Gun Policy News
The ''semi-automatic M-16'' and its variants
Gun Sales Soared, No Panic Buying on US 'Black Friday' [ES]
27 November 2016
CNN
[Translated summary: Buyers crowded gun shops during 'Black Friday' in the US. The law bans gun buying as a gift, so big discounts were the main factor boosting sales. Some gun dealers had stocked up before the elections in the hope of panic buying if Hillary Clinton won.]
Multitudes de compradores llegaron a las tiendas de armas durante el pasado viernes negro, el gran día del año para este negocio.
Ciertamente, las ventas de armas en el viernes negro no están... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Sales Boom in America's 'Black Friday' Shopping Spree
25 November 2016
CNN
The Black Friday weapon sales are not driven by the Christmas spirit since gun laws in many states prohibit buying guns for someone else. The sales are driven by sharp discounts.
Not far from New York City, hundreds of shoppers packed into RTSP, a gun shop and firing range in Randolph, New Jersey, lured by Black Friday discounts of 5% to 10% for guns, ammunition and accessories.
Dr. Joseph Feldman, a surgeon from neighboring Montville, was buying a $500 Sig Sauer... (GunPolicy.org)
Trump's Victory Has Fearful Minorities Buying Up Guns - NBC
23 November 2016
NBC News (USA)
After Donald Trump's win, Yolanda Scott is upgrading the crowbar she keeps in her purse to a small-caliber pistol.
Scott, an African-American, is one of many minorities who have been flocking to gun stores to protect themselves, afraid Trump's victory will incite more hate crimes.
"You feel that racists now feel like they can attack us just because the president is doing it," one gun shop owner told NBC News.
Gun store owners told NBC News that since November 8... (GunPolicy.org)
Traffickers Flood Mexico with Easily Bought American Guns [ES]
22 November 2016
Vice News (US)
[Translated summary: Although Mexico has some of the strictest gun legislation in the world, with only one shop where guns can be bought legally, there are more than 15 million guns in circulation and 85% are illegal. One of the main reasons is the proximity of the USA, where guns are easily available. Almost 100,000 Mexicans died of gun wounds in the last decade.]
Es casi la media noche del 11 de octubre y la policía recibe una llamada de emergencia alertando de una... (GunPolicy.org)
Arms Dealers Say Trump Election Will Likely Slow Gun Sales
22 November 2016
USA Today
On Nov. 9, the day after Donald Trump had been elected president, a customer walked into the Phoenix Tactical gun shop here not to make a purchase but to cancel one.
The customer had put a Glock pistol on layaway, but wanted to void the purchase because Hillary Clinton had lost the election and a pro-gun Donald Trump had emerged victorious, Phoenix Tactical owner Bryan Bryner said.
"He said: 'The threat is gone,' " Bryner said.
That change of heart reflects a new... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Owners Plan to Eliminate Curbs on Ownership - NYT
22 November 2016
New York Times
HOUSTON — Before the election, gun rights activists were so worried Hillary Clinton would win the presidency that some of them bought extra ammunition and guns, fearing a crackdown on certain weapons, bullets and magazines.
They're not worried now. Instead, since the election of Donald J. Trump, gun advocates have been rejoicing, crowing about their political clout and plotting ways to eliminate many remaining curbs on gun ownership and use as they await one of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Why Is it so Easy to Openly Carry Loaded Rifles in Texas?
17 November 2016
KCBD (Texas), KFDA
Open carry has been legal in Texas for almost a year, but Amarillo law enforcement said they still see more long guns and rifles carried openly than hand guns and pistols.
The problem is the long guns and rifles don't require a license.
One of the most popular guns sold in Amarillo is the AR-15.
Gun experts tell us they're big sellers because they're versatile and can be used for sport and protection.
And unlike a handgun, they don't require any licensing or... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Maker Sees Firearm Sales Soar as US Election Looms
2 November 2016
CNN
Sturm, Ruger (RGR) reported that sales jumped by a third, to $161.4 million, in the quarter ended Oct. 1 compared with the same period last year. Earnings rose 66%. The company's stock rose 2% in early trading Wednesday.
The company said sales are up across the industry, based on FBI data on background checks, which tend to rise and fall along with sales.
Sales were "likely bolstered by the political campaign for next week's election," Chris Killoy, the Sturm, Ruger... (GunPolicy.org)
Sudden Spike in US Gun Sales Down to 'Fear of Clinton Victory'
2 November 2016
Independent (UK)
One of the biggest manufacturers of hand guns and assault rifles in the United States is reporting soaring sales in the run-up to the presidential election as enthusiasts fear that a Hillary Clinton victory over Donald Trump could lead to restrictive new gun-control measures.
Sturm, Ruger, maker of AR-type assault rifles as well as an array of other rifles and pistols, said in an earnings call that sales rose by one third, to $161.4 million, in the quarter that ended 1... (GunPolicy.org)
2,000 Gun Homicides in Honduras in First Half of 2016 [ES]
23 October 2016
La Prensa (Honduras)
[Translated summary: In Honduras, 2,000 people were murdered with firearms in the first six months of the year, a number that represents 75% of total homicides in the country. Police explain that they are constantly combating crime and illegal gun trafficking and that they have seized a great number of AK-47 and AR-15-pattern rifles.]
San Pedro Sula -- Casi a diario las autoridades policiales y militares capturan personas por el delito de portación ilegal de armas,... (GunPolicy.org)
US 'National Dialogue Has Changed' on Guns - 130 of the Worst
21 October 2016
New York Times
John R. Houser was dangerously mentally ill, too ill to carry a gun. Of that, there is little doubt.
Over 16 years, Mr. Houser, 59, had been charged with hiring a man to burn down a lawyer's office and named in a domestic violence complaint. In 2008, after Mr. Houser threatened to kill his daughter's fiancé, a judge issued a temporary restraining order and ordered him hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation. In 2014, he threatened to shoot law enforcement officers who... (GunPolicy.org)
Landmark US Mass Shooting Gun Maker Law Suit Dismissed
14 October 2016
New York Times
A Connecticut judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School attack, delivering a blow to an ambitious effort to hold accountable the makers of the assault rifle used in the 2012 massacre before the case ever went to trial.
The judge, Barbara N. Bellis of State Superior Court, had surprised even some of the plaintiffs by allowing the case to move toward trial this year, despite a 2005 federal law that offers firearm... (GunPolicy.org)
Amazingly, There Is No US Federal Law Against Gun Trafficking
13 October 2016
Mother Jones (USA)
Rep. Caroline Maloney (D-N.Y.) first learned that there is no federal law against gun trafficking at, of all places, a Fast and Furious hearing. In June 2011, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform convened to scrutinize the gunrunning sting known as Fast and Furious, which had flown off the rails when agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) allowed assault weapons to land in the hands of Mexican drug cartels. Much of... (GunPolicy.org)
Four Key US States Will Vote Pro/Con Stricter Gun Control
6 October 2016
USA Today
WASHINGTON — Voters in four states will decide on proposed gun restrictions next month, as gun-safety proponents, often rebuffed by Congress and state officials, increasingly turn to ballot initiatives to push passage of stricter firearms laws.
Voters in Maine and Nevada will decide whether to expand background checks for gun buyers. In Washington state, where activists passed a background-check measure two years ago, voters will decide whether judges can temporarily... (GunPolicy.org)
US Women Think They're Feminists If They Own Guns [FR]
5 October 2016
TV5 Monde (France)
[Translated summary: More American women are buying one or several firearms and seeing their ownership as a symbol of emancipation. Dealers say that 20% of their sales are to women, while a recent poll by the National Shooting Sport Foundation saw an increase of 15% between 2010 and 2013. The number of women who practice sport shooting increased from 1.8 to 3.3 million in the last 15 years.]
Mères de famille, vendeuses d'armes à feu et d'accessoires spécialisés,... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico,Central America,South America
Latin America Recent Seizures Reveal Thriving Gun Trade [ES]
22 September 2016
InSight Crime (Bogotá)
[Translated summary: A series of recent raids and reports highlights the thriving arms trade in Latin America which continues to disrupt countries and entire regions. For example, a report by Prensa Libre found the 9mm pistol has been the weapon most commonly confiscated by Guatemala's National Police.]
Una serie de redadas e informes recientes ponen de relieve el floreciente negocio de armas en toda Latinoamérica, lo que sirve tanto para beneficio de los grupos... (GunPolicy.org)
South America,Central America,Mexico
Recent Seizures Point to Thriving Latin American Gun Trade
21 September 2016
InSight Crime (Bogotá)
A series of recent raids and reports highlights the thriving arms trade throughout Latin America, which serves to both profit illicit groups and to facilitate criminal violence in the region.
During a recent conference on armed violence in Central America, Ana Yancy Espinoza, academic director of the Costa Rican organization Fundación Arias, presented the results of an investigation on regional arms trafficking.
According to a press release from the Foundation for... (GunPolicy.org)
Smuggled US Assault Rifles Seized in Dominican Republic [ES]
14 September 2016
Proceso (Dominican Republic)
[Translated summary: A shipment of assault rifles, a shotgun, ammunition and accessories was seized by custom officers of the Dominican Republic. The Sandy Cargo Express ship in which they were found came from Florida. In the last few weeks, Dominican customs seized several guns and ammunition coming from New York, New Jersey, Miami and Puerto Rico.]
Un cargamento de fusiles de asalto, municiones, percutores y cargadores, así como una escopeta calibre 22, fueron... (GunPolicy.org)
More 'Assault Rifle' Firearm Models Join Police Guns in Canada
3 September 2016
Guns (USA)
Canadian police are integrating the controversial AR-15 into the hands of patrol officers as firearm related crimes more than triple in some provinces.
According to several Canadian news outlets, the cities of Winnipeg, Regina and Toronto steadily added the carbine to their arsenal for use in high risk vehicle stops and home entries this year.
"We're seeing stuff we haven't seen before," Sgt. Derek Lamer told the Regina Leader-Post. "We've gone to gun calls and (the... (GunPolicy.org)
Police in Australia Seize Guns Linked to US Crime Syndicate
2 September 2016
ABC News (Australia)
Police in Victoria and New South Wales have seized 300 weapons and gun parts in a haul they say has cracked down on a major crime syndicate importing weapons from the United States.
The international operation has led to firearms charges being laid against two men.
Police said there might be further arrests as their investigations continue.
The joint federal, state and international operation was sparked 15 months ago in Victoria when a military-style assault rifle... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Seizure in US Prevented Illegal Trafficking to #Australia
2 September 2016
Age (Melbourne)
A cache of illegal guns has been seized by state, federal and US authorities as part of an investigation to tackle an international weapons operation.
Investigations began after an armed robbery at a western suburbs McDonald's 15 months ago, where a Thureon AR-15 assault rifle was used.
That weapon was then "backtracked" by police, which helped prevent a large consignment of weapons being imported to Australia.
In June, US officials seized six fully automatic assault... (GunPolicy.org)
Number of Small-time Gun Makers Swells in Florida, and in US
27 August 2016
Washington Times, Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Florida -- At FrogBones Family Shooting in Melbourne, you'll find rows of handguns, rifles and shooting accessories.
You'll also hear the constant "thud" of guns being fired in the indoor range.
Many probably would be surprised to know that FrogBones also is considered a gun "manufacturer," meaning it has the same license as other gun makers like Kel-Tec in Cocoa, Knight's Armament in Titusville or I.O. Inc. in Palm Bay.
"It's 1/100th of a percent of our... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexican Army Destroys Over 5,000 Firearms in Sinaloa [ES]
25 August 2016
Televisa (Mexico)
[Translated Summary: In Sinaloa, Mexico, 5,204 firearms, 3,293 rifles, 1,911 handguns and 125,000 cartridges (among them 100,000 for AK-47 and AR-15 rifles) were destroyed by Mexican Army as part of a Firearms Exchange campaign. This cache of arms to be destroyed is part of a program to destroy over 20,000 in different parts of the country.]
En las instalaciones de la Novena Zona Militar de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional en Culiacán, Sinaloa, fueron destruidas... (GunPolicy.org)
Ukraine,South Sudan,South Korea,Singapore,Turkey,Australia,Pakistan,United Arab Emirates,Saudi Arabia,India,Israel,Italy,Spain,Russia,France,United Kingdom,Germany,China,United States
Killer Facts: The Scale of the Global Arms Trade, Gun Totals
22 August 2016
Amnesty International (London)
Transfers of heavy conventional weapons
The top 10 exporters of conventional arms (excluding small arms/ light weapons – SALW) 2010-15
USA: US$55.006 billion
Russia: US$42.404 billion
China: US$9.943 billion
Germany: US$ 9.467 billion
France: US$ 8.932 billion
UK: US$ 7.627 billion
Spain: US$ 5.310 billion
Italy: US$ 4.360 billion
Ukraine: US$ 4.156 billion
Israel: US$ 3.280 billion
The top 10 importers of conventional arms (excluding SALWs) 2010-15
India:... (GunPolicy.org)
The AR-15 Will Remain a Restricted Weapon in Canada [FR]
18 August 2016
Ici Radio Canada
[Translated summary: The Trudeau government has officially said no to a petition signed by 25,249 Canadians and sponsored by a conservative party member. The petition demanded the declassification of the AR-15 assault rifle rifle as a restricted weapon in order to be able to use it legally for hunting.]
Le gouvernement Trudeau a officiellement dit non aux signataires d'une pétition qui réclamait la déclassification d'un fusil d'assaut semblable à celui qui a été... (GunPolicy.org)
How the AK-47, AR-15 Became Guns of Choice for Mass Killers
5 August 2016
New York Times
Part 1
Time and again it's the same. A lone gunman or a small group of killers with rifles commits spectacular crimes that seize the attention of the world.
The list reaches back decades: the killing of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972; the school takeover in Beslan, Russia, in 2004; the attacks in Mumbai, India, in 2008; the mall assault in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013; the killing of more than 100 people in Paris in 2015.
Often the rifles are variants of... (GunPolicy.org)
One Million Illegal Guns, 6,700 Seized in Honduras [ES]
4 August 2016
Radio HRN (Honduras)
[Translated summary: Honduras confiscated 6,700 firearms in the last two years, most of them from gangs. Types include AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, .45, .38 and 9 mm handguns, shotguns and handmade guns. It is estimated that the cost of the arms seized since 2014 exceeds 100 million lempiras (4.38 million USD). About 1 million illegal firearms circulate in Honduras and 400,000 are legally registered.]
En lo que va del año van más de 1,400 armas de fuego incautadas lo que... (GunPolicy.org)
Smith & Wesson Gives $500,000 to Fight Assault Rifle Ban
4 August 2016
Guardian
Gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson has donated $500,000 to the US's largest gun industry trade body to help its fightback against the Massachusetts attorney general's ban on the sale of assault rifles to civilians.
Smith & Wesson, whose shares this week hit a record high on the back of increasing demand for its assault rifles and other guns, said it had donated the money to the National Shooting Sports Foundation's (NSSF) battle against "arbitrary government action that... (GunPolicy.org)
Another US Startup Designs a Low-Tech 'Smart Gun' Pistol
28 July 2016
Forbes (USA)
On first glance, it looks familiar to anyone who has seen a version of the Glock 17 pistol, the sleek handgun popularized by law enforcement around the country. But behind the trigger is a multi-colored, six-digit keypad that looks more like something you'd find on a door alarm than a gun.
The keypad stands out on the otherwise black pistol, a visual cue that the SMART 2 is not your ordinary handgun. It's also the reason why, according to the weapon's makers, it isn't... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Advocates for Some Black Gun Owners, But Not Others
21 July 2016
The Trace (USA)
The day after Philando Castile was shot dead by a police officer during a traffic stop, his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds spoke at a march on the Minnesota governor's mansion. Reynolds, who filmed the aftermath of the shooting, made an unusual first demand for an African-American protester decrying police violence: She insisted police treat concealed carriers with respect.
Reynolds says Castile, who held a concealed weapons permit, told the officer that pulled him over... (GunPolicy.org)
AR-15 Rifle Demand Rises After New California Gun Controls
19 July 2016
Breitbart
Gun store owners in California say the demand for AR-15s has skyrocketed in the wake of the new gun controls signed by Governor Jerry Brown on July 1.
Among those controls is a law that will enhance the state's ban on "assault weapons."
According to KION, Ray Parga, owner of Marina's Del Valle Gunsmithing, said "California compliant rifles" sold so fast they are now "now-existent" on store shelves. Moreover, he said, demand is so great that the incoming shipments of... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Gun Laws Blurred Lines Between Suspects and Marchers
10 July 2016
New York Times
DALLAS — As a demonstration against police shootings made its way downtown here on Thursday, it differed from others around the country in one startling way: Twenty to 30 of the marchers showed up with AR-15s and other types of military-style rifles and wore them openly, with the straps slung across their shoulders and backs.
In Texas, it was not only legal. It was commonplace.
The state has long been a bastion of pro-gun sentiment and the kind of place where both... (GunPolicy.org)
51 Times More Gun-Related Deaths In USA Than In Canada
8 July 2016
National Observer (USA)
Five police officers were killed in a Dallas mass-shooting Thursday night, blocks away from where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 53 years ago.
Twelve police officers and two civilians were shot during the attack that saw one sniper — who targeted white police — open fire on officers working a peaceful protest in response to police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana.
In Dallas, the shooter, 25-year-old Micah Johnson, was trained in the military and... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gunworks Now Makes, Sells Pioneering Nazi Assault Rifle
29 June 2016
CNN
Working replicas of the Nazis' storm rifle, widely considered to be the world's first assault rifle, are now being produced in the U.S.
"It's been a surprise hit with us," said Mac Steil, co-owner of Hill & Mac Gunworks in Georgia, which has taken orders for 2,000 rifles since the product launch in January. "We sold more rifles the first day than we thought we'd sell all year."
Hill & Mac Gunworks, a startup in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, is reproducing the STG... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns Like the AR-15 Are Tougher to Get in Canada
28 June 2016
CBC News (Canada)
Weapons like the AR-15 are more difficult to obtain in Canada than in the U.S., according to P.E.I.'s director of public safety.
"I think the gun culture in Canada is much different than the gun culture in the U.S. from what we see in media and what's reported," said Aaron Campbell.
"The interest in the safety of the public is something that is well-considered under the federal Firearms Act to ensure that communities are safe."
There are 1,297 restricted firearm... (GunPolicy.org)
US Firearm Owners Defend Right to Use AR-15 Style Guns
27 June 2016
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Karen Butler still remembers the first time she picked up an AR-15-style rifle a decade ago.
"Quite honestly, I was scared of it," she recalls.
But as soon as she fired it, she became a fan.
"You know some of these people that are fearful, it's just because they don't have knowledge," she said. "We call it furniture — it's got all the accessories on it that make it look a little intimidating. But once you shoot it you realize it's so much fun."
Butler, of... (GunPolicy.org)
Fear, Loathing and Guns: Sensory Overload at NRA Death Mall
25 June 2016
Guardian
"A frightened population is obedient."
– Hunter S Thompson
"I'm not scared about going to jail. Somebody's got to do something to knock the fear out of these negroes."
– Muhammad Ali
At the 145th National Rifle Association annual meetings and exhibits, you could see and purchase replica flintlock muskets like the kind Daniel Boone used, "wardrobe" handguns the size of a cellphone, a carriage-mounted 1883 Gatling gun, historic firearms from the Renaissance down... (GunPolicy.org)
Surge in US Firearm Sales Increased Trafficking to Mexico [ES]
22 June 2016
Noticieros Televisa (Mexico)
[Translated Summary: The surge in the sale of guns in Texas increased firearms trafficking to Mexico. According to Customs and Border Protection, in the last five years, 283 firearms and at least 5,000 bullets of numerous calibres have been confiscated in the US/Mexico border areas.]
En el estado de Texas, en Estados Unidos, la venta de armas sigue en aumento y más cuando en unas semanas, entrará en vigor una nueva ley donde, además de portar armas, se podrá... (GunPolicy.org)
US Shop Sells 30,000 AR-15 Assault Rifles in Just One Week
22 June 2016
News (Australia)
Just when you thought you couldn't be any more dismayed by America's gun crisis, comes this depressing nugget of information.
Despite the fight for gun control making waves across the world in the week since a terrorist attack in an Orlando nightclub that left 49 dead and 53 wounded, one online gun shop has sold a whopping 30,000 AR-15 rifles.
Let me repeat that: 30,000 guns sold in ONE WEEK.
Hunter's Warehouse owner Tom Engle told Fox Business' Stuart Varney that... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Rifles, Handguns Transform US Firearm Industry
21 June 2016
New York Times
At one time, military-style assault rifles like the ones used at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., and in other mass shootings represented a relatively small segment of sales for gun manufacturers.
But in recent decades, such guns serve as one of the two financial pillars of the firearms industry, along with smaller handguns that are designed to be concealed, which have been the biggest driver of sales.
Together, the popularity of the assault rifles and small handguns... (GunPolicy.org)
America's Gun Problem Is Much Bigger Than Mass Shootings
21 June 2016
Guardian
A disturbed man with an AR-15-style rifle walked through a popular historic site in 1996, shooting up the cafe and gift shop. He left 35 people dead and 19 seriously injured.
The country's conservative leader pushed through immediate, sweeping changes to gun laws. Chief among them was a ban and mandatory buyback of more than 600,000 semiautomatic rifles and other long guns, which were then melted down. In all, one researcher estimates, the government ultimately... (GunPolicy.org)
Pink Pistols, the Pro-gun Group Arming Gay America
19 June 2016
Telegraph (UK)
Karen McCloud and her girlfriend fired round after round, the bullets hitting the human shaped silhouette down range in the head and chest.
A former soldier, Ms McCloud was a straight shot. Her hands steady, her breathing calm, she squeezed the trigger of her 9mm handgun, the hot casings falling to the floor.
"Bad people have guns, and the only people who can stop them are the good people with guns," she said, reloading her weapon. "And that's exactly what went wrong... (GunPolicy.org)
California Votes to Fund Its Own Gun Violence Research Centre
17 June 2016
Science/AAAS (USA)
Four days after a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, left 49 people dead and 53 injured, California's state legislature voted yesterday to establish a $5-million firearm violence research center within the University of California (UC)—the first such publicly charted center in the country.
"Acts of firearm violence like Sunday's horrific mass shooting in Orlando leave us searching for answers. California made finding those answers a priority,... (GunPolicy.org)
Canadian Gun Lobby Wants Restrictions Eased on AR-15 Rifle
16 June 2016
Washington Post
OTTAWA – The timing for Canadian gun enthusiasts couldn't have been much worse. Just a few weeks ago, they presented an online petition to Canada's Parliament urging the government to loosen its severe restrictions on the AR-15 rifle.
More than 25,000 Canadians signed the petition from a group calling itself the Lawful Firearm Owners of Canada urging the government to take the AR-15 off the list of officially "restricted" firearms and allow it to be used for hunting.... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control and the Effect of the US 2nd Amendment
15 June 2016
The Conversation
The Second Amendment to the Constitution is a touchstone for the many people who identify with American society's enduring affinity for firearms. And every time there is an atrocity, such as the mass shooting in Orlando, debate inevitably settles on how this part of the Constitution effectively prevents the adoption of workable gun control measures.
But ironically, the Amendment played almost no substantial part in legal or constitutional jurisprudence involving gun... (GunPolicy.org)
More Than 250,000 Illegal Guns Put Australia at Risk of Attack
15 June 2016
Australian (Sydney)
Australia is at risk of an Orlando-style attack despite tougher gun control laws because of the more than 250,000 illegal firearms in the community, according to gun expert Philip Alpers.
The University of Sydney professor noted yesterday that the gun used in Orlando was similar to the weapon Martin Bryant used in the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, an AR-15 assault rifle.
He said many of the illegal weapons in the community were potentially deadly.
The Howard government... (GunPolicy.org)
US Debate: Would an Assault Weapon Ban Make a Difference?
13 June 2016
Guardian
In preparation for what would become the deadliest mass shooting in American history, Omar Mateen bought an .223 caliber AR-15-style assault rifle and a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, law enforcement officials said.
The shooters in December's San Bernardino terror attack also used AR-15-style rifles. So did the shooters in the 2012 attacks at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Critics call AR-15-style rifles the weapon of... (GunPolicy.org)
AR-15, the Most 'Domestic' Weapon of War in America [ES]
13 June 2016
El Mundo (Spain)
[Translated summary: After a mass shooting, fear causes Americans to acquire more and more firearms for "self-defense". Some seem even more deadly, like the AR-15, an assault rifle. It is estimated than in the last five years, civilians have bought more than 1.5 millions guns. Prices start at 500 dollars.]
Cualquier vendedor de armas en EEUU sabe que un tiroteo masivo es una buena noticia para el negocio. Y más si es la mayor matanza en la historia del país. Lejos de... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Calls Orlando Assault Weapon 'America's Rifle'
13 June 2016
New York Times
In recent years, the AR-15 has become, simultaneously, one of most beloved and most vilified rifles in the country.
It is no surprise why the gun is so reviled by gun control advocates. Omar Mateen, the gunman in the attack this weekend on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., used a spinoff of the rifle produced by SIG Sauer to kill nearly 50 people.
The military-style weapon has also been the gun of choice in several other mass shootings: at an elementary school in... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Rifle the Weapon of Choice in US Mass Shootings
13 June 2016
Malay Mail (Kuala Lumpur)
WASHINGTON — When Omar Mateen entered an Orlando, Florida, nightclub yesterday to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in US history, he wielded a weapon that has been used in massacres from California to Connecticut: a military-inspired semi-automatic rifle.
Though so-called assault rifles account for a small fraction of the United States' 30,000 annual gun deaths, they have been used in at least 10 mass shootings since 2011, according to a database compiled by... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Industry Shares Soar After Orlando Nightclub Massacre
13 June 2016
Guardian
Gun company shares soared on Monday as traders predicted that Americans will react to the Orlando massacre by rushing out to arm themselves with more guns.
Shares in the two biggest listed US gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger & Co rose by 11% and 10% in early trading and ended the day up 6.8% and 8.5% respectively.
Gun companies shares have risen strongly after every recent mass shooting incident as investors speculate that the atrocities might lead to... (GunPolicy.org)
Easier to Buy Gun in US Than For a Gay Man to Donate Blood
13 June 2016
Huffington Post (USA)
America's gun laws are being challenged once more in the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting.
More than 50 people were injured and 49 died after Omar Mateen opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Mateen, who was killed in a shootout with police, was armed with an AR-15 assault type rifle, a handgun and an explosive device.
The 29-year-old purchased at least two firearms legally within the last week or so, said Trevor Velinor of... (GunPolicy.org)
AR-15 Assault Rifle the 'Signature Weapon of Mass Killers'
12 June 2016
Telegraph (UK)
Gunman Omar Mateen was armed with an AR-15-type assault rifle, which has become the signature weapon of mass killers in the US.
Known as "America's gun," it is owned by around 3.7 million American households, making it the country's most popular rifle.
The military-grade weapon was used by Adam Lanza in December 2012 to shoot dead 26 people at Sandy Hook in Newtown, while the San Bernardino terrorists used AR-15s when they killed 14 people in December 2015.
It was... (GunPolicy.org)
US Man Brandishes Assault Rifle Near School: Court Says OK
17 May 2016
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)
Advocates for the open carry of guns won another court victory Tuesday, when an appellate court threw out a loitering conviction against a man cited for walking around with an AR-15 rifle on his shoulder near a school.
"We are pleased the Court of Appeals recognized that merely carrying a firearm, with nothing more, cannot constitute an offense in Wisconsin," said John Monroe, who represented Mark Hoffman.
Hoffman is among those gun owners who actively test law... (GunPolicy.org)
Sandy Hook Gun Lawsuit Can Learn From 'Big Tobacco' Fight
14 May 2016
CNN
Families of the victims in the 2012 massacre by shooter Adam Lanza in Newtown, Connecticut, are no longer united only in their grief. Some of them are also now part of a potentially precedent-setting lawsuit seeking accountability from the gunmaker, Remington.
At issue are what the families allege are the manufacturer's marketing strategies and other trade secrets on military-style weapons.
Although the trial is not set to begin until April 2018, the case is moving... (GunPolicy.org)
Lawsuit by Newtown Families Could End US Gun Sales
16 April 2016
Detroit News, Opinion
Perhaps the biggest threat ever to the Second Amendment is working its way through the state courts in Connecticut.
A judge there is allowing a wrongful death lawsuit to proceed against Remington Arms Co., which made one of the weapons used by Adam Lanza to kill 26 children and staffers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.
The lawsuit, filed by nine victim families, claims Remington is liable for making and selling to the public a rifle unfit for civilian... (GunPolicy.org)
Court Refuses Immunity for US Massacre Gun Maker
14 April 2016
Newsweek (USA)
In a major blow to gun companies, a judge in Connecticut on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by 10 families affected by the December 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School against the maker of the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle used in the shooting.
The three gun companies named in the case had argued for the lawsuit to be dismissed under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), or PLCAA for short. It's a 2005 federal law that provides... (GunPolicy.org)
Rifles on US Campus: College Police Forces Add Firepower
8 April 2016
Big Story, Associated Press
BOSTON -- Once a rarity on campuses, semi-automatic rifles are becoming a standard part of the arsenal for college police forces — firepower they say could make a difference the next time a gunman goes on a rampage.
The weapons are rarely seen in public and often stashed away in cruisers or at department headquarters, and many schools won't talk about them. But federal data and Associated Press interviews and requests for records reveal that over the past decade, at... (GunPolicy.org)
El Salvador Still Has No Penalty for Gun Trafficking [ES]
7 April 2016
La Prensa Gráfica (El Salvador)
[Translated summary: In El Salvador, there is no penalty for arms trafficking. District attorney Douglas Meléndez is proposing a reform to include arms trafficking and other felonies in the Salvadoran legislation. Meléndez explained that 90% of crimes involve trafficked firearms.]
Fiscal dijo que también busca se castigue con prisión a los que impidan la libre circulación a las personas. Propone reformar Ley contra Terrorismo porque no está apegada a realidad... (GunPolicy.org)
Sanders Admonished for Supporting Gun Maker Immunity
5 April 2016
San Francisco Chronicle
The air of collegiality between two of the Senate's most liberal members — Connecticut's Chris Murphy and Vermont's Bernie Sanders — is turning frosty over a Newtown wrongful death lawsuit.
Murphy admonished his colleague on Twitter Tuesday for saying that the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims shouldn't be allowed to sue the manufacturer of the Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle used to kill 20 first-graders and six educators in... (GunPolicy.org)
US Christians Claim a Divine Right to Shoot in Self Defence
30 March 2016
Trace (USA)
When Pastor Andy Gipson rises to preach in the Gum Springs Baptist Church, in Braxton, Mississippi, he occasionally carries a gun into the pulpit.
Some congregations "don't have the resources to hire professional security," Gipson has said, leaving it up to members of churches like his to protect themselves. Should a situation ever call for lethal force inside the sanctuary, he believes that a worshipper who shoots and kills while claiming self-defense should be... (GunPolicy.org)
How Australia Made Gun Control Happen After Port Arthur
14 March 2016
Guardian
On Sunday 28 April 1996 a security guard, Ian Kingston, stood in the doorway of the Broad Arrow cafe at the historic site of Port Arthur in southern Tasmania. He stared at the body of a man lying on the floor, then looked up into the barrel of a semi-automatic rifle. He dived back out the door as Martin Bryant pulled the trigger. Bryant killed 12 people in 15 seconds.
On the gravel path outside the cafe Kingston tried to herd people who thought the gunshots were part... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns on Facebook a Problem Even Facebook Can't Solve
10 March 2016
Forbes (USA)
An AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Ammunition for your concealed carry handgun. Your grandfather's hunting shotgun.
Virtually any gun, gun part or accessory you can think of is being sold or traded on Facebook today, in flagrant violation of the site's new policies.
In January, Facebook announced it was banning the private sale of guns and ammunition on its site and on Instagram, which it owns. The move was applauded by gun violence prevention groups that advocate for... (GunPolicy.org)
Luxembourg Central to Europe's Gun Trafficking Routes [FR]
9 March 2016
Le Quotidien (Luxembourg)
[Translated summary: Luxembourg finds itself in the middle of Europe's gun trafficking routes. Luxembourg police seize thousands of guns, and in 2012 86,427 firearms owned by 15,670 people were legally registered.]
Les ministres de la Sécurité intérieure et de la Justice affirment que le Luxembourg ne joue pas de rôle dans le trafic international d'armes de guerre. C'est faux. Un réseau en partie implanté au Grand-Duché et démantelé en février 2015 alimentait... (GunPolicy.org)
What's the Solution to Gun Violence in America?
8 March 2016
Atlantic (USA)
Any American with even a glancing familiarity with the news can rattle off the progression, a litany of place names transformed from cities and towns into metonyms for gun violence: San Bernardino, Colorado Springs, Umpqua, Charleston, Fort Hood, Navy Yard, Sandy Hook, Aurora …. That doesn't even take into account the thousands Americans killed by guns in single-death murders, or the roughly 21,000 who take their own lives with firearms annually.
The many shootings... (GunPolicy.org)
The Right to Sue the US Gun Industry - NY Times
4 March 2016
New York Times, Editorial
The world recoiled in horror in 2012 when 20 Connecticut schoolchildren and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School by a deranged teenager using a military-style assault rifle to fire 154 rounds in less than five minutes. The weapon was a Bushmaster AR-15 semiautomatic rifle adapted from its original role as a battlefield weapon. The AR-15, which is designed to inflict maximum casualties with rapid bursts, should never have been available for purchase by... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico's Gun Dealers Are Unfazed by Obama
26 February 2016
Global Post (Boston)
MEXICO CITY — Javier scoots onto a plastic stool in a courtyard. He reaches beneath his shirt and pulls out a shiny Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol. He deftly spins it through his hands, ejects the magazine, and holds it out for inspection.
"This one's new, straight from its packaging," he says.
It will cost 15,000 pesos with a box of ammo, around $810.
Javier, who only gave his first name, operates this illicit little gun mart in Tepito market, a famed... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Ownership per Person Has Doubled in Past 20 Years
21 October 2015
Washington Post
There are nearly twice as many guns in the average gun-owning household today as there were 20 years ago, according to new Wonkblog estimates based data from surveys and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In 2013, there were an estimated 8.1 firearms in the typical gun-owning household, according to these data. In 1994, the average gun-owning household owned 4.2 guns.
These numbers comport with what survey research has shown for several years now:... (GunPolicy.org)
Military-Style AR-15 Rifles: 'The Market is Saturated' in USA
3 December 2014
USA Today
ASHEVILLE — Two years ago, in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in which a mentally unstable man killed 20 students and six adults with a military-style rifle, such weapons seemed to be in deep trouble.
After the Dec. 14, 2012, tragedy, President Obama and Congress called for reform and restrictions on the guns and their high-capacity magazines. Fearing an outright ban, gun buyers stampeded stores, cleaning out shelves and driving prices up to nearly... (GunPolicy.org)
Ecuador,Panama,Paraguay,Chile,Argentina,Brazil,Venezuela,Mexico,Colombia,Spain,South Africa,Italy,Germany,Czech Republic,Belgium,Europe,Honduras,El Salvador,Israel,Nicaragua,Russia,United States,Cuba,Caribbean,Central America,South America
Small Arms Trade a 'Dramatic Threat' to Latin America
13 October 2014
NACLA
Small arms and gun violence present the most dramatic threat to public safety in Latin America and the Caribbean. After decades of uncontrolled proliferation, at least 45 million to 80 million small arms and light weapons—that is, weapons operated by an individual or small group, including handguns, assault rifles, grenades, grenade launchers, and even man portable surface to air missiles—are circulating throughout the region.(1) Gunshots kill between 73,000 and... (GunPolicy.org)
The Upsides of the Australian Gun Buyback
31 July 2014
Inside Story (Australia)
On the chilly Melbourne evening of Sunday 9 August 1987, nineteen-year-old former army cadet Julian Knight drank several beers at the Royal Hotel in Clifton Hill then packed a bag with an M14 semi-automatic, a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic, and a Mossberg pump action 12-gauge shotgun. As he later told the police, "I wanted to see what it was like to kill someone."
Most bullets are less than a centimetre wide, but when they enter a person's body they make a far larger... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany,United States,Luxembourg
Ten Things the Gun Industry Won't Tell You – Wall St Journal
20 May 2014
Wall Street Journal
1. "Owning our product may be hazardous to your health."
In the U.S., there are now somewhere between 270 million and 310 million guns, according to the Pew Research Center — that's almost one gun for every person in the nation. Judges and legislators across the political spectrum recognize the constitutional right to bear arms. And gun and ammunition sales to private citizens are a significant part of a nearly $15 billion industry that's seeing plenty of growth: On... (GunPolicy.org)
US Fat Food Chain Rejects Guns After 'Intimidating' Shooters' Tactics
20 May 2014
USA Today
Chipotle is asking customers not to bring firearms into its restaurants after gun-rights advocates brought assault-style weapons into a downtown Dallas store during the weekend.
The Mexican fast-food company, based in Denver, said Monday evening that it has traditionally complied with local firearms laws, but that "the display of firearms in our restaurants has now created an environment that is potentially intimidating or uncomfortable for many of our... (GunPolicy.org)
Untraceable Homemade Assault Rifles Exploit US Gun Law Loophole
16 May 2014
Portland Press Herald (Maine) / Washington Post
SAN FRANCISCO — It was John Zawahri's failure to pass a background check that prevented him from buying a firearm in California several years ago.
So the 23-year-old obtained an "unfinished receiver," the metal piece that holds the critical mechanisms that allow guns to fire, and built an assault rifle himself. Last summer, he went on a rampage at a college in Southern California, firing about 100 rounds and killing five people before police fatally shot... (GunPolicy.org)
Death Threats Stop US Gun Store From Selling 'Smart' Gun. Why?
3 May 2014
Christian Science Monitor
ATLANTA - Andy Raymond, a Rockland, Md., firearms dealer, found out how much some people who love guns and the Second Amendment really hate some guns, causing the owner of Engage Armament this week to reverse his plan to sell the Armatix iP1, the nation's first "smart" gun.
The German-made Armatix iP1 won't fire unless it's in proximity of a special watch, thus making it useless if stolen. Gun control advocates, including Attorney General Eric Holder, have cited such... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland Gun Dealer Drops Smart Gun Sales Plan After Gun Lobby Pressure
2 May 2014
Washington Post
A Rockville gun store owner who said he would sell the nation's first smart gun — even after a California gun store removed the weapon from its shelves to placate angry gun-rights activists — backed down late Thursday night after enduring a day of protests and death threats.
Andy Raymond, the co-owner of Engage Armament, a store known for its custom assault rifles, had said earlier this week that offering the Armatix iP1 handgun was a "really tough decision" after... (GunPolicy.org)
Republicans Say No to CDC Gun Violence Research
21 April 2014
ProPublica
After the Sandy Hook school shooting, Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) was one of a few congressional Republicans who expressed a willingness to reconsider the need for gun control laws.
"Put guns on the table, also put video games on the table, put mental health on the table," he said less than a week after the Newtown shootings. He told a local TV station that he wanted to see more research done to understand mass shootings. "Let's let the data lead rather than our... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Rights Advocates or Gun Advocates? US Gun Lobby Digs its Heels In
13 April 2014
Telegraph (UK)
The song blasts from two speakers placed either side of a beige canopy: "Guns, whether Remingtons and Glocks / Come on man it ain't like I'm a slingin' 'em on the block / I'm gonna tell you once, and listen son / As long as I'm alive and breathing, You won't take my guns."
Under the canopy is a table full of T-shirts and baseball caps embossed with the words "Open Carry Texas". And gathered around that are a handful of people with AK-47 or AR-15 semi-automatic rifles... (GunPolicy.org)
Two Days of Gunfights Leave 24 Dead in Mexico's North
8 April 2014
New Straits Times (Malaysia)
MEXICO CITY - The death toll from two days of gunfights in Mexico's northern state of Tamaulipas rose to 24 on Monday after authorities reported six more slayings in the drug violence-plagued region.
Authorities said 15 men and two women were killed on Sunday in a series of shootings between criminal groups in the towns of Tampico and Ciudad Madero, on the Gulf of Mexico coast.
A man's body was found on a bench and two others on a street in Tampico early Monday,... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Norway,Australia
Limits of Neutrality: How Wikipedia Avoids Identifying Mass Shooting Guns
18 March 2014
Action on Armed Violence (London)
On 22 July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik took a boat to the small island of Utøya on a Norwegian lake not far from Oslo. Dressed as a police officer, he claimed to be checking on the safety of a Labour party youth camp after an explosion in downtown Oslo hours earlier. The campers did not know that Breivik was not a police officer, that he was responsible for the blast, or that he viewed them as traitors. When they gathered around, Breivik, armed with a Ruger Mini-14... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Press, Arms Dealers Talk Up US/Russia 'Ammo Shortage' Sales Panic
11 March 2014
Washington Examiner
American gun owners are gobbling up cheap Russian ammunition in huge quantities, worried that President Obama's tussle with Vladimir Putin over Moscow's grab for Crimea will result in new trade sanctions cutting off imports of bullets.
"We've seen an ammo-hoarding effect," said Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Gun Shop in Charlotte, N.C., one of the nation's biggest gun stores. "It's almost like milk and bread when it gets ready to snow: It's just a mass of people running... (GunPolicy.org)
US: Meth-Smoking White Supremacist Amassed Assault Rifles Despite Felonies
30 January 2014
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Nobody is going to call John Christian Parks a master criminal.
Not him, certainly. Not his attorneys. Not the federal prosecutors who, having won a conviction against the eight-time felon following a jury trial, asked that he spend a decade in prison for gun crimes.
Last spring, U.S. Forest Service police caught Parks and a gaggle of others smoking meth and shooting semi-automatic assault rifles in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Searching the 38-year-old... (GunPolicy.org)
US Web Forum Reddit Used to Buy, Sell Guns Without Background Checks
9 January 2014
RT-TV Novosti (Russia)
Users of the online forum Reddit took advantage of a community page to purchase at least 150 firearms, including semi-automatic rifles, since June, highlighting the potential to exploit a common loophole in federal gun law online.
The subreddit page GunsForSale has been an active spot for gun buyers and sellers since 2011, offering over 1,000 listings from more than 400 Reddit users in the last six months, according to an investigation by Mother Jones.
Moderators at... (GunPolicy.org)
3-D Gun Printing: New-Wave Threat Bigger, Smaller Than Headlines
1 December 2013
OSCE
Like many technological advances that make the headlines, the technique of 3D printing, or additive fabrication as it is more properly called, is not really new. industrial manufacturers have been using it for decades, primarily as a quick way of creating prototypes.
What is new, however, is that 3D printers have become inexpensive enough to be readily available to the average person. Nowadays you can get a 3D printer for US$1,000 – although you will still pay a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun-Buying Spree Wanes After Post-Newtown High
28 November 2013
Washington Times
Federal gun-purchase background checks ticked up in October, but analysts say the surge in applications to buy guns, which peaked in the months after the Newtown school shootings in Connecticut, likely has leveled off.
After hitting an all-time high of 2.8 million in December 2012, checks run through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System remained high through May when compared to previous year tallies. Sales then dropped for the next four months,... (GunPolicy.org)
US Photo-Sharing App Instagram Now an Open Market for Guns
22 October 2013
Daily Mail (UK)
With people increasingly using social media websites to sell all kinds of stuff, Instagram is growing in popularity as a digital marketplace for people trading in firearms.
Traditionally the photo-sharing app, which was bought by Facebook last year for $1 billion, was a forum for people to show off their glamorous lifestyles but that's changing as users realize it can be just as effective for more shady dealings.
With no stated policy barring firearm sales - unlike... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Gun Extremists Think Their Behavior is Nuts
22 October 2013
Bloomberg (USA), Blog
"A rifle on our back is part of our everyday life, just like a cellphone is part of our everyday life," Angela L. Pena told a reporter for the New York Times. Pena made the comment last weekend at a gun-rights rally in San Antonio, where enthusiasts openly carried rifles, including semi-automatic rifles, in order to assert their right to openly carry rifles, including semi-automatic rifles.
There are countries where carrying such weapons is "just like" carrying a... (GunPolicy.org)
US Firearm Owners Push Their Right to Bear Arms Anywhere, Anytime
11 October 2013
Newsweek (USA)
The weapon he was carrying, an AK-74 assault rifle, measures three feet long, with a barrel of about 16 inches, and is capable of firing several dozen rounds per minute. Brian McCauley says he never meant to scare anyone. The state of Texas disagrees, and his upcoming trial has become a focal point in a dangerous new battle in the national debate over gun laws.
By the time McCauley walked into a San Antonio Starbucks in August, tensions had been building for years. The... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Lobby Rubbishes Conspiracy Theory That Threatens Gun Industry
9 October 2013
Huffington Post (USA)
The National Rifle Association gives one the immediate impression of an organization that never met an anti-government conspiracy theory it didn't like. After all, the NRA has been recruiting members and raising money with such absurd fantasies for years: The "mass confiscation" of privately-held firearms after Hurricane Katrina, the United Nations Small Arms Treaty "threaten[ing] individual firearm ownership with an invasive registration scheme," ATF's botched "Fast... (GunPolicy.org)
Authorities Bust Operation in India Using Fake Gun Licences to Get Guns
30 September 2013
Hindustan Times (Delhi)
In a major breakthrough, Lucknow police on Sunday recovered a dozen firearms and cartridges purchased on fake licences after the arrest of two key members of an illegal arms racket operational in several states of the country.
One of the members is a terminated constable of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
The duo was arrested in Vibhuti Khand where they had come for a firearms deal.
The recovered firearms included seven 12-bore double barrel guns, four... (GunPolicy.org)
Man Brings Assault Rifle Into US State Capitol Building to Prove Point
25 September 2013
KOB Eyewitness News 4 (New Mexico)
A YouTube video of a man carrying a loaded rifle into the New Mexico Capitol is getting plenty of attention online. Not because he did anything wrong, but because he was making a point about his rights.
And his message certainly got state lawmakers' attention.
"I'm gonna go inside the state Capitol and see if I can educate a few people," the man says in the video, only identified by his YouTube account name of "martinrps13."
He walked into the east entrance lobby of... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Control Prevented US Navy Yard Shooter from Buying Assault Rifle
17 September 2013
New York Times
WASHINGTON — The suspect in the killing of 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday test-fired an AR-15 assault rifle at a Virginia gun store last week but was stopped from buying one because state law there prohibits the sale of such weapons to out-of-state buyers, according to two senior law enforcement officials.
Instead, the suspect, Aaron Alexis of Texas, bought a law-enforcement-style shotgun — an 870 Remington pump-action — and used it on Monday as... (GunPolicy.org)
US Navy Yard Shooter Known for Past Gun-Related Issues
17 September 2013
BBC News
A gunman who died after killing 12 people at a naval installation in Washington DC has been identified as a former Navy serviceman.
Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, died in a gun battle with police during the rampage at Washington Navy Yard.
Eight others were injured in the attack, which began at around 8:20 local time (12:20 GMT) on Monday.
US President Barack Obama ordered flags be lowered to half mast at the White House and on Capitol Hill.
He said he... (GunPolicy.org)
US Navy Yard Mass Shooting: AR-15, The Weapon Of Choice - Again
17 September 2013
CNN
It has been called the most popular rifle in America, and it's back in the spotlight after Monday's shooting at the Navy Yard: The AR-15.
Authorities said when Aaron Alexis unleashed a barrage of bullets Monday, he was carrying a rifle and a handgun. But he did most of the shooting with the weapon used in so many other rampages that shocked the nation:
- Sandy Hook: Adam Lanza killed 26 people at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, with the AR-15... (GunPolicy.org)
Trinidad Crime Boss Alleges Cops, Ambulance Involved in Gun Smuggling
12 September 2013
Trinidad and Tobago Express
The police continue to try to rid the streets of illegal firearms. But what happens when they are faced with gangsters bringing in high-tech weapons to perpetuate their life of murder and mayhem?
Can they be stopped? A crime boss along the East West corridor who has been in the business for over 20 years agreed to speak to us about his gun-running operations, why the gang war will never end, crooked cops and other nefarious activities.
MARK BASSANT: So you are a... (GunPolicy.org)
Trade in Iron and Blood: Impact of American Guns on Mexican Violence
30 July 2013
Action on Armed Violence
For all the news and emotion surrounding the debate over mass-shootings and gun-control within the United States, another related tragedy has been unfolding simultaneously just across the border. But, unlike in the US, this tragedy has much greater bloodshed and much less media attention.
Since 2006, tens of thousands of people have been killed in Mexico in drug-related violence. The numbers dead are similar to a conventional war. But, in contrast to other conflicts... (GunPolicy.org)
US Reporter Purchases 'War Guns' from Online Seller Within Hours
16 July 2013
ABC News (USA) / National Geographic
To explore how criminals might easily get a gun, without background checks, from sellers who don't ask too many questions, an undercover team from National Geographic found private sellers online who, at separate meet-ups, were willing to sell them an assault rifle and a sniper rifle with enough ammunition to "start your own war."
The United States is the most heavily armed nation in the world, but despite gun regulations, weapons continue to fall into criminal... (GunPolicy.org)
New Gun Control Movement in America Making Real Strides
28 May 2013
New Republic
On April 17, the bill to expand background checks on gun buyers failed in the Senate, and the fatalistic shrugs in Washington were so numerous they were nearly audible. The legislation had been a modest bipartisan compromise, supported by 90 percent of the public and lobbied for hard by the president. A group backed by Michael Bloomberg had spent $12 million on ads pressuring senators to vote "yes." When the bill fell short — by just five votes — it seemed to... (GunPolicy.org)
Printable Firearms a 'Grave Threat' to Australians
3 April 2013
News.com.au
Anti-gun activists are urging action to shutdown a controversial project to produce fully printable firearms and threat "to put a gun in the hands of every citizen".
Defense Distributed is behind the operation to manufacture the world's first fully printable, mostly plastic gun using basic three-dimensional printers which today cost as little as $1000.
The American company began testing its printed parts for a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle in December and have so far... (GunPolicy.org)
Did the Doomed Assault Weapon Ban Kill Most Other US Gun Control?
20 March 2013
Daily Beast (USA)
Sen. Harry Reid announced Tuesday that he would not be including Sen. Dianne Feinstein's proposal to ban the sale of assault weapons in the package of gun legislation he'll bring to the floor of the Senate. This all but ends gun control advocates' hopes of reinstating the ban on assault weapons, although Feinstein can offer it as an amendment once Reid's package is being debated. Reid, however, says there aren't anywhere near the 51 votes for passage, much less the 60... (GunPolicy.org)
A Guide to Mass Shootings in America
27 February 2013
Mother Jones (USA)
It is perhaps too easy to forget how many times this has happened. The horrific mass murder at a movie theater in Colorado last July, another at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin in August, another at a manufacturer in Minneapolis in September — and then the unthinkable nightmare at a Connecticut elementary school in December — are the latest in an epidemic of such gun violence over the last three decades. Since 1982, there have been at least 62 mass shootings* across the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Homicide Rate Rising in Argentina as Drug War Heats Up
26 February 2013
Independent (UK)
ROSARIO - The events of that evening in January are etched into Vilma Jaime's memory. The sun had set, but it was still oppressively hot and neighbours were outside in the street, chatting and drinking traditional mate tea. Then the gunshots began.
Ms Jaime ran into her house, and watched through the keyhole of the front door as the blood started to spill. Three people were shot that night – miraculously, no one was killed. But many others have not been so lucky.
Ms... (GunPolicy.org)
US Vice President Recommends a Shotgun for Protection
20 February 2013
Guardian (UK), Video
Joe Biden, the US vice-president, has said Americans should buy a shotgun rather than an assault rifle if they want to protect their homes.
Biden, who is spearheading a push for President Barack Obama's gun control proposals, made the remark during a question-and-answer session on Facebook on Tuesday.
The vice-president has not one but two shotguns that he says he keeps in a locked cabinet at his house in his home state of Delaware, and he has given his wife, Jill,... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Norway,Australia
Former Australian PM on Gun Suicide Prevention, Mass Shootings
17 February 2013
CNN / Global Public Square, Transcript
Fareed Zakaria: On April 28, 1996, in Port Arthur, Australia, a man named Martin Bryant went on a killing rampage. In the first 15 seconds of his spree, Bryant killed 12 people and injured another 10, all with an AR-15 assault rifle. In the end, 35 people lie dead, men, women and children.
If his weapon of choice sounds familiar, it should. That's what Adam Lanza is believed to have used in the Newtown, Connecticut, massacre of 20 school children and six educators.
In... (GunPolicy.org)
Female Gun Ownership in US About Protection, Power
10 February 2013
New York Times
PAINESVILLE, Ohio — Mary Ann Froebe stood feet apart with knees slightly bent and aimed the .22-caliber Ruger semiautomatic.
"You've got some adrenaline running through you right now," said Esther Beris, the coordinator of the northeastern Ohio chapter of A Girl and a Gun Women's Shooting League. "It's O.K., just relax."
Ms. Froebe, 42, a small-business owner who described herself as a "virgin gun shooter," concentrated and pulled the trigger. "It was awesome," she... (GunPolicy.org)
How the AR-15 Became the Most Wanted Gun in America
2 February 2013
New York Times
PASADENA, Maryland - The phone rings again at Pasadena Pawn and Gun, and a familiar question comes down the line: "Got any ARs?"
The answer is no. Pasadena Pawn and Gun, a gun retailer and pawnshop 15 miles south of Baltimore, is pretty much sold out of America's most wanted gun, the AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle. Since the massacre in Newtown, Conn., in December, the AR-15, the military-style weapon that the police say was used in the shootings, has been selling... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Lobby Funds Recruitment Drive for Kids Using Games, Peers
26 January 2013
New York Times, Series
Threatened by long-term declining participation in shooting sports, the firearms industry has poured millions of dollars into a broad campaign to ensure its future by getting guns into the hands of more, and younger, children.
The industry's strategies include giving firearms, ammunition and cash to youth groups; weakening state restrictions on hunting by young children; marketing an affordable military-style rifle for "junior shooters" and sponsoring... (GunPolicy.org)
US Senator Proposes Assault Rifle Ban, Gun Owner Registration
24 January 2013
Guardian (UK)
Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced to Congress a revised assault weapons bill that would prohibit the manufacture or importation of 158 specific military-style assault rifles, ban large-capacity magazines of more than 10 rounds and possibly introduce a system of federal registration for all existing owners of such weapons and magazines.
The Feinstein proposals were unveiled at a Washington press conference in which several of the listed weapons were on display,... (GunPolicy.org)
Colombia,Paraguay,Brazil,United States
What the US Can Learn from Brazil's Epidemic of Gun Violence
18 January 2013
Latitude News
A man walks into an elementary school with two handguns. Within minutes, more than thirty children are dead or wounded.
This isn't Newtown, Connecticut, but Realengo, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On April 7th, 2011, Wellington Oliveira murdered twelve children and wounded twenty others. The tragedy sparked a national conversation on gun violence, a huge problem in Brazil.
On Wednesday, in reaction to a different massacre, President Obama proposed a series... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Russia,China,Mexico
Mexico's Gun Problems Go Beyond Drug Wars
11 January 2013
Inter Press Service News Agency
MEXICO CITY - A lot of attention goes to the U.S.-made weapons in the hands of criminal groups in this Latin American country. But there is little talk of another problem: the large number of light weapons in the hands of civilians.
The Mexican Constitution establishes the people's right to "own guns in their homes for their safety and self-defence", with the exception of high caliber weapons, while the 1972 Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives stipulates the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Buybacks Probably Don't Prevent Any US Mass Shootings
7 January 2013
Mother Jones (USA)
Weeks after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary that left 20 children and six teachers dead, the American public is still demanding that lawmakers say how they plan to stop future gun violence. One anti-gun measure that is picking up steam is community gun buyback programs, where people can turn weapons into the police for a couple hundred bucks or shopping discounts. These events have already been going on for years, but in the last week alone, at least six... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun, Ammo, Bulletproof Gear Sales Rocket in US Due to Fears of Ban
28 December 2012
CBS News (USA) / Associated Press
The phones at Red's Trading Post wouldn't stop ringing. Would-be customers from as far away as New York wanted to know if the Twin Falls, Idaho gun shop had firearms in stock. Others clamored to find out if their orders had been shipped.
Overwhelmed, gun store manager Ryan Horsley had to do what no employee would ever think of doing just days before Christmas: He disconnected the phone lines for three whole days.
"We had to shut everything off," says Horsley, whose... (GunPolicy.org)
US Teachers Flock to Gun Class, Aim to Carry Hidden Handguns in School
28 December 2012
ABC News (Australia) / Agence France Presse
Several US states are considering allowing school teachers to carry weapons, and educators, determined not to allow a repeat of the Newtown massacre, are flocking to training sessions.
Gun control advocates are trying to outlaw military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, while Los Angeles yesterday held a no-questions-asked gun buyback.
But gun enthusiasts, backed by the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), are taking a different approach.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico: 53,000 Killed by Gunfire in 6 Years [ES]
20 December 2012
El Universal (Mexico)
[Translated summary: During the last year of former President Felipe Calderon's administration firearms seizures increased by 82%, compared with the first year of his term. However, these were not sufficient to reduce homicides committed with firearms in Mexico, registering an increase of 134% this year compared with 2007.]
Durante el último año de la gestión del ex presidente Felipe Calderón aumentó en 82% el decomiso de armas de fuego, en comparación con el... (GunPolicy.org)
Philippines: The 10th in Gun Homicide Rates Worldwide
19 December 2012
Sun Star (Philippines), Opinion
What has the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown Connecticut got to teach us about safety and protection of Filipinos?
Plenty, I daresay. Not that most Filipinos know any of the victims from Adam and Eve. Still, the massacre has touched the hearts of many Filipinos. Many of us see our kids among the victims, the wife or sister of the teachers killed.
We remember our horrendous massacres, notably the Maguindanao Massacre.
But then, Maguindanao and Newton... (GunPolicy.org)
Norway,Switzerland,Finland,Germany,Canada,Australia,United Kingdom,United States
Around the World, Gun Massacres Spurred Gun Control, Public Safety
18 December 2012
ABC News (USA) / AP
If there's anywhere that understands the pain of Newtown, it's Dunblane, the town whose grief became a catalyst for changes to Britain's gun laws.
In March 1996, a 43-year-old man named Thomas Hamilton walked into a primary school in this central Scotland town of 8,000 people and shot to death 16 kindergarten-age children and their teacher with four legally held handguns. In the weeks that followed, people in the town formed the Snowdrop campaign — named for the... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Police Allege Gang Weapons Stolen from Central America Armies
23 October 2012
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Mexico's northern Coahuila state has seen a series of heavy arms seizures in recent weeks, evidence that Mexico's police are often outgunned in their fight against the country's cartels.
On October 20, agents from the Special Tactics and Weapons Unit (GATE) seized three Soviet-style hand-held rockets and a launcher, among other weapons, reported El Universal. The seizure took place in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, during a search operation for some of the 131 inmates who... (GunPolicy.org)
American Group to Put 3D Printer Gun Plans Online, Allow Full Access
26 September 2012
Guardian (UK)
Imagine an America in which anyone can download and print a gun in their own home. They wouldn't need a license, a background check, or much technical knowledge, just a 3D printer. That's the vision a cadre of industrious libertarians are determined to turn into reality.
Last week, Wiki Weapon, a project to create the first fully printable plastic gun received the $20,000 in funding it needed to get off the ground. The project's goal is not to develop and sell a... (GunPolicy.org)
Police in Canada Say Airguns are Dangerously Realistic
5 September 2012
National Post (Toronto)
When a Newmarket, Ontario, man looked out his window one day last week and saw a young male carrying an assault rifle, he wasted little time calling police.
A short time later, three teenagers were under arrest, suspected to [be] carrying dangerous weapons.
But York Regional Police soon realized the weapons were air guns, not real firearms. The incident, described in a media release Tuesday, is one of several that police have responded to involving look-a-like guns... (GunPolicy.org)
Estimated 182,000 Illegal Firearms Said Circulating in Peru
30 August 2012
La Republica (Peru)
[Translated summary: Peru held an amnesty for gun owners whose licences had expired but only collected 2,500 weapons, meaning 182,693 soon-to-be illegal weapons will be in circulation. The law is being changed to tighten the restrictions on civilian gun ownership and improve registration of weapons.]
Realidad. Culminada la amnistía, se presentaron 2.500 pedidos de renovación de las 185.193 armas que ya presentan licencia vencida. 268 pistolas, revólveres, escopetas... (GunPolicy.org)
700 US Mayors Demand 'Less Silence, More Courage' on Gun Control
5 August 2012
Guardian (UK)
A group of US mayors joined forces with survivors of the Tucson gun rampage on Sunday to step up their campaign for tighter gun controls in the wake of the recent mass killing in Aurora, Colorado.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the bipartisan coalition of more than 700 mayors including New York's Michael Bloomberg, released a television advertisement during Olympics coverage and the US's top politics shows calling for president Barack Obama and his rival governor Mitt... (GunPolicy.org)
US Man Creates Assault Weapon on $1,000 3D Printer, Fires 200 Bullets
1 August 2012
New York Daily News
Could a gun be made at home?
An engineer claims to have taken the first steps toward doing so using a 3D printer.
Michael Guslick said last week in an online forum that he "printed" and fired the world's first home-made, 3D-impressed gun more than 200 times. Guslick granted an exclusive interview to the Daily News, revealing just how easy it is to create a firearm at home at a time when gun control is back on the minds of millions of Americans following last month's... (GunPolicy.org)
Dan Morain: American Gun Lobby Blocks Violence Studies
29 July 2012
Sacramento Bee (California)
There was nothing unusual about the University of Colorado's grant to its once-promising student, James E. Holmes.
If Holmes weren't accused of killing a dozen people and wounding 58, we'd never know that he received $21,600 for living costs while he pursued his doctorate in neuroscience. Nor was there anything odd about how the university paid for the stipend. The money came from an annual grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health.
But if the National... (GunPolicy.org)
American Gun Laws: Guilty by Reason of Insanity - Guardian (UK)
26 July 2012
Guardian (UK)
James Holmes, the alleged shooter in the massacre in Aurora, Colorado, reportedly amassed his huge arsenal with relative ease. Some of these weapons were illegal as recently as eight years ago. Legislation now before Congress would once again make illegal, if not the guns themselves, at least the high-capacity magazines that allow bullets to be fired rapidly without stopping to reload. Holmes bought most of his weaponry within recent months, we are told. Perhaps, if... (GunPolicy.org)
US Presidential Candidates Cower on Gun Control - New York Times
26 July 2012
New York Times, Editorial
At a moment when the country needs resolve and fearlessness to reduce the affliction of gun violence that kills more than 80 people a day, both presidential candidates have kicked away the opportunity for leadership. On Wednesday, reacting to the mass murder in Colorado last week, Mitt Romney and President Obama paid lip service to the problem but ducked when the chance arose to stand up for their former principles.
That's not terribly surprising in the case of Mitt... (GunPolicy.org)
Canada,United States,Australia
Australian Academic Says Gun Culture a Risk Factor for Shooting Sprees
25 July 2012
Sydney Morning Herald, Opinion
The number of victims in the Colorado cinema shooting would undoubtedly have been much higher than 12 killed and 58 wounded had the AR-15 assault rifle used by the alleged offender, James Holmes, not jammed. According to police, the jammed weapon was capable of firing 50-60 rounds a minute. Police say Holmes also had two Glock pistols, a shotgun and 6000 rounds of ammunition.
Shock, dismay and surprise are always expressed after such killings - and questioning of the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Violence: The Public Health Issue Politicians Want to Ignore
24 July 2012
Forbes (USA)
On the morning a 24-year old man armed with two Glock automatic handguns, a shotgun, an AR-15 assault rifle and chemical gas went on a shooting rampage at a midnight screening of a Batman movie, the National Rifle Association sent out a tweet to its 6,000 followers: "Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?"
Perhaps we can excuse the horrible timing and chalk up the insensitivity of the tweet to a clueless social media coordinator who didn't quite notice... (GunPolicy.org)
Australian Gun Laws Prevent Purchase of US Mass Shooting Guns
24 July 2012
ABC News (Australia)
The awful shooting tragedy in Colorado last week happened in Aurora, 30kms from Bega's sister city of Littleton, in turn adjacent to the scene of the 1999 Columbine school massacre. The Bega-Littleton Exchange was the first Australia-US sister city relationship, developed from the two communities recognising shared characteristics and values. Over the fifty years of the relationship many things have changed, particularly in Denver's satellite communities like Littleton... (GunPolicy.org)
America Resigned to No Change in Gun Laws Despite Mass Shooting
23 July 2012
Agence France Presse
WASHINGTON — The alleged Colorado gunman legally purchased four guns, including a military-style assault rifle and a special magazine that meant he could fire off 50 to 60 deadly bullets a minute.
Over eight weeks he stocked up over the Internet on 6,300 rounds of ammunition: 3,000 for his .233 semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, another 3,000 for his two .22 Glocks, and 300 cartridges for his pump-action shotgun.
When the gun dealers performed the minimal background checks... (GunPolicy.org)
US Shooting Response: Theatre Chain Bans Masks, Costumes, Fake Guns
21 July 2012
CNN
The suspect in the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater screening of the new Batman film early Friday had colored his hair red and told police he was "the Joker," according to a federal law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation.
At least 12 people were killed in the rampage and 58 were injured, one fewer than earlier reported. Of those injured "nearly everyone was shot," Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said Friday night, adding... (GunPolicy.org)
US Killer Bought Assault Rifle, Pistols, Shotgun, 6000 Bullets Quite Legally
21 July 2012
CNN
Authorities in the Colorado movie theater massacre found an AR-15 rifle drum magazine Friday capable of carrying 100 rounds, and the police chief said thousands of rounds of ammunition for various weapons had been bought online in the weeks prior to the shooting.
Police took suspect James Holmes, 24, into custody Friday after they say he set off two devices and sprayed the theater with bullets from an AR-15, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one of two .40-caliber... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunmen Kill 11, Injure 9 in North Mexico Rehab Center
4 June 2012
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Gunmen killed 11 people, wounding at least nine others, at a church-run drug rehab facility in Torreon, north Mexico, a year after 13 died in a massacre at another center in the city.
Police said gunmen with AR-15 assault rifles and nine millimeter handguns burst into the "Your Life on the Rock" drug rehabilitation center in Torreon on Sunday night, killing 11 and wounding at least nine, AFP reported. A police source told the news service the gunmen arrived in two... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexican Couple Admit to 27,000-round Ammo Cache in Texas
15 May 2012
Reuters
Two illegal immigrants pleaded guilty in Texas on Monday to possessing 27,000 rounds of assault rifle ammunition along the U.S.-Mexico border, where cross-border weapons smuggling has increased in recent years, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Police in Laredo, Texas, discovered the ammunition after they stopped a Dodge Ram pickup truck that failed to stop at a stop sign in March, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said in a statement.
Weapons traffickers along the... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Makers Rush to Loophole, Subvert California Assault Rifle Ban
1 May 2012
CBS News (USA)
SAN FRANCISCO — California has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. But one wouldn't know that going to the firing range these days. AR-15s and AK-47s are the must-have guns of choice. How can that be?
Every time California tightens up the assault weapons ban, the gun industry finds a way around it. The latest example involves a tiny device.
John Largaespada loves his AR-15 and goes to the range every week to fire it. And he's got plenty of company.... (GunPolicy.org)
New Obama Gun Rule Sparks 123 Gun Trafficking Probes in Texas Alone
25 April 2012
Houston Chronicle (Texas)
Federal agents in South Texas have opened 123 criminal investigations as a result of a new requirement that border-state gun stores report customers who buy two or more large caliber rifles in the same week, especially those preferred by Mexican drug cartels.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Wednesday that it is not looking at everyone who makes multiple purchases, but those who draw suspicion for other reasons, such as repeatedly... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Seizes 268,000 Rounds of Ammunition from US Truck at Border
18 April 2012
Washington Post / AP
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Mexican customs inspectors seized 268,000 rounds of assault rifle ammunition found in a U.S. truck at a border crossing in Ciudad Juarez, authorities reported Wednesday.
Angel Torres, a spokesman for federal prosecutors in northern Chihuahua state, said a 37-year-old man from Dallas, Texas, was detained for trying to drive the truck across the border from El Paso, Texas.
Torres said the driver, who is being held pending investigation on... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Owner Smuggled Assault Weapon Parts from US to Australia - Cops
14 April 2012
Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
Gun parts which could be assembled to make a military assault rifle similar to that used in the Port Arthur massacre have been removed from the streets of Sydney in the latest police raid and crackdown on illegal weapons.
The illegally imported parts, which slipped into the country through Australia Post, were uncovered on Thursday when detectives raided a property near Port Macquarie and another owned by the same man in Sydney's south.
Among the large cache of... (GunPolicy.org)
NSW Police Raid Illegal Gun, Ammo Factory, Seize AR-15 Rifle Parts
13 April 2012
Sydney Morning Herald / Australian Associated Press
NSW Police have allegedly seized gun parts that were illegally imported to assemble the same type of military assault rifle used in the Port Arthur massacre.
Specialist officers raided a property at South Arm on the NSW mid north coast yesterday and allegedly found gun parts used to assemble AR-15 semi-automatic rifles and 20,000 rounds of ammunition.
They also allegedly seized commercially available equipment to manufacture more of the same ammunition.
Police also... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Sydney Morning Herald / Australian Associated Press
Texas: Desperate Housewives Buy Assault Rifles for Mexico's Drug Cartels
8 February 2012
Reuters
SAN ANTONIO - Nine Texas men and women have been sentenced to prison for purchasing firearms for Mexico's Los Zetas drug cartel, and a dozen others face charges linked to a Department of Justice probe into weapons trafficking, officials said on Wednesday.
U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman said that in many cases, the purchasers were paid a couple of hundred dollars to buy a weapon and hand it to a smuggler.
"Firearms smugglers employ individuals in the United States with no... (GunPolicy.org)
US Quietly Approves Massive Escalation in Number of Guns Sold to Mexico
6 December 2011
CBS News (USA)
Selling weapons to Mexico - where cartel violence is out of control - is controversial because so many guns fall into the wrong hands due to incompetence and corruption. The Mexican military recently reported nearly 9,000 police weapons "missing."
Yet the U.S. has approved the sale of more guns to Mexico in recent years than ever before through a program called "direct commercial sales." It's a program that some say is worse than the highly-criticized "Fast and... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Makes Biggest-Ever Seizure of Smuggled Guns, Source Unknown
29 November 2011
InSight Crime (Bogota)
Federal authorities confiscated 911 guns from a container ship in the port of Lazaro Cardenas, on Mexico's Pacific, which was headed to Nicaragua.
The guns were found on board a cargo ship en route to Nicaragua, during a planned stop at the Michoacan port of Lazaro Cardenas. The ship is believed to be of Turkish origin, but no information was provided on the origin or destination of the weapons.
The operation was carried out by Mexico's Navy, working with the Federal... (GunPolicy.org)
Demand Growing in Canada for High-Tech Guns Popularised in Games, Movies
26 October 2011
Vancouver Sun (British Columbia)
Whether it's computers, cars, motorbikes or guns, 28-year-old Greg MacDonald — a self-confessed "tech nerd" — is always looking for the latest and greatest technology.
A Newfoundlander and lover of fine machinery, MacDonald says the rigorous research and development that goes into modern military-grade firearms — known as "black rifles" within shooter circles — is a sort of poetry in motion.
"When I see a firearm, I see engineering, mathematics and physics,"... (GunPolicy.org)
Quebec Woman Charged with Trying to Export Assault Rifle Parts to Lebanon
21 October 2011
National Post (Toronto)
MONTREAL — Young and striking in her black hijab, Mouna Diab was once active in a Quebec youth group that fought discrimination against Muslims by challenging the stereotypes that too often associate them with violence and terror.
But the outspoken 26-year-old activist had little to say this week after appearing in a Montreal courtroom to face a charge alleging she had violated a United Nations Security Council arms embargo that prohibits the export of weapons to... (GunPolicy.org)
Smuggled US Ammunition Feeds Mexico's Ongoing Drug Gun Wars
9 October 2011
USA Today
PHOENIX - Every year, thousands of guns are smuggled into Mexico from the United States, fueling the brutal drug-cartel wars and stirring outrage on both sides of the border.
But often overlooked in the controversy are the tons of bullets that also make their way south of the border.
In Mexico, ammunition is strictly regulated and possession of even a single illegal round can lead to prison. But there is nonetheless a steady supply of bullets. Almost all of it comes... (GunPolicy.org)
Man Charged with Smuggling Hundreds of Guns to Puerto Rico from US
8 September 2011
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
Investigators have charged a New Jersey man with trafficking hundreds of .40-caliber Glock pistols from Central Florida to Puerto Rico though underground channels, a federal affidavit states.
Luis Velazquez-Pinero was indicted on Aug. 31 on charges that he illegally shipped firearms in interstate and foreign commerce, travelled from New Jersey to illegally acquire firearms and lied to investigators.
Records show agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Arrests US Man Accused of Smuggling Arm Parts for Cartels
6 September 2011
Washington Post / AP
PHOENIX — Police have arrested an American man who allegedly smuggled parts for as many as 2,000 grenades into Mexico for drug cartels, more than a year after he was released by U.S. agents who stopped him at the Arizona-Mexico border for having more than a hundred grenade parts.
While a Department of Justice official said the case will be added to the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious, a flawed effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and... (GunPolicy.org)
For Mexicans, US Gun Industry Plays a Role in Mexico's Drug Violence
31 July 2011
McClatchy Newspapers (USA)
MEXICO CITY -- While a gunrunning sting known as Fast and Furious draws criticism in Congress for losing track of weapons that were smuggled into Mexico, Mexicans say the controversy confirms their conviction that the U.S. gun industry profits off of bloodshed south of the border.
As new details of the U.S. undercover operation emerged last week in congressional hearings in Washington, many Mexicans said the scandal demonstrates how easily crime gangs obtain large... (GunPolicy.org)
Norway Shooter's Ruger Mini-14: Very Popular, 'Poor Man's Assault Rifle'
27 July 2011
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
The attack in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik, apparently involving a Ruger Mini-14 assault rifle, is only the most horrific of the mass shootings involving the company's products.
Founded in 1949, the "corporate motto" of Sturm, Ruger & Co. is "Arms Makers for Responsible Citizens." But Sturm, Ruger firearms are also often found in the hands of mass shooters: last year's attack at a Connecticut beer distributor, leaving eight victims dead and two wounded; the 1999... (GunPolicy.org)
Norway Mass Killer Tried Smuggling, Then Bought His Guns Legally Instead
24 July 2011
Financial Times (UK)
The Nordic countries' hunting traditions mean that there is a high rate of gun ownership in Norway, where locals – and tourists - often go out to the woods to hunt wild reindeer, moose, deer, hare and grouse.
About 439,000 Norwegians are recognised by the Norwegian Register of Hunters, or about one in every 10 citizens. However, most have licences for bolt-action rifles and shotguns, with a smattering of semi-automatic weapons, and ownership of heavier weapons and... (GunPolicy.org)
650,000 Illegal Guns Circulating in Honduras [Es]
17 July 2011
El Heraldo (Honduras), Editorial
[Translated summary: Honduras seems to be turning into a battlefield. Some 800,000 weapons are between being registered and not registered; 650,000 are circulating illegaly in the country; 19,640 gun deaths between 2005 and 2010. In its latest study, the National Commission for Human Rights urged the Legislative Power to reform the Firearms Act.]
En Honduras hay unas 800,000 armas entre registradas y no registradas.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Honduras entera pareciera... (GunPolicy.org)
Badly Flawed US Background Check System Fails to Contain Gun Sales
23 June 2011
Center for Public Integrity / iWatch News (USA)
Like many states, Maine depends on the FBI to conduct background checks of people who want to acquire firearms from the state's federally licensed gun dealers.
And like many states, Maine is a slacker in supplying the records that the FBI depends on to run those checks.
That's how Raymond Geisel got his guns, including a Glock Model 17 pistol and a semi-automatic version of the AK-47 assault rifle. Geisel had previously been committed to a psychiatric hospital in... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Weapons Lawfully Bought in US End Up in the Hands of Mexican Cartels
28 May 2011
Deseret News (Utah)
WASHINGTON — Convicted gun smuggler John Phillip Hernandez of Houston was likely not the kind of customer that Bushmaster Firearms International had in mind when he purchased 14 of the company's .223 caliber AR-15s at Houston area gun shops in 2006 and 2007.
Bushmaster describes the AR-15 rifle, a civilian version of the U.S. military's standard-issue M-16, as intended "for law enforcement, security and private consumer use." But the weapons that Hernandez and his... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexican President Blames Violence on End of US Assault Weapons Ban
11 May 2011
Bloomberg (USA)
Mexican President Felipe Calderon said drug-related violence is being fueled by illegal imports of U.S. guns that have surged since a ban on assault weapons ended in 2004.
"The violence in Mexico started when the assault weapons ban expired," Calderon, 48, said today in an interview on the "Charlie Rose" program airing on PBS and Bloomberg Television.
Authorities have seized more than 100,000 weapons in the past four years, 85 percent of which came from the U.S.,... (GunPolicy.org)
Pink Pistols, Fitted 'Girlie' Gear: US Gun Lobby Convention Courts Women
25 April 2011
Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh)
Dyanna Auston is the kind of woman the National Rifle Association looks for.
The single mom browsed Anthony Arms & Accessories in West Mifflin last week and bought a .38-caliber, pink-gripped Taurus pistol for personal protection. It's the first gun for Auston of Duquesne, and though she's not a member of the NRA, she said she'd consider joining and checking out this weekend's 2011 Annual Meetings & Exhibits in the David L. Lawrence Convention Center for gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Mexico Tries to Sue US Gun Makers for Selling Flood of Smuggled Arms
21 April 2011
CBS News (USA)
CBS News has learned that the Mexican Government has retained an American law firm to explore filing civil charges against U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors over the flood of guns crossing the border into Mexico.
Sources say Mexico's frustration with U.S. efforts to stop the flow of weapons has pushed them into this novel approach. The law firm is looking at charges that may include civil RICO. The contract was signed on November 2, 2010 by a representative of... (GunPolicy.org)
The American Gun Lobby's Solution to Gun Violence: Pack More Heat
24 March 2011
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Column
Utah is America's first lucky locale to have an official state gun: A week ago, the Browning M1911 automatic pistol joined cuthroat trout, Spanish sweet onions and the Dutch oven among symbols of the Beehive State.
Utah beat out Arizona, where legislators want to honor Wild West traditions by making the Colt single-action Army revolver official firearm of the Grand Canyon State.
The gun lobby gives no quarter. If you felt the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson, which... (GunPolicy.org)
Legal Gun Owners, Dealers, Gun Shows Fuel Minneapolis Gun Violence
22 March 2011
Minnesota Public Radio, Transcript
MINNEAPOLIS — In January 2010, three men were gunned down during an apparent robbery attempt at the Seward Market in south Minneapolis. One of the victims worked at the store. The second victim was the clerk's cousin who stopped by to chat. The third was a man who just happened to walk in at the wrong time.
The report from the police homicide investigation shows that five shell casings found at the crime scene likely match a test casing provided by the maker of a... (GunPolicy.org)
Vicious Cartel Drug War Has Mexicans Taking Up Guns for Self Defence
6 March 2011
El Paso Times (Texas)
NUEVO CASAS GRANDES, Mexico - On the ranch lands near the U.S. border, people no longer take security for granted and have turned to weapons to stave off drug thugs.
Teachers, ranchers, town officials, business owners and lawyers in rural towns of northwest Chihuahua near New Mexico have armed themselves.
Legal or not, they are ready to use their guns for protection.
In a country caught in the clutches of a vicious drug war, people have decided it's better to fight... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Gun Dealer Gets 3yrs Jail for Selling Illegal Machine Gun Parts
19 February 2011
Associated Press
FORT PIERCE, Florida - A Florida gun dealer has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for selling parts to convert weapons into fully automatic machine guns.
A federal judge in Fort Pierce imposed the sentence Friday on 47-year-old Edward Todd Basile of Okeechobee. Basile pleaded guilty to two federal firearms charges in December.
Prosecutors say Basile sold an informant parts to convert legal semiautomatic weapons such as an AR-15 rifle into an automatic... (GunPolicy.org)
White House Won't Abandon US-Mexico Gun Smuggling Curbs, Says ATF
9 February 2011
Reuters
The White House is pressing ahead with rules meant to slow the flow of weapons to Mexico, a high-ranking U.S. official said on Wednesday, despite fears among gun control advocates that the Obama administration may be backing away from the plan.
In an attempt to curb gun running to Mexico, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in December it would tighten reporting requirements for dealers in several southwest states on sales of multiple... (GunPolicy.org)
Romanian Assault Rifles Modified in US, Flood South to Mexican Drug War
3 February 2011
Center for Public Integrity (Washington DC)
Camron Scott Galloway, 21, walked into X Caliber Guns in Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 30, 2008, and filled out forms for the purchase of six AK-47 rifles.
Reliable and powerful, and a bargain at about $500 each, the Romanian-made gun, a semiautomatic version of the iconic Kalashnikov assault weapon, had become popular with the drug cartels in Mexico.
Galloway, who eventually pleaded guilty to a forgery charge and became a cooperating prosecution witness in a broader case,... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Alberta Gun Owner in Fantasy World, Faces Jail for Illegal Arsenal
27 January 2011
Calgary Herald (Alberta)
CALGARY - John Sattler told police after they seized a cache of restricted and prohibited weapons from his northwest Calgary home nearly two years ago that he was the "master of war."
He also referred to himself as "the biggest hit man in the world and the smartest," and said he owned about 10 rocket launchers and "was thinking about shooting down the police helicopter because he thought it would be funny."
Facing 75 criminal charges on Thursday, Sattler, 48, pleaded... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvania Cop Surrenders After Son, 5, Killed Himself With Police Pistol
20 January 2011
WTAE-TV News (Pennsylvania)
PITTSBURGH - A suburban police officer in Allegheny County surrendered Wednesday afternoon to face charges connected to the death of his young son, who investigators believe accidentally killed himself with the officer's gun.
John Thompson is a part-time police officer in the small southern borough of Liberty and a police officer in nearby Port Vue. He was arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of children,... (GunPolicy.org)
Governor of Virginia Quietly Allows Open Carry of Firearms in State Parks
19 January 2011
Washington Post
Gun rights advocates celebrated Wednesday -- and supporters of gun control grieved -- over news that Gov. Robert F. McDonnell has quietly lifted the ban against people carrying firearms openly in state parks.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, sent an e-mail blast to fellow gun-rights supporters with news that as of Tuesday people could carry openly. Gun owners with concealed weapons permits had the right to carry in Virginia State... (GunPolicy.org)
At Richmond's Lobby Day, Virginians Take Stand on State's Gun Laws
17 January 2011
Washington Post
RICHMOND - Tucked into the Rev. John Hilton's shirt pocket was a miniature copy of the Gospel. Tucked into his belt was a 9mm handgun.
Hilton, whose clerical collar peeped out from a jacket showing a blaze-orange "Guns Save Lives" sticker, said there is no contradiction in carrying a Jimenez Arms semiautomatic and the New Testament, just as there is no contradiction in the idea that only by increasing access to firearms would society be a safer place.
"Even in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona is Heavily Armed State Where Even a TV Station is Called KGUN
16 January 2011
Miami Herald
TUCSON, Arizona -- At the Frontier Gun Shop toward the east side of this city, Jim Sharrah figures he can outfit you with a quality handgun or rifle, ammunition and pretty much whatever else you need in 15 to 20 minutes.
As long as you're a resident of Arizona and at least 21 without an adjudicated history of violence or mental issues, that's about how long the entire process takes, including the background check. You can walk out with the weapon loaded and tucked... (GunPolicy.org)
Business Brisk at Tucson Gun Show Just a Week After Shooting Rampage
15 January 2011
Reuters
TUCSON, Arizona - Thousands of shoppers browsed for guns at a trade show in Tucson on Saturday, a week after a shooting rampage that killed six people and raised questions about permissive gun laws in the United States.
"People see it as either guns are going to get banned, or I'm going to get shot," said stall holder Randall Record, 27, explaining the mood at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show on the outskirts of the city. "Either way, it drives sales."
The show was... (GunPolicy.org)
Wingnuts and Gun Nuts: How the Lunatic Fringe Tries to Hijack America
14 January 2011
CNN, Opinion
In the wake of the Tucson tragedy, even calls for civility are being politicized.
Common-sense criticisms of the rise we've seen in violent campaign rhetoric and imagery and threats are themselves attacked.
This ironically ignores the work of the wounded congresswoman for whom we are all praying. Gabrielle Giffords is a centrist Democrat representing a primarily Republican district, committed to reaching across the aisle in a spirit of civility and finding... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona's Most Likely Response to Mass Shooting is Reduced Gun Control
10 January 2011
Slate (Washington DC)
Arizona's Legislature began its new session Monday, guns in tow. At a rally outside of the state Capitol, a 73-year-old Tea Party activist named Arthur Olivas Jr. was photographed wearing a holstered pistol. Anyone who blamed the Tea Party for the slaughter outside a Tucson Safeway, he said, didn't understand the movement and didn't understand gun rights.
"If you see 20 guns out there," Olivas told Politico, "you would not be stupid enough to hold up a bank or shoot... (GunPolicy.org)
After Tucson: Why Are the Mentally Ill Still Bearing Arms in America?
10 January 2011
Time (USA)
When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the handgun ban in the nation's capital in 2008, Representative Gabrielle Giffords applauded the ruling, calling gun ownership "an Arizona tradition." That she had co-signed a congressional amicus brief against the ban came as no surprise: she has always been pro-gun, and she represents a state with a history of proud gun ownership and lax gun laws.
So there is at least a touch of irony to the fact that her name is being invoked,... (GunPolicy.org)
Will Arizona Reexamine Its Gun Culture, Lax Firearm Law After Shooting?
10 January 2011
CBS News (USA)
Back in 2009, the Arizona Republic wondered whether its state's gun culture was creating an "image problem" for Arizona.
Today, after the horrific mass shooting in Tuscon that left six dead and a congresswoman in critical condition, many are left baffled over that culture and the state's lax gun laws, and some are wondering whether it's time for a change. Still, gun ownership is deeply ingrained in Arizona life, and many others are reluctant to change that.
Democratic... (GunPolicy.org)
In Mexico, Only One Gun Store But No Dearth of Firearms, Armed Violence
29 December 2010
Washington Post
MEXICO CITY - In all of Mexico, there is only one gun store. The shop, known officially as the Directorate of Arms and Munitions Sales, is operated by the Mexican military. The clerks wear pressed green camouflage. They are soldiers.
The only gun store in Mexico is not very busy.
To go shopping for a gun in Mexico, customers must come to Mexico City - even if they live 1,300 miles away in Ciudad Juarez. To gain entry to the store, which is on a secure military base,... (GunPolicy.org)
Violence Runs Rampant as More Texas Guns Traced to Mexico Drug Crime
15 December 2010
Washington Post
No other state has produced more guns seized by police in the brutal Mexican drug wars than Texas. In the Lone Star State, no other city has more guns linked to Mexican crime scenes than Houston. And in the Texas oil town, no single independent dealer stands out more for selling guns traced from south of the border than Bill Carter.
Carter, 76, has operated four Carter's Country stores in the Houston metropolitan area over the past half-century. In the past two years,... (GunPolicy.org)
Gang Member Ran 'Gun Pipeline' from Lax-law US States to New York
23 November 2010
New York Post
A Bloods gang member operated a "pipeline" of guns to the city, hauling weapons from North Carolina and selling them to an undercover cop during a year-long investigation, officials announced Tuesday.
Kyle Leonard, 25, was indicted on a raft of weapons charges after peddling 22 guns – including two TEC-9s and a Bushmaster AR 15 assault rifle – for $17, 650, Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes said.
"You can start your own army with this," Hynes said, hefting the Bushmaster.... (GunPolicy.org)
Most Cop-killer Guns Were Legally Purchased: Major 341-gun US Study
21 November 2010
Washington Post
Hattie Louise James was sitting on her front porch in Charlotte when two police detectives emerged from their car. There had been a shooting, they said. Two officers were dead. The gun had been traced back to her.
"I liked to had another heart attack," said the 72-year-old James, a retired hospital worker.
The .32-caliber revolver used to kill Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton in April 2007 started out as a legally owned weapon. James... (GunPolicy.org)
During Traffic Stops, Arkansas Police Now Cover Driver with Assault Rifle
15 November 2010
ABC-24 TV News (Arkansas)
WEST MEMPHIS, Arkansas - Police in West Memphis, Arkansas are packing serious heat these days. The department's new AR-15's, high-powered assault rifles, are locked and loaded and ready to be used during routine traffic stops.
Up until recently, West Memphis cops only carried 40-caliber Glocks on their hips and kept shotguns in their patrol cars. But now, many officers have an AR-15 in their arsenal.
After losing two of his men, including son Brandon, to a 16-year-old... (GunPolicy.org)
Ex-Marines Allegedly Sold Assault Rifles to Los Angeles Gang Members
10 November 2010
Los Angeles Times
Three former U.S. Marines and two others were arrested on suspicion of selling illegal assault weapons to Los Angeles gang members, federal officials announced Tuesday.
The arrests capped a yearlong investigation into an elaborate scheme to transfer heavy weapons, including AK-47s, to San Fernando Valley-based gang members. Earlier this month, officials from several law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, raided... (GunPolicy.org)
Official Report Slams Failures in Effort to Curb US-Mexico Gun Trafficking
9 November 2010
Reuters
PHOENIX - U.S. efforts to stop the "iron river" of guns headed south to Mexico's drug war are being hampered by failures at the federal agency tasked with tracing and seizing the weapons, according to a Justice Department report.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) fails to share intelligence with other agencies in the United States and Mexico and does not target the big fish in the illegal trade, the department's Office of Inspector General... (GunPolicy.org)
Assault Weapons, Handguns Bought from US Gun Shops for Mexico Cartel
26 October 2010
KRQE-TV News (New Mexico)
ALBUQUERQUE - A Roswell man faces up to five years in prison after admitting he paid straw buyers to purchase semi-automatic weapons, some of which ended up in Mexico.
Carlos Martell, 38, pleaded guilty Monday to making false statements in the purchase of eight weapons from legal dealers in 2009 and early 2010. Martell paid two people to buy the weapons so his name would not be linked to two 9 mm pistols, five AK-47-type assault weapons and an AR-15 assault weapons,... (GunPolicy.org)
Queensland Gun Lobby Fights Law to Register Assault Weapon Lookalikes
11 October 2010
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
Gun owners have unleashed their anger over changes to the Weapons Act, bombarding the State Government with almost 1200 submissions.
Unveiled in August, the draft act includes proposals to licence toy guns, restrict the ownership of certain categories of firearm and allow religious exemptions for the possession of knives.
Sporting Shooters Association state president Geoff Jones said their 45,000 members were fundamentally opposed to the "draconian" legislation which... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Firearm, Ammo Prices Fall as 'Obama Gun Grab Scare' Recedes
16 August 2010
CBS-7 TV News (Texas)
MIDLAND, Texas - Some popular firearms like the AR-15 are now selling for up to $600 less than they did at the start of 2009.
The price drop can be attributed to a variety of factors including some that could send the prices back up.
Like most other things, gun prices are largely based on supply and demand.
But it's what causes that demand and influences supply that can be surprising.
At the start of 2009, the demand caused by gun enthusiasts scrambling to purchase... (GunPolicy.org)
Appleseed Project Teaches 25,000 Americans to Shoot, Prepare for Worst
1 August 2010
New York Times
One June morning last year, Jack Dailey drove from his home in North Carolina's Piedmont country, through verdant, hilly farmland to a rifle range near the town of Ramseur. Eleven men and a woman had mustered there for a weeklong boot camp run by the Appleseed Project, a group Dailey started that is dedicated to teaching every American how to fire a bullet through a man-size target out to 500 yards. So far Appleseed has taught 25,000 people to shoot; 7,000 more will... (GunPolicy.org)
Flow of US Weapons to Mexican Drug Cartels Increasing Under Obama?
17 May 2010
Newsweek (USA), Blog
The Mexican military has discovered a major training camp run by the notorious Zetas drug cartel and stocked with an arsenal of military weapons, including 140 semi automatic assault rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition — all of them believed to be purchased in the United States, U.S. law enforcement officials tell Declassified.
The discovery last week of the training camp in the town of Higueras, just 70 miles south of the U.S. border in the state of Nuevo León,... (GunPolicy.org)
Growing US Domestic Terror Groups Have Access to All Sorts of Guns
19 April 2010
Voice of America
It was the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in the United States. The April 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City killed 168 people. Domestic terrorism is still a concern for law enforcement officials throughout the country.
At 9:02 AM, silence fell across the Oklahoma National Memorial and Museum grounds, once the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City.
At that moment 15-years earlier U.S. Army veteran and... (GunPolicy.org)
A Few Dozen 'Open Carry' Gun Owners March on Washington - Almost
19 April 2010
Boston Globe
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia - From the looks of it, Thursday's rally on the Virginia banks of the Potomac was all about guns. Loaded pistols strapped to the black cargo pants of beefy men. Full holsters on women's hips. Unloaded, but still intimidating, AR-15 semi-automatic weapons swinging across the backs of camouflage-suited men, ammo diagonally across their chests. But no - it was about so much more.
"This rally is not about guns. It is so much bigger than that," Eric... (GunPolicy.org)
Emerging US Gun Lobby Splinter Groups Say NRA Not Hardcore Enough
19 April 2010
Wall Street Journal
Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.
The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.
But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Laws in U.S. are Increasing Gun Violence, Where Does it End?
15 April 2010
US News & World Report, Opinion
There are only three states, Florida, Texas, and Illinois, and the District of Columbia that outright prohibit the open carrying of handguns. Only three! Now, contrary to public perception, I have never been against people owning guns for protection, hunting, or sport. But there are days when I read the newspaper or am watching the news and it seems as if our country is back in the Wild West. Brazenly carrying firearms into restaurants and bars and schools and churches... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Gun Dealer Linked to 'Anti-Govt, Extremist' Michigan Militia
2 April 2010
Associated Press
Lenawee County gun dealer Walter Priest, who was subject to a 2008 gun records check that upset Hutaree members, is under investigation by the ATF, Special Agent Donald Dawkins confirmed today.
Priest is the father of 25-year-old Walter Jason Priest, who has a previous explosives conviction and was sentenced to federal prison last month for possessing a firearm while being a convicted felon, court records show.
Dawkins, an ATF spokesman in Detroit, declined to... (GunPolicy.org)
Nashville's Orthodox Jewish Gun Dealer an Obnoxious Right-wing Agitator?
17 March 2010
Nashville Scene (Tennessee)
The loud pop of a semi-automatic rifle shatters the quiet of a still winter day. The sun is shining through the motionless branches of bare trees in a large wooded area, reflecting off the sunglasses of a slender, dark-haired German. He takes aim once more, then fires.
Just a few yards away, a slightly round, white-haired man lifts his weapon to his shoulder and eyes the target in his scope. This man, however, could have come from a Central Casting file marked "Hasidic... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Collector, 'Paranoid' Security Guard Kills Police Officer in California
27 February 2010
Associated Press
FRESNO, California - The man who authorities say killed one law enforcement officer and wounded two others in a gunbattle at his mobile home was a paranoid private security guard who kept a gun collection and told his wife he would rather die than go to prison, authorities said Friday.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer identified Rick "Ricky" Ray Liles, 51, as the shooter and said he had been taking medication for depression and probably took his own life with a gunshot... (GunPolicy.org)
Arizona Gun Maker, Dealer Pleads Guilty to Illegally Selling Firearms
22 February 2010
Arizona Republic
A Gilbert firearms manufacturer will cease its gun operations after the company's owner pleaded guilty to illegally selling rifles, shotguns and handguns.
Cavalry Arms Corp. says on its Web site that it has been "engaged in an ongoing dispute" with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, for two years over "regulatory and compliance mistakes."
But in federal court last week, owner Shawn Nealon admitted that he and his company illegally sold as... (GunPolicy.org)
California Man 'Obsessed with Guns' Stole 6 Assault Weapons from Police
10 February 2010
San Francisco Chronicle
SAN PABLO, California - A San Pablo man described as being obsessed with "tools of warfare" was sentenced Tuesday to more than five years in federal prison for stealing assault rifles and shotguns belonging to the Contra Costa County sheriff's office and the California Highway Patrol.
Daniel William Vess, 21, pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of a stolen firearm. At a hearing in Oakland, U.S. District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong sentenced him to five years and... (GunPolicy.org)
Michigan Man Caught Smuggling Assault Weapons from Texas to Mexico
3 February 2010
NBC-25 TV News (Michigan)
A Michigan man is behind bars in Texas after being caught smuggling guns and bags filled with bulletproof vests into Mexico.
U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted Pablo Leyva-Angiano in a car near the Roma International Bridge around 8:15 p.m. Thursday. Court records show that the agents saw two men come from nearby brush, go to the trunk of his and run towards the Rio Grande with two trash bags. The 26-year-old Grand Rapids, Michigan man was going to leave but Border... (GunPolicy.org)
47 US States Roll Back Law, in National Trend to Even Looser Gun Control
30 January 2010
Associated Press
PHOENIX — Arizona's permissive gun laws gained national attention last year when a man openly carried an AR-15 rifle to a protest outside a speech by President Obama.
Now, gun rights advocates are hoping for even fewer restrictions on where they can have a firearm. Among their top goals is to make Arizona the third state where it is legal to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Bills in the House and the Senate would also eliminate background checks and... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handgun Permit Holder Shoots, Kills Sister, 7 Others in Virginia
21 January 2010
Washington Post
APPOMATTOX, Virginia -- Christopher Bryan Speight described himself in court papers as a dependable, hardworking person who was not quick to anger, and he showed pride in his ability to "find ways to get out of problems without using force or violence."
Friends, in letters in support of his successful 1995 application for a concealed weapons permit, called him "an upstanding, Christian young man" and "very mature and responsible."
But something happened in recent... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Industry Lobbies to Popularise, Sell More 'Sporting' Assault Rifles
20 January 2010
ESPN (USA)
LAS VEGAS — If Jim Zumbo had the National Shooting Sports Foundation in his corner a few years ago, he might still be the hunting editor of Outdoor Life magazine.
Zumbo was literally driven from the temple after expressing discouraging words in his web site blog about the viability of so-called "black rifles" or AR-15-style guns as hunting firearms. Unfortunately, Zumbo expressed his opinions just at the time black rifles were gaining traction in the shooting sports... (GunPolicy.org)
Pennsylvania Gun Show Patrons Far Too Honest to Traffic in Firearms
17 January 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer
They began arriving well before the 9 a.m. Sunday opening, cramming the parking lots and forcing latecomers onto snowy fields. At least half the vehicles were pickups, peppered with road salt and bearing such bumper stickers as "Don't blame me, I voted for McCain" and "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
When the doors to the Lebanon Valley Exposition Center finally opened, they stepped inside and paid $5 to attend the Lebanon Gun Show. By 10 a.m., they... (GunPolicy.org)
Cache of Assault Weapons Stolen, Owner Arrested for Illegal Possession
24 December 2009
Contra Costa Times (California)
CONCORD, California - Intruders took a small cache of assault weapons from a house this week, and police made an arrest.
The only man they arrested, however, was the homeowner — for having the weapons in the first place.
Police were called to a home in the 1600 block of Allegro Avenue about 2 a.m. Wednesday after getting reports of a home invasion, said police Lt. Garrett Voerge.
A roommate told officers that two men entered the home and at gunpoint, took several... (GunPolicy.org)
Alaska Gun Owner Amassed Arsenal, Planned 'Something,' Now Faces Life
18 December 2009
Anchorage Daily News (Alaska)
A convicted Mat-Su felon who amassed an arsenal of assault rifles, grenades, flak jackets and weapon silencers has been indicted on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of firearms, according to the U.S. attorney.
Gregory Dale Hayes, 53, is facing life in prison on the charge, which is the result of a yearlong investigation by federal authorities that included surveillance of Hayes' home at 6670 W. Hemmer Drive in Wasilla.
Investigators say to avoid... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearms Riding High on America's Holiday Gift Lists, Say Gun Dealers
7 December 2009
St Petersburg Times (Florida) / Scripps Howard News Service
On Kevin Wence's 10th Christmas, he opened a gift from his father and discovered what would become "A Christmas Story" legend: a Red Ryder BB air rifle. His first gun.
Last week, Wence bought his 15th, a stainless-steel Smith & Wesson Model 686 revolver. Unlike the air rifle, this gun won't sit under the Christmas tree, he said. But it would be a family gift that he, his wife and his 24-year-old son, all trained in shooting, could use to protect their St. Petersburg... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: St Petersburg Times (Florida) / Scripps Howard News Service