Gun Policy News, 10 January 2006
United States
Handgun Hunting Now Legalised in 48 US States
10 January 2006
Delaware State News
DOVER — The state's inaugural handgun deer hunting season kicks off today with a bang and some bucks.
In May, Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed legislation permitting the use of large-framed, large-caliber handguns for deer hunting, making Delaware the 48th state to legalize handgun use for hunting, according to the National Rifle Association.
For the one-week season, hunters can apply in daily lotteries for a limited number of permits at five state wildlife areas or hunt... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Delaware State News
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Canada
Cops Seize Rifle as Obsessed Trucker's Life Spirals Out of Control
10 January 2006
Toronto Sun (Ontario)
BANCROFT — The world of embattled trucker Gary Clancy has entered a seemingly out-of-control spiral, one that was almost inevitable considering the lengths he has gone to paint the local OPP as corrupt.
He was at the losing end of a libel action by OPP Const. Stan Balemba, the cop who issued him a ticket for going through a red light in this town almost six years ago.
Clancy was convicted for running that red light, but had the conviction overturned on an appeal —... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Toronto Sun (Ontario)
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United States
New York Lawmakers Go Back to Bickering Over Gun Control Bills
10 January 2006
New York Times
ALBANY — On the first working day of the legislative session, the State Senate and the Assembly were united about crime and public safety. What they could not agree upon Monday was which offenses to focus on.
While the Republican-controlled Senate quickly passed a law calling for the lifetime registration of all convicted sex offenders, the Democratic-controlled Assembly passed a series of bills that would crack down on guns and firearms.
The pledges of cooperation... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: New York Times
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United States
Los Angeles, New York Mayors Should Push Federal Gun Control
10 January 2006
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
Even as crime rates continue to fall in Los Angeles and across the nation, a staggering number of homicides still occur each year, most involving a handgun. In Los Angeles, there were 487 killings in 2005, down from 518 in 2004, but twice the number of auto deaths.
In his inaugural address last week, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York championed stricter gun laws in his state and nationally. He announced that he would push New York legislators to expand his... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Los Angeles Times
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United States
Man Enters Wrong Home by Mistake, Neighbour Shoots Him Dead
10 January 2006
Los Angeles Times
A man who was shot and killed in a Rancho Cucamonga apartment last week broke into the dwelling while intoxicated, believing it was his unit, authorities said.
Hector Soto, 21, had recently moved to the apartment complex from Oxnard to live with his brother and that night had been out celebrating his pending graduation from a local trade school, said his stepfather, Robert Ward.
Soto "was not a big drinker, but he was fairly well intoxicated after this grad party, so... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Los Angeles Times
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Canada
Cracking Down on Handguns a Priority in Canada's Election
10 January 2006
Toronto Star (Ontario)
MONTREAL — Offering various pledges to crack down on urban gun violence, the federal leaders skirmished over how best to deal with an issue that has vaulted to the fore in the campaign.
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said that if his get-tough approach of longer sentencing and parole restrictions had been in place, James Roszko, of Mayerthorpe, Alta., would never have had the chance to shoot four young RCMP officers dead last March.
NDP Leader Jack Layton said... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Toronto Star (Ontario)
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United States
Concealed Handgun Law Made Texas Safer, Says Official
10 January 2006
Austin American-Statesman (Texas), Opinion
When the Texas concealed handgun law took effect in 1996, pundits and naysayers predicted anarchy. Any minute, there surely would be mass violence as armed Texas citizens began roving the streets settling arguments with gunfire. Certainly, several proclaimed, within a year there would be blood in the streets as Texas returned to the days of the Wild West.
Ten years later, the facts paint a different picture. Texas under the concealed handgun law isn't the Wild West,... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Austin American-Statesman (Texas)
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Sudan
Guns Flow in to Sudan's Darfur Despite Embargo: United Nations
10 January 2006
Reuters
Weapons are flowing to anti-government rebels in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region from neighboring Chad, Eritrea and Libya in violation of a U.N. arms embargo, U.N. experts said in a report obtained by Reuters on Tuesday.
The embargo, imposed on all non-government forces in Darfur in July 2004, has also failed to prevent the government from arming the Arab militias that act as its proxy fighters in the Darfur conflict, the experts said.
Since a second civil war ended... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Reuters
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