RICHMOND, Virginia — Those on both sides of the gun rights issue fired their first shots Monday, with battles being declared both inside and outside the state Capitol. Several hundred rallied for gun rights on the morning of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, followed by an afternoon rally attended by dozens calling for stricter gun laws. Inside the Capitol, Democrats pushed through committee changes that will make it more difficult to advance looser gun laws, while... (GunPolicy.org)

A man granted a gun licence just five months ago despite revealing a string of assault convictions has become the latest victim of a firearms crackdown launched by Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan. Before being granted his seventh gun licence for a .308 rifle on May 28 last year, Scott Woods told authorities he had three convictions for assault, one for criminal damage, one for reckless driving, and one of driving with a blood alcohol level exceeding 0.08 per... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON -- An executive for Smith & Wesson Holding Corp (SWHC.O) and 21 others have been charged with violating federal bribery laws involving the sale of weapons and protective gear, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday. The indictments accused the individuals, including Smith & Wesson Vice President for Sales Amaro Goncalves, with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering involving the sale of items... (GunPolicy.org)

A Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. sales executive and a former U.S. Secret Service officer were among 22 officials at companies that supply law enforcement and the military who were charged with violating U.S. anti-bribery laws. Amaro Goncalves, vice president of sales at Smith & Wesson, and R. Patrick Caldwell, chief executive officer of Protective Products Of America Inc. and a former deputy director of the Secret Service, were among those accused of engaging in schemes... (GunPolicy.org)

A Smith & Wesson executive was among 22 officials at suppliers to police and the military who were charged Monday in Las Vegas with violating anti-bribery laws, the Justice Department announced today. Amaro Goncalves, the Springfield-based gun maker's vice president of sales, was arrested with the others after a 2½-year undercover sting operation aimed at schemes to bribe a foreign official. Smith & Wesson released the following statement late today: "Through media... (GunPolicy.org)

AUSTIN, Texas -- Several federal law enforcement agencies as well as local police recently conducted a sting operation at the Texas Gun Show at North Lamar near Rundberg. Authorities made eight arrests. The Austin Police Department worked with Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement and Alcohol, Tabacco & Firearms agents. Investigators say that convicted felons and illegal immigrants were able to buy guns in and around the show. Suspects allegedly went up to multiple... (GunPolicy.org)

An Austin police effort to curtail the illegal sales of firearms at a weekend gun show sparked an angry response from the event's organizer and raised concerns about whether the department overstepped its authority. Several police recommendations about the operation of the show were intended to curtail crime there and should not have been viewed as requirements, authorities said Tuesday. But the show organizer said he thought that law enforcement officials were... (GunPolicy.org)

A semi-automatic handgun reported missing from Lotus Glen Prison near Mareeba may have been stolen from a locked armoury by a prison staffer, authorities suspect. The Australian Federal Police and an explosives sniffer dog yesterday joined the search for the missing Glock 22 as officials admitted they did not know when the gun vanished. It could have been missing for weeks. They have also been unable to rule out the possibility the gun was still on prison grounds. A... (GunPolicy.org)

President Barack Obama on Monday received a failing grade from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for running away from gun control. The group, which endorsed Obama in 2008, gave him an "F" on every issue it scored, including background checks, gun trafficking, guns in public, the federal assault weapons ban, standing up to the gun lobby and leadership. "It's been a very disappointing year for us, especially considering what he campaigned on," the group's... (GunPolicy.org)

A man caused a stir at an Algonquin Avenue grocery store when he walked in with a rifle slung over his shoulder. North Bay police reported Tuesday that the man was doing his shopping at about 7 p.m. Monday. The man told officers he didn't want to leave his gun unattended at home. Officers arrested the man but no charges were laid. The investigation... (GunPolicy.org)

Police have uncovered a cache of weapons connected to a man who allegedly shot three people with an air rifle south of Adelaide last Saturday. Police arrested and charged the 51-year-old man from Willunga, where they also uncovered more than 300 assorted firearms from two separate premises. The bailed man will appear in Christies Beach Magistrates Court on February 23 where he faces charges of acts likely to cause harm and aggravated assault. The injuries to the... (GunPolicy.org)

A British arms dealer from west London traded thousands of military weapons with war-torn countries across the globe without a UK licence, a court has heard. Gideon Sarig 58, of Lauderale Road, Maida Vale, deliberately chose not to apply for the licence as he arranged for armour-piercing ammunition, pump-action shotguns, bombs and other weapons to be sent to countries including Sri Lanka and Israel. Sarig used contacts arranged by his co-defendant Howard Freckleton,... (GunPolicy.org)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — More guns may be making appearances in confrontations across Utah, adding intensity, for better or worse. Newly proposed legislation would be a green light for concealed-gun owners to openly carry firearms and, if threatened, draw or exhibit their weapons and verbally threaten deadly force. Depending on whom you ask, that gun-induced intensity could defuse confrontations more quickly, or it could lead to more deadly violence. The bill's... (GunPolicy.org)