Inicio de la páginaGun Policy News, 4 March 2002
Activists Criticize Gun Sales Through Classifieds
4 March 2002
Editor and Publisher (USA)
CHICAGO — Gun-control activists in 16 states are beginning to call on newspapers with a blunt message: Be a patriot stop taking classified ads for gun sales between private parties.
The anti-gun coalition said its survey of 282 papers in 16 states found 77% of them accepted some classified ads for guns. Nearly half — 46% — refuse to accept ads for handguns. The ones that do run gun classifieds, according to the coalition, allow buyers to elude the background... (GunPolicy.org)
Black Editor Backs Stop and Search
4 March 2002
BBC News
A dramatic rise in gun crime can only be contained by the police increasing their use of stop and search, the editor of Britain's leading black newspaper has claimed.
Mike Best, editor of The Voice, said the concerns felt by many black people about the practice were outweighed by figures showing that shootings are at an all time high in London and other British cities.
He told the BBC: I think most people would prefer not to be stopped and searched, but I think the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Law Proviso Unclear to Cops
4 March 2002
Detroit Free Press
A new state ruling may require police reservists to file for concealed weapons permits, prompting some police departments in metro Detroit to seek further clarification as to whether they are illegally carrying weapons.
Across metro Detroit, hundreds of unpaid reservists many of them armed supplement police departments, often at school events.
But the state's new concealed weapons law, signed last year, says concealed weapons licensed to the general public under the... (GunPolicy.org)
BB Guns Targeted by Anti-Gun Forces
4 March 2002
Fox News (USA)
WASHINGTON — Urban legend has turned to reality in a suburban Georgia community where fun and games that led one child to lose an eye has forced local lawmakers to curb horseplay with BB guns.
A recent ordinance passed in Alpharetta, Ga., a suburb of Atlanta, has outlawed the use of BB guns, pellet guns and paint guns for children under the age of 16 unless under adult supervision.
Supporters say kids have been roaming the neighborhoods, killing cats and maiming... (GunPolicy.org)
California School Shooting One Year Later
4 March 2002
Associated Press
EL CAJON, California — She cries in line at the local movie theater, at the bookstore and after noticing the March 5 expiration date on a milk carton in the supermarket.
As Mari Gordon-Rayborn prepares to mark the one year that has passed since the school shooting that killed her son and another teen-age boy, she confronts grim reminders at every turn.
There's just no way around it, Gordon-Rayborn said. It's a part of our lives now.
A year ago Tuesday, a student... (GunPolicy.org)
Ridge Says Arming Pilots Doesn't Make a Lot of Sense
4 March 2002
USA Today
WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge says pilots should not be allowed to keep guns in cockpits to thwart hijackings.
I don't think we want to equip our pilots with firearms, Ridge said in an interview. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
White House officials say Ridge's view reflects the thinking of President Bush, who has not commented publicly on the issue.
Ridge's opposition echoes Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, who told the Los... (GunPolicy.org)
Mineta Opposes Guns in Plane Cockpits
4 March 2002
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Pilots shouldn't be allowed to carry guns, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said Monday.
Mineta, who has generally been cool to the idea, made his comments as the Air Line Pilots Association formally asked the Transportation Department to allow pilots to have firearms in the cockpit.
I don't feel we should have lethal weapons in the cockpit, Mineta said.
He didn't rule out allowing non-lethal weapons, such as stun guns. That decision is up to... (GunPolicy.org)
4 March 2002
Tucson Citizen (Arizona)
Tucson, viewed as perhaps Arizona's most liberal city, has become a key battleground between gun enthusiasts and those who want more gun control.
It was here where a state law preventing cities and towns from enacting virtually any gun ordinance was born.
That shouldn't be surprising, given that the Old Pueblo is home to some of the most outspoken and influential gun-rights activists in the state and nation.
City leaders may have bolstered Tucson's liberal reputation... (GunPolicy.org)
Dell Falls Foul of Pro-Gun Lobby
4 March 2002
Register (UK)
The USA's awesomely powerful pro-gun lobby is taking aim at Dell, after the patriotic Texan, PC maker, refused to take an order from a prominent American pistolsmith.
Jack Weigand, president of the American Pistolsmiths Guild, was told by Dell that the company had refused to complete his order for a notebook, following the company's post September 11-screening policies. The reason? The name of Wiegand's company, Weigand Combat Handguns inc., failed the screen,... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Takes Dell's Side in Dispute With Gunsmith
4 March 2002
Washington Post
Stepping into the middle of a fiery debate, the National Rifle Association has declared that Dell Computer Corp. is not an enemy of gun owners.
In a message posted Friday at its Web site and faxed to some members, the nation's biggest gun lobbying organization weighed in on a dispute between a Pennsylvania gunsmith named Jack Weigand and the Texas-based computer maker.
NRA will continue to explore these issues, but it would appear that Dell as a corporation does not... (GunPolicy.org)
4 March 2002
Denver Post (Colorado), Editorial
Once again, Colorado lawmakers are trying to seal public records on concealed-weapons permits and, once again, we have to say this is a bad idea.
Two years ago, Gov. Bill Owens agreed with us when he vetoed a bill to require state and local officials to withhold the identity of persons who have concealed-weapons permits.
Still, the idea won't stay buried. This time around, the provision has been attached to a broader privacy-rights bill offered by Rep. Mark Cloer,... (GunPolicy.org)
Knives and Guns Too Much for Britain's Bobbies
4 March 2002
Reuters
LONDON — Britain once prided itself as the nation which gave world its first official police force putting bobbies on the beat to patrol the streets, keep order and help those in trouble.
Now police fight a daily battle with muggers, killers and thieves. It is a battle they are losing.
In a telling sign of how crime now rules, police have decided to scrap the traditional yellow placards once placed at the scene of a robbery or hit-and-run to appeal for... (GunPolicy.org)
4 March 2002
Ann Arbor News (Michigan)
Jim Karenko came to his appointment with the Washtenaw County Gun Board last month armed with a dozen letters from therapists and friends attesting to his character. He also had a daughter on each arm to answer questions about his past.
He hoped to show the three-member panel that he was not a danger to himself and others as they presumed from police and court records, and that he's worthy of their trust to carry a concealed weapon responsibly.
Yet Karenko wasn't... (GunPolicy.org)
Judge Dismisses Columbine Suit Against Media
4 March 2002
Reuters
DENVER, Colorado — A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit that claimed Time Warner Inc. and other entertainment companies produced works that drove two teenagers to gun down and kill a teacher and 12 fellow students in the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
The family of Dave Sanders, a teacher who was fatally shot during the massacre in Littleton, Colorado, brought the suit against Time Warner, now known as AOL Time Warner, and the company's New Line Cinema... (GunPolicy.org)
Order to Remove Rifle Riles OU Professor
4 March 2002
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
ATHENS, Ohio — Amid the fishing gear that adorns his office walls, Ohio University journalism Professor Patrick Washburn reserved a spot for a piece of family history.
For 15 years, Washburn displayed his great-grandfather's rifle.
But someone complained, and in January, OU police ordered him to remove the rifle.
University officials say the school's workplace violence policy forbids the display.
It's been up all these years, Washburn said last week. Why do they... (GunPolicy.org)
Boy, 4, Fatally Shoots 18-Month-Old
4 March 2002
Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — A 4-year-old boy shot and killed an 18-month-old girl with her father's handgun as the two were watching a movie in a bedroom.
I m not sure how he got a hold of a gun, police spokeswoman Capt. Marie Saenz said. It accidentally went off killing an 18-month-old child.
Police did not know if any charges would be filed in the Sunday shooting.
The children's families share an apartment. Three of the four parents were home when the shooting... (GunPolicy.org)