Gun Policy News, 28 January 2008
Single Celebratory Bullet Fired at Police Funeral Kills 2, Injures 2 in Ghana
28 January 2008
Samuel Duodu's Stories (Ghana), Blog
The funeral and burial service for a police officer at Asueyi, a farming community near Techiman in the Brong-Ahafo Region, on Saturday turned fatal when one of the shots fired by some of his colleagues to show solidarity killed two mourners.
The bullet, allegedly fired by Constable Andrew Yankey of the Police Dragon Unit, who police sources say was not part of the official police delegation to the funeral, hit Opanin Kwaku Addai in the abdomen, killing the 70-... (GunPolicy.org)
School Mass Killer, Then 13, Caught Again with Guns, Faces 10 Years More
28 January 2008
CNN / AP
LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Mitchell Johnson, who served time for helping kill five people during a 1998 ambush in a Jonesboro school yard, could only dream of California as he sat handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser on New Year's Day 2007.
Deputies allegedly found two weapons while searching Johnson's vehicle after they said they also found an ounce of marijuana in his pocket.
Johnson, who got out of prison in August 2005, told authorities he and the other man... (GunPolicy.org)
Canada's Gun Registrar Can't Say How Many Handguns Are Registered
28 January 2008
Toronto Sun (Ontario)
Canada's billion-dollar national gun registry doesn't keep up-to-date stats on the number of legal handguns in the country, the Sun has learned.
Staff at the Canadian Firearms Centre told the Sun it would take "days of research" requiring contact with regional offices across the nation to come up with a figure on the number of legal handguns in the country.
And to make that figure public, the centre would require a Freedom of Information request, RCMP spokesman... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland Mayor Wants Guns to Automatically Microstamp Fired Casings
28 January 2008
Examiner (Baltimore)
BALTIMORE — In the wake of a double homicide in Annapolis' Bay Ridge Gardens apartments, Mayor Ellen Moyer is pushing for lawmakers to draft legislation that requires gun manufacturers to produce microstamp imprints of a gun's serial number on shell casings.
The Annapolis mayor plans to meet with state leaders today, including House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Annapolis, City Police Chief Joseph Johnson and representatives from several state agencies to push for... (GunPolicy.org)
Celebratory Shooting Kills Bride's Cousin, 19, at Indian Wedding Party
28 January 2008
Indian Express
GURGAON — A 19-year-old boy lost his life when a stray bullet fired in the air at a marriage party hit him. The incident took place in Gurgaon on Saturday night.
Gaurav Sharma, the deceased, was the bride's cousin and lived in Ashok Vihar, New Delhi.
According to the police, the shot was fired by a youth, Rishi Yadav, who was accompanying the groom.
Rishi, a resident of Gurgaon, is said to be at large.
Gaurav's father, Ashok Sharma, has registered a case at... (GunPolicy.org)
Indiana Lags Behind in Mental Health Reporting for US Federal Gun Database
28 January 2008
Indianapolis Star (Indiana) / AP
FORT WAYNE, Indiana — Indiana is failing to provide a national database with the names of people its state courts have deemed unfit to own guns because of mental health issues, a gun control advocacy group says.
Former Fort Wayne mayor Paul Helmke, president of the nonprofit Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has asked Gov. Mitch Daniels and lawmakers to try to increase reporting efforts to the national database, which is used by gun dealers for background... (GunPolicy.org)
Despite Virginia Tech Killings, Mental Health Checks Stop Fewer Gun Sales
28 January 2008
Roanoke Times (Virginia)
After Virginia closed a loophole that allowed Seung-Hui Cho to purchase his weapons of mass murder, the hope was that more people with mental health problems like Cho's would be barred from buying guns.
That hasn't happened.
In fact, the number of gun transactions blocked for mental health reasons has decreased slightly since Gov. Tim Kaine signed an executive order requiring all people who receive court-ordered mental health treatment to be included in a database... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Senate Once Again Blocks Bill on Firearm Background Checks
28 January 2008
Roanoke Times (Virginia)
RICHMOND — Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, tried Monday to revive a bill designed to expand criminal background checks for firearms sold at gun shows, but a Senate committee blocked his effort.
Edwards asked the Senate Courts of Justice Committee to reconsider its vote last week to shelve legislation designed to close the so-called "gun show loophole." Edwards was one of two Democrats who helped swing the committee's 9-6 vote to send the bill to the Virginia Crime... (GunPolicy.org)
13yr-old Arkansas School Shooting Killer, Now 23, Faces Another Gun Rap
28 January 2008
Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — A man who helped kill five people during a 1998 ambush at a Jonesboro school went back on trial Monday, facing a gun possession charge that could send him back to prison for a decade.
Mitchell Johnson, 23, faces one count of possessing of a firearm while either being a user or being addicted to a controlled substance. It carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Johnson was arrested on New Year's Day 2007 after police found a bag of... (GunPolicy.org)
Lethal and Plentiful: US Congress Should Reinstate Assault Weapons Ban
28 January 2008
Miami Herald, Editorial
After Congress adopted a ban on 19 types of rapid-fire assault weapons and numerous copy-cat weapons in 1994, crimes involving these weapons dropped by almost 66 percent over the next six years. In the year after the ban took effect, murders of police officers by suspects using assault weapons dropped to zero from 16 in the year before the ban. Yet, when the ban came up for renewal in 2004, neither Congress nor President Bush lifted a finger to keep it alive.
That... (GunPolicy.org)
New York City Hails Court Ruling Against Firearm Dealers in Gun Sale Sting
28 January 2008
Associated Press
NEW YORK — City officials say a federal judge helped their lawsuit against gun dealers by ruling that there was no crime in sending undercover investigators into gun shops to try to buy weapons illegally.
But gun dealers see the same decision as support for their argument that they didn't do anything wrong.
The sting operation was conducted two years ago. It was the basis for a civil case Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration brought against 27 gun dealers in... (GunPolicy.org)
Philadelphia Gun Victim's Political Defeat Led to Sweet Success, Fulfillment
28 January 2008
Philadelphia Daily News
In politics, as in life, losing sometimes leads to winning.
Take the case of Mark Chilutti.
Eight years ago, he ran for a Northeast Philly state House seat against then-22-year incumbent Republican power and House leader John Perzel, a man not known for charm.
Chilutti was a fresh-scrubbed ex-Eagle Scout, just 32, a gunshot victim in a wheelchair (shot in a 1996 robbery of his jewelry store), a political novice, a contrast in every way to the seasoned Perzel. With... (GunPolicy.org)
Tongan Gunman Shot, Killed Former Employer, Then Self with .22 Rifle
28 January 2008
Tonga Broadcasting Commission
Police have identified the gunman who allegedly shot a business woman at Kolofo'ou last week.
Acting Police Commander Taniela Faletau identified the assailant as Sefanaia Palelei, 33, of Halaleva. Palelei who shot Mosimani Helu last Monday was a former employee at Mrs Helu's shop.
The assailant is alleged to have entered Mosimani's complex with a bag where the .22 rifle was hidden and shot her former boss before shooting himself.
Police reports that the motive is... (GunPolicy.org)