CHICAGO — An Illinois appeals court has ruled that the families of a slain Chicago police officer and four others killed by gang bullets can file public nuisance lawsuits against gunmakers and gun distributors. But the 35-page opinion issued Monday by Justice William Cousins of the Illinois Appellate Court sharply narrowed the scope of the families lawsuits. It said the families were free to sue manufacturers and distributors of the guns used in the crimes but... (GunPolicy.org)

Whatever our success in tracking down Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda or other overseas terrorists, Americans here at home intend on taking no chances. Domestic gun sales have shown a steady rise of better than 10 percent since Sept. 11, adding significantly to the 200 million or more firearms already thought to be in private hands. Against an otherwise lethargic yuletide market, The Wall Street Journal reports heavier than usual sales of firearms as Christmas gifts,... (GunPolicy.org)

Two revelers who fired handguns into the air to celebrate the New Year were wounded in separate exchanges of gunfire with the police early yesterday after they turned their weapons on officers, the police said. Hours later, after another year in which the number of murders in the city had declined sharply, the first homicide of the new year occurred. The shootings of the revelers occurred minutes apart, one in Queens, the other in Brooklyn. At about five minutes... (GunPolicy.org)

Maryland's new law requiring prospective handgun buyers to sit through a two-hour video ostensibly about gun safety before they may take possession of their firearms is all about hassling would-be gun buyers — not curbing crime or reducing the number of accidental deaths and injuries involving guns. The new law took effect yesterday and is merely the latest impediment ginned-up by anti-gun lawmakers in Maryland — a state notorious for making life difficult for... (GunPolicy.org)

LANSING, Michigan — With Oakland County leading the pack, Michigan counties have issued more than 21,000 licenses to carry concealed weapons under a controversial new law that went into effect July 1. Another 14,613 applications were pending by mid-December, according to State Police records. Seven licenses were revoked or suspended during that period, but only one for misbehavior involving a firearm, and none involved a shooting. Representatives of several law... (GunPolicy.org)

COLOMBO — The Sri Lankan government Tuesday began a 15-day amnesty for citizens to surrender tens of thousands of firearms in their possession. The amnesty will enable all unauthorised persons possessing weapons to hand them over without having to answer any questions and face prosecution, Interior Minister John Amaratunga said . The amnesty is part of the new government's efforts to thwart crime and reverse the breakdown of law and order in the country, said... (GunPolicy.org)

The President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of PNG and Solomon Islands, Stephen Reichert, has warned leaders at all levels to answer to the problem of a dangerous "gun society" emerging in the Highlands region. Bishop Reichert said there was talk on the streets of how guns enter PNG and are distributed. "And there is another frightening emergence of a growing gang of "guns-for-hire", armed mercenaries who sell their services in local battles to the highest... (GunPolicy.org)