Gun Policy News, 24 January 2002
New Minister in Charge of Firearm Registration, Animal Cruelty Law
24 January 2002
Western Producer (Saskatoon)
A 39-year-old Quebec lawyer has been handed responsibility for the government's gun registration system and its controversial cruelty to animals legislation.
Martin Cauchon, a three-term Montreal MP, was named justice minister Jan. 15 in a major cabinet shuffle engineered by prime minister Jean Chrétien. Cauchon has been revenue and customs minister.
Manitoba Canadian Alliance MP and justice critic Vic Toews said he hopes he can talk some sense into the new minister... (GunPolicy.org)
Law Enforcement Officials Lobby for Additional $44 Million
24 January 2002
Tenneseean
A coalition of Tennessee prosecutors, police chiefs and sheriffs said yesterday that the state ranks 10th in the country in crime and asked if the legislature is going to wait until the state climbs to first before making needed improvements in public safety.
The group is seeking about $41 million to hire 47 additional prosecutors and strengthen penalties for unlawfully carrying a firearm and $3 million for the treatment of drug offenders through drug courts.
Martin... (GunPolicy.org)
Live-Bullet Airgun a Major Problem
24 January 2002
BBC News
A leading police group says sales of an airgun, which can be illegally adapted to fire live bullets, must be banned.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) wants a national ban on the public sale of the Brocock air cartridge pistol because of the risk posed by the weapons.
ACPO firearms adviser David McCrone, who is Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, told BBC's Newsnight programme: There is evidence which would justify banning them.
Mr... (GunPolicy.org)
Farmers Told to Hand Firearms to Police
24 January 2002
South African Press Assocation / SAPA
Zimbabwean police have told white farmers they are to be disarmed, Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) officials said on Thursday.
The confirmation coincided with reports that a member of President Robert Mugabe's militia of so-called guerrilla war veterans had been arrested for Wednesday's fatal shooting of two farm security guards in the southern district of Chiredzi. A third guard was seriously wounded in the incident.
The CFU's Jerry Grant said that for the last week... (GunPolicy.org)
Arms Banned on Mogadishu Streets
24 January 2002
BBC News
The Transitional National Government of Somalia has issued an ultimatum to Mogadishu residents not to carry weapons in the capital's streets.
The authorities move is another attempt to control the use of guns by ordinary people.
Many Somalis own a variety of weapons ranging from short guns to Russian AK-47s.
Some use them for self protection, while others for extortion.
Bandit Attacks
The proliferation of weapons in the capital Mogadishu has seen a rise in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Kampala AK-47 Ends Up in Young Congolese Rebel Hands
24 January 2002
Daily Monitor (Kampala)
The AKM-47, serial number DA 0889 1995, is traced to an obscure arms factory in Romania
On Dec. 23 and 24, Paul Salopek, the foreign correspondent of the Chicago Tribune, published two pieces about gunrunning in the DR Congo war. Here's a heavily edited version of the two pieces that say something about Uganda's role. These reports were written out of Beni in Congo and Bangui, Central African Republic:-
Grace Ikombi's gun is much like 35 million other Kalashnikov... (GunPolicy.org)
Clinton Team Undermined Instant Checks
24 January 2002
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
Recently, the well-financed lobbying group that calls itself Americans for Gun Safety has received some press with its complaints about the state of criminal records. The National Rifle Association would like to take this opportunity to welcome AGS to this discussion, although it is 15 years behind the curve.
As the NRA's chief lobbyist, I noted during congressional testimony on the Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1987 the sorry state of criminal history records.... (GunPolicy.org)
Close Gun Law Gap That Lets Danger Pass Through
24 January 2002
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Opinion
Nobody wants felons and other people forbidden from gun ownership to buy firearms with ease. Yet, almost 10,000 were able to do so in a 30-month period because most state felony records are not automated and the dangerous backgrounds of the buyers couldn't be established quickly.
By the time the background checks were concluded, the felons had already walked out of the stores with their guns. Under the Brady law, gun buyers must pass background checks that encompass... (GunPolicy.org)
Who Should Be Allowed to Buy Guns?
24 January 2002
Philadelphia Inquirer
Michael Burgess, 44, suffered from depression, was on medication, and had sought psychiatric counseling.
George Karl Hahn, 24, thought his neighbors were spying on him through his television and was ordered by a judge to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The fact that their histories did not prevent either man from buying a gun in Pennsylvania has ignited anew a tricky and controversial debate on what should be put first: the desire to protect the privacy of an... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Broadens Effort Nationwide
24 January 2002
Kansas City Star (Missouri)
Last spring, Kansas state Sen. Kay O Connor seized an opportunity to shield shooting ranges, particularly one in her western Johnson County district, from noise ordinances and complaining neighbors.
With some Senate leaders away from the chamber, she tacked an amendment onto an important Wildlife and Parks bill.
It sailed through and eventually won the governor's signature.
Thanks to lawmakers like O Connor, the gun lobby has successfully pushed its agenda in... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Probe Finds 151 Weapons Missing
24 January 2002
Associated Press
BELLEVILLE, Illinois — An investigation into the theft of five handguns from a county evidence room revealed that more than 150 guns had disappeared.
Seven of the firearms have been recovered, including one used in a Bridgeton, Mo., shooting that left a man hospitalized, St. Clair County Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Thornton said.
The guns had been seized by law enforcement agencies in the county and were being held at the circuit clerk's office to eventually be sold to... (GunPolicy.org)
Columbine Family Settles Gun Suit
24 January 2002
Associated Press
DENVER — The parents of a slain Columbine High School student have settled their suit against a man who sold a shotgun that wound up in the hands of gunmen Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
A motion released Thursday by U.S. District Court said the family of Cassie Bernall had settled out of court with Ronald F. Hartmann.
Terms of the settlement were not released. Neither side's lawyers could be reached for comment Thursday evening.
Several families of students... (GunPolicy.org)
Project That Tracks Gun Deaths Expands
24 January 2002
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
A unique system for tracking violent deaths, developed by the Medical College of Wisconsin, will be expanded into a nationwide program to be run by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal officials have decided.
The national system will build on what Milwaukee physician Stephen Hargarten started in 1994 as a project to track gun-related deaths in the city and to look for patterns and contributing factors that could be targeted with prevention... (GunPolicy.org)
Ban Live-Bullet Airguns Used by Criminals
24 January 2002
Annanova
An airgun which can be illegally adapted to fire live bullets now accounts for at least 50% of guns recovered at crime scenes, it has been claimed.
Alan Shiers, an officer with the National Criminal Intelligence Service, told the BBC that in excess of 50% of recovered weapons were found to be this type of adapted airgun.
The pistols are imported and distributed by Birmingham-based company Brocock which makes the air cartridge system which powers the air gun pellets in... (GunPolicy.org)