Firearm News
UK Prime Minister Challenged to Justify Firearms Sales to Sri Lanka
22 November 2013
Guardian (UK)
David Cameron must explain why the government has allowed machine guns and assault rifles to be exported to Sri Lanka despite his recent highlighting of the country's human rights abuses, the head of the Commons weapons watchdog has said.
Sir John Stanley, chairman of the arms export control committee, said the government has a "questionable" approach on arms exports to Sri Lanka.
The senior Conservative MP said it was "not credible" for ministers to claim the £8m of... (GunPolicy.org)
79 Guns Seized from Welsh County in Three Years, Most for 'Licensing Issues'
20 November 2013
News North Wales
Police chiefs have defended Wrexham's gun record after figures revealed 79 firearms have been seized across the county in the past three years.
North Wales Police (NWP) said Wrexham "does not have a gun problem" after statistics showed 29 firearms had been seized by officers so far this year, including a haul of 18 shotguns and two handguns.
Of those 29 guns confiscated in 2013, 16 were taken by officers at a criminal incident location.
The figures come after a major... (GunPolicy.org)
Deadly Weapons Arsenal Seized From UK Soldier Turned Drug Lord
20 November 2013
Express (UK)
This is the terrifying arsenal of weapons seized from a former army drill instructor who switched his military career for life as the boss of a multi-million pound drug cartel.
Weapons including a MAC 10 machine gun, sawn-off pump action shotgun, a Glock pistol, a Luger handgun, two revolvers plus machetes, samurai swords, stun guns and batons were found in a lock-up garage by police investigating a turf war.
The gang, led by former King's Regiment corporal Peter... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Boy Shot in Face With Illegal Gun, By Eight-Year-Old
5 November 2013
BBC News
A five-year-old child was shot in the face by an eight-year-old boy, police have confirmed.
The boy is at the Royal London Hospital with a serious, but not life-threatening, face injury.
Police said the shooting at the house in Upper Park Road in Wickford, Essex, involved an illegally-held weapon.
An 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and drug offences. He has been released on police bail until 6 January.
A police spokeswoman said the... (GunPolicy.org)
Police Concern as Possible 3D 'Gun Parts' Found in UK Crime Raid
25 October 2013
BBC News
A 3D printer and suspected "homemade" gun components seized during police raids in Manchester are being examined.
Officers initially thought they could be a "plastic magazine and trigger" which would make a "viable" gun.
But a man who was arrested in connection with the raid said the parts were sections of the 3D printer.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has now said it "cannot categorically say" whether the objects are the component parts for a gun.
The arrested... (GunPolicy.org)
British Crime Gangs Adapting Antique Guns, As Crackdown Limits Supply
22 October 2013
BBC News
Antiques and obsolete guns are being adapted and used by criminals facing a shortage of weapons, according to police.
A decade ago, Britain's cities were experiencing a surge in gun crime but, following successful interventions by crime agencies and the government, the number of firearms offences annually is now half what it was in 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics.
One reason is the supply of weapons has been severely restricted, forcing criminals... (GunPolicy.org)
Denmark,Finland,Netherlands,Switzerland,Germany,Europe,United States,France,Israel,Spain,Austria,England & Wales,European Union
Authorities Worry 3-D Printers May Undermine Europe's Gun Laws
17 October 2013
New York Times
PARIS — The gun fired four shots into a gelatin block. Each nine-millimeter bullet punched deep into the substance, which was meant to mimic the density of a human body.
For the experts at the Austrian Interior Ministry performing the test, it was a clear sign: This was a deadly weapon.
But it was no ordinary gun. The officials had downloaded the gun's digital blueprints from the Internet and "printed" the weapon on a type of 3-D printer that any person could buy... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Gangs Use 'Antique' Guns as Police Crack Down on Suppliers
9 October 2013
Evening Standard (London)
Crime gangs are resorting to old-style handguns used in historic conflicts such as the Second World War after the success of police raids on gun suppliers, a Scotland Yard detective said today.
Gangsters are exploiting a "grey area" which means antique or old weapons owned by legitimate firearms dealers are being passed on to street gangs.
Detective Inspector Paul Dorey, of the Yard's Trident Gang Crime Command, said police had seen an increase in seizures of older... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia,United States,England & Wales
Obama Praises Australian Gun Laws After US Mass Shootings
23 September 2013
Australian (Sydney) / Agence France Presse
US President Barack Obama has used Australia as a positive example of a country that tightened gun laws after a mass shooting.
He was speaking at a memorial service for the victims of America's latest mass shooting and was making yet another impassioned appeal for the US to reform gun ownership laws.
"No other advanced nation endures this kind of violence. None," he declared, at a ceremony in the Washington Navy Yard, where a contractor killed 12 people in a gun... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Region Launches First Firearms Amnesty in Decade
21 September 2013
BBC News
Leicestershire Police has launched its first firearms amnesty in 10 years.
The force is asking for people to surrender unlawfully held guns and ammunition to help avoid them "getting into the wrong hands".
Officers said many firearms were held in innocence and ignorance of their illegality or were overlooked and forgotten in people's homes.
Ch Insp Chris Brown said there had only been one death this year from a firearm but it was still "one death too many".
"We want... (GunPolicy.org)
United Kingdom,Netherlands,Switzerland,Finland,South Africa,England & Wales,Japan,United States
Around the World, Gun Ownership and Firearms Deaths Go Together
18 September 2013
National Public Radio (USA), Blog
A study on guns, violence and mental health, long scheduled to be published this week, finds that gun ownership is a bigger factor than mental illness when it comes to firearms deaths. But the data suggest that both play roles.
Earlier research has found that places with high rates of gun ownership have more firearms deaths, but critics of those findings say that it could be that people living in dangerous places are apt to buy firearms to protect themselves.
And the... (GunPolicy.org)
Qatar,France,United States,England & Wales,Libya
Guns Openly Available For Sale in Libya on Facebook
17 September 2013
Independent (UK)
TRIPOLI - On a late July day in downtown Tripoli, a young man steps into a car idling next to the Libyan capital's iconic Martyrs' Square. From the back seat, he hands to the driver what Libyans refer to as a "Turkish pistol" and some bullets. In return, the driver hands him a thick stack of 10-dinar notes. The exchange had been arranged using one of the numerous Facebook "groups" created in recent months to link gun-sellers to gun-buyers through the social... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia,United States,Sweden,England & Wales,Germany
US Man Charged With Shipping Guns Internationally, Including Australia
12 September 2013
Courier-Journal (Kentucky) / Associated Press
In a secretive corner of the Internet, buyers and sellers can meet up in a marketplace where virtually anything is available.
That's where federal investigators say that 33-year-old Adam Joseph Bunger used various aliases to sell weapons to buyers overseas — including to people in countries with strict firearm purchasing and ownership laws.
Bunger is charged in federal court in Kentucky with shipping a firearm in foreign commerce, delivering a firearm to an... (GunPolicy.org)
'Pillar Of The Community' Lived Double Life as UK Gangland Gun Dealer
6 August 2013
Daily Mail (UK)
A Tory candidate has been jailed for 16 years for selling submachine guns he smuggled from Serbia to drugs gangs in Britain.
Marcus Simpson, who narrowly missed out on being elected to his local council, offered gangsters a 'menu' of weapons that included a Scorpion submachine gun, a laser-sighted assault rifle and Walther PPKs, plus silencers and ammunition.
Simpson, 42, was a Conservative candidate for Corby, Northamptonshire, in the 2011 local elections. He lost by... (GunPolicy.org)
Domestic Abusers Facing Gun Ban in UK
31 July 2013
BBC News
People with a history of domestic violence should be prevented from having guns, says the Home Office.
Police in England, Wales and Scotland should review a person's suitability to keep firearms after every domestic violence incident, ministers say.
Police have also been told to ask family members confidentially if they have concerns about an applicant.
The change comes after a man from County Durham shot three members of his family and then himself in... (GunPolicy.org)
English MP 'Shocked' at Failure of Gun Owner Background Check Bill
23 July 2013
Lancashire Telegraph
An MP has said he is shocked plans to block abusive partners from owning guns haven't been taken up.
Hyndburn MP Graham Jones said he was planning to support measures aimed at tackling domestic abuse when parliament returns in September.
He said: "I am 'shocked' by a recent government vote that will mean people with a history of domestic violence can keep applying for firearms licences.
"Over the summer the government rejected a Labour amendment to the Anti-Social... (GunPolicy.org)
British Man Accuses MPs of Inaction Over New Gun Law
16 July 2013
BBC News
A man whose mother, sister and aunt were killed by a gunman, has criticised ministers for rejecting calls to ban people with violent pasts owning guns.
Policing Minister Damian Green said the government would instead issue "tough new guidelines" to police forces on how they should license firearms.
Michael Atherton shot his partner Susan McGoldrick, her sister Alison Turnbull and her daughter Tanya at his home.
Bobby Turnbull accused the government of "pussy-footing... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Judge Orders Almost 13,000 Guns Destroyed in Arms Dealer Case
2 July 2013
York Press
A judge has ordered the destruction of nearly 13,000 AK47 rifles associated with jailed York arms dealer Gary Hyde – after turning down a request for them to be deactivated for use in films.
Former special constable Hyde, 42, was jailed for seven years last December for overseeing an £800,000 consignment of rifles, 9mm pistols, rifles and bullets, from China to Nigeria in 2007.
The businessman, from Newton-on-Derwent, east of York, "put two fingers up" to strict... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Regional Police Force Admits Gun Registry Bungle
27 June 2013
Daily Mail (UK)
A police force has had to write to thousands of firearms licence holders after admitting they are unsure where they are living and what guns they own.
It has been revealed that a member of staff from South Yorkshire Police's firearms licensing team had been wrongly recording details or not recording them at all.
Following the bungle South Yorkshire Police have been forced to write to 9,000 licence holders for them to confirm their details, and double check they have... (GunPolicy.org)
English Police Call for Gun Licensing Change After Shooting
14 June 2013
BBC News
The police watchdog has called for the same rules to be applied when licensing shotguns and firearms, following the shooting of three women.
The IPCC outlined a number of national recommendations in its report into the shooting at a house in County Durham.
Michael Atherton legally owned both shotguns and firearms despite a history of domestic violence.
The 44-year-old shot himself following the shootings in Horden on New Year's Day last year.
Susan McGoldrick, who... (GunPolicy.org)