Gun Policy News, 25 February 2004
UK Accused of Selling Weapons Parts to Rights Abusers
25 February 2004
Reuters
LONDON — The British government was accused by leading charities on Wednesday of allowing the export of deadly weapons components to countries where human rights abusers could use them to kill, torture and rape at gunpoint.
International charity Oxfam accused the government of exercising "double standards" on export licences, making it easier to obtain a licence for weapons components while tightening up on licences for entire weapons.
"The government has put lives... (GunPolicy.org)
Oxfam: UK Has Hidden Arms Trade
25 February 2004
CNN
LONDON, England — Leading aid and human rights groups have accused the UK government of exploiting a "dangerous loophole," leading to a rise in some areas of arms sales.
The accusation was made Wednesday, hours before British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw was due to appear before a parliamentary committee on arms export controls.
The report, released jointly by the charity Oxfam, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms, said the UK... (GunPolicy.org)
Oxfam Accuses UK of Hidden Arms Trade
25 February 2004
Guardian (UK)
Arms companies and the government are evading export controls by supplying countries with components rather than complete weapons systems whose sale would be banned, according to a report published today by leading aid and human rights groups.
They accuse the government of double standards by exploiting loopholes enabling it to get round international embargoes and its own human rights guidelines.
There has been an eleven-fold increase in the number of weapons... (GunPolicy.org)
Warning Over Arms Sales Loophole
25 February 2004
BBC News
The charities argue the parts can be reassembled into weapons
The government is allowing British arms manufacturers to sell to some of the most dangerous and repressive regimes in the world, two charities claim.
A dramatic rise in the sale of arms components to these regimes undermines the government's own ethical policies, say Oxfam and Amnesty International.
The Foreign Office says the conclusions of the charities' report are unfounded.
Foreign office minister... (GunPolicy.org)
Blair 'Misled MPs on Arms Controls'
25 February 2004
Evening Post (UK)
Prime Minister Tony Blair misled MPs over controls on arms exports rules that allow countries to bypass international arms embargoes, campaigners said.
A "dangerous loophole", allowing UK firms to deal with some of the world's most repressive regimes by selling them weapons components instead of complete weapons, was identified by charities.
Yet when pressed on the issue at Prime Minister's Questions in the House Of Commons, Mr Blair appeared to brush aside such... (GunPolicy.org)
25 February 2004
New York Times, Editorial
A woefully pliant Congress seems intent on protecting a small but lethal minority of shady gun dealers.
The Senate is on the verge of approving a new sop to the gun industry that is the latest sad example of what has become of the gun control debate. Many Americans have labored under the mistaken impression that this was a debate about the Constitution and public safety, about the balance between saving lives and assuring law-abiding gun owners and cultural... (GunPolicy.org)
Senate Ready to Wade Into Gun Issues With Gunmaker Immunization Bill
25 February 2004
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A Republican-led bill to shield gun manufacturers and distributors from lawsuits arising from gun crimes passed its first Senate test Wednesday, but Democrats plan to complicate its future by forcing votes on extending an assault weapons ban and requiring background checks on purchasers at gun shows.
The Senate, with a 75-22 test vote, showed that there is enough support from both parties to get gunmaker immunity legislation through, but Democrats plan... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Owners Urge Senate to Strike Down Anti-Gun Amendments
25 February 2004
Cybercast News Service
Gun Owners of America is urging the U.S. Senate to pass S. 659, a bill that would protect gun manufacturers from politically motivated lawsuits, but GOA said the bill must pass without amendments.
"Anti-gun Senators like Dianne Feinstein and John McCain are lining up to offer anti-gun amendments to this bill," said Erich Pratt, GOA's director of communications. The amendments include an extension of the Clinton-era "assault" weapons ban and background checks on gun... (GunPolicy.org)
The Swing Voter on a Heated Issue
25 February 2004
Baltimore Sun
State Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr., who has a 25-year-old shotgun at home and a framed portrait behind his desk of himself with President Bill Clinton at the signing of the Gun Control Act of 2000, won't be re-elected.
That is what advocates on both sides of the debate over an assault weapons ban have told staffers in his Annapolis office:
"Vote it up, and you'll be gone."
"Kill it, and get ready to be replaced."
Giannetti is the only undecided member of the Senate... (GunPolicy.org)
25 February 2004
Washington Post, Editorial
For the first time in years, the Senate is to vote on gun safety measures that lawmakers in both parties and gun owners everywhere can and should support as common-sense anti-crime measures. The first is renewal of the current ban on certain assault weapons — weapons needed by no one except criminals. The other is the closing of a big bull's-eye loophole that allows firearms to be sold by unlicensed sellers at gun shows without any background checks. These two vital... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Group Shoots Holes in the 'Guns for Hunting' Argument
25 February 2004
Cybercast News Service
The Senate on Wednesday plans to take up a bill that would shield gun manufacturers and gun distributors from lawsuits stemming from the criminal misuse of guns. Guns are legal products, the manufacturers say, and therefore, the companies that produce them should not be blamed for the way criminals use them.
Litigation arising from the criminal misuse of guns is nothing more than an effort to drive gun makers out of business, critics say. They call it gun control in... (GunPolicy.org)
Two Sneak Guns Into E. St. Louis Schools
25 February 2004
St Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri)
Two students, 11 and 15, sneaked semiautomatic pistols past security at two East St. Louis schools Wednesday morning, prompting panicked administrators at one of the schools to lock students in their classrooms for nearly two hours.
Students at East St. Louis Senior High School huddled behind locked classroom doors while police searched for a 15-year-old boy who authorities said had brandished a loaded semiautomatic pistol. Witnesses told police that the boy had... (GunPolicy.org)
Michigan Bill Allows Antique Gun Purchases Without License
25 February 2004
Associated Press
LANSING, Michigan — Gun enthusiasts would be able to purchase antique handguns without a license or safety inspection under legislation unanimously approved Wednesday by the state House.
Now residents who want to buy a handgun first must get a permit then have the firearm inspected by their local police department. There's some uncertainty about whether the current requirement applies to black powder and antique pistols.
The three-bill package would eliminate that... (GunPolicy.org)
A City's Illegal Guns: A Real Firestorm
25 February 2004
Vancouver Sun
VANCOUVER — Last week, police received a call about shots fired in the 2400-block of Nanaimo involving a dispute between two groups of men. Police found a dozen shell casings at the scene but the five men arrested would not reveal what happened.
A day earlier, a 22-year-old Vancouver man, Laurence Ka Ching Chow, was fatally shot outside the Insomnia karaoke club in Richmond.
Two days before that, 23-year-old Christopher Michael Howey of Vancouver was fatally gunned... (GunPolicy.org)
Arms Components Export 'Puts Lives at Risk': Report
25 February 2004
4 National News (UK)
Weaker government controls over arms export licences is "putting lives at risk" in some of the world's most repressive regimes, according to a joint report by three leading charities, published today.
The report 'Lock, Stock and Barrel — How British Arms Components Add up to Deadly Weapons', from Oxfam, Amnesty International and IANSA, has claimed that the government's approach has effectively seen British arms components arrive in countries such as Zimbabwe, Israel,... (GunPolicy.org)