Inicio de la páginaGun Policy News, 21 March 2002
21 March 2002
Washington Post, Opinion
On a sunny Saturday, as I began my weekly rounds in my Connecticut Avenue neighborhood, I was startled to find myself in the middle of a demonstration. About 50 youths, most of high school age, were waving posters and shouting chants against, of all people, H&R Block, the tax return preparers who have an office in the middle of the block.
Yes, H&R Block. The issue? Guns. According to fliers being distributed by the demo sponsors, the Alliance for Justice, the tax folk... (GunPolicy.org)
Judge Lets Suit Stand Against Gun Sellers
21 March 2002
Associated Press
A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed most of the lawsuits against gun-show vendors accused of selling weapons to the underage Columbine killers.
But U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock let stand a lawsuit by the families of four children killed by shotgun fire. Their suit claims Ronald Frank Hartmann of Colorado Springs sold a shotgun to Robyn Anderson and that it was clear she was purchasing it for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine gunmen.
Anderson was 18,... (GunPolicy.org)
21 March 2002
Daily Camera (Colorado), Editorial
Elected officials who serve their allotted eight years in the state Senate or House of Representatives must have heard everything there is to say on concealed weapons. Year after year they listen to the arguments, and year after year they divide hopelessly on the central issue: Should Colorado impose a statewide standard for issuing concealed-weapons permits?
What Colorado lawmakers should do is quit arguing and pass a law. This straightforward question of law... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Permits Surge, But Not Violence
21 March 2002
Detroit News
WATERFORD — The only place Cliff Dabrowski has pulled his new 9mm Glock is the shooting range, but he keeps it in a shoulder holster he wears every day to protect his wife and young son.
The police are doing a good job, but there's just too much going on, the computer programer said, explaining why he applied for a concealed gun permit. It's the opportunity to take care of myself and my family.
Dabrowski, 38, of Waterford is one of an average of 88 people a day... (GunPolicy.org)
Court Challenge Next for Campaign Finance
21 March 2002
Seattle Times
WASHINGTON — The first major overhaul of federal campaign-finance laws in nearly 30 years achieved final congressional approval yesterday as the Senate voted 60-40 to pass the measure.
President Bush pledged to sign the bill, which would not go into effect until Nov. 6 — after the midterm elections — and which faces a rocky future. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would challenge its constitutionality before a three-judge federal panel.
The National Rifle... (GunPolicy.org)
Judge Tosses Lawsuits Against Gun Dealers
21 March 2002
Rocky Mountain News (Colorado)
Three gun dealers aren't liable for selling weapons used by Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in dismissing five lawsuits.
The decisions by Chief Judge Lewis Babcock came in suits filed by the families of one student who was killed in the April 20, 1999, attack, and four others who were wounded.
The families have the option of appealing Babcock's ruling.
Babcock found, among other things, that gun show operator J.D.... (GunPolicy.org)
21 March 2002
Washington Post, Editorial
So much for a modest city government attempt to keep guns out of public buildings in Alexandria: The state legislature controlled by lawmakers who believe that gun safety means carrying one has sent a bill to Gov. Warner that would all but invalidate Alexandria's ban on guns in city buildings. The bill also would make it illegal for any other local government to adopt a law or rule on gun uses that has not been expressly authorized by the state. One lone... (GunPolicy.org)
Blowout in Sales for Gun Dealer
21 March 2002
New York Post
Terrorist fears have sent Smith & Wesson gun sales soaring more than seven-fold, pushing its stock to a new high yesterday.
The once-ailing firearms firm said it had just gotten on its feet last summer for a turnaround when the Sept. 11 attacks came.
The attacks and terrorist concerns have affected the entire gun industry and particularly us, said Mitchell Saltz, chairman of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.
Smith & Wesson had hit bottom during its 14-year ownership by... (GunPolicy.org)
Manitoba Man Who Registered Soldering Gun as a Protest Could Get Jail Time
21 March 2002
Canadian Press
OAK LAKE, Manitoba — A man who successfully registered his soldering gun as a firearm says he did so to point out the absurdity of the federal gun registry program.
But Brian Buckley's act of civil disobedience may create more problems than he bargained for. Government officials aren't happy and, according to the Criminal Code, he could go to jail for up to five years. Buckley, who has a possession-only firearms licence, said he got a form to register his guns in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control Advocates Block Bill in Maryland House
21 March 2002
Washington Post
Maryland lawmakers who backed a plan to expand access to firearms said they will withdraw that proposal today rather than wade into a wide-ranging gun control debate on the House floor.
The Maryland House of Delegates was preparing to vote today on a provisionintended to clarify whether someone with a relatively minor criminal conviction, from a decade earlier, could regain the right to own a gun. But this week, gun control advocates threatened to use the measure to... (GunPolicy.org)
21 March 2002
Denver Post (Colorado), Editorial
Has Hades has frozen over? Can the legislature truly be close to a compromise on passing a sensible statewide concealed-weapons law that will end the crazy-quilt of local ordinances and whims that has heretofore passed for policy?
Only last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee, voting along party lines, killed Republican Sen. Ken Chlouber's proposal that would have required concealed-carry permits to be issued to anyone over 21 who passed a background check, completed... (GunPolicy.org)
21 March 2002
Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio)
COLUMBUS — For the first time in seven years, a bill that would let people carry concealed handguns in Ohio moved out of a state legislative committee Wednesday.
But it could soon stall.
The bill would allow gun owners to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon. The House Civil and Commercial Law committee voted 8-3 to forward it to the full House. Lawmakers made several changes to the proposal, but they were not enough to win the support of state law enforcement... (GunPolicy.org)
21 March 2002
Cincinnati Post (Ohio)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Greater Cincinnatians who hope to obtain state permits to carry concealed weapons would need a lengthy list to track where they could — and could not — carry hidden handguns.
Under a bill expected to be passed today by the Ohio House of Representatives, gun-permit holders could walk into Cincinnati City Hall or the Ohio Statehouse with firearms.
Carrying guns into suburban city halls where mayor's courts are conducted would be prohibited,... (GunPolicy.org)
Ruling Bodes Ill forPalm Beach County Trigger-Lock Gun Law
21 March 2002
Palm Beach Post (Florida)
An appeals court decision in Miami could mean the end of a trigger-lock ordinance in Palm Beach County.
On Wednesday, the 3rd District Court of Appeal declared null and void a similar gun ordinance in the city of South Miami. The National Rifle Association of America and Unified Sportsmen of America, among others, had challenged that ordinance.
The appeals court ruled that South Miami's ordinance conflicted with Florida statutes that give the state not municipalities... (GunPolicy.org)