ORLANDO — An Orlando man who celebrated New Year's Eve by firing his rifle has been charged in the shooting death of a man who lived more than a mile away. Richardo Roach, 24, was charged Friday with manslaughter with a firearm in the death of Henry McDaniel, 75, sheriff's officials said. Roach was released later Friday on $2,500 bail, jail officials said. "It's hard for him to accept that a bullet from his gun hit somebody," said Orange County sheriff's Cpl. Mike... (GunPolicy.org)

A Scottish-based couple who launched a campaign for gun control in Turkey after their two-year-old son was shot dead have become hate figures for US pro-gun groups. David and Ozlem Grimason, whose son Alistair was killed in 2003 as he slept in his pram in a Turkish café, have been targeted in a web campaign by the American gun lobby. One posting describes them as "idiots" who should stop meddling in the affairs of other countries. Another labels them as... (GunPolicy.org)

Outrage has greeted the detention of the management of South Africa's internationally renowned National Museum of Military History in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, and the confiscation of four armoured display vehicles. The debacle threatens to cause South Africa untold international embarrassment — but military police say they may still commandeer the museum's collection of small arms, many collector's pieces, some of which date back to the 1840s. Military intelligence... (GunPolicy.org)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Organizers of a gun buyback campaign at a Birmingham church to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 76th birthday said 67 weapons were turned in Saturday. The Rev. Abraham Woods, pastor of St. Joseph Baptist Church, said people were paid as much as $50 for working guns. "None of us know what gun will be used to hurt somebody," said Woods. "This is a step of faith." The local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized... (GunPolicy.org)

The festive merrymaking known as the Ati-Atihan in honor of the Catholic Feast of the Sto. Niño (the infant Jesus) turned tragic here Sunday after a policeman ran amuck and shot dead Aklan's and Kalibo's top cops, a young girl, and three others. Wounded were five policemen, two media persons, and 15 merrymakers. GMA Network, quoting its Kalibo radio station, said 32 were injured. The fatalities included Superintendent Oderlardo Magayanes, acting Aklan police... (GunPolicy.org)

The National Research Council, billed as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering and medicine," released a report last month that found there's not enough statistical evidence available to determine whether efforts to control violence by restricting guns are effective. The spinmeisters on both sides of the gun-control-vs.-gun-rights debate could have a heyday with this. The NRC's analysis says that what America needs is a federally supported "robust research... (GunPolicy.org)

The state has blocked the sale of an inexpensive handgun manufactured by a Costa Mesa-based firearms company after the weapon failed safety tests. Jimenez Arms, formerly known as Bryco Arms, was ordered to stop distributing its JA-9 model in California after three guns experienced a high number of malfunctions during testing. The California Department of Justice ordered the company to stop selling the automatic pistol on Thursday, said spokesman Nathan... (GunPolicy.org)

Four thousand people have suffered shooting injuries in a single year as gun crime continues to rise across Britain. Figures released by the Home Office show that 81 people were shot dead and more than 500 were seriously wounded between April 2002 and March 2003. The details of gun casualties come as government statistics issued this month are expected to show that other violent crime — mainly fuelled by binge drinking — has risen by 11% compared with the same... (GunPolicy.org)

The proposal to re-introduce truncheons for policemen has been well-received. A member of the Royal Commission on the Police Force, Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim, said it concerned "the principle of proportionality". Guns should be used only when necessary, he said. "Policemen prevent crimes from happening. You don't need an arsenal of weapons to do this. Likewise, you don't chase a snatch thief with a gun. "An armed robbery is a different story. Guns may be... (GunPolicy.org)