Rep. Greg Brophy's attempt to turn Colorado streets into the gun-slinging Old West will only jeopardize the rights of responsible gun owners. Lawmakers should promptly shoot down Brophy's House Bill 1281 when it's heard in committee next week. The proposal allows anyone who can legally possess a handgun to conceal it in public. Brophy says it allows law- abiding citizens to conceal firearms "without going through the burdensome and expensive process of acquiring a... (GunPolicy.org)

As momentum builds for a statewide assault weapons ban to replace a federal one that is expiring, all eyes are on Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who voted against the federal law while in Congress. Ehrlich said yesterday that he hasn't taken a position on legislation introduced in the Senate by Montgomery County Sen. Robert J. Garagiola and being prepared in the House by Del. Neil F. Quinter, that would expand the state's 1994 ban on assault pistols to include assault... (GunPolicy.org)

A shooting spree by an 8-year-old boy from his Otago home is a chilling reminder about the need for tougher gun laws, the Coalition for Gun Control says. The boy, who was aiming his father's .22 rifle at a magpie, fired two shots into his neighbour's house and four shots into nearby Ocean View School on Monday. The shooting, 20km south of Dunedin, happened between 8.30am and 8.40am, when the boy's father was at work and his mother thought he was at school. A... (GunPolicy.org)

Add one more question to the list of unknowns about Ohio's new concealed-carry gun law: Can Ohio's sheriffs get mental-health records for people hoping to legally carry a handgun? Ohio law says people who have been committed to a mental-health facility should not be permitted to carry a concealed weapon. But a federal law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which went into effect in April, makes it illegal for hospitals, clinics... (GunPolicy.org)

MADISON — By a single vote, the state Assembly on Tuesday upheld Wisconsin's 130-year ban on concealed weapons, setting up an election-year battle over the issue that at least one lawmaker acknowledged could cost him his job. "I don't think it will, but I don't think it's inconceivable," said Rep. Gary Sherman, D-Port Wing, who switched his vote and opposed the conceal-carry bill even though Sherman had been one of its co-sponsors. Sherman's switch left the... (GunPolicy.org)

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that he is opposed to a statewide ban on the sale of assault-style weapons, setting up a showdown with Democratic leaders in the General Assembly who want to implement the measure before the federal ban expires this year. Ehrlich did not say whether he would veto the legislation if it makes it to his desk, but his communications director, Paul E. Schurick, said the Republican administration could never support the measure.... (GunPolicy.org)

Stressing that the prime purpose of the United Nations is collective security, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called for an all-embracing approach that deals not only with terrorism and weapons of mass destruction but also with small arms and the root ills of poverty, hunger and disease. "Dire potential scenarios involving nuclear, chemical and biological weapons have dominated recent disarmament discussions," Mr. Annan told his Advisory Board on Disarmament at UN... (GunPolicy.org)

A villager who found and kept a high-powered firearm has been charged with stealing. Marcus Wowol, 25, from Lumi in Sandaun Province appeared before the Vanimo District Court on Monday to answer to the theft charge. His case has been adjourned to March 2. Rural police commander Augustine Laho said the fire-arm belonged to one Nick Nere. Mr Laho said late last year the owner hid the weapon on the side of the road when he approached a road block at the Wutung... (GunPolicy.org)