This year, organizers of the annual holiday fund-raising raffle at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Lennox station have come up with a grand prize that will help the winner get the new century off to a bang: a gleaming new 9-millimeter Beretta handgun. At just $1 a ticket, the chance to pick up one of the powerful semiautomatic pistols that have become American law enforcement's sidearm of choice has made the contest a hit with deputies and the... (GunPolicy.org)

KAMPALA — Here's what I want to say in this commentary: I think everybody in Uganda should be given a machine gun. I admit, the idea is crazy and dangerous. Unfortunately, parts of Uganda have also become crazy and dangerous. So now, Ugandans must look at crazed and terrible solutions, if they want to protect themselves and their families. Here's why I feel this way. Rebels of the lunatic "Allied Democratic Forces," or ADF, are once more attacking in western... (GunPolicy.org)

CHICAGO — One of the nation's most contentious gun control battles is underway in the Illinois state legislature, where Gov. George Ryan (r) is locked in a stalemate with his own party's Senate majority over reenacting a law that would make the unlawful carrying of a weapon a felony for first-time offenders. Opponents of the measure, which include the National Rifle Association, its Illinois affiliate and sportsmen's groups throughout the state, contend the law would... (GunPolicy.org)

Continuing its shift to the military market and away from civilian handguns, Colt's Manufacturing Co. said it has agreed to acquire a well-known European maker of small arms. The deal, if completed, is expected to have the side effect of further consolidating the besieged U.S. civilian handgun industry. That is because after Colt's buys Germany's Heckler & Koch GmbH, the American company intends to phase out much or all of Heckler & Koch's modest pistol sales in the... (GunPolicy.org)

Second of two parts The federal government's gun registry, designed to register every gun in Canada, has been operating for about a year. In that time, only 1.5 million of Canada's estimated seven million guns have been registered and fewer than 500,000 of Canada's estimated three million gun owners have received a licence. (Gun owners must register all their guns by the end of 2002, and get a possession licence allowing them to own guns by the end of 2000.) The... (GunPolicy.org)

LOS ANGELES — If you're planning on shooting a gun into the air to celebrate when the clock strikes 12 on New Year's Eve, change your plans unless you want to get arrested. Los Angeles County officials have adopted a zero-tolerance policy about firing celebratory rounds into the air. And now, they have the technology to back it up. Law enforcement officials will be using a locator computer program called Shot Spotter that can locate and pinpoint where a gun is... (GunPolicy.org)

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — An Illinois gun control measure that became a battleground between two of the state's leading Republicans failed to win the necessary majority in the state senate for passage on Wednesday. The measure, called the "Safe Neighborhoods Act," called for tough felony charges for illegal possession of a handgun and was strongly backed by Gov. George Ryan, a Republican who has campaigned on the issue of stricter gun control. The bill failed to... (GunPolicy.org)

LONDON — U.S. Colt's Manufacturing Co has signed a letter of intent to buy one of the other famous names in small-arms, Germany's Heckler & Koch GmbH, a producer of high quality weapons favoured by elite military and police units. The move, confirmed by Heckler & Koch owner BAE SYSTEMS Plc on Wednesday, would take Colt's further away from the U.S. consumer market, which it began to withdraw from in October as municipalities sued handgun makers for costs they had... (GunPolicy.org)