Gun Policy News, 22 January 2003
Gun Control Opponent Charged With Obstructing Police
22 January 2003
Star Phoenix (Saskatchewan)
Saskatoon gun control opponent Ed Hudson succeeded, once again, in getting himself arrested Tuesday but was again charged with something other than the offence he wants to challenge all the way to the Supreme Court.
Hudson and his friend, Joe Gingrich, were arrested and charged with obstructing a police officer in the course of his duties after they refused to relinquish a part of an unregistered rifle.
The arrest came during the noon hour Thursday in front of the... (GunPolicy.org)
22 January 2003
Edmonton Sun (Alberta)
Can't sell 'em. Might as well smash 'em.
An Edmonton gun seller is taking a unique approach to coping with the high cost of Canada's troubled gun registry — by liquidating its lower-priced stock under the heel of a 12-ton industrial metal press.
"Thanks to the cost of registration, we can't make money on these guns," MilArm spokesman Gordon McGowan said yesterday, shortly after destroying more than 800 of the shop's long guns.
"So we took an inventory, and decided... (GunPolicy.org)
Pilot Caught With Handgun at New York Airport
22 January 2003
Reuters
NEW YORK — A pilot for Northwest Airlines was arrested at New York's LaGuardia airport on Tuesday and charged with illegal possession of a loaded handgun, an airport spokesman said.
The 9 mm semiautomatic was found by federal authorities in the carry-on luggage of pilot Robert Donaldson as he passed a security checkpoint early in the morning, law enforcement officials said.
"Mr. Donaldson was charged with criminal possession of a handgun and was taken to Queens... (GunPolicy.org)
22 January 2003
Woolwich Observer, Opinion
The Chretien government has taken its share of lumps over the federal gun registry — particularly since Auditor General Sheila Fraser announced in December that her office had identified huge cost overruns that will bring the cost of the registry to close to a billion dollars.
While the Liberals' continuing mismanagement of public resources annoys me as much as the next person (OK, probably more than the next person), I think it is unfair to assign them total blame... (GunPolicy.org)
Store, Gunmaker Named in First Sniper Civil Suit
22 January 2003
Montgomery County Gazette (Maryland)
The first civil lawsuit arising from October's sniper attacks was filed against a gun store and gun manufacturer last week by relatives of two of the Maryland sniper victims.
The lawsuit, filed in Pierce County, Wash., charges the owners of Bull's Eye Shooter Supply in Tacoma, Wash., with operating the store in "a grossly negligent manner" by allowing scores of guns, including the Bushmaster XM-15 E2S assault rifle used by the sniper suspects, to disappear inexplicably... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Amnesty is a Gimmick, Says Tory Leader
22 January 2003
This is London (UK)
Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has dismissed the Government's amnesty on illegal firearms as another "gimmick".
Following the recent gun summit where Home Secretary David Blunkett was joined by police, customs and immigration officers, and community leaders for the talks ministers announced a firearms amnesty.
But Mr Duncan Smith, MP for Chingford and Woodford Green, said: "It is typical of the Labour Party to put together a summit. Every time there is a problem there... (GunPolicy.org)
22 January 2003
Coloradoan
WELLINGTON, Colorado — The Larimer County commissioners are having second thoughts about a proposed weapons policy that would allow county employees to bring guns and other weapons to work.
Two of the three commissioners expressed doubt about the proposal after the board met Tuesday at Eyestone Elementary School, 4000 Wilson Ave. More than a dozen area residents came to the meeting to voice opposition to the idea of weapons in county offices.
"There are some things... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Dealers Gripe About Firearms Law
22 January 2003
Edmonton Sun (Alberta)
The federal government has spent about $2.6 million on hired guns to deal with the backlog in registering firearms.
The 100 new employees are being phased in at the central processing site in Miramichi, N.B., to deal with the thousands of calls from gun owners each day.
"In December it was very busy," said Hana Hruska, manager of communications at the Canadian Firearms Centre in Ottawa. "They were getting 14,000 calls a day at one point. People couldn't get through... (GunPolicy.org)