HONG KONG, China — At a press conference held during an international exhibition of defense equipment in Turkey last summer, a Russian military delegation harshly criticized the Pakistan Ordnance Factories Company for copying Russian weapons systems. The Russians claimed that the POF's RPG-7P anti-tank rockets, 122-mm D-30 howitzer ammunition and PK-10 assault guns were 100-percent imitations of Russian systems. The PK-10 assault gun is a Pakistani version of the... (GunPolicy.org)

Smith & Wesson, the famed American gunmaker once owned by Tomkins, the British conglomerate, expects to nearly double its annual sales in the next three to five years as demand for its firearms soars in the recession. It is not alone. All over America demand for firearms and ammunition is rising amid concerns that rising unemployment, which passed 10 per cent this month, will lead inexorably to higher rates of crime. Fears of terrorism have also helped to lift demand,... (GunPolicy.org)

Firearms manufacturer FN Herstal has designed and built a Black Box that, when attached to a weapon, counts rounds fired, measures burst rate, and detects stoppages — information it then stores to facilitate more effective maintenance. The device is housed in a module that can be molded to fit any weapon, according to FN. It comes with a non-replaceable 10-year battery, allowing the unit to record up to 100,000 rounds. "The FN Black Box detects, discriminates,... (GunPolicy.org)

While the mentally ill this country face numerous inequities — a lack of adequate health care and employment opportunities and ostracism from the mainstream of society are among the more obvious injustices — it is not an exercise in discrimination but in common sense to try to keep guns out of the hands of the potentially dangerous. That's why most states bar gun sales to those with a mental disability — often defined as someone who has been civilly committed to... (GunPolicy.org)

Major Nidal Hasan, accused of killing 13 people at Fort Hood Army base, has been described by former colleagues as "psychotic." As more details emerge about Hasan's troubled state, gun safety advocates are launching fresh attacks on a Senate bill they say would make it easier for mentally unstable veterans to buy firearms. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) says his "Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act" will protect veterans' gun rights. But the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun... (GunPolicy.org)