A bank robber has been allowed to claim the cost of a pistol used in a hold-up as a legitimate business expense. A Dutch court has permitted the 46-year-old man to set the €2000 ($3400) cost of the gun against his gross proceeds of €6750, gained during his raid on a bank in the southern town of Chaam. The judge at Breda Criminal Court duly reduced his fine by the same amount, while sentencing him to four years in jail. In a timely boost for the Netherlands' image... (GunPolicy.org)

OLYMPIA, Washington — Dozens of gun control opponents packed a Senate hearing Tuesday on several bills that would ban assault weapons, close the gun show loophole and ban weapons from the Capitol. In the largest committee meeting since the legislative session began Jan. 10, about 200 people filled the Senate judiciary hearing room and an overflow room. Citizen opponents appeared to far outnumber the proponents, who were mostly lawmakers, public officials and antigun... (GunPolicy.org)

PORT MORESBY — An Australian man has been jailed for almost a year in Papua New Guinea for smuggling a high-powered weapon with live ammunition into the country in exchange for drugs. A Magistrates Court has sentenced 36-year-old Brian Winston Smith to 11 months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to charges of gun smuggling and drug trafficking. But some of his sentence will be served concurrently. Papua New Guinea's southern divisional police commander, John... (GunPolicy.org)

A gun collector who had an illegal cache of weapons and threatened to shoot police and workmates has been jailed for five years after his family tipped off the authorities. Police compared David Collins, 27, with the Dunblane killer Thomas Hamilton and the Hungerford gunman Michael Ryan, describing the loner as a "time bomb" who posed a significant threat to the community. Relatives became frightened and anxious when they heard him test-firing weapons and making... (GunPolicy.org)

An Australian man has been found guilty of illegally entering the country and being in possession of a high-powered rifle. The Daru District Court last Friday ruled that Brian Smith, originally from South Africa, was guilty as charged on three counts of having a high-powered rifle, having 70 rounds of live ammunition and entering the country without a passport. The 36-year-old was caught by police in Daru on January 16 after he had crossed the border on an outboard... (GunPolicy.org)

DAEJEON, South Korea — Three former and current American military personnel are suspected of selling U.S.-made guns and bullets to a South Korean man, police said Wednesday. The Korean man, identified only by his family name Han, was arrested Tuesday on charges of selling the arms to two other South Korean men, who were also... (GunPolicy.org)

The Virginia Senate yesterday blocked renewed efforts to close a loophole in gun-control laws that allows people to buy weapons while avoiding on-the-spot criminal-background checks. "I beg you," said Sen. John Watkins, R-Powhatan, urging lawmakers to require the instant checks for all firearms purchases. Watkins, whose district includes part of Richmond, a city vexed by a stubbornly high homicide rate, opposed the measure in previous years. To prevent firearms from... (GunPolicy.org)

Police have arrested a government doctor in Daru, Western province, and an Australian for conspiring to smuggle a rifle and ammunition into the country. The .22 rifle and 70 rounds of ammunition were for the doctor who would, in return, give the Australian 30kg of cannabis. Both men were picked up on Jan 17, said Southern region police chief Acting Asst Comm John Marru. He said the Australian worked as a labourer in Gold Coast, Queensland, after migrating from... (GunPolicy.org)

HOUSTON — Houston's transit agency repealed its ban Thursday on the carrying of concealed handguns on buses and commuter trains. The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, known as Metro, had prohibited such weapons since 1995. But in 2003, the Legislature passed a law that said Texas cities cannot bar licensed gun owners from carrying concealed weapons in public buildings. Pro-gun organizations then sued Metro, contending the law applies to public... (GunPolicy.org)

KABUL, Afghanistan — An Afghan soldier opened fire inside a U.S. military base Thursday, killing five of his Afghan comrades before another soldier gunned him down to end a shooting that a commander attributed to mental problems. Elsewhere, Afghan police killed a suspected Taliban commander and captured his deputy in a shootout. The U.S. military said the soldier attacked fellow Afghan National Army troops early Thursday morning in Helmand province. Another six... (GunPolicy.org)

Despite new security measures at the state Capitol, including metal detectors and X-ray machines, it isn't difficult for someone with a firearm to legally get within feet of the governor and 147 legislators. Visitors with a concealed-weapon permit are allowed to enter the Legislative Building, firearms in tow, and some lawmakers are up in arms. Capitol employees, lawmakers and gun-rights activists faced off Tuesday at a hearing on Senate Bill 5344, which would ban... (GunPolicy.org)

A gun-control group is taking aim at what it calls a new "cop killer gun" — the Five-seveN pistol designed by the FN Herstal company of Belgium. At a press conference Thursday morning, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence United with the Million Mom March said it would "sound an alarm to law enforcement professionals around the county about a new handgun available to the general public that is capable of firing bullets through soft police body armor." The gun... (GunPolicy.org)