UNITED NATIONS — The world's top weapons exporters agreed to back negotiations on a global treaty to regulate the world's $55 billion arms trade, but Russia refused to show support, diplomats said on Thursday. The deal came after negotiators from four of the top arms traders — the United States, Britain, France and Germany overcame sharp disagreements on the wording of a U.N. General Assembly resolution that will guide negotiations on a treaty, which were to begin... (GunPolicy.org)

We are flabbergasted by Police Commissioner Gari Baki's attitude towards the high-powered guns which Customs seized at the Jackson International Airport over the weekend. First he said he was not aware of having signed any approvals for the importation of the weapons. Later, he reversed his statement to say he remembered approving the importation of the gun. He promised to do something about it as soon as he has seen the Customs report on the issue. Read together,... (GunPolicy.org)

The Obama administration voted today to support United Nations-sponsored talks on a treaty to regulate the $55 billion-a-year trade in conventional weapons, reversing prior U.S. opposition to negotiations begun in 2006. The General Assembly, consisting of all 192 UN member governments, adopted a resolution setting out a timetable for talks during the next two years on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty, including a UN conference to produce a final accord in 2012. The vote... (GunPolicy.org)

A federal judge sentenced a 69-year-old Crescent City man this week to serve 18 months in prison for illegally dealing machine guns. According to a press release from the United States Attorney's San Francisco office, Donald E. Nuss pleaded guilty in June to illegally dealing in firearms, admitting selling five machine guns over a one-year period. According to the release, Nuss also admitted to converting two semi-automatic rifles into machine guns for a government... (GunPolicy.org)