WASHINGTON — Is there a hot social issue that attorney Michael Hausfeld hasn't turned into a lawsuit lately? His 30-lawyer firm here is helping lead courtroom assaults on managed-health-care companies and handgun manufacturers. Just as anxiety over bioengineered food expands from Europe to the U.S., he is suing Monsanto Co. for allegedly attempting to amass a global monopoly of genetically modified crops. On a typically harried morning, the 53-year-old lawyer... (GunPolicy.org)

The family of slain Chicago police officer John Knight filed a lawsuit Monday in Cook County Circuit Court against both the manufacturer of the handgun used to kill Knight and the man charged with firing the fatal shots. The lawsuit alleges that Southport, Conn.-based Sturm Ruger Inc. manufactured guns that it knew would be used in Chicago, in direct violation of the city's gun control ordinances. The lawsuit claims that a Ruger-manufactured semiautomatic handgun was... (GunPolicy.org)

The IRA has won tacit approval from British and Irish officials for its members to retain "personal protection weapons" after decommissioning, according to republican sources. The IRA leadership is understood to have presented the controversial plan as a means of providing itself with protection from dissident IRA gunmen, who are opposed to any form of disarmament. The proposal to allow scores of IRA volunteers to retain legal sidearms is certain to infuriate... (GunPolicy.org)

Here's how big of a deal guns will be this legislative session: The Denver League of Women Voters held a meeting to encourage members to lobby for gun-control laws, and about a dozen people from the National Rifle Association crashed it. "I think there's some confusion. This is an all-member league meeting. It is not a debate," League Vice President Lori Young announced at the start of Monday night's event in north Denver's Montview Presbyterian Church. A crowd of... (GunPolicy.org)

SACRAMENTO — With election-year politics percolating just below the surface, the California Legislature on Monday convened its 2000 session as Democratic lawmakers moved aggressively on measures to register handguns and license owners. The initial legislative test is likely to occur next week when the Assembly Public Safety Committee brings up a licensing proposal (AB 1607) by Assemblyman Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco). Shelley said his bill to issue a four-year... (GunPolicy.org)

As moms across the country began organizing the Million Mom March for tighter gun control, an ailing grandmother agreed to take up the call here. Bev Kai, on disability, has chronic fatigue syndrome. She becomes ill easily, feels weak and sleeps 16 to 18 hours a day. But she is even more sick of the killing in this country. From Columbine High School to the Xerox slayings, the killings must stop, she said. So when asked to coordinate Hawaii's moms for the Washington,... (GunPolicy.org)

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms temporarily halted licensing businesses that sell firearms Monday after identifying a Year 2000 glitch that made it impossible for its computer system to read the correct date on their applications. The ATF licensing problem was by far one of the most serious computer snafus to emerge from the New Year's rollover to 2000. Although federal officials say its Firearms Licensing System will be suspended for only five days to fix... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Advocates of "smart guns" believe experimental technology will prevent children from accidentally firing handguns and criminals from making use of stolen weapons while allowing adult gun owners to use them for protection or sport. But few working prototypes exist for these sci-fi weapons, which use computer chips to prevent unauthorized users from firing a gun. They are only a few steps removed from the idea stage. President Clinton is pushing for... (GunPolicy.org)

BOSTON — Gun Owners Action League has begun a radio advertisement campaign aimed at women to boost their cause for less restrictive gun regulations. GOAL also is targeting legislators and other officials who have created the toughest gun control measures in the nation. GOAL executive director Michael Yacino said the new licensing measures that went into effect last year prompted his organization to go after its political enemies. "The media has failed in its... (GunPolicy.org)

Ottawa has unwittingly spawned a strong gun lobby with legislation that will cost taxpayers up to $1 billion over the next decade. For all of that, it will have little effect on violent crime. Ottawa's gun registry is a blunt and ineffective tool to control the use of guns, reduce criminal activity and help secure our safety … Although a registry will not help reduce gun violence, the Liberals in Ottawa seem determined to establish it to appease the urban voters... (GunPolicy.org)