Philadelphia's murder rate increased by almost 8 percent in 2000 over the previous year's deadly toll, and the primary cause, according to Police Commissioner John F. Timoney, is easy access to firearms. "Philadelphia will always have an inordinately high homicide rate simply because of the availability of guns," the commissioner said in an interview. "It's not an accident that, year after year, Philadelphia, out of the top 10 cities, has the highest proportion of gun... (GunPolicy.org)

Downing Street last night slapped down the outspoken sports minister Kate Hoey after she attacked the ban on handguns introduced after the Dunblane massacre. A spokeswoman stressed Ms Hoey's views, which drew immediate condemnation from anti-gun campaigners, were not shared by the prime minister and were a clear breach of laws banning all handguns introduced in 1997. The careful distancing from the junior minister's views came after the maverick MP for Vauxhall told a... (GunPolicy.org)