The Government's decision to offer another amnesty to the owners of illegal firearms has fuelled a further bitter debate about gun control. Police Minister Clem Simich yesterday announced details of a 6-month-long amnesty, saying there are an estimated 70 thousand owners of unlicensed firearms. Labour's Phil Goff says the government has shown a lack of resolve to get an effective licensing regime. He says long after gun licensing was due to be completed, more than a... (GunPolicy.org)

TAMPA, Florida — Hillsborough County, where a cop killer had bought weapons at gun shows without undergoing criminal background checks, is the fourth Florida county to adopt an ordinance closing that loophole in state law. The county will require background checks and impose a three-day waiting period on most firearm purchases at gun shows and in other public places. State law allows buyers to bypass background checks for weapons sold by collectors, often at gun... (GunPolicy.org)

Los Angeles gun dealers should be prohibited from selling more than one handgun to any buyer per month, a City Council panel recommended Wednesday. The action followed more than an hour of sometimes emotional testimony about how some people legally buy firearms and then sell them to minors or felons not authorized to own guns. Imposing a limit would hinder such straw purchasers from funneling firearms to criminals, said LAPD Det. Steve Muldorfer and Councilman Mike... (GunPolicy.org)

WELLINGTON — Firearm licensing should be the responsibility of a separate agency because the police did not have the resources to do it properly, Labour's justice spokesman Phil Goff said today. He criticised the six-month amnesty for gun owners who had not renewed their licences, announced yesterday by Police Minister Clem Simich. 'It is simply not good enough that compliance is seen as a voluntary process,' he said on National Radio. 'Everybody thinks it's a... (GunPolicy.org)