A gun dealer and a police firearms expert were each jailed for four months yesterday for abusing the handgun compensation scheme brought in following the Dunblane massacre. David Boothby, who used the proceeds of a dishonest claim to set up a chain of sex shops across the North, had committed a "blatant fraud" said Judge Jonathan Crabtree, sentencing. He said civilian police worker Ian Leedham was guilty of "a gross breach of trust", though it was accepted he did not... (GunPolicy.org)

This should begin with a moment of silence and sadness for a lovely young girl murdered as she stood on the brink of womanhood. Alexandra Wake, 14, was an honors student at the private Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr. She was radiant and optimistic, hoping to enroll in an African American university after high school and go on to law school. A few days before her murder, she wrote a paper for her English class, describing her advice to a friend who was reluctant to dance:... (GunPolicy.org)

Sky-marshal wannabes are flooding the FAA with applications to join the in-flight security force assigned to keep the friendly skies from turning dangerous. There have been about 150,000 applicants since the Sept. 11 airplane hijacking disasters, said Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Holly Baker. About 84,000 have met the initial eligibility requirements, she said. Baker declined to say how many applicants will be hired or assigned to flights or how they... (GunPolicy.org)

Nearly 10 months after launching a guns for butter program in Cambodia, Japan is preparing to extend the pilot project to include other conflict-plagued, impoverished countries around the globe, especially in Asia and Africa. According to Foreign Ministry sources, Japan is considering cooperating with the U.N. Development Program's small arms-collection and development efforts in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. Japan is also considering accepting an informal... (GunPolicy.org)

KANDAHAR/WASHINGTON — Afghan police have fanned out in southern Kandahar to confiscate weapons from armed groups as the United States issued a global appeal to find five al Qaeda men it said could be plotting suicide attacks. The United States assured the new Afghan interim government of its long-term support for desperately needed reconstruction even as its hunt for members of Osama bin Laden's spread deeper into countries beyond Afghanistan. Police from Britain to... (GunPolicy.org)

Kenn Blanchard draws his sermons from two works of scripture: the Holy Bible and the Second Amendment. Most Sundays, Blanchard, a licensed Baptist minister, can be found helping out with services at the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Washington. The rest of the week he works as a security consultant, and as such, is a staunch advocate of gun rights. Blanchard is founder of Blanchard Impresario Group, which advises individuals, groups and businesses on every element of... (GunPolicy.org)

DELRAY BEACH — The suicide of a 19-year-old man who walked into a shooting range, rented a .357-caliber gun and killed himself is raising questions in law enforcement about whether, at his age, he should have been allowed to rent the handgun. The answer, after an examination of federal laws, is unclear. By late Thursday, officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were unable to say whether renting a gun at age 19 is against the law. Spokesman Ed Halley... (GunPolicy.org)