Gun Policy News, 20 January 2008
Canada,United States
Canada Faces 'Crisis of Gun Smuggling,' Handguns from US Gun Shows
20 January 2008
Toronto Star (Ontario)
With two Toronto bystanders shot dead in one week, the New Democrats are calling for a cross-border political summit to tackle "the ongoing crisis" of illegal handguns crossing into Canada.
Standing near the Chinatown East grocery where clerk Hou Chang Mao was killed by a stray bullet Thursday while stacking oranges outside, federal NDP Leader Jack Layton yesterday joined Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller in urging an absolute ban on... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Toronto Star (Ontario)
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Canada
Toronto Recoils as Another Bystander is Killed by a Stray Handgun Bullet
20 January 2008
National Post / CanWest News Service
TORONTO — Police here on Friday appealed in English and in Cantonese to potential witnesses, in the city's East Chinatown, to help locate the gunmen responsible for killing an innocent father of two on Thursday.
Investigators have identified the city's third homicide victim of the year as Hou Chang Mao, 47.
On Thursday, in the midst of a bustling crowd of after-work shoppers and as he stacked oranges, Mao was shot and killed by a bullet meant for someone else in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: National Post / CanWest News Service
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United States
In Passionate Fight, Gun Lobby Wins 'Shoot First' Laws in 20 US States
20 January 2008
Dallas Morning News (Texas)
The spread of castle laws across the U.S. the past two years serves as the latest battleground between pro-gun forces and gun-control advocates.
The two sides, led by the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign, use words carefully chosen for maximum emotional impact — and often the same words, though with far different meanings.
And they fight state by state over bills that either provide "innocent victims" with an unlimited right to self-defense or place... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Dallas Morning News (Texas)
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United States
Bush Position on DC Gun Law Spurs 'Serious Backlash' from Conservatives
20 January 2008
Washington Post
The Bush administration's position in the case before the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the District of Columbia's ban on handguns has created an unexpected and serious backlash in conservative circles, disappointing gun enthusiasts and creating implications for the presidential campaign.
The government's brief, filed by U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement just hours before the court's deadline Jan. 11, endorses the view that the Second Amendment... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post
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United States
US Supreme Court Should Let Washington Decide Its Own Gun Control Law
20 January 2008
Washington Post, Opinion
On Jan. 11, the DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice filed a brief in the Supreme Court, asking the court to uphold the District's gun control law in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. Our brief was co-sponsored by the D.C. League of Women Voters, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Federal City Council, DC for Democracy and the Washington Council of Lawyers.
All of these local organizations have one key interest in common: They believe that important public... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post
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United States
Rash of Texas Gun Deaths Coincides with New 'Shoot First' Defence Law
20 January 2008
Dallas Morning News (Texas)
The shootings came fast, a bang-bang-bang cluster of cases starting in early autumn that quickly had police, prosecutors and the media wondering about the sudden impact of Texas' new castle law.
A business owner who lives at his West Dallas welding shop killed two men in three weeks as they tried to break in.
A 79-year-old homeowner in east Oak Cliff, awakened by his dog, struggled with an intruder before grabbing a shotgun and wounding the man.
A retired Army... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Dallas Morning News (Texas)
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