Gun Policy News, 14 January 2009
United States
Gun Lobby Wins Battle to Allow Guns in San Francisco Housing Estates
14 January 2009
San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Housing Authority has agreed to allow its residents to own guns in a settlement of a National Rifle Association lawsuit that followed last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the right to bear arms.
In papers filed Monday with a federal judge, the Housing Authority agreed not to enforce a provision it added to tenant leases in 2005 prohibiting the possession of guns and ammunition. The ban will now apply only to illegal gun ownership, like possession... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: San Francisco Chronicle
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United States
Virginia Crime Panel Deadlocked, Will Not Close Gun Show Loophole
14 January 2009
Washington Post
RICHMOND — The Virginia State Crime Commission on Tuesday declined to endorse closing the so-called gun show loophole in Virginia law, heightening uncertainty about the prospects of success in the General Assembly.
The deadlocked vote — taken before a large crowd that included gun owners, at least one survivor of the Virginia Tech shootings and friends and relatives of other massacre victims — highlighted an enduring split between country and city that... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Washington Post
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United States
Another Gun Show Dealer Lost 40 Weapons to Thieves in Pennsylvania
14 January 2009
Times Herald (Michigan)
UPPER MERION — In the wake of the theft of machine guns and rifles from a vehicle after a gun show Dec. 21 comes the announcement that about 40 guns were also stolen from a trailer following a September gun show in King of Prussia, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
ATF Special Agent John Hageman of the Philadelphia Field Division said the dozens of weapons taken in September — all handguns — were stolen from a licensed gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Times Herald (Michigan)
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United States
Utah Man Drops Pants and Licensed Hidden Handgun, Bullet Kills Toilet
14 January 2009
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
The toilet at Centerville's Carl's Jr. restaurant never knew what hit it, but police say it was a slug from a 26-year-old Salt Lake City man's .40-caliber handgun.
As the man hitched up his pants, the pistol fell from the holster, hit the tile floor and fired — shattering the toilet and sending porcelain into the man's arm.
A woman in an adjacent restroom was frightened and complained of chest pain, but both she and the man were treated at the scene.
The man had... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
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Canada
MP's First-ever Bill Aims to Demolish Canada's Long Gun Registry
14 January 2009
Fort Frances Times (Ontario)
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty is planning to introduce a private member's bill calling for the abolition of the long gun registry once Parliament resumes later this month.
"The reason I'm doing that is really because I promised the constituents in every election that that's what I would do, given the opportunity, and you know what, I got the opportunity," Rafferty said last week while hosting a pre-budget consultation here.
Rafferty said he will introduce... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Fort Frances Times (Ontario)
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United States
New Jersey Leaders Target Gun Lobby Law 'Blindfolding' Police Inquiries
14 January 2009
Jersey Journal (New Jersey)
For years, big city mayors, police chiefs and prosecutors in Hudson County and elsewhere have pushed to get the federal government to release data that would go a long way in explaining how the illegal guns confiscated in their regions got there.
But a law, known as the Tiahrt Amendment, prevents the release of this information.
Now with the election of a new Democratic president and Democrats in firm control of Congress, local officials are once again hopeful they... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Jersey Journal (New Jersey)
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United States
Wrong Man May Have Confessed to Texas .50cal Sniper Rifle Shooting
14 January 2009
WFAA-TV News (Texas)
FORT WORTH — There is new information on the shooting of a woman at Texas Motor Speedway.
The wrong man may have turned himself in.
A stray bullet hit Jill Moss as she cooked inside her RV in November.
The Fort Worth Police Department is reviewing new evidence.
The day a stray bullet hit Moss, finding the shooter was like looking for a needle in a haystack; .50-caliber bullets can travel for miles.
Then, the next day, a man came forward saying he was target... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: WFAA-TV News (Texas)
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United States
Philadelphia Police Arrest 5 Protesters at Gun Shop Accused of Trafficking
14 January 2009
Philadelphia Inquirer / AP
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia gun dealer who won't sign a code of conduct designed to help stem illegal gun trafficking had protesters refuse to leave his store.
Police arrested five protesters Wednesday at Colosimo's Gun Center.
One was 28-year-old Melissa DeLong of Camden, N.J., who said: "I'd rather leave in a paddy wagon than see one more child in a coffin."
Store owner James Colisimo says he doesn't sell guns illegally. The 77-year-old man says he's Roman... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Philadelphia Inquirer / AP
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United States
Tangle of State Law Invites Push for More Hidden Handguns in US Parks
14 January 2009
Jackson Hole News&Guide (Wyoming)
JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming — Yellowstone National Park officials say disentangling disparate concealed-weapons laws of three states has left unanswered questions about implementing a Bush administration rule that began allowing guns in the park last week.
The rule gives gun owners permission to carry concealed loaded weapons as long as their concealed-weapons permit is recognized by the state in which the park is located.
The problem is that Yellowstone stretches across... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Jackson Hole News&Guide (Wyoming)
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United States
Man Used AK-47 Assault Rifle to Rob Gas Station in Georgia, Say Police
14 January 2009
Gwinnett Daily Post (Georgia)
LAWRENCEVILLE — Thanks to a tip, police have in custody an alleged AK-47-wielding robber who allegedly hit a Suwanee gas station on Christmas Eve, authorities said.
Steven Everett Sanders, 21, of Lawrenceville, faces charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Gwinnett County Sheriff's Department deputies, accompanied by the department's SWAT team, arrested Sanders at a friend's Sugarloaf Parkway... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Gwinnett Daily Post (Georgia)
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