EDMONTON — Oscar Lacombe's plan of being the first person charged under Canada's new firearms legislation misfired Monday when police simply interviewed the former Alberta legislature sergeant-at-arms. Mr. Lacombe, 74, paraded in front of the legislature New Year's Day with an unregistered .22-calibre rifle, saying "Come and arrest me — please!" Edmonton Police spokesman Wes Bellmore said based on the interview Alberta's Crown prosecutor's office will eventually... (GunPolicy.org)

In the interest of helping an old scribbler with diminishing comprehension levels to better understand what all the fuss is about, let us put aside, for the moment, the nuances and complications surrounding the great national firearms boondoggle — the one that federal government bureaucrats have turned into an unbelievable mess. It seemed at the start like a very simple procedure, but now sits at a cost of $800 million and counting. The issue has raised public... (GunPolicy.org)

It's a question that has plagued Greater Toronto and haunted victims' families for years. But with the accidental death of a 6-year-old boy in Mississauga, shot while playing with his 7-year-old sister on Jan. 3, the question of how to get illegal guns off the streets has taken on a greater urgency. "Society as a whole plays a part in the problem," says Bob Frolic, head of the National Weapons Enforcement Support Team (NWEST). "We can complain all we want about the... (GunPolicy.org)

Two out of three schoolchildren in Greater Manchester claim they have seen a gun in real life, a shock Manchester Evening News survey reveals. More than one in 10 said they would consider carrying a gun themselves. The study involving hundreds of pupils across Greater Manchester reveals the terrifying extent to which firearms have become a part of everyday life for our schoolchildren. And Manchester MP Tony Lloyd says the findings show the scale of the task faced by... (GunPolicy.org)

Urban Canadians don't think of themselves as pistol-packin' folk. But if you have 15 family or friends, chances are you know a gun owner. Some 2.3 million Canadians own nearly 8 million guns, and the vast majority are properly licensed, with their guns recorded in the new federal gun registry. Who are these people, apart from the military, police and private security guards? They're farmers who keep a rifle handy to put down predators and livestock. They're... (GunPolicy.org)

Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan is on shaky legal ground pursuing second-degree murder charges against people who supply illegal guns that are subsequently used in killings. Even so, while no substitute for tougher gun control laws, Duggan's aim — slowing the street traffic of illegal weapons — is a good one. One can at least hope that his well-publicized hard line deters some illegal sellers. Duggan picked a good case to try to set a precedent in a city... (GunPolicy.org)

The seizure of 220 assault rifles and 60 shotguns at a warehouse at Cape Town International Airport last week has taken a dramatic twist with claims by a Pretoria lawyer that the weapons were legal and destined for a Plumstead weapons dealer. Martin Wood, lawyer for Suburban Guns, claimed the Firearms and Ammunition Act only required that a permit be produced once the weapons had been claimed. In an interview with a Sunday newspaper, Wood also claimed a faxed... (GunPolicy.org)