Firearm News
Gun Trafficking from US to UK Increasing
12 August 2020
New York Times
Handguns are quietly being smuggled into Britain, despite tough gun-control laws. The police fear that the illegal weapons are contributing to a rise in gang-related crime.
NORTHAMPTON, England — Josh Bains was 28 when he was killed after an argument over a drug debt of about $50 just a few miles from the English village where he grew up — with a gun that had traveled thousands of miles from America.
His was one of a rising number of gun deaths in recent years... (GunPolicy.org)
'Gaps in the system': Move to overhaul paper-based gun licensing system
16 July 2020
Sydney Morning Herald
Criminals are exploiting gaps and inconsistencies in the gun licensing systems of different states and territories to funnel legal firearms into the black market, illegally dispose of guns and move their licences to other states without immediate detection.
Gun owners who lose their licence are also registering their firearms in other states - without any red flags initially being raised - because some states and territories are still operating on largely paper-based... (GunPolicy.org)
Canada Bans Civilian Ownership of Assault Weapons After Mass Shooting
1 May 2020
New York Times
Nearly two weeks after the deadliest mass shooting in Canada's history, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday introduced an immediate ban on what he described as "military-style assault weapons."
"These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time," Mr. Trudeau said. "There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada."
The ban means that Canadians will no longer be able to own... (GunPolicy.org)
Pandemic Fears Cause Spike in U.S. Gun Sales
1 April 2020
New York Times
Americans bought about two million guns in March, according to a New York Times analysis of federal data. It was the second-busiest month ever for gun sales, trailing only January 2013, just after President Barack Obama's re-election and the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
With some people fearful that the pandemic could lead to civil unrest, gun sales have been skyrocketing. In the past, fear of gun-buying restrictions has been the main driver of spikes... (GunPolicy.org)
Hungarian Gun Purchases Increase due to Pandemic Fears
23 March 2020
Reuters
Peter Rostas doesn't want to have any reason to use the gun he was buying, but the young Hungarian father of one was taking no chances with a coronavirus epidemic he fears may bring out the worst in some people.
"It's a precautionary measure," Rostas, 33, said as he lined up outside a small Budapest shop selling non-military grade weapons that require no license. "I'd rather be laughing later than find myself in a conflict with nothing but a broomstick."
Hungarians... (GunPolicy.org)
New Zealand Firearm Registry 'Crucial' to Any Gun Law Reform
3 March 2020
Newsroom
Since countries the world over began regulating firearm ownership in the 19th century, there have been three central pillars of gun control policy common to almost every nation: seeing ownership as a privilege instead of a right, a licensing system for owners, and a registry of weapons.
New Zealand never followed through with all three. While no judge in the country would ever overturn precedent to insist firearm ownership is a right, the nation has generally had... (GunPolicy.org)
GunPolicy Director on Proposed Firearms Registry in New Zealand
28 February 2020
New Zealand Herald
Gun owners decrying law reforms are selfish by putting personal inconveniences above public safety, a gun safety expert says.
And Philip Alpers, who used to host TV show Fair Go and is now a public health expert, supports a national gun register because he believes it would make the biggest improvement to community safety.
A bill that would set up a register, among other things, is currently passing through Parliament and its passage might depend on NZ First, which is... (GunPolicy.org)
Fake News Invokes Ammunition Sales to Fijians of Indian Descent
19 February 2020
Fiji Village
R. C. Manubhai and Company Pte Ltd has labelled fake news spread by Facebook trolls claiming that "Indo-Fijians are buying ammunition to go to war with the iTaukei", as a sick attempt to incite fear and hate.
R.C. Manubhai has clarified that they import hunting grade ammunition which is provided to licensed farmers who hunt pigeons, wild pigs and wild dogs.
Company Director, Bhavesh Kumar says it is quite sad that Facebook trolls have decided to spread this fake news... (GunPolicy.org)
The Gun Culture Underlying Thailand's First Mass Shooting
19 February 2020
Reuters
Normally serene Thailand has been on edge since a rogue soldier went on the rampage in a northeastern city this month, killing 29 people in a shooting spree that ended in a standoff with police at a shopping mall.
Ten days later, a man walked into a clinic in a busy Bangkok shopping mall and gunned down his ex-wife before fleeing the scene. He was later arrested.
The killings, along with several other high-profile gun crimes, have called attention to the high rate of... (GunPolicy.org)
Aftermath of Thailand's Worst Mass Shooting
17 February 2020
al Jazeera
Korat, Thailand - The day of horror started like any other Saturday for Tanatit, "Tok", 43, a moto-taxi driver who works in front of Nakhon Ratchasima's Terminal 21 shopping centre.
He was sitting with a group of other riders - making light of another busy day - chatting, laughing between rides. The men could not have known they were about to witness a massacre.
"He just walked up and started shooting. He killed two people right here," Tok told Al Jazeera, pointing to... (GunPolicy.org)
The Underlying Trends of the Korat Mall Massacre
17 February 2020
Channel News Asia
BANGKOK: The mass shooting at the Terminal 21 mall in Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima (or Korat) over the weekend is unprecedented in Thailand.
It raises serious questions about the security of arms in the Royal Thai Armed Forces. It also sheds light on corruption in the armed forces and on Thailand's gun culture in general.
The assailant killed at least 29, including civilians, soldiers and police responders and wounded scores more with a staggering amount of firepower... (GunPolicy.org)
Business Spat Behind Mass Shooting
10 February 2020
New York Times
BANGKOK — Thailand's army commander said Tuesday the soldier who killed 29 people in a shooting rampage had not been treated fairly in a land deal involving his commander and such arrangements would have to be halted.
The gunman killed his superior officer and the officer's mother-in-law, stole weapons and a vehicle and headed to a popular shopping mall in a northeastern city where he holed up for hours before security officers killed him.
Gen. Apirat Kongsompong... (GunPolicy.org)
Stockpile Security Lapses in Thai Mass Shooting
10 February 2020
Voice of America
NAKHON RATCHASIMA, THAILAND - It's still unclear how a Thai soldier managed to steal heavy weapons from an army base which he then used to kill 29 people and hold off security forces for almost 16 hours while he was holed up in a popular shopping mall.
That he could is less surprising, say experts in military matters.
The question has a special sting because the country's tough-talking army commander just a few weeks ago gave a high-profile interview in which he said... (GunPolicy.org)
Thai Soldier Kills 29 in Mall Mass Shooting
9 February 2020
New York Times
KORAT, Thailand — The authorities killed the gunman near the cold storage refrigerators of the Foodland supermarket in the mall he terrorized during Thailand's deadliest mass shooting.
It was just before 9 local time on Sunday morning — 18 hours after he fired the first shots in a relentless spree that left at least 29 people dead and 58 injured in the city of Korat, northeast of Bangkok.
Thailand's prime minister said the rampage started with a real estate... (GunPolicy.org)
At least 20 Dead in Thai Mall Mass Shooting
8 February 2020
Washington Post
BANGKOK — A Thai soldier rampaged through a bustling shopping mall and a nearby army camp on Saturday afternoon, killing at least 20 people, authorities said, in a shooting he partly live-streamed on Facebook.
The chaotic violence triggered a tense standoff with the gunman, who was holed up in the mall into the early morning darkness. The alleged shooter, toting an assault rifle and clad in camouflage and a helmet, was identified by authorities as 32-year-old... (GunPolicy.org)
Chinese Arms Smuggled to Myanmar Armed Groups Via Laos
28 January 2020
Asia Times
In recent months, Asian intelligence officials and well-placed ethnic sources have confirmed to Asia Times that much of the Chinese weaponry purchased by the UWSA [United Wa State Army] since 2011 has been channeled through neighboring Laos.
Official end-user certificates (EUCs) issued to cover exports by state-run manufacturers such as North China Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO) and China National Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (responsible for... (GunPolicy.org)
Ethiopia Passes New Gun Law to Combat Ethnic Violence
9 January 2020
Reuters
ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's parliament passed legislation on Thursday aimed at curbing gun ownership after a surge in regional ethnic violence blamed on a proliferation of small arms in private hands.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government said last April that it had seized 21 machine guns, more than 33,000 handguns, 275 rifles and 300,000 bullets in different parts of the Horn of Africa country over the previous year.
In October security forces confiscated a further... (GunPolicy.org)
Select US Gun Violence Statistics
27 December 2019
The Trace (USA)
- 26 percent: The increase in intimate partner homicides by shooting since 2010[…]
- $911 million: The annual cost of gun injury hospitalization[…]
- 30 percent: The share of firearms recovered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in California that are unserialized ghost guns[…]
- 3.3m? 8.5m? 17.7m? The hard-to-quantify number of assault weapons in... (GunPolicy.org)
NZ Ban on Most Semiautomatic Weapons Takes Effect
20 December 2019
New York Times
A sweeping nationwide ban on most semiautomatic weapons took effect in New Zealand on Saturday, as a monthslong gun buyback and amnesty program ended amid debate over its success.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern had announced a temporary ban just days after a terror attack on two mosques in Christchurch in March that left 51 people dead and was streamed live on Facebook. Weeks later, all but one of Parliament's 120 lawmakers voted to make the ban permanent. It outlaws... (GunPolicy.org)
Bougainville Secures Strong Independence in Referendum
11 December 2019
New York Times
SYDNEY, Australia — The region of Bougainville, a collection of islands in the South Pacific, has voted overwhelmingly to become independent from Papua New Guinea, aiming to become the world's newest nation.
In a referendum linked to a peace agreement that ended a civil war between separatists and Papua New Guinea security forces nearly 20 years ago, nearly 98 percent of those who voted supported becoming an independent nation.
Excited voters gathered in Buka to... (GunPolicy.org)