SACRAMENTO — A study of California's weapons registration law found that blacks were far more likely to be charged with a felony than whites, who were more often charged with a misdemeanor for the same offense. The study by state Attorney General Bill Lockyer prompted calls for changes from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; the lawmaker who authored the legislation defended it. The study examined data on how the law, which took effect... (GunPolicy.org)

DURBAN — Police in KwaZulu-Natal have expressed concern that people are not taking full advantage of the amnesty to hand in their illegal guns without prosecution. According to the police, only 31 firearms and 972 rounds of ammunition were handed in at police stations in the province since the beginning of the amnesty in January 2005. Police warned that anyone found illegally possessing firearms, parts thereof and ammunition during or after the amnesty period... (GunPolicy.org)

Violent crime recorded by the police in England and Wales rose 6% in the third quarter of last year, new government figures have revealed. Home Secretary Charles Clarke also published separate data showing a 5% increase in the number of firearms offences in the year to September, reaching 10,670 incidents, or 500 more than in the previous 12 months. The total number of crimes recorded by police from July to September last year fell 6% period on period to... (GunPolicy.org)

Violent crime in England and Wales rose by 6% in the third quarter of last year, according to official figures. There were also 10,670 firearm offences recorded by police in the year to September, up 500 on the previous year. Ministers said the violent crime figure was affected by changes to the way police record the crimes and pointed to a 6% fall in all crimes recorded. But Conservative leader Michael Howard said the rise in violent crime confirmed a "dreadful... (GunPolicy.org)

Firearms were a necessary tool for a working dairy farm, a Maitland magistrate conceded yesterday. But Stephen Jackson stressed guns should still be kept according to legislation because "you might be responsible with firearms, but you don't know who else could get them." Dairy farmer Peter Ross Redman learned his lesson the hard way in Maitland Local Court yesterday when he was placed on a two-year bond for failing to take reasonable precautions to ensure a firearm... (GunPolicy.org)

For 15 seconds, a Norvell Township dad let his guard down. Two weeks later, Michael Knott continues to replay the incident in his mind in which an 8-year-old Canton boy was accidentally shot in his home. He expects to be tormented by the memory for the rest of his life, although the boy escaped with a graze wound on his heel. On Monday in District Court, Knott entered a no-contest plea to a firearm safety inspection violation in the Jan. 8 incident. He paid $150 in... (GunPolicy.org)