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Media mentions of .50cal small arms and ammunition
Bill to Kill Canada Long-Gun Registry Delists Sniper Rifles, Semi-Automatics
1 November 2011
Toronto Star (Ontario)
OTTAWA — The powerful Ruger Mini-14 semi-automatic rifle used in the 1989 Montreal massacre and this summer's Norway bloodbath.
Sniper rifles that can pierce light armour from a distance of up to 1.5 kilometres.
Or one that can drop a target two kilometres away.
They are all weapons that will soon be declassified under the Conservatives' bill to kill the long-gun registry and freed from binding controls that now see them listed with the RCMP-run database.
They... (GunPolicy.org)
Scrapping Canada Long-Gun Registry: Some Relevant Numbers
26 October 2011
CBC News (Canada)
Since the introduction of stricter gun laws in 1991, there has been a 65 per cent reduction in homicides by long guns, Statistics Canada data shows. The reduction in homicides involving any type of firearm was 37 per cent.
Statistics Canada released a report on Oct. 26, 2011, on homicides in Canada in 2010. That year, there were 170 shooting homicides, about 32 per cent of all homicides. The total homicide rate fell to its lowest level since 1966 (1.62 per 100,000... (GunPolicy.org)
India: Cartridge Shortage in Open Market for Handgun Licence Holders
20 September 2011
Times of India
VARANASI - For arms licence holders, their revolvers and pistols are proving to be mere show pieces as there is a crisis of cartridges in the open market.
The craze for small firearms like revolvers and pistols has increased in a decade or two. According to the arms section of district magistrate office, there are 14,851 arms licence holders in the district while around 3,300 people are in queue for fresh arms licences. Among the total arms licence holders, about 30%... (GunPolicy.org)
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)
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)
11 Guns Seized Last Week, 75 This Year at Canada's US-BC Border Posts
20 July 2011
Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
VANCOUVER - Canadian border officers in B.C. seized 75 firearms so far this year, included 10 loaded handguns.
The seized weapons were mainly from U.S. travelers who failed to declare them, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.
It is illegal to bring undeclared firearms into Canada.
A total of 461 firearms were seized last year at border crossings across Canada, with 141 of those seized at B.C. crossings.
The CBSA provided a list today of the most recent... (GunPolicy.org)
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)
US-Mexico Gun Running Scandal: 'A Drug-War Plan Goes Awry'
20 June 2011
Wall Street Journal, Opinion
One of the frightening things about the U.S. government's war on drugs is that it is being waged by federal bureaucracies. The legend of Elliot Ness notwithstanding, this implies that it is not only fraught with ineptitude but that before it is all over, there are going to be a lot of avoidable deaths.
Witness "Operation Fast and Furious," a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms plan that allegedly facilitated the flow of high-powered weapons into Mexico in the hope... (GunPolicy.org)
California Tough Gun Control Laws Cut Flow to Mexico
29 May 2011
San Francisco Chronicle
California's tough gun-control laws are targeted at armed criminals in general and mass-shooters in particular. But they appear to have had the unintended consequence of making California gun stores unattractive to purchasers buying weapons for the Mexican drug cartels.
A Hearst Newspapers survey of guns purchased in the United States and funneled to Mexican drug traffickers found that out of 1,600 guns identified by brand name and purchase point in court documents, a... (GunPolicy.org)
Utah Booming Gun Markets Offer Hundreds of Rapid-Firing Military Guns
26 May 2011
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Hundreds of the weapons advertised on KSL.com classifieds are rapid-firing military weapons with pedigrees from around the world.
The proliferation of these weapons, based on military designs, including the ubiquitous AK-47 by Mikhail Kalashnikov, have become wildly popular among shooting enthusiasts. And that popularity is a grave concern to gun-control activists.
"I don't know how anyone can justify having one of those weapons," says Steven Gunn, a spokesman for the... (GunPolicy.org)
American Guns in Mexico, 2 Rival Perspectives: Government and US Gun Lobby
21 May 2011
Wall Street Journal
Late on the night of March 8, 2008, a Mexican military patrol in the northern city of Chihuahua responded to neighbors' complaints about armed men. The soldiers, part of Mexico's ongoing effort to curb narco-trafficking violence, were met with a fusillade of grenades and gunfire. In the end, six men whom officials described as members of a drug gang lay dead.
On the government side, five soldiers were injured and one, Capt. David Mendoza Gómez, was killed. Mexican... (GunPolicy.org)
Former Police Officer Charged with Stealing Amnesty Guns in Chicago
13 May 2011
Chicago Sun-Times
A former Clarendon Hills police officer has been charged with stealing guns obtained through a police department weapons turn-in program in 2007.
Daniel M. Ryan, 48, of Westmont, turned himself in Friday morning to the DuPage County Sheriff's office. He posted 10 percent of a $30,000 bond set by Judge Robert Kleeman, according to a release from the DuPage County State's Attorney's office.
He will appear in court next on June 14 before Judge Daniel Guerin to face two... (GunPolicy.org)
Attorney General Grilled on US Assault Rifle Sales to Mexican Drug Cartels
3 May 2011
Daily Caller (Washington DC)
Rep. Darrell Issa, the California Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee, was able to question Attorney General Eric Holder for the first time over the Project Gunrunner and Operation Fast and Furious scandal during a Tuesday morning hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. The scandal involves a sting operation conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in which American guns – including AK-47 assault rifles and military-grade,... (GunPolicy.org)
Life is Good for US Gun Lobby, Obama Now the Demon to Defeat in 2012
29 April 2011
National Review (USA)
PITTSBURGH - At first glance, life seems good for the National Rifle Association [NRA or US Gun Lobby] and its members.
While many conservatives bewailed the era of Democratic rule that began in January 2009, Obama actually signed several pieces of NRA-supported legislation, including bills allowing Americans to bring guns onto Amtrak trains and carry them in national parks. Now a largely pro–Second Amendment Democratic House majority has been replaced by a largely... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Under Mounting Pressure for Botched Gun Trafficking Investigation
28 March 2011
Fox News (USA)
Congress and the Department of Justice appear to be headed for a showdown this week over documents detailing Operation Fast and Furious, the botched gunrunning sting set up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that funneled more than 1,700 smuggled weapons from Arizona to Mexico.
The Justice Department has until Wednesday to deliver to congressional investigators a stack of records and emails naming the individuals responsible for the gun... (GunPolicy.org)
In Op-Ed to Our Paper, Obama's Political Self Interest Trumps Public Safety
20 March 2011
Daily Star (Arizona), Editorial
Political self-interest must never trump public safety - and yet President Obama is dancing delicately around the fringes of life-and-death gun-control issues rather than facing them down. This is not leadership.
Obama's call in the Arizona Daily Star last week for better firearms enforcement fell far short of the kind of common-sense, middle-of-the-road reforms that are needed in this country - and that also, ironically, generally prevail in public opinion polls.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
2,405 More Americans Have Been Shot Dead Since Tucson Mass Shooting
13 March 2011
Newsweek (USA)
On a snowy Wednesday evening in February, the main attraction on the marquee at the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Va., was True Grit, the Coen Brothers' bloody homage to the shoot-'em-up Westerns of Hollywood's Golden Age. But the movie playing inside had a very different message to send.
Four years ago, on April 16, 2007, Colin Goddard was one of 49 people shot by Seung-Hui Cho in Virginia Tech's Norris Hall, a mere 1,000 yards from the Lyric Theatre — and one of... (GunPolicy.org)
Whistleblower's Fears Realised as US Feds Watched Guns 'Walk' to Mexico
5 March 2011
Arizona Republic
Newly released U.S. records and assertions by a government whistle-blower support allegations that government agents allowed hundreds of firearms to be smuggled across the Arizona border and into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
The records, released by a member of Congress, have prompted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to call for an independent review of a campaign designed to dismantle Mexican crime syndicates that purportedly wound up... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico: Did Flawed US Policies Play Role in Death of Border Patrol Agent?
4 March 2011
Christian Science Monitor
ATLANTA - The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is facing criticism of a program that funneled illegal guns into the hands of Mexican gun runners, drug gangs, and other criminals after two of those guns were found at the scene of the Dec. 14 shooting of US border patrol agent Brian Terry by Mexican bandits in Arizona.
Under the ATF's Operation Fast and Furious, gun smugglers were allowed to buy the weapons in the hopes the US agents could track... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Tracing Operation Let Assault Weapons Flow to Mexican Cartels
3 March 2011
Los Angeles Times
A federal operation that allowed weapons from the U.S. to pass into the hands of suspected gun smugglers so they could be traced to the higher echelons of Mexican drug cartels has lost track of hundreds of firearms, many of which have been linked to crimes, including the fatal shooting of a Border Patrol agent in December.
The investigation, known as Operation Fast and Furious, was conducted even though U.S. authorities suspected that some of the weapons might be used... (GunPolicy.org)
US-Mexico Gun Running Surveillance Backfires: Fed Killed with Texas Gun
3 March 2011
Dallas Morning News (Texas), Editorial
Disturbing recent news reports suggest that federal agents knowingly let arms buyers for Mexican drug cartels smuggle high-powered weaponry across the border, with deadly consequences for U.S. law enforcers. Mexican leaders have warned for years that lax U.S. enforcement of gun smuggling was fueling border-area violence, but they should be particularly disturbed to learn that, in some cases, weapons were being deliberately allowed to flow southward.
CBS News reported... (GunPolicy.org)
US Feds Allowed Hundreds of Guns to Fall Into Hands of Mexican Cartels
3 March 2011
Center for Public Integrity (Washington)
Hoping to score a major prosecution of Mexican drug lords, federal prosecutors and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives permitted hundreds of guns to be purchased and retained by suspected straw buyers with the expectation they might cross the border and even be used in crimes while the case was being built, according to documents and interviews.
The decision — part of a Phoenix-based operation code named "Fast and Furious" — was met by strong... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Endless Romance Firearms: Guns are Seductive and Addictive
20 February 2011
Guardian (UK)
I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.
– John Wayne in The Shootist
Although very rusty, I'm range-qualified on the M-1 rifle, .30-calibre carbine, recoil-less rocket-propelled anti-tank weapon (bazooka), .30- and .50-calibre machine guns, M-2 flamethrower, Thompson "Tommy" submachinegun (beloved of Dillinger-era movies), and the Browning M1911 automatic –... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Rifles Fly off Shelves as Arizona Gun Dealers Arm Mexican Gangs
20 February 2011
Tucson Citizen (Arizona)
A man approaches the counter at a Glendale gun store and asks for five AK-47 rifles.
Three days later, he returns and buys seven pistols. Two weeks later, he buys 20 more AK-47s.
Over the next several months, federal agents say, the same man, Uriel Patino of Phoenix, will return to Lone Wolf Trading Co. 18 times, buying a total of 42 handguns and 190 semiautomatic rifles.
Patino tells store clerks that all 232 guns are for his personal use.
But federal authorities... (GunPolicy.org)
Machine Gun Seized at US-Mexico Border Shows Strength of Drug Cartel
10 February 2011
Houston Chronicle (Texas)
An imposing .50-caliber belt-fed monster gun now sits on a tripod in a protected federal government office in Houston.
Instead of landing in the hands of Mexican drug cartel gangsters, it was captured by federal agents a few weeks ago when it was being delivered as part of a journey to the border.
Although no one has yet been charged in connection with the gun, it stands as a giant green reminder that a war is raging in Mexico and Houston remains a major staging... (GunPolicy.org)
White House Delays Prevention of US-Mexico Assault Weapon Smuggling
9 February 2011
Associated Press
The White House says tracking the bulk sale of high-powered rifles from border states gunshops which legally sell thousands of assault weapons that end up in Mexico each year is not an emergency, and has rejected a request from the U.S. agency that monitors weapons sales to do so without public review.
Instead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' proposed requirement that firearms dealers near the Mexican border to report multiple purchases of... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunrunners Smuggle US Firepower from Detroit to Canada's Drug Gangs
5 February 2011
Windsor Star (Ontario)
WINDSOR, Ontario - He never figured selling death in Canada would be so simple.
"It all started with one question," said the friendly Detroiter with the touch of bling on his fingers and "Hustler" on his oversized T-shirt. "A guy asked me, 'How much would you charge me for a 9-millimetre?'
"Before that I was selling dope, right?"
Just like that. Easy as pulling a trigger.
The opportune question would give "Hustler" his big break in the dangerous but profitable world... (GunPolicy.org)
Romanian Assault Rifles Modified in US, Flood South to Mexican Drug War
3 February 2011
Center for Public Integrity (Washington DC)
Camron Scott Galloway, 21, walked into X Caliber Guns in Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 30, 2008, and filled out forms for the purchase of six AK-47 rifles.
Reliable and powerful, and a bargain at about $500 each, the Romanian-made gun, a semiautomatic version of the iconic Kalashnikov assault weapon, had become popular with the drug cartels in Mexico.
Galloway, who eventually pleaded guilty to a forgery charge and became a cooperating prosecution witness in a broader case,... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama's ATF Budget Cut Threatens Effort to Curb US-Mexico Gun Running
31 January 2011
Washington Post
About three weeks before the deadly shootings in Tucson renewed a national debate about gun control, the White House budget office proposed steep cuts for the agency charged with enforcing federal gun laws.
When officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives saw the proposal, they concluded it would effectively eliminate a major initiative in the fight against firearms trafficking on the Mexican border, according to people familiar with the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Dealer Guilty in US-Canada Gun Smuggling, Licence Forging Scheme
26 January 2011
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A federal jury in Seattle has convicted a Vancouver, B.C., man accused of illegally dealing high-end firearms, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Western Washington reported. Returning their verdict Wednesday afternoon, jurors convicted Oliver King -- a Canadian citizen who previously lost his license to deal guns in that country -- on five counts related to the trafficking and possession of nearly two dozen firearms.
King, 35, was arrested in May after federal agents... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Vancouver Firearm Owner Convicted of US-Canada Gun Running
26 January 2011
Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
A Vancouver man has been convicted in Seattle of trafficking nearly two dozen firearms as well as making false statements to U.S. officials.
Thirty-five-year-old Oliver King, who is also known as Hamid Malekpour, was arrested May 19, 2010, after he traveled from B.C. to Oregon and returned to the border area with 21 guns.
A jury convicted him after a five-day trial. He is slated to be sentenced April 11 and faces up to 10 years in jail.
Jurors heard that King claimed... (GunPolicy.org)
Maine Republican Chairman Receives .50 Sniper Rifle Gun Death Threat
13 January 2011
Kennebec Journal (Maine)
AUGUSTA - Police were called to the Maine Republican Party headquarters to investigate a threatening message discovered Wednesday morning.
GOP Executive Director Christie-Lee McNally said the voice mail message directly threatened Charlie Webster of Farmington, the party chairman.
"A 9 mm might not be able to silence Charlie, but a .50-caliber will. And there's a lot of angry people out there, so Charlie Webster should be very careful," McNally said, paraphrasing the... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Gun Dealer No. 1 Supplier for US-Mexico Crime Gun Smuggling
20 December 2010
ABC News (USA)
GLENDALE, Arizona - The Washington Post recently tracked the number of guns found at Mexican crime scenes which were traced back to gun shops in the United States.
They found that the Lone Wolf Trading Company in Glendale topped the list nationwide.
The Washington Post said Lone Wolf took the number one slot for Mexican traces after it found that 185 guns recovered in Mexico were traced back to their store over the past two years.
The Post also said Lone Wolf came in... (GunPolicy.org)
Violence Runs Rampant as More Texas Guns Traced to Mexico Drug Crime
15 December 2010
Washington Post
No other state has produced more guns seized by police in the brutal Mexican drug wars than Texas. In the Lone Star State, no other city has more guns linked to Mexican crime scenes than Houston. And in the Texas oil town, no single independent dealer stands out more for selling guns traced from south of the border than Bill Carter.
Carter, 76, has operated four Carter's Country stores in the Houston metropolitan area over the past half-century. In the past two years,... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns Gone Bad: How Legal Firearms End Up with Michigan Criminals
12 December 2010
Grand Rapids Press (Michigan)
The Grand Rapids Press did a six-month investigation into how legal guns end up in the hands of criminals. It also marks the beginning of a partnership with Silent Observer to get illegal guns off the street. Here's the kick-off to the series:
Propped up on the ground by his elbows, dying of three bullets to his chest, Gabriel Hood looked at the gun he had just dropped.
The black 9mm Smith & Wesson lay in the dirt a few feet away.
Hood shifted his gaze to the police... (GunPolicy.org)
Utah Lawmaker Wants to Enshrine Browning Pistol as Official State Gun
7 December 2010
KSL-TV News (Utah)
SALT LAKE CITY - Soldiers used it in both World Wars and gun enthusiasts say it has defended American values, but does that mean the Browning 1911 handgun, designed by Ogden native John Browning, deserves a spot as Utah's state firearm? The idea is getting mixed reviews.
The Browning 1911 would be in the same class as the seagull, the state bird; the Sego Lily, the state flower; and the Dutch oven, the state cooking pot. The question some have is whether a state gun... (GunPolicy.org)
US Dad Shows 4yr-old Son How to Fire Shotgun, Kills His 3yr-old Brother
22 November 2010
United Press International
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - A North Carolina man showing his son, 4, how to fire an antique gun shot and killed the boy's 3-year-old brother, authorities said. No charges had been filed.
The victim was identified as Jesse David Simpson.
Jesse was visiting his grandparents' house in Hemby Bridge, about 10 miles southeast of Charlotte, Capt. Mike Easley of the Union County Sheriff's Office told The Charlotte Observer.
The boy was on the back porch with his father and... (GunPolicy.org)
Who's Arming Mexican Drug Cartels? Joe Average America, Even US Cop
21 November 2010
Edmonton Journal (Alberta)
When a former Oklahoma Narcotics Bureau agent, Frank Reyes, pleaded guilty not long ago to running guns, it opened a window on the way Mexican drug cartels fill their arsenals.
The Americans buying guns for Mexican gangsters as part of Reyes' ring are a gamut of college students, jobless men, gun-show employees, city workers -- in short, the guy next door.
The "iron river of guns," as the flow of assault rifles into Mexico has been called, is an irritant in... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland Cop in Corruption Probe Arranged Straw Sale of .50cal Handgun
18 November 2010
WTOP Radio News (Washington, DC)
GREENBELT, Maryland - A Prince George's County police officer accused in a corruption scandal was caught on tape agreeing to transport drugs, federal prosecutors say.
Officer Sinisa Simic is accused of using a firearm while conspiring to traffic cocaine. He was ordered held without bond Wednesday at a hearing in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt.
Sinic and two other county police officers -- Sgt. Rich Delabrer and Cpl. Chong Chin Kim -- were arrested Monday, just days... (GunPolicy.org)
Melbourne Gangster Gets 18mths for Illegal Possession of Handguns
11 November 2010
ABC News (Australia)
A County Court judge has told a member of a Melbourne crime family the community will be pleased to see the end of a bloody feud.
Judge Michael McInerney's comments came as he sentenced Matwali Chaouk to at least 18 months jail for gun possession.
Chaouk, 26, was caught carrying a loaded pistol in a bum-bag on a trip to a mechanics in June.
A month later, a raid by the Santiago Taskforce on the Chaouk family home in Brooklyn unearthed a hidden pump-action shot gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Melbourne Crime Family Member Jailed for Illegal Handguns, Shotgun
11 November 2010
ABC News (Australia)
A County Court judge has told a member of a Melbourne crime family the community will be pleased to see the end of a bloody feud.
Judge Michael McInerney's comments came as he sentenced Matwali Chaouk to at least 18 months jail for gun possession.
Chaouk, 26, was caught carrying a loaded pistol in a bum-bag on a trip to a mechanics in June.
A month later, a raid by the Santiago Taskforce on the Chaouk family home in Brooklyn unearthed a hidden pump-action shot gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Infighting Hampers Effort to Slow US-Mexico Drug Cartel Gun Smuggling
7 October 2010
Washington Post
MEXICO CITY -- Efforts to stem the smuggling of weapons from the United States to Mexican drug cartels have been frustrated by bureaucratic infighting, a lack of training and the delayed delivery of a computer program to Mexico, according to U.S. and Mexican officials.
In the past four years, Mexico has submitted information about more than 74,000 guns seized south of the border that the government suspects were smuggled from the United States. But much of the data is... (GunPolicy.org)
Nevada Gun Dealers Feed Mexican Drug Cartels with Assault Weapons
3 October 2010
Las Vegas Review Journal (Nevada), Column
From the look of things, Southern Nevada resident Marcos Romero was an enterprising fellow.
By day Romero sweated it out at a local Jack in the Box restaurant. Flip the burgers, mop the floor, help behind the counter.
In his spare time, he bought guns. Plenty of them.
Not just any guns, federal authorities allege, but the weapons of choice of Mexico's violent Los Zetas organized crime drug cartel. With its historical connection to the Mexican army, Los Zetas has... (GunPolicy.org)
Murder Weapon's Trip from Mississippi: US Laws Create Highway for Guns
18 September 2010
Chicago Tribune
The .45-caliber handgun found feet from the body of Officer Thomas Wortham IV passed through three states and many hands before a chance encounter at a convenience store set it on its tragic course for Chicago.
The weapon was among several brought to Chicago's streets as part of a gun-trafficking scheme orchestrated by an Englewood man who had risen from a tough upbringing but couldn't shake his criminal ties back home when he arrived at a Mississippi college.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Oklahoma Narcotics Officer Ran US-Mexico Gun Running Ring, Say Feds
11 August 2010
Oklahoman (Oklahoma City)
A former state narcotics agent was arraigned in Oklahoma City federal court Tuesday in connection with a gunrunning scheme that led to the trafficking of firearms to Mexico, according to court records.
Court papers allege that Francisco Javier Reyes, 29, of Oklahoma City, recruited two friends — one of whom is now dead — to buy firearms for him. Those guns later were transported south toward Mexico where federal authorities believe they were to be delivered.
Reyes... (GunPolicy.org)
US Narcotics Agent Accused of Buying, Smuggling Assault Rifles to Mexico
10 August 2010
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has arrested an agent of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics on weapons charges.
Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the state agency, confirmed Tuesday that 29-year-old OBN agent Francisco Javier Reyes Luna, who goes by the last name Reyes, had been arrested by ATF. Woodward said the state agency was cooperating with federal authorities and would launch its own internal investigation.
According... (GunPolicy.org)
Michigan Township Faces $1.1 Million Gun Club Lead Pollution Cleanup
29 July 2010
Record-Eagle (Michigan)
Taxpayers in Elk Rapids Township will decide if they should chip in about $800,000 toward a $1.1 million cleanup of lead contamination at the former Elk Rapids Sportsman's Club.
The township will ask voters on Tuesday for a 0.5-mill levy for seven years that will raise $112,000 its first year. The millage would cost the owner of a home with a taxable value of $75,000 an additional $37.50 a year in property taxes.
The township wants the money to remove lead bullets... (GunPolicy.org)
Iran,Denmark,Germany,Canada,United States
Gun Dealer's Stash of Military-style Guns Links Iran, Canada, US, Europe
26 July 2010
Seattle Times
Federal investigators will have six more weeks to solve the mystery of Oliver King.
A federal judge in Seattle on Monday postponed the trial of an Iranian-born Canadian citizen caught in the U.S. with a huge stash of military-style firearms and ammunition until Sept. 20 in order to give investigators a chance to sort out the man's mysterious past in Iran, Europe and Canada.
Prosecutors in Seattle are working with State Department and law-enforcement officials in... (GunPolicy.org)
Number of Gun Licences Issued in Massachusetts Dropped Sharply in 2009
7 July 2010
Daily News Tribune (Massachusetts)
The number of gun permits issued locally and statewide in 2009 was roughly one-third the total granted two years earlier, but the dramatic figures may not add up to much, police, activists and business owners say.
"You're going to get ebbs and flows," said Jim Wallace, executive director of the Northborough-based Gun Owners Action League.
Statewide, there were 75,930 Class A license-to-carry permits and 9,194 firearms identification cards issued in 2007, and 20,668... (GunPolicy.org)
Progressive California Can Expect Many Challenges to Gun Control Law
4 July 2010
Sacramento Bee (California), Column
The list is tragically long.
Five children dead at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, 1989. Nine dead at 101 California St. in San Francisco, 1993. Nineteen wounded in the North Hollywood shootout, 1997. Four Oakland police officers shot dead, 2009.
Thousands of others have died needlessly but attracted little attention. No state has shed more blood because of gun violence than California.
And no state has done more to combat the carnage. In the past 20 years,... (GunPolicy.org)
More Guns = Less Crime, Mexican President 'Bold Faced Liar' Blaming US
16 June 2010
Santa Monica Daily Press (California), Opinion
When I talk with people about my support for sex education in Santa Monica's public schools, I hear cheers at how enlightened I am. I also hear how stupid these people believe religious types are for preaching abstinence. What surprises me is how conservative these sex education proponents become when I bring up the subject of gun education. Firearm education saves lives.
Let's put irrational phobias and emotions aside and look at the facts. In 2004 the Federal Assault... (GunPolicy.org)
Dozens of Guns, Sniper Rifle Seized from Licensed Vancouver Gun Owner
11 June 2010
Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
The RCMP is investigating a Vancouver man arrested in Washington state last month with dozens of firearms, including a .50-calibre sniper rifle.
Sgt. Duncan Pound, of the Integrated Border Enforcement Team, said B.C. authorities are trying to determine what Oliver King intended to do with the cache of guns and ammunition he stashed in a storage locker in Ferndale, Wash.
"We have investigators working on it," Pound said Thursday. "We work hand-in-hand with American... (GunPolicy.org)
Sniper Rifles to Pink Pistols, It's All at the US NRA's Annual Convention
14 May 2010
Charlotte Observer (North Carolina)
It's the kind of event where you can consider life's possibilities with your own .50 caliber long-range sniper rifle, accurate up to a mile.
Only $5,299, if you have the right permit and the ability to take a recoil strong enough to shake dust from the ceiling tiles.
Not one, but several models are displayed today through Sunday at the Charlotte Convention Center, as part of the National Rifle Association convention.
If that strikes you as unusual, you obviously... (GunPolicy.org)
Availability of Guns in America 'Stunningly Negligent Public Policy'
3 May 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer, Opinion
After graduating from college, I served four years as an infantry officer in the Army's 25th Infantry Division. I fired everything from 9mm pistols to .50-caliber machine guns, routinely qualifying as "expert" with an M16A2 rifle.
It's not despite such experience, but precisely because of it, that I think the availability of guns in America is stunningly negligent public policy. And it may get worse.
One needn't be a constitutional law scholar to discern the Founding... (GunPolicy.org)
Kentucky Machine Gun Shoot Always Fascinates, Alarms Foreign Reporters
10 April 2010
New Zealand Herald
Every six months, 8000 Americans gather for three days in the hills of Kentucky with machine guns, sniper rifles and cannons to blast away a million rounds. Jonathan Franklin buys earplugs and ventures to the edge of the American psyche.
Anyone can attend the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot.
Once you arrive it feels more like a pilgrimage for white American men and their kin.
Entire white families attend the event, including babies with earplugs and 10-year-olds with... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Seized Handguns from Melbourne Crime Family Matriarch's Home
30 March 2010
Australian Associated Press
Detectives searching the home of Judy Moran after she was arrested over her brother-in-law Des "Tuppence" Moran's murder found several guns stashed in a dog's bed and in a concealed safe, a court heard.
Acting-Sgt John Niblett told Ms Moran's committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court that a cache of weapons was seized during the search, including a sawn-off shotgun found in a dog's bed.
Sgt Niblett said he and another detective discovered a hidden safe... (GunPolicy.org)
6 Million Americans Licensed to Carry Hidden Handguns - Useful Summary
24 March 2010
MSNBC (USA)
Waving a chromed semiautomatic pistol, the robber pushed into the building in the bustling Five Points neighborhood of Columbia, S.C., just before 11 p.m. on April 11, 2009. "Gimme what you got!" he yelled, his gun hand trembling.
Attorney Jim Corley was one of four people in the room, the lounge area of a 12-step recovery group's meeting hall. "He said, 'Give me your wallet,'" Corley recalled. "So I reached around to my back pocket and gave him what was... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Overreacts, Objects to Pennsylvania 'No Shotguns at Work' Rule
3 March 2010
Erie Times-News (Pennsylvania), Editorial
In Albion, an issue that should have been confined to the local level has escalated into a skirmish involving the National Rifle Association.
Gun owners are quick to act when they fear their Second Amendment rights are at risk, but in the Albion example, protesters are misfiring.
As Tim Hahn reported on Feb. 6, Jeff Paul, 57, was cited by Albion police in November for disorderly conduct. Police say that Paul, chief operator for Albion's sewage treatment plant,... (GunPolicy.org)
Baja California Police Detain Man With Illegal .50cal Sniper Rifle in Car
3 February 2010
KPBS Radio (San Diego)
Baja California police say a man they detained, who had a high calibre armor piercing gun, offered officers $20,000 to let him go.
State police say an anonymous tip led them to the 32-year-old Joaquín Pedroza Ávila who was in a parked car. Officers say they found the gun in the back seat.
The Barrett .50 calibre, also known as a sniper rifle, can hit targets more than a mile away. Armies around the world use the gun or a slightly modified version. U.S. and Mexican... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvania Gun Show Patrons Far Too Honest to Traffic in Firearms
17 January 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer
They began arriving well before the 9 a.m. Sunday opening, cramming the parking lots and forcing latecomers onto snowy fields. At least half the vehicles were pickups, peppered with road salt and bearing such bumper stickers as "Don't blame me, I voted for McCain" and "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
When the doors to the Lebanon Valley Exposition Center finally opened, they stepped inside and paid $5 to attend the Lebanon Gun Show. By 10 a.m., they... (GunPolicy.org)
NBA All-Star Pleads Guilty Unlicensed Possession
15 January 2010
Washington Examiner
Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge Friday, with prosecutors saying they would recommend the athlete spend no more than two years behind bars.
The 28-year-old NBA All-Star appeared in D.C. Superior Court, pleading guilty to one count of carrying a pistol without a license, which carries a maximum prison term of five years.
Channing Phillips, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said prosecutors agreed to seek a... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Traffickers Ship AK-47s, Submachine Guns, Pistols to Jamaica
14 January 2010
Gleaner (Jamaica)
With 14 days into the new year, the island's security forces have seized more than 1,000 assorted rounds of ammunition and at least 27 illegal firearms, including four high-powered weapons and a number of semi-automatic pistols.
The cracks in the existing security system at Port Bustamante were tested on Monday, when a Jamaican connection in New York sent a shipment containing 12 illegal guns and more than 700 rounds of ammunition.
Up to late Tuesday, two women and a... (GunPolicy.org)
Baltimore Felon Fires at Police with .50cal Handgun, Gets Himself Killed
15 December 2009
Associated Press
A convicted felon armed with a .50-caliber handgun -- a powerful weapon used by some firearms enthusiasts to hunt big game -- opened fire on police officers Tuesday and was shot to death in Baltimore's second police-involved shooting in two days, authorities said.
The gunfight left Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III shaken and angry with a court system he described as too lenient and often dysfunctional.
On Monday afternoon, a convicted murderer was shot... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handguns Become Easier to Carry as US Gun Lobbies Relax Laws
12 December 2009
Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — It's been the year of the gun in Tennessee. In a flurry of legislative action, handgun owners won the right to take their weapons onto sports fields and playgrounds and, at least briefly, into bars.
A change in leadership at the state Capitol helped open the doors to the gun-related bills and put Tennessee at the forefront of a largely unnoticed trend: In much of the country, it is getting easier to carry guns.
A nationwide review by The... (GunPolicy.org)
Warlord's 1000 Assault Weapons Leaked from Philippine Army, Police
8 December 2009
Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines -- The Senate is set to conduct investigations on the large cache of firearms seized by authorities in areas near the mansions of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao.
Senators Rodolfo Biazon, Antonio Trillanes IV and Richard Gordon have filed separate resolutions calling on the proper committees to look into the confiscation.
"This discovery of weapons and ammunition in or near the residences of the Ampatuans, or in properties owned by them, will... (GunPolicy.org)
Small New Zealand Ammo Maker Can Produce 60 Million Rounds a Year
30 November 2009
Defense News (USA), Web page
WELLINGTON — There is an antique aspect to New Zealand's tiny Ordnance Developments Ltd. (ODL), including machinery far older than those who operate it.
However, ODL's status in the world of small-arms ammunition makers belies its small size.
"We're probably in the top five in the world in terms of our capability, which is rather extensive," said John Quigley, ODL's marketing manager.
The company manufactures ammunition ranging from 5.56mm to 9mm cartridges, as... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearm Registration Permits String of US-Mexico Gun Running Arrests
28 October 2009
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)
The man known as "Zorra" is the latest catch for federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents in Las Vegas. Five days ago he pleaded guilty in federal court, and when he is sentenced in January he faces up to five years in prison.
The agents placed Claudio Caesar "Zorra" Penunuri at the center of a gun smuggling ring from here to Southern California and then south into Mexico. He provided the more than $100,000 in cash to purchase 28 rifles and pistols from... (GunPolicy.org)
Child Pornographer Allegedly Making Illegal .50cal Rifles, Machine Guns
28 October 2009
Nevada Appeal
CARSON CITY, Nevada — Machinery suspected in the illegal manufacture of weapons was removed by investigators Tuesday from the shop of a man also charged with possession of child pornography.
Detective Craig Lowe said a search warrant, filed last week in Carson City Justice Court, allowed for the seizure of about $12,000 in equipment that investigators suspect Glenn Ware used to manufacture two fully automatic .50 caliber rifles and a machine gun.
About 8 a.m.... (GunPolicy.org)
Nevada Gun Dealers Sold 28 Weapons to Trafficker for Mexico Drug Cartel
26 October 2009
Las Vegas Sun (Nevada)
A man has pleaded guilty to using straw buyers to purchase at least 28 rifles and handguns in Las Vegas, knowing that the weapons were going to be taken to Mexico for criminal activity, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of Nevada said today.
Claudio Caesar Penunuri, 34, pleaded guilty Friday before U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan to dealing in firearms without a license, Bogden said.
Penunuri, also known as "Zorra" and "Arturo Cardenas," is scheduled to be sentenced... (GunPolicy.org)
New Jersey Gun Dealers Sold 52 Handguns to Fake Buyer, Drug Dealer
14 September 2009
Philadelphia Inquirer
A New Jersey drug dealer who arranged the straw purchases of dozens of guns in exchange for cash and crack cocaine was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia to 30 years in prison.
Sean Hagins was a Trenton crack dealer in 2004 when he saw an opportunity to become a gunrunner. Hagins noticed that one of his customers from Pennsylvania, David Downs, had a pickup truck with an NRA sticker on it.
As a felon with multiple convictions for dealing drugs... (GunPolicy.org)
US Doctor's Hidden-camera Study Reveals Lax Controls at Gun Shows
4 September 2009
Davis Enterprise (California)
SACRAMENTO — California's gun sale laws and supervision of gun shows may be a model for the nation, a UC Davis researcher said Wednesday, but firearms flood in from Nevada, Arizona and other states where laws are lax.
"It is the case (that) gun shows are an important source of crime guns in California. But those gun shows don't happen to be in California — they're in Nevada," said Garen Wintemute, a professor of emergency medicine, speaking at UCD's MIND... (GunPolicy.org)
Chicago Gun Shop Owner Smuggled 234 Firearms to Canadian Gangs
24 August 2009
Toronto Star (Ontario)
The trail of guns led from Chicago to Guelph, where a year ago a coked-up man went berserk and fired shots into his neighbour's apartment and car.
Then it continued to Ottawa, where a 26-year-old man was fatally shot after answering a knock on an apartment door just before Christmas.
A month later, in Vaughan near Weston and Rutherford Rds., three residents were held hostage at gunpoint during a home invasion. Two men pleaded guilty to the crime last month.
These... (GunPolicy.org)
Law Abiding Gun Owners, Politicians Spray US Town with Machine Guns
23 August 2009
Grand Rapids Press (Michigan)
EVART — When Rudolph Tuten and his wife heard machine guns firing near their home July 18, they did not expect the bullet that hit the side of the garage.
"We thought the war was over here," said Tuten, who was standing in the backyard when a bullet pierced the vinyl siding. "All of a sudden: Kaboom! It could have killed someone. "
The bullet came from a shooting demonstration more than a mile away on a farm owned by Kent County Commissioner Dean Agee, R-Grand... (GunPolicy.org)
New Jersey Mulls .50cal Rifle Ban, Microstamping Handgun Ammunition
26 July 2009
Star-Ledger (New Jersey)
Days before he is expected to sign a contentious gun-control bill into law — and motivated by shooting deaths last week that included a Jersey City police officer and a Newark mother — Gov. Jon Corzine convened a press conference today with his running mate and several Democratic allies to call for additional reforms.
The governor also painted himself as tougher on violent crime than Republican challenger Chris Christie, who he criticized for opposing a bill to... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Cache Seized from Licensed Toronto Gun Owner, White Supremacist
20 July 2009
National Post (Toronto)
Police today unveiled a stash of high calibre weaponry and ammunition seized from the Bay Street-area condo of a suspected white supremacist.
A .50 calibre sniper rifle and several semi-automatic rifles were among 10 firearms seized. Det. Wayne Fowler described the collection as "lethal," although all the guns were registered and legally owned.
Police have charged the man with storing the weapons unsafely.
"The real concern is a large quantity of high calibre... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas FBI Agent, 'Gun Nut' Provided .50cal Rifle in Mexico Drug Shootout
15 July 2009
El Paso Times (Texas)
EL PASO — The FBI agent charged with illegal arms trading has been linked to a rifle found at a gunbattle that killed seven people, including a captain in the Mexican army.
John Thomas Shipley, 39, was indicted in federal court last week on charges that he sold weapons without a dealer's license on several Web sites and at gun shows.
An ATF search warrant unsealed Tuesday stated that Shipley sold a .50-caliber rifle to Luis Armando Rodriguez for $8,300 in 2007. At... (GunPolicy.org)
Tax Evader Amassed Guns, Bombs to Kill Feds 'As Any American Would'
8 July 2009
Concord Monitor (New Hampshire)
By turns confessional and combative, Ed Brown took the stand in his own defense yesterday, telling jurors he built pipe bombs, hung exploding rifle targets, and placed guns and ammunition around his Plainfield home when he knew federal agents were trying to arrest him.
But Brown said that his attempts to arm himself were merely defensive and that he added to his arsenal only after he became convinced U.S. Marshals were trying to kill him.
"I was preparing to protect... (GunPolicy.org)
Federal Agencies Vow to Help Each Other Tackle US-Mexico Gun Running
30 June 2009
Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Two federal agencies criticized in the past for failing to work together to stop the flow of smuggled firearms from the United States to Mexico have agreed to boost their cooperation.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives signed a memorandum of understanding Tuesday at the start of a two-day summit in Albuquerque to teach law enforcement officials how to better combat... (GunPolicy.org)
80 Percent of Jamaica's Traceable Crime Guns Are Smuggled from US
23 June 2009
Associated Press
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Ships from Miami steam into Jamaica's main harbor loaded with TV sets and blue jeans. But some of the most popular U.S. imports never appear on the manifests: handguns, rifles and bullets that stoke one of the world's highest murder rates.
The volume is much less than the flow of U.S. guns into Mexico that end up in the hands of drug cartels — Jamaican authorities recover fewer than 1,000 firearms a year. But of those whose origin can be traced,... (GunPolicy.org)
Mogadishu Gun Market Prices Fall, Smuggled Ammunition 'Plentiful'
9 June 2009
Reuters
In Mogadishu, prices of guns and ammunition have fallen in recent months due to plentiful supplies from Eritrea and Uganda and the weapons Ethiopian troops left behind when they withdrew, arms dealers say.
Here is a price list for some popular weapons:
Mortars
120 mm - $700 ($55 per mortar bomb)
82 mm - $300 ($25 per bomb)
60 mm - $200 ($18 per bomb)
Anti-aircraft guns (truck mounted)
23 mm - $20,000 ($2.50 per round)
37 mm version also available, but there is... (GunPolicy.org)
DC Could Use a Hand from Obama as Gun Lobby Keeps Capital Voteless
21 May 2009
Washington Post
In the three months since the U.S. Senate approved the D.C. voting rights bill, dates targeted for a House vote have come and gone with no action. An amendment eliminating most gun laws in the District and stripping city officials of their ability to regulate guns holds the bill hostage, stymieing its supporters. Now time is running out, and House Democratic leaders could use an assist from the White House.
The bill giving D.C. residents a voting member of the House... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Data Overstates US Share of Guns Smuggled to Fuel Drug War
14 May 2009
El Paso Times (Texas)
EL PASO — More than 90 percent of about 11,000 guns tied to violence in Mexico's drug wars came from the United States, but those weapons were handpicked for tracing by Mexican authorities.
The Mexican federal attorney general's staff recently acknowledged that Mexican authorities had seized 35,943 arms, including 2,800 grenades, since the crackdown against the drug cartels began in December 2006.
That means Mexico provided the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,... (GunPolicy.org)
Was 'Anti-aircraft' Gun Seized in Mexico a Big Police Hoax?
10 May 2009
Narcosphere, Web page
Mexican federal police commander Gen. Rodolfo Cruz Lopez described a weapon seized last month from one of the nation's deadly "drug cartels" as a .50 caliber anti-aircraft gun that fires 6-inch armor-piercing bullets at the rate of 800 rounds per minute.
The mainstream media coverage on both sides of the border trumpeted the capture of this Rambo-style machine gun as evidence of the increasing danger the drug-trafficking organizations pose to civil society.
A report... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico's Cache of 88,537 Smuggled, Seized Crime Guns Stymies Tracing
6 May 2009
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Deep inside a heavily guarded military warehouse, the evidence of Mexico's war on drug cartels is stacked two stories high: tens of thousands of seized weapons, from handguns and rifles to AK-47s, some with gun sights carved into the shape of a rooster or a horse's head.
The vault nestled in a Mexican military base is the government's largest stash of weapons — some 88,537 of them — seized from brutal drug gangs. The Associated Press was... (GunPolicy.org)
Ontario Driver Had 100 Boxes of Illegal Ammo, .50cal 'For Gun Show'
5 May 2009
Cornwall Standard-Freeholder (Ontario)
A man transporting more than 100 boxes of military ammunition, bayonets and a box of black gun powder has been charged by the Cornwall police.
Edwin Baron-Vartian, a 69-year-old Scarborough, Ont. Resident under a court order prohibiting him from possessing explosives for the rest of his life, was pulled over on Brookdale Avenue Saturday afternoon for a routine traffic check.
Baron-Vartian told the officer he was planning on selling the items at a gun show, but Sgt.... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexican Arms Race: Ever-bigger US and Other Guns Reach Drug Cartels
19 April 2009
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY, Mexico — An escalating arms race among Mexico's drug cartels casts doubt on whether Mexico or the U.S. can stop the flow of weaponry, despite renewed vows last week from presidents of both countries.
Stockpiles captured by Mexican soldiers show that warring traffickers are now obtaining military-grade weaponry such as grenades, launchers, machine guns, mortars and anti-tank rockets.
Some drug gangs have even sought explosive material that some experts... (GunPolicy.org)
Sydney Collector Surrenders Military Assault Rifles, Automatic Shotguns
19 April 2009
NSW Police Force, Media release
A collection of prohibited high-powered military-grade weapons, including fully-automatic assault rifles and shotguns, has been handed in to police during the State Government's Firearms Amnesty.
Around 10pm on Wednesday, 15 April, lawyers for a local gun owner attended the Manly Police Station and presented officers with a large, locked metal box.
When detectives from the State Crime Command's Firearms and Organised Crime Squad opened the box, they discovered an... (GunPolicy.org)
Sydney Gun Dealer, Collector Gives Up Illegal Automatic Assault Weapons
19 April 2009
Sydney Morning Herald
An alleged illegal gun dealer charged by police over a hoard of military firearms, including the first AK-47 assault rifle seized in NSW, has used the gun amnesty to surrender more firearms.
A solicitor acting for Allan Driver, 59, of Elanora Heights, stunned Firearms and Organised Crime Squad officers by surrendering six high-powered weapons and ammunition to Manly police on Wednesday.
Police said the weapons were inside a locked metal strongbox and included a 5.56mm... (GunPolicy.org)
Sorry, NRA: Mexican Gun Traffickers Do Buy American Assault Weapons
16 April 2009
Huffington Post (USA)
In a recent 'commentary' posted on CNN.com, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre dismissed statements from U.S. and Mexican government officials that, based on firearms tracing data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Mexico's drug cartels obtain 90 percent or more of their firearms from the United States.
In making his argument, LaPierre preaches to the choir in the apocalyptic tones familiar to... (GunPolicy.org)
Ending Flows of Drugs, Guns Tops President Obama's Mexico Visit
15 April 2009
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
WASHINGTON - As the death toll in Mexico's drug wars soars into the thousands, the United States government and public have focussed more attention not just on drugs flowing north but also on the easy supply of weapons flowing south.
"There's no doubt that the vast majority of weapons seized in Mexico come from the United States," Attorney General Eric Holder said on a trip to Mexico earlier this month. "This is a reality we have to face in the United States, and it's... (GunPolicy.org)
American Gun Sale Loopholes Let Weapon Smuggling to Mexico Flourish
15 April 2009
New York Times
HOUSTON — John Phillip Hernandez, a 24-year-old unemployed machinist who lived with his parents, walked into a giant sporting goods store here in July 2006, and plunked $2,600 in cash on a glass display counter. A few minutes later, Mr. Hernandez walked out with three military-style rifles.
One of those rifles was recovered seven months later in Acapulco, Mexico, where it had been used by drug cartel gunmen to attack the offices of the Guerrero State attorney... (GunPolicy.org)
Sting Nets Mexican Gun Runners Buying $2million Worth of US Weapons
14 April 2009
El Paso Times (Texas)
EL PASO — Two men from Guadalajara, Mexico, are accused of trying to buy $2 million worth of weapons and ammunition from undercover federal agents in El Paso.
Osvaldo Tostado Gonzalez, 31, and Gabriel Gonzalez Gonzalez, 38, allegedly planned to smuggle automatic rifles and other firearms into Mexico, said Leticia Zamarripa, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Both men made an initial appearance before a federal magistrate Monday. A detention... (GunPolicy.org)
Canadian Feds Seize 41 Firearms, .30cal Machine Gun in BC Drug Raid
10 April 2009
Globe & Mail (Toronto)
VICTORIA — A military-grade machine gun seized by Nanaimo RCMP this week is likely an army surplus weapon smuggled into Canada as part of the thriving illegal gun trade, a Vancouver-based firearms researcher said yesterday.
"It's almost certainly a smuggled weapon," said Gary Mauser, a retired Simon Fraser University business professor who has lectured extensively on the criminal use of firearms.
"Most of the illegal weapons like this are military surplus that... (GunPolicy.org)
Mounties Alarmed By Military Arms Cache, .50cal Machine Gun in BC
9 April 2009
United Press International
NANAIMO, British Columbia — The Royal Canadian Mounted Police expressed concern over the nature of heavy weapons they seized in a Vancouver Island raid.
Early Wednesday, RCMP officers stormed a large property with numerous buildings on it near Nanaimo and arrested four men and a woman after finding more than 1 pound of cocaine, at least $50,000 in cash and a total of 41 weapons, the Times Colonist newspaper in Victoria reported.
Constable Gary O'Brien said two... (GunPolicy.org)
Does America Need More Gun Control? Point, Counterpoint Op-Ed
8 April 2009
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
Do the recent mass shootings in New York state and Pittsburgh suggest a need for more stringent firearms laws? The Brady Campaign's Paul Helmke and 'Ricochet' author Richard Feldman debate.
Today's topic: Richard Poplawski, the alleged gunman in the April 4 Pittsburgh shootings, reportedly obtained his weapons legally. Jiverly Wong, who killed 13 people in New York state on April 4, also bought his guns legally, having passed background checks. Does this suggest the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Warning 'Could Have Changed Response' in Pittsburgh Cop Killing
8 April 2009
Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh)
When Richard Poplawski learned the fourth victim of a deadly encounter at his Stanton Heights home survived with a wound to his hand, he callously responded, "Oh, I thought I got that one, too," investigators said Tuesday.
During interviews with police, Poplawski, 22, described how he fired extra bullets into the motionless bodies of Officers Stephen J. Mayhle and Paul J. Sciullo II "just to make sure they were dead," detectives said.
He thought about going out in "a... (GunPolicy.org)
Sydney Police Seize Machine Guns, .50cal Sniper Rifle, Assault Weapons
3 April 2009
Sydney Morning Herald / AAP
Among a stockpile of illegal weapons seized by police was a sniper rifle so powerful it could bring down a jet or penetrate a bulletproof car over two kilometres away, experts say.
A sniper standing on Sydney's Centrepoint Tower using the .50 calibre rifle could take out the engine of a car near the Opera House or stop a bus on the Anzac Bridge, such was its potency, they said.
Police yesterday showed off the weapons stash, which also included a Russian-designed AK-47... (GunPolicy.org)
Machine Guns, AK-47, .50cal Sniper Rifle Seized in Australian Police Raid
2 April 2009
Australian Associated Press
An AK-47 assault rifle, a high-calibre sniper rifle and machine guns are among a large cache of weapons uncovered by police in a sting operation culminating in a series of Sydney raids.
The Russian-designed Kalashnikov military rifle is the first recovered by New South Wales police.
Two men have been arrested after the year-long operation targeting the illegal supply of military-style firearms and other weapons, which culminated in raids yesterday and... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Trying Harder to Catch Smuggled US Guns at Porous Border
1 April 2009
Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — Try to bring a refrigerator into Mexico in the back of your pickup, and you are almost certain to get stopped by Mexican customs officials.
Stick a couple of AK-47 rifles in your trunk, and chances are you'll whiz right through.
Now Mexico is owning up to its leaky border as it launches a new program to monitor vehicles entering the country. The goal is to weigh and photograph southbound cars and trucks, in hopes of snaring more gun smugglers.
As the... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Gun Sales Rise 'Dramatically' as Fear of Obama Drives Buyers
28 March 2009
SunCoast News (Florida)
Gun sales have risen dramatically. More than 600,000 Floridians are licensed to carry guns and they still are applying in record numbers.
A backlog in applications for firearm permits has caused the state to hire extra personnel to process the logjam in Tallahassee, says Rob Shewmake. The Holiday man wants to ensure these applicants are properly trained in handling weapons.
He, along with partners John Potter of Dunedin and Danny Riese of Palm Harbor, own the... (GunPolicy.org)
