Gardaí expect more than 3,000 illegal firearms will be handed over in the up-coming amnesty ahead of tough new anti-gun laws. Automatic minimum jail terms of between five and 10 years for a range of weapons' offences are set to be approved by the Oireachtas before the summer as part of the Criminal Justice Bill. The move is aimed at cracking down on Ireland's spiralling "gun culture" which left 19 people dead last year in gangland shootings alone. The offences to... (GunPolicy.org)

Given Ireland's spiralling gun culture, matched by an explosion of murders in drug wars between rival gangs, an amnesty on illegal firearms is long overdue. Gardaí are confident that more than 3,000 illegal firearms and over 70,000 rounds of ammunition will be netted in advance of tough new anti-gun laws due to come into force before the summer. Under the Criminal Justice Bill, automatic penalties for weapons offences will include minimum jail terms of between five... (GunPolicy.org)

Only hours after Mayor Bloomberg vowed in his second inaugural address to launch a national campaign against "illegal guns," the gun rights lobby is mobilizing to respond, with the influential National Rifle Association accusing the mayor of "intimidating law abiding Americans." On Sunday, as Mr. Bloomberg was sworn in for his second term, he invoked the names of police officers shot and killed in the line of duty as he announced a new, central focus of his... (GunPolicy.org)

On Dec. 8 Prime Minister Paul Martin announced he will ban handgun ownership in Canada. He also announced the creation of a national snitch line (or the GunStoppers Program as he calls it) that will pay cash to people for ratting out their gun-owning neighbours. Competitive shooters will be eligible for an exemption, but before target shooters jump for joy they'd better read the fine print. Paul Martin's version of "target shooter" means Olympic or Commonwealth Games... (GunPolicy.org)

Odd how the Special City, which prides itself on tolerance and chants incessantly about choice, can be so, well, intolerant. Witness the November election in which 58 percent of city voters elected to ban the sale of firearms in EssEff and to outlaw handgun ownership for citizens. It takes a special city to make the National Rifle Association look like the good guys. I don't want to sound glib, because the rash of violence that has scarred the city — and sent the... (GunPolicy.org)

TORONTO — An emotional crowd gathered last night at the scene of a Boxing Day shootout to decry a year of escalating gun violence punctuated by the random killing of a high school student shopping with her family. A moment of silence was observed at 5:19 p.m., exactly one week after 15-year-old Jane Creba was cut down by a stray bullet as rival gangs opened fire in the city's bustling shopping district. "We've got to have tougher sentencing and it has got to start... (GunPolicy.org)

KOLKATA — Rampant growth of private security agencies in recent times have led to a huge spurt of applications for arms license, received by the Arms Act department of the city police last year. While the emergent section of applicants aim to boost their job prospects in these private security agencies by possessing arms license, police are taking stringent measures not to issue license without verifying their financial and social background. Police said that... (GunPolicy.org)

Hoping to end years of contentious debate over how best to prosecute gun crimes, local and federal law enforcement officials have tentatively agreed to a broad new plan to lock up any violent felon who carries a firearm in Baltimore. Significant prison time for the city's most dangerous gun-toting criminals is one component of a revived and expanded "Baltimore Exile" program. The collaborative effort, led by the U.S. attorney's office, aims to reduce violent crime,... (GunPolicy.org)