Gun Policy News, 11 January 2011
Italian Man Shot in Head on New Year's Eve Sneezes Out Bullet and Lives
11 January 2011
BBC News
An Italian man has astonished doctors by sneezing a bullet out through his nose after being shot in the head.
Darco Sangermano, 28, had been taken to hospital in Naples for emergency treatment after being hit by a stray bullet during New Year's Eve celebrations.
The bullet passed behind his right eye and lodged in his nostril, but miraculously did no serious damage.
He is expected to make a full recovery, doctors say.
Mr Sangermano had spent New Year's Eve with his... (GunPolicy.org)
Shooting Tests American West's Love Affair with Guns, Lax Gun Control
11 January 2011
Agence France Presse
TUCSON, Arizona — Months before she was shot in the head, US Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords won a tight re-election battle vowing to be "moderate" -- including by staunchly backing the right to own guns.
As she lies in critical condition, some are publicly questioning the gun-slinging culture of the American West where weapons at restaurants do not cause a second glance and opposition to guns is considered political suicide.
Jared Loughner, 22, who shot Giffords... (GunPolicy.org)
America's National Mindset Confuses Right of Protection with Right to Kill
11 January 2011
Sydney Morning Herald, Editorial
On November 30 last year, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner walked into a Sportsman's Warehouse store in Tucson, Arizona, and bought a Glock 19 semi-automatic handgun, serial number PWL699. He passed the instant background check required by US federal law. Under the lax state gun laws, he was then allowed to conceal and carry his pistol without a permit. On Sunday, Loughner was charged with using the gun in a rampage in a parking lot outside a Tucson supermarket that left... (GunPolicy.org)
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World Media Reacts to Arizona Shooting: America's Gun Laws Are Nuts
11 January 2011
Wrap (California)
While the shootings in Tucson continue to inflame the debate over violent rhetoric in American politics, the international media's reaction to the tragedy is largely focused on alleged killer Jared Lee Loughner's weapon of choice: a gun.
In doing so, it's gotten to the debate over gun laws faster than a U.S. media hung up on the politics.
"This guy was a nutjob. What he did was sick and evil," a Tucson gunshop owner told Agence France-Presse in a piece entitled,... (GunPolicy.org)
Unhealthy, Dangerous Gun Culture the 'Achilles Heel of American Society'
11 January 2011
Press (Christchurch), Editorial
The Tucson shooting, in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head, is another tragic commentary on the poisonous political climate which has developed in the United States, allied to the country's pervasive gun culture.
It is unclear why the 22-year-old opened fire with such deadly effect, slaying six bystanders, among them a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl, and wounding 14 others, including Giffords, but it does appear that the Democrat... (GunPolicy.org)
If You Think Someone Is Mentally Ill: US Mass Shooter's Six Warning Signs
11 January 2011
Time (USA)
In retrospect, it's easy to see the evidence that Tucson, Ariz., shooter Jared Loughner was mentally unstable. In his community-college classes, he would laugh randomly and loudly at nonevents. He would clench his fists and regularly pose strange, nonsensical questions to teachers and fellow students. "A lot of people didn't feel safe around him," a former classmate told Fox News.
Given these facts and the horrific turn of events at a Safeway supermarket on Jan. 8 that... (GunPolicy.org)
Lax Gun Laws Prove Deadly in America, Where 80 Die by Gun Each Day
11 January 2011
Toronto Star (Ontario)
America has recoiled in horror over the shooting rampage in Arizona but throughout the country some 30,000 people die each year of gunshot wounds — about one-third of the 98,000 who are shot.
The most recent violence has turned the spotlight once again on a system that fuels gun crime and, say some, is giving in to an "extremist" minority of gun advocates at the expense of national safety.
"We need more sensible laws, and we need a change in social norms," says... (GunPolicy.org)
It's Time: Use Public Health as Rallying Point to Curb Toll of Gun Violence
11 January 2011
Montreal Gazette (Québec), Editorial
A blast from a handgun ended the life of 9-year-old Christina Green, a sunny little girl who had gone to meet Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords because she wanted to learn more about politics.
Christina was one of six people to die in the attack Saturday that included the attempted assassination of Giffords. Jared Loughner, a 22-year-old man believed to be mentally unstable, has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
There is a particular horror about... (GunPolicy.org)
Tackling Gun Lobby, Political 'Third Rail' Proved a Step Too Far for Obama
11 January 2011
Financial Times (UK)
President Barack Obama's administration took on banks and the insurance industry in his first two years in office but made a political calculation that challenging the US gun lobby was a step too far.
The shooting rampage and attempted assassination of Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday is raising questions about whether the accused gunman, a 22-year-old who was rejected when he tried to join the army, had a police record and... (GunPolicy.org)
Tucson Suspect's Mental Health Troubles Didn't Prevent Him Buying a Gun
11 January 2011
Associated Press
Jared Loughner had trouble with the law, was rejected by the Army after flunking a drug test and was considered so mentally unstable that he was banned from his college campus, where officials considered him a threat to other students and faculty.
But the 22-year-old had no trouble buying the Glock semiautomatic pistol that authorities say he used in the Tucson rampage Saturday that left six dead and 14 injured, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Loughner's personal... (GunPolicy.org)
US Senator Calls for Tough Federal Gun Laws in Wake of Arizona Shooting
11 January 2011
Los Angeles Times
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on Tuesday called for tougher federal gun laws, including banning large ammunition clips and federal regulations on concealed weapons permits, in the wake of the shooting rampage in Tucson that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) gravely wounded.
Boxer, appearing at a press conference in Riverside, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation also should keep track of seriously mentally ill people with a history of violence... (GunPolicy.org)
Omaha Detective Left Handgun Out, Son Shot School Principals With It
11 January 2011
Reuters
Police are reviewing how off duty officers store their weapons after a student used his detective father's police handgun in a school shooting spree last week.
Robert Butler, Jr, retrieved his father's gun from a closet on Wednesday and shot and killed high school assistant principal Vicki Kaspar, who had earlier suspended the boy from school for driving his car onto school athletic fields. He also wounded principal Curtis Case before killing himself.
The debate over... (GunPolicy.org)
US Congress Readies New Gun-control Bills After Arizona Mass Shooting
11 January 2011
Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON -- Congressional advocates of gun control are preparing legislation to renew a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines of the sort suspected used in last Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz.
Such a ban was in effect between 1994 and 2004 as part of a ban on assault weapons, which also expired. Since then, clips such as those allegedly used by suspect Jared Loughner, which contained more than 30 rounds, have been available for purchase without... (GunPolicy.org)
Poll: In the Wake of Arizona Shootings, Americans Split on Gun Control
11 January 2011
CBS News (USA)
In the wake of Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Arizona, Americans are split over whether gun control laws should be made stricter, according to a new CBS News Poll.
According to the poll, 47 percent of Americans believe that gun control laws should be more stringent in the wake of the Arizona shootings. Meanwhile, 36 percent believed the laws should remain the same, and 12 percent thought the laws should be made less strict in light of the shootings.
The percentage of... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Gun Control Is Dead in America: Democrats Have Ceded to the NRA
11 January 2011
Salon (USA)
As the immediate shock of the mass shooting in Arizona subsides and the conversation turns to gun control, it's becoming increasingly clear that there is little chance that new anti-gun measures will pass the Republican-dominated Congress.
But a picture is also coming into focus of a gun control movement that has been on the retreat for at least a decade, facing setbacks not only in Congress, but also in the courts and in public opinion polls, and of a Democratic Party... (GunPolicy.org)
Why America's Gun Laws Won't Change: Business as Usual for Gun Culture
11 January 2011
BBC News
Since Saturday's tragic shootings in Arizona, America's cable news channels have been flooded with analysts speculating about why.
They have bemoaned the state of America's political discourse, called for leadership in toning down heated rhetoric, speculated over whether this is a turning point for Barack Obama or Sarah Palin and puzzled over the shooter's mental state.
But one thing that has scarcely been raised is gun control.
In Australia, a 1996 gun massacre in... (GunPolicy.org)
Americans 'Lapse Back Into Indefensible, Inevitable Status Quo' on Guns
11 January 2011
Washington Post, Editorial
There's a wearying pattern associated with gun-related tragedies in this country. An assault, like the shooting Saturday of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) and 19 others, sparks discussion about America's lax gun laws and the ease with which mentally unstable people can buy weapons of wholesale destruction. Then come rejoinders centering on the political impossibility of common-sense legislation. And then, a lapse back into an indefensible but seemingly inevitable status... (GunPolicy.org)
After Mass Shooting, US Lawmakers Prefer Packing Heat to Gun Control
11 January 2011
Canadian Press
WASHINGTON - The attempted assassination of a U.S. congresswoman has put the hot-button issue of gun control back in the national spotlight, but even after a bullet to the brain left their colleague fighting for her life, Capitol Hill legislators are shying away from significantly toughening up gun laws.
A pair of them, in fact, have their own only-in-America solution: they'll pack some heat themselves.
Two House of Representatives lawmakers — Republican Jason... (GunPolicy.org)
While Some Americans Lawmakers Talk Gun Control, Others Pack Heat
11 January 2011
Fox News (USA)
While some lawmakers are responding to the mass shooting in Arizona by introducing legislation to increase gun control or asking for additional security, others say they're going to start exercising their Second Amendment rights and carry weapons.
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, had a permit for a concealed weapon before the Arizona incident that killed six and wounded 14, including Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Chaffetz Press Secretary Alisia Essig told Fox News... (GunPolicy.org)
New York Mayor Calls for Tougher Gun Purchasing Background Checks
11 January 2011
New York Daily News
Mayor Bloomberg called for toughening the nation's gun-purchasing background check system Thursday.
His demands included closing a loophole that would have prevented the drug-addicted Arizona assassin from buying a firearm.
Madman Jared Lee Loughner shot 20 people at point-blank rage - including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords - but never should have been allowed to purchase a gun if a background screening was done correctly, Bloomberg argued.
"The law says that drug abusers... (GunPolicy.org)
USA: Our Nation's Insane Refusal to Impose Reasonable Controls on Guns
11 January 2011
Washington Post, Column
We may not be sure that the bloodbath in Tucson had anything to do with politics, but we know it had everything to do with our nation's insane refusal to impose reasonable controls on guns.
Specifically, the rampage had everything to do with a 9mm semiautomatic Glock pistol -- a sleek, efficient killing machine that our lax gun laws allowed an unstable young man to purchase, carry anywhere and ultimately use to shoot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in the head. The weapon also... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns Missing from US Shooting Debate, and That Suits the Firearm Lobby
11 January 2011
Politico (Washington DC)
In the wake of the attempted assassination of a member of Congress, politicians on both sides of the aisle are passionately debating the role of incendiary rhetoric.
Very few of them are talking about guns.
Those who have brought up gun control in light of the Tucson shooting have largely been the issue's regular standard-bearers on Capitol Hill. Even gun-control advocates aren't very optimistic about their chances.
The fact that the shooting does not appear to be... (GunPolicy.org)
US Congresswoman, Judge, Surgeon Who Operated All Handgun Owners
11 January 2011
New York Times
TUCSON — "I have a Glock 9 millimeter, and I'm a pretty good shot."
The quip, by Representative Gabrielle Giffords, was made in an interview last year with The New York Times, when tensions were running high in her district. It speaks not only to her ability to defend herself but also to the passionate gun culture in Arizona, which crosses political lines and is notable for its fierceness, even in the West.
Indeed, the federal judge who was killed on Saturday in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Senators, Congresswoman Propose Federal Ban on Oversize Ammo Clips
11 January 2011
San Francisco Chronicle
WASHINGTON -- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Democrats who have personally experienced gun-related tragedies, are renewing efforts to outlaw high-capacity bullet magazines such as the one used in Arizona on Saturday.
The alleged gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, used a clip holding at least 31 bullets and was allegedly trying to load a second when he was tackled by bystanders. Six people were fatally shot and 14 were injured,... (GunPolicy.org)
Will Arizona Shooting Bring Tougher Gun Laws? Polling, History Say No
11 January 2011
ABC News (USA)
Saturday's images from Tucson, Ariz., looked all too familiar. Once again, America mourns victims of gun violence and questions what could provoke such a destructive act.
But will the tragedy in Tucson change public opinion on gun control and bring a call for stricter laws? Polling and history indicate no.
American support for stricter gun laws has steadily declined. A Gallup poll from last October reported that 44 percent of Americans said that gun laws should be... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Shooting Worries Politicians, Energizes Gun Safety Advocates
11 January 2011
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Prague)
The attempted assassination of U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (Democrat, Arizona) and killing of six bystanders on January 8 has shocked Americans in the way that only violence against a political figure can.
In the aftermath, two groups doing some serious reflecting are elected officials, who in the wake of the public killing spree are questioning their own safety; and critics of America's permissive gun laws, who see the shooting as a tragedy that could have... (GunPolicy.org)
Fearing Ammo Clip Ban, US Gun Owners Buy Up High-capacity Magazines
11 January 2011
Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
Fears of potential legislation that would limit the size of handgun clips in the wake of this weekend's mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona, have led many gun owners to flock to gun shops to stockpile high-capacity magazines.
Firearm retailer Glockmeister said sales of high-capacity clips have jumped by as much as 500 per cent since Saturday, when six people were killed and another 14 injured in a shooting rampage outside an Arizona supermarket.
"Total orders are up 200... (GunPolicy.org)
Violence Not Endemic to America, But Gun Violence Much More Common
11 January 2011
Bloomberg (USA), Letter
The tragic killings of a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl and the serious wounding of Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday underscored that reality. Gun murders occur in other developed countries, but not with anywhere near the frequency.
There are almost 300 million guns in America, a third of them handguns, and almost 100 million are owned by the public. This is the highest concentration of gun ownership in the world.
Not... (GunPolicy.org)
Time to Enact Sensible Gun Control Legislation: 'Insanity' of Arizona Laws
11 January 2011
Oakland Tribune (California), Column
The picture is of a smiling little girl named Christina Green frolicking in the surf.
It was posted on Facebook by her aunt Kim Green, an Oakland firefighter. Her niece was killed by the gunman in Arizona who tried to assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others.
I also have a young niece. I can't fathom the pain that Green and her family are going through. I pray for them and all the others who have been affected by this cowardly, senseless attack.
On... (GunPolicy.org)
We Let An Addled Young Man Buy a Gun. If He's Crazy, Then So Are We
11 January 2011
Washington Post, Column
I had a teacher in college who used to ask, Who discovered America? He would offer some choices. They were Amerigo Vespucci, Christopher Columbus or the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. The answer he wanted was the three ships with which eventually someone would have discovered the New World and without which everyone would have remained in Spain. It is no different with the tragedy in Tucson. Hate speech and madness were part of the mix, but it was the gun and our... (GunPolicy.org)
Why America's Gun Laws Won't Change: Experts Give Their Reasons
11 January 2011
BBC News
Since Saturday's tragic shootings in Arizona, America's cable news channels have been flooded with analysts speculating about why.
They have bemoaned the state of America's political discourse, called for leadership in toning down heated rhetoric, speculated over whether this is a turning point for Barack Obama or Sarah Palin and puzzled over the shooter's mental state.
But one thing that has scarcely been raised is gun control.
In Australia, a 1996 gun massacre in... (GunPolicy.org)