Inicio de la páginaGun Policy News, 10 January 2005
Citizens Must Help Stop Gun Crimes
10 January 2005
Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio), Editorial
The epidemic of gun violence in Cincinnati is a disease too few people are trying to cure.
As the startling analysis of gun violence on the front page of today's Enquirer reveals, only a very few of those who shoot and terrorize their victims with guns ever go to jail for the crimes.
A chief reason for the dismal statistics is a lack of cooperation with the police by witnesses and even victims. Detectives in District 1, which includes the West End, Over-the-Rhine and... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunshot Wounds Spread Their Pain
10 January 2005
Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio), Series
Shootings don't just affect the individuals directly involved. Gunfire corrodes neighborhoods and costs law-abiding citizens, too.
"We have communities that are armed to the teeth," says Bonnie Bucquerox, a Michigan State University professor who has written about crime, violence and police reform for 30 years.
"It's as if we're allowing this social flu to live around us while we wait for the pandemic."
Here at home:
- Kids at Washington Park Elementary School in... (GunPolicy.org)
Shootings Rarely Solved, Punished
10 January 2005
Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio), Series
OVER-THE-RHINE — In Cincinnati's most violent neighborhoods, 94 people were shot and wounded last year in robberies, drug deals and street disputes.
That's one gunshot victim every four days in District 1, a region of less than five square miles near the city's urban core.
But here's the startling number: Only two of the gunmen ever went to jail.
While police confiscate increasing numbers of illegal guns, shootings continue and shooters slip away. On the city's... (GunPolicy.org)
10 January 2005
Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio), Series
Patricia Markley is a 62-year-old grandmother who knows gunfire when she hears it.
Not so long ago, she couldn't tell the difference between a car backfiring and gunshots. Gunfire didn't ring out in Madisonville back then. Now it does with regularity.
"People have to get mad," says Markley, who seven years ago became a member of one of the city's first Citizens on Patrol groups. Soon, her group will add a shift keeping watchful citizens out on the streets until 4... (GunPolicy.org)
Cheap Guns Easy to Get and Easy to Get Rid Of
10 January 2005
Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio), Series
This is the gun most often taken off the streets in Cincinnati: A 9 mm Hi-Point semiautomatic pistol.
Made by Hi-Point Firearms in Dayton, Ohio, it's black plastic with a 3½-inch steel barrel. It weighs 25 ounces and comes standard with a clip that holds eight bullets.
The company says it's a quality gun respected for exceptional value in its class. Police say it's popular because it's cheap. The company suggests a retail price of $137, but it can sell on the street... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control, by Any Means Necessary
10 January 2005
San Francisco Chronicle, Opinion
San Francisco's Board of Supervisors is up to its old tricks again, trying to control violent crime by penalizing law-abiding citizens. In their infinite wisdom, the supervisors want to ban private citizens from owning handguns, while the very criminals they seek to undermine are free to purchase them on the black market.
Led by Chris Daly and supported by outgoing board president Matt Gonzalez and fellow supervisors Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty and Michela Alioto-Pier,... (GunPolicy.org)
Local Lawmakers Critical of Daley Gun Proposal
10 January 2005
The Southern, Opinion
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — The mayor of Chicago's push for legislation to make gun dealers accountable for some gun crimes is a familiar song and dance to Southern Illinois state representatives, and it is also likely one that won't be played to completion.
Mayor Richard Daley is urging the state to pick up two of his proposals dealing with gun violence in the upcoming legislative session. One proposal would stop gun dealers from knowingly selling weapons to criminals,... (GunPolicy.org)
Ex-Police Officer Gets Probation for Keeping Restricted Weapons
10 January 2005
National Post (Toronto)
SASKATOON — A Saskatoon firearms officer was given a year on probation yesterday for keeping almost 100 prohibited and restricted firearms he was supposed to have destroyed.
Thomas Vanin, 61, who retired from the Saskatoon Police Service in 1996, pleaded guilty this week to three weapons offences for careless storage of firearms and possessing restricted and prohibited weapons without licences.
In October, 2000, police found 96 handguns, assault rifles, shotguns,... (GunPolicy.org)
Family of Four Found Shot Dead
10 January 2005
News24 (South Africa)
PRETORIA — New school shoes lay in unopened boxes and lunchtime sandwiches were half-eaten — giving one the impression that activity in the Magalieskruin house had come to only a temporary halt.
But, the presence of two mortuary vans and yellow police tape outside the house indicated a totally different scenario — there had been a gruesome family murder.
Inspector Percy Morokane said police found the bodies of Louis Paul Swanepoel, 40, his wife, Janine, 32,... (GunPolicy.org)
Court Orders Judge to Sentence Elderly Man for Selling Guns
10 January 2005
Associated Press
KNOXVILLE — A federal appellate court has ordered another federal judge to jail an elderly flea market gun dealer. It's the third just order in seven months.
The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati Monday said District Judge Tom Varlan was wrong for refusing to send a 71-year-old retired steelworker to jail for illegally selling guns to undercover federal agents at flea markets.
Olen Allman was one of 23 gun dealers, who authorities called "the... (GunPolicy.org)
Millions of Small Arms in Civilian Hands Pose a Danger to Public Security
10 January 2005
Gambia Daily News (Banjul)
A 2003 survey of small arms showed there are around 30 million small arms and light weapons circulating in sub-Saharan Africa, of which 79 per cent are in the hands of the civilians, 19 per cent are with the police and the military and the remaining 2 percent with insurgents. This situation is potentially dangerous, and the entire continent is at risk, Bai Ousman Secka permanent secretary at the Department of State for Defence in Banjul declared on Wednesday.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Face Complaint for Letting Killer Have Shotgun
10 January 2005
Japan Times / Kyodo
UTSUNOMIYA, Tochigi Prefecture — Family members of the victims in a deadly shooting will file a criminal complaint Tuesday against police officers and the chief of the Tochigi Prefecture public safety commission, claiming they allowed the killer to own a shotgun without full inspection, according to sources.
Kimiko Tanaka, 60, and another woman were shot by a neighbor in Utsunomiya in July 2002. Tanaka died and the other woman was injured. The shooter killed... (GunPolicy.org)