The House of Delegates voted last night to make Maryland the first state in the nation to require built-in locks for all new handguns, handing Gov. Parris N. Glendening a major political victory and, advocates said, giving national gun control efforts a significant boost. The 83 to 57 vote at 9:46 p.m. came after nearly three hours of debate, with gun enthusiasts packing the gallery to cheer and applaud legislators who attacked the proposal. The Senate passed the... (GunPolicy.org)

It doesn't seem real, but it's true. A 6 year-old Michigan boy guns down a 6-year-old girl in their classroom after a playground quarrel the previous day. How could a first-grader get his hands on a .32 caliber pistol and commit such a grisly act? It happens because our nation is awash in guns. And it's time for us to say enough is enough. We, as a nation, must ask ourselves how many more children must die before we enact just a few simple, targeted measures to combat... (GunPolicy.org)

Circumventing the logjam in Congress, gun-control forces are increasingly using state regulation and lawsuits to win concessions from US gunmakers — and they're achieving a measurable degree of success. Their most recent victory comes in Massachusetts, where the state attorney general says handguns will now be regulated under consumer-protection laws. It is the first state in the nation to apply such regulations to the gun industry. The Massachusetts statute —... (GunPolicy.org)

City Councilor at Large Peggy Davis-Mullen said she plans to file legislation as early as next week that would ban the resale of used police service pistols and guns confiscated from criminals. At a hearing yesterday, Davis-Mullen praised a Boston Police Department policy that bans dealers from reselling the department's old guns in the United States. But she said there should be a law to keep them from being sold overseas as well. Her proposal would also mandate the... (GunPolicy.org)

PHILADELPHIA — Gun-control advocates, bolstered by landmark victories in Maryland and Massachusetts, said on Tuesday that a gun initiatives among states could permanently alter the American gun culture. Just weeks before the first anniversary of the Columbine massacre, the firearms industry has been rocked by the defection of leading handgun maker Smith & Wesson, a law requiring built-in locks in Maryland and a decision in Massachusetts to subject guns to state... (GunPolicy.org)

SYDNEY, Australia — An Australian company unveiled a newly developed "smart gun" Tuesday that it claims won't fire if it falls into the wrong hands. To fire the gun the shooter has to be wearing a special ring concealing a transponder, which communicates a code to the pistol. "If it's lost or stolen it can't be used," inventor Mike O'Dwyer said. Metal Storm says it hopes to sell the electronic pistol to police and the military in Australia and the United... (GunPolicy.org)

Of all the different ways to make handguns less likely to be accidental killers, then-Attorney General Scott Harshbarger came up with one of the most ingenious in 1997. Massachusetts law, he said, gave him authority to regulate the safety of consumer items — such as guns. To pass muster, guns sold here would have to be built with trigger locks, child-safety devices, tamper-proof serial numbers, and indicators showing whether they are loaded. They couldn't be cheap,... (GunPolicy.org)

SYDNEY — The Australian developer of a revolutionary firearms system on Tuesday unveiled the world's first electronic handgun which "talks" to the shooter before it blasts off at a rate of 50,000 rounds per minute — and can only be fired by the authorised user. An inbuilt security feature ensures only users wearing a dress ring containing a tiny transponder which communicates with the gun, are authorised to fire it. The gun, which looks like a conventional... (GunPolicy.org)

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Maryland on Monday became the first state to require built-in safety locks on new handguns, giving Democrats a landmark political victory on an issue gaining importance in the race for the White House. Less than two weeks after the measure appeared headed for legislative limbo, the state House of Delegates voted 83-57 to approve the Responsibility Gun Safety Act of 2000, which advocates have described as the most far-reaching state gun-safety... (GunPolicy.org)