older adults and individuals who are at low-risk for violence.
The study, which will be published as a letter in tomorrow's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, identified 284 stray-bullet shootings in a one-year period between 2008 and 2009, in which 317 people were killed or injured.
Unlike the risk... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Oregonian (Portland)
35165
Kyrgyzstan,Czech Republic,Pakistan,Afghanistan,Central Asia,Russia,Uzbekistan,China,Kazakhstan,European Union,United States,Colombia,Iran
Smuggling of Small Arms in Central Asia Is Endemic - British Expert
2 August 2011
Journal of Turkish Weekly (Turkey), Transcript
British intelligence analyst and journalist Richard M. Bennett says the Fergana Valley is extremely vulnerable to the covert smuggling of arms and drugs, despite the official reports of Central Asian governments denying its highlighted status. Mr. Bennett told JTW that Russia has been responsible for an overwhelming amount of illegal arms circulating in ex-Soviet Central Asia. In his view, Russia's military intelligence (GRU) is the mastermind of major trafficking... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Journal of Turkish Weekly (Turkey)
35152
Mexico,United States
For Mexicans, US Gun Industry Plays a Role in Mexico's Drug Violence
31 July 2011
McClatchy Newspapers (USA)
MEXICO CITY -- While a gunrunning sting known as Fast and Furious draws criticism in Congress for losing track of weapons that were smuggled into Mexico, Mexicans say the controversy confirms their conviction that the U.S. gun industry profits off of bloodshed south of the border.
As new details of the U.S. undercover operation emerged last week in congressional hearings in Washington, many Mexicans said the scandal demonstrates how easily crime gangs obtain large... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: McClatchy Newspapers (USA)
35145
Norway,Canada
Gun Control in Canada: Crime and the Long-gun Registry
30 July 2011
Montreal Gazette (Québec)
MONTREAL - There are two basic crime scenes when it comes to gun violence in Canada. One involves weapons that are traceable - sometimes using the $1 billion long-gun registry that is likely to be scrapped by the Conservative government this fall, as promised. The other - far more common - involves guns that are not traceable because they are not registered, the registration number was erased or the guns used to kill are never found.
The looming question as MPs get set... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Montreal Gazette (Québec)
35148
Mexico,United States
Inside the Controversial US-Mexico Gun Trafficking Investigation
30 July 2011
Associated Press
PHOENIX -- Ten days before Christmas, ATF agent John Dodson awoke, got his morning coffee, switched on the TV news – and heard the words he had dreaded every day of every month he had been a member of the gun-trafficking investigative team called the Group VII Strike Force.
A Border Patrol agent had been shot dead in a gun battle with suspected bandits. The agent was 40, only months older than Dodson himself, another ex-military man who chose to serve his country by... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
35144
Mexico,United States
Feds Made 'Colossally Dumb Decision' Allowing US Guns to 'Walk' Into Mexico
28 July 2011
New York Times, Editorial
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — perennially hogtied by the gun lobby's power over Congress — made a colossally dumb decision when it concocted a sting operation that let 2,020 high-powered weapons slip across the border into Mexico.
The goal of Operation Fast and Furious, begun in 2009, was to tolerate suspicious large-scale purchases of assault weapons on the American side of the border in order to track the guns all the way up the... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Times
35138
Mexico
Mexican Prison Massacre Using Assault Weapons Left 17 Dead, Including Girl
28 July 2011
Guardian (UK)
Two days of debauchery and horror inside the municipal jail in Mexico's Ciudad Juárez began with alcohol, drugs and sex with minors, and ended with the massacre of 17 people using high-powered firearms later successfully concealed from police.
Some of the violence was captured on a surveillance video released by the state-level authority investigating what happened. It shows two prisoners clearing a corridor of guards before unlocking a door to allow armed men to... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Guardian (UK)
35137
Mexico,United States
US Teen Gets 3yrs Jail for Gun Crime, Killing, Beheading 4 Men in Mexico
27 July 2011
Washington Post / AP
MIACATLAN, Mexico — A Mexican judge on Tuesday sentenced a teenage U.S. citizen to three years in prison for homicide, kidnapping and drug and weapons possession. Authorities say the teen confessed to killing four people whose beheaded bodies were found suspended from a bridge.
Edgar Jimenez Lugo, known as "El Ponchis," was given the maximum sentenced allowed for a minor in the central state of Morelos, said state prosecutor Jose Manuel Serrano Falmerol. Jimenez was... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post / AP
35119
Mexico,United States
Firearm Trafficking: The Embarrassing US-Mexico Operation [Francais]
26 July 2011
Radio Canada
[Translated summary: The investigation carried out into the US Operation against firearms trafficking between US and Mexico is embarrassing for Washington.]
La Chambre des représentants enquête sur une opération du gouvernement américain contre le trafic d'armes entre les États-Unis et le Mexique, qui est en train de plonger Washington dans l'embarras.
Lancée en 2009 par des agents du Bureau de l'alcool, du tabac et des armes à feu (ATF), à Phoenix,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Radio Canada
35120
Central America,Mexico,United States
ATF Data Defy Theory, Tie US Gun Flow To Mexican Cartels
23 July 2011
San Francisco Chronicle
Washington -- The claim that Mexican cartels rely on huge stocks of military surplus weaponry from civil wars in Central America is the mantra of pro-gun organizations fearful that linking drug violence to U.S.-purchased weapons could lead to more gun control.
Though gun-rights advocates and at least one prominent U.S. senator ferociously stand by that politically charged theory, federal firearms data show only a tiny percentage originate south of Mexico's... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: San Francisco Chronicle
35106
Costa Rica,Panama,El Salvador,Nicaragua,Colombia,Central America,United States,Mexico,Honduras,Guatemala
Most Guns Seized in Guatemala 'Come From Honduras' [Espanol]
19 July 2011
La Prensa (Honduras), Editorial
[Translated summary: Most guns seized in Guatemala come from Honduras, claims Public Ministry. Assault rifles, hand grenades, semi-automatic weapons, large caliber rifles as unconventional Barrett .50 caliber and AK-47, were part of the weaponry confiscated from the Zetas (dug cartel) operating in Central America.]
Fusiles de asalto, armas automáticas y granadas buscan los criminales mexicanos en países centroamericanos para continuar la guerra que libran con la... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: La Prensa (Honduras)
35085
Mexico,United States
ATF Chief Confirms Some Criticism of the Agency on US Guns Scandal
19 July 2011
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says that in at least one instance during a now-controversial gun-running investigation his agents did not intercept high-powered weapons when they could and should have.
Kenneth Melson's acknowledgement is the first by any senior ATF leader that confirms some of the criticism that Republicans on Capitol Hill have been leveling at Operation Fast and Furious. The concerns have resulted in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
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Mexico,United States
US Justice Dept. Trying to Shield Officials in Gun Trafficking Scandal
19 July 2011
Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Washington— The Justice Department is trying to protect its political appointees from the Fast and Furious scandal by concealing an internal "smoking gun" report and other documents that acknowledge the role top officials played in the program that allowed firearms to flow illegally into Mexico, according to the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Kenneth E. Melson, the ATF's acting director, also told congressional... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Los Angeles Times
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Honduras
650,000 Illegal Guns Circulating in Honduras [Espanol]
17 July 2011
El Heraldo (Honduras), Editorial
[Translated summary: Honduras seems to be turning into a battlefield. Some 800,000 weapons are between being registered and not registered; 650,000 are circulating illegaly in the country; 19,640 gun deaths between 2005 and 2010. In its latest study, the National Commission for Human Rights urged the Legislative Power to reform the Firearms Act.]
En Honduras hay unas 800,000 armas entre registradas y no registradas.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Honduras entera pareciera... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: El Heraldo (Honduras)
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