Gun Policy News, 12 January 2005
Guns Give Feeling of Security, Claim Owners
12 January 2005
Jakarta Post
It was minutes before midnight one Monday in August last year, when Ferdiansyah, 38, an owner of several dress and apparel shops in Mangga Dua, Central Jakarta, was driving along Jl. Suprapto on his way home to Cibubur in East Jakarta.
"When I got near the traffic light at the end of the street, suddenly I heard an explosion and my car swerved. I stopped by the road side and checked what had happened. Two of my car's tires were deflated," Ferdiansyah told The Jakarta... (GunPolicy.org)
12 January 2005
San Francisco Bay Guardian, Opinion
San Francisco has long been a leader for justice, fighting apartheid and advancing same-sex marriage equality. Now, with 87 homicides so far this year — 56 of which involved handguns — it's time to continue this work for justice. We'll have that opportunity at the next election.
Thanks to the political courage of Sups. Chris Daly, Michela Alioto-Pier, Tom Ammiano, Bevan Dufty, and Matt Gonzalez, San Franciscans will consider a measure to make our communities safer... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control Advocates Give New Jersey High Rating for Firearms Regulation
12 January 2005
Associated Press
TRENTON, New Jersey — New Jersey has received an A- rating from the nation's top gun control groups for the way it regulates firearms.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Million Mom March said Wednesday that the rating, the same as last year's, is based on the Garden State's regulation of the sale and possession of guns for kids, laws that make adults liable for having loaded weapons around children and requirements that handguns be childproof in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Call for Tougher Gun Laws in Nation of 2m Guns
12 January 2005
Expatica (Brussels)
BRUSSELS — Belgium's social-liberal Spirit party has called for a total ban on the private use of firearms after new figures shows that 2 million guns are in circulation in the country.
The figure, published Wednesday, means that theoretically one in every five Belgian residents owns a gun, although only 669,273 guns are registered in the central registry.
For her part, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx is expected to support a... (GunPolicy.org)
12 January 2005
Herald Sun (Melbourne)
Victoria Police officers are using revolvers more than 40 years old, and there are claims that one in every five does not work properly.
A leaked internal police report shows essential maintenance on some ageing revolvers takes up to 10 times as long as normal.
This has caused backlogs: weapons are being serviced up to eight months later than they should be.
Police sources have told the Herald Sun that one in every five guns brought in for maintenance does not work... (GunPolicy.org)
NATO Organizing Shipment of Soviet-Era Arms to Iraqi Military
12 January 2005
Associated Press
BRUSSELS, Belgium — NATO is organizing the shipment to Iraq of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, dozens of Soviet-designed tanks and other weapons as part of the alliance's program to help train and equip the Iraqi military, officials said Wednesday.
Romania has offered 6,000 AK-47's along with 500 machine guns, 300 sniper rifles and 100 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, while Estonia has offered 2,400 AK-47s and Denmark 104 pistols, alliance officials said.... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Worried About New Vest-Penetrating Gun
12 January 2005
WNBC-TV News (New York)
NEW YORK — There is a nationwide alert to members of law enforcement regarding a new kind of handgun which can render a bulletproof vest useless, as first reported by NewsChannel 4's Scott Weinberger.
The most shocking fact may be that the gun — known as the "five-seven" — is being marketed to the public, and it's completely legal
It was a very difficult decision for members of law enforcement to go public about the new weapon, but officers fear that once word... (GunPolicy.org)