A state senator who represents the district that includes Virginia Tech tried unsuccessfully to reopen debate yesterday on closing the "gun show loophole." Although the legislation was effectively dead, Edwards proposed a compromise that would have made background checks voluntary for unlicensed sellers. But it was rejected by Democrats and Republicans on the committee. "I think this is a middle ground," he said after the committee adjourned. "A lot of people would... (GunPolicy.org)

People holding guns illegally may soon have a chance to hand them over to the police without fear of prosecution. It is one of the options the police are considering as they tackle an upsurge in gun crimes. Commissioner of Police Darwin Dottin disclosed this yesterday during a break in touring, with new Attorney-General Freundel Stuart, the temporary and new police facilities under construction in Crab Hill, St Lucy. "I thought about it," he said of the gun... (GunPolicy.org)

SAN FRANCISCO — A convicted bank robber has been sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for illegal gun possession, authorities said today. Frederick Lim Johnson, 37, possessed a loaded .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol last year when he should not have carried any weapons because of a prior armed bank-robbery conviction, a federal jury determined in August. U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins sentenced Johnson on Thursday to 22 years and seven months in prison.... (GunPolicy.org)

BANGALORE — The Shankarpuram police have raided an illegal gun manufacturing unit in Nandigrama, Chikballapur, and have arrested the manufacturer, Manjunath. Two revolvers have been seized. Until now, the police thought rowdies procured country-made revolvers from Bihar and Rajasthan. The police stumbled upon this case after the arrest of Iliyas Khan, who was arrested recently in Shivajinagar for possessing a revolver. During interrogation, Iliyas said he got the... (GunPolicy.org)

Seventeen years ago, they banded together to combat violence. Former gang members, lawyers, school officials, and business owners, they sought to form truces between warring gangs and stem Boston's skyrocketing homicide rate. Today, Citizens for Safety will announce its rebirth and its new members, an eclectic group that includes mothers of homicide victims, religious leaders, a former policeman, and a suburban mom. They will also announce their new mission: to track... (GunPolicy.org)

A retired RCMP officer who provided guns for a legendary con man has been sent to jail for five years for 10 firearms offences. David Kift, 50, who served in the RCMP for 18 years and wrote a self-published book, The Naked Mountie, had been found guilty in December by Superior Court Justice Paul Rivard. "Mr. Kift committed an egregious breach of trust. He presented himself as a retired RCMP officer," Crown prosecutor Beverley Richards told the judge yesterday. He... (GunPolicy.org)

How can one gun do so much terrible damage? The answer, according to Bill Blair, is all too easily. The Chief emerged on Tuesday to reveal the incredible misery a single .9 millimetre pistol has caused so many in the GTA. The gun in question was on display last Thursday at Police Headquarters, as they tried to reinvigorate the cold case of the shooting of a TTC driver in October 2005. Detectives have finally charged a man, 21-year-old Malcolm Chalmers, in that... (GunPolicy.org)

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — A federal jury convicted a 23-year-old man on an obscure weapons charge Tuesday, apparently unaware that 10 years ago he and another boy killed four classmates and a teacher in a schoolyard ambush. Mitchell Johnson faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced in the next 45 days on a count of possessing a firearm while being a drug user. Through his attorney, Johnson declined to comment Tuesday. Johnson was arrested on... (GunPolicy.org)

SALT LAKE CITY — He didn't know his victims. He wasn't influenced by violent video games. Terrorism wasn't a factor. The young Bosnian immigrant who killed five people at a shopping mall nearly a year ago was a shy loner who uttered just two words during a random shooting spree that ended with his death in a storm of police gunfire. Salt Lake City police released their investigation of the rampage at the Trolley Square mall Tuesday, leaving unknown a motive for... (GunPolicy.org)

Imagine the crime problem in our cities as a pyramid. At the base are the social problems with elusive solutions: poverty and broken family structure. No work means nothing to work for. No family means declining social values. At the pyramid's tip is gun violence. All the layers in between — from failing education to rampant drug use to diminished humanity through pop culture — lead to it. Guns kill, maim and cripple. That's the physical. The psychological is... (GunPolicy.org)

WASHINGTON — Weapons the U.S. provides to Iraqi security forces may still be ending up in the hands of terrorists, insurgents and criminals, the Defense Department inspector general told Congress on Tuesday. While U.S. commanders have made progress in controlling the flow of tens of thousands of munitions into Iraq, "there still remains work to be accomplished," Claude Kicklighter said in prepared remarks obtained by The Associated Press. Appearing behind closed... (GunPolicy.org)