Gun Policy News
Firearms and family conflict, guns in the home
Women Living in Terror Because Their Ex-partners Have Guns
16 July 2022
Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales y Sociales (INECIP)
During 2021 there were 251 femicides across the country and in 25 per cent of these a weapon was used; there is consensus that possession is often a projection of the power of the person who has it and a latent threat; the speed of justice and voluntary disarmament are key to addressing the problem. In the opinion of Aldana Romano, Director of INECIP.
When mutual friends introduced them to each other during a holiday, Marcela fell in love with Valentín. Although she... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales y Sociales (INECIP)
3 Million Firearms in Civilian Hands in Argentina
28 February 2022
Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales y Sociales (INECIP)
There are more than 1.5 million registered weapons on the street in the possession of civil society in Argentina. Although by law the state is committed to reducing this number, the state itself "does not even do what the law requires, and it does so not only by omission but also by political decision," said Julián Alfie, coordinator of the Institute for Comparative Studies in Criminal and Social Sciences (Inecip) and researcher on the issue of civil society... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales y Sociales (INECIP)
Murder-Suicide by Gun is an Everyday Occurrence in America
13 February 2022
Trace
Through the first six weeks of 2018, there were at least 76 incidents and 171 deaths.
On Saturday, a 45-year-old man fatally shot his parents at their home in eastern Kentucky and then drove to an apartment where he shot and killed his girlfriend and her mother before turning the gun on himself.
Joseph Nickell, the gunman, had a history that included domestic violence and substance abuse charges. But the grisly murder spree still came as a shock to some who knew the... (GunPolicy.org)
Plymouth Shootings: Police Asked to Review Gun Licence Process
17 August 2021
BBC News
Police forces in England and Wales are being asked to review their current firearm application processes, in the wake of the Plymouth mass shooting.
Questions remain over why Jake Davison, who killed five people and himself on Thursday, had a shotgun licence.
The Home Office is preparing new guidance to ensure higher standards of decision making around applications.BBC News
There will be advice on carrying out social media checks on people wanting to own a firearm or... (GunPolicy.org)
Fewer Guns Will Save Women's Lives in South Africa
16 August 2021
Institute for Security Studies (ISS)
Fifty-eight percent of South Africa's domestic violence murder victims from April to June 2020 were women, according to national police statistics. Sixty-seven percent of these women were killed by a current or ex-intimate partner. In such cases, femicide is the final act in a pattern of chronic and escalating abuse. South Africa's rate of femicide has been estimated at six times higher than the global average.
Research has consistently shown that having access to a... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Deaths and Crime on the Rise in Albania
21 July 2021
Exit News
Out of the 3,566 perpetrators of firearm incidents in the Balkans during 2020, 98% were men. Furthermore, the number of deaths from firearms has increased over the last few years.
This is according to the Armed Violence Monitor report, authored by the South Easter and Easter Europea Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SEESAC), functioning under the United Nations Development Programme and the Regional Cooperation Council.
The results... (GunPolicy.org)
Pandemic gun violence surge was not linked to rise in gun sales, study finds
9 July 2021
Guardian
Gun homicides surged across the United States during the coronavirus pandemic, in the same year that Americans bought a record-breaking number of guns.
But some of America's leading gun violence researchers have concluded that what might seem like an obvious cause-and-effect – a surge in gun buying leads to a surge in gun violence – is not supported by the data.
Through July of last year, there was no clear association between the increase in firearm purchases and... (GunPolicy.org)
Italian Experts Call for a Reform on Firearm Ownership and Possession
20 May 2021
Avvenire
Saturday, April 10, in Rivarolo Canavese, in the province of Turin, an 83-year-old pensioner, Renzo Tarabella, after having shot his wife, Maria Grazia Valovatto, 70, and his 51-year-old disabled son Wilson, shot and killed the owners of the apartment where he lived, 74-year-old Osvaldo Dighera and his 70-year-old wife Liliana Heidempergher, and then attempted to commit suicide. The reason is not yet clear - probably for depression and resentment towards the neighbours... (GunPolicy.org)
Canada's Vision of Gun Control
18 April 2021
Bloomberg Opinion
At the same time that President Joe Biden was unveiling his plans this month to attack epidemic gun violence with all the tangential minimalism that U.S. law and politics can muster, I was 20 miles north of the U.S.-Canadian border watching what happens when people, and a nation, treat guns as if they might be dangerous.
In a small, carpeted classroom in Delta, British Columbia, a dozen of us filed in for the first of two days of classes — 15 hours in all —... (GunPolicy.org)
25 Years of Danish Shootings Mapped to the Smallest Detail
23 March 2021
Videnskab (Denmark)
Bang!
A man aged between 20 and 24 shoots and kills another with a shotgun or a pistol. He shoots the victim from the front, hitting him in the head or chest, and the killing takes place indoors.
If the victim is a man, it is probably gang-related; if it is a woman, it is probably the killer's wife or girlfriend.
The above is not a murder mystery, but an attempt to reproduce what the average shooting in Denmark might look like. The macabre facts about shooting... (GunPolicy.org)
The Imminent Need to Put Gun Violence on the Feminist Agenda
17 March 2021
Intersecta
While six out of every ten homicides of women are perpetrated with a firearm at the national level, recent estimates indicate that nearly eight million people in Mexico have access to a firearm in their own homes. Against this backdrop, what do we know about gun regulation in the country, and why is it urgent to put the issue of gun violence on the feminist agenda?
Since the implementation of the now familiar militarised security policies promoted by former President... (GunPolicy.org)
The 2019/20 Crime Stats and Post-Covid19 Violence Prevention in South Africa
4 August 2020
Saferspaces
If it had not been for the national socioeconomic crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emerging corruption scandals associated with funding for relief measures, there most likely would have been a public outcry following the release of the 2019/2020 crime statistics last week. Many South Africans were hoping that with the deployment of the South African Defence Force alongside the South African Police Service (SAPS) on the Cape Flats from 2019, as well... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Ownership Soars In Brazil Under Bolsonaro
31 March 2020
New York Times
A year into his presidency, Jair Bolsonaro and his sons have helped fuel a gun rights movement that had little popular support, or political clout, in the country before he took office.
President Jair Bolsonaro has galvanized gun culture in Brazil.
His trademark campaign sign was a hand folded into the shape of a gun. One of his first moves in office was to ease gun ownership rules. His three oldest sons, politicians themselves, have been fierce proponents of... (GunPolicy.org)
Select US Gun Violence Statistics
27 December 2019
The Trace (USA)
- 26 percent: The increase in intimate partner homicides by shooting since 2010[…]
- $911 million: The annual cost of gun injury hospitalization[…]
- 30 percent: The share of firearms recovered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in California that are unserialized ghost guns[…]
- 3.3m? 8.5m? 17.7m? The hard-to-quantify number of assault weapons in... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Violence in Homicide Report Database
13 May 2019
Stuff (New Zealand)
An unprecedented Stuff investigation has identified every homicide in New Zealand in the past 15 years, revealing the vast majority of those who kill with guns are unlicensed and their weapon of choice is often a .22 calibre rifle or shotgun.
The Homicide Report, which has been nearly three years in the making, is the country's first publicly searchable database of homicides. It encompasses 1068 men, women and children killed from January 2004 to March 31, 2019.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
1 May 2019
Stuff (New Zealand)
The Homicide Report relies on information from more than 800 coronial findings, hundreds of court documents, police sources and news stories from Stuff's archives.
We categorised each case according to the victim's age and gender, their relationship to the killer, cause of death, location and a host of others.
We then analysed them to look for significant groupings of homicides with similar characteristics that might reveal some underlying problem or cause.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Would-be Murderer Granted Special Gun Training Permit Despite Red Flags
10 July 2018
Sydney Morning Herald
John Edwards, the man who shot his two children dead last Thursday, was able to pursue his handgun training because he was granted a so-called "Commissioner's Permit", overriding red flags raised by his answers on declarations about his background.
It is understood this permit reassured officials at the St Mary's Indoor Shooting Centre that Edwards could legally undergo handgun training - the first step towards getting a handgun licence and then a permit in NSW -... (GunPolicy.org)
NSW Licensing Procedures in Review After Family Murder
9 July 2018
Daily Telegraph (Sydney)
GUN clubs may be asked to report suspect shooters and GPs permitted to break client confidentiality to stop a repeat of an incident like John Edwards' savage slaying of his children.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal Police Commissioner Mick Fuller and Police Minister Troy Grant are holding crisis meetings today and "everything is on the table", including working more closely with the Family Court where children are identified as at risk.
Edwards, 67, was turned away... (GunPolicy.org)
NSW Vetting Process in Question After Family Murder
9 July 2018
Australian (Sydney)
The man who shot his two teenage children dead before killing himself in Sydney's northwest last week would have been individually interviewed several times to get two "quite powerful" handguns, experts say, as the NSW Police Minister comes under pressure to review gun control laws.
John Edwards would have been interviewed by a shooting club, a pistol club and police before he could buy the two firearms he used in last Thursday's attack, in which the 67-year-old... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Violence and Children: US Pediatricians Take a Stand
18 July 2016
New York Times
What does it mean to consider gun violence a public health problem, especially when it comes to children?
The American Academy of Pediatrics announced the development of a new initiative last week reacting to the violence in St. Paul, Baton Rouge and Dallas, an attempt as pediatricians to find ways to protect children, adolescents and young adults.
This isn't a new issue for the academy; the existing policy on firearm injuries in children emphasizes the importance of... (GunPolicy.org)
Correlation Between Illicit Firearms and Violence in Serbia
13 July 2016
SEESAC (Belgrade)
"I am deeply saddened to see Serbia go through one of its most tragic weeks, following another mass shooting with five dead and twenty injured. The events in Zitiste a few days ago brought to light once again three major but often ignored problems – the large scale availability of illicit firearms, its impact on public safety and most specifically its impact on intimate partner and domestic violence.
As the rest of the Western Balkans, Serbia is awash with firearms.... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunman Shoots, Kills Wife & Four Others, Injures 20 in Serbia
2 July 2016
BBC News
Five people have been shot dead and at least 20 injured in a cafe in north-eastern Serbia.
Police say the gunman killed his wife and another woman, before randomly shooting at other customers at the cafe.
Three children were among those injured in the attack near the city of Zrenjanin, the interior ministry said.
The gunman was arrested and police are investigating his motive, which is believed to be jealousy.
Witnesses told Serbia's state TV that the attacker came... (GunPolicy.org)
The Deadly Mix of Guns and Domestic Violence
1 July 2016
New York Times, Editorial
It's a good thing Congress passed a law in 1996 barring people convicted of domestic violence from buying or owning guns. Today, despite horrifyingly frequent mass shootings and yearly gun deaths topping 30,000, lawmakers, nearly all of them Republican, stand in lock-step formation against even modest gun-control efforts — like preventing people suspected of terrorist ties from easily buying firearms.
Twenty years ago, in a somewhat less warped political universe,... (GunPolicy.org)
US Supreme Court Toughens Gun Ban for Domestic Violence
27 June 2016
New York Times
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday expanded the types of domestic violence convictions that can trigger the loss of gun ownership rights in a ruling issued amid fierce debate about reducing firearms violence in America.
The justices, in a 6-2 ruling, rejected arguments that a gun-ownership prohibition should apply only to knowing or intentional, rather than reckless, conduct.
In dispute was a U.S. law passed two decades ago preventing people convicted of... (GunPolicy.org)
In the Week After Orlando, 228 Americans Were Shot Dead
20 June 2016
The Trace (USA)
In the early morning of Sunday, June 12, shortly after the Pulse nightclub gunman was killed by police, Camarillo Pedro Lara, 48, was found shot to death in the passenger seat of a car in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Around the time that Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer broke the news that the massacre at the venue had claimed 49 lives, making it the deadliest mass shooting on American soil in modern history, a woman in Fountain, Colorado, found a note tacked to her neighbor's... (GunPolicy.org)
Americas,Europe,Asia,Africa,Oceania
WHO Assembly Adopts Resolution to Prevent Interpersonal Violence
27 May 2016
World Health Organization, Media release
Delegates at the World Health Assembly have agreed resolutions and decisions on air pollution, chemicals, the health workforce, childhood obesity, violence, noncommunicable diseases, and the election of the next Director-General…
Global plan of action on violence
Delegates agreed a resolution on the WHO global plan of action on violence. Non-fatal acts of violence take a particular toll on women and children. 1-in-4 children has been physically abused; 1-in-5 girls... (GunPolicy.org)
Hunting Permits to Counter Gun Violence in French Guiana [FR]
11 May 2016
France Guyane
[Translated summary: In French Guiana there has been ten homicides so far this year, three of them related to domestic violence. Public prosecutor Éric Vaillant proposes the establishment of hunting permits to reduce firearm proliferation.]
La première semaine du mois de mai a été marquée par deux meurtres et une tentative d'homicide, avec une victime qui est entre la vie et mort à l'hôpital. Éric Vaillant, le procureur de la République, met sur la table le... (GunPolicy.org)
In Two Weeks, 7 US Toddlers Shot Someone with a Gun
7 May 2016
News.com.au
It has been 10 days of "gut wrenching" carnage in the US, with a tragic number of toddlers being fatally shot or inflicting injury on a family member, simply because of an unsecured firearm.
In their own homes, in their cots or in the car — 2016 has seen a concerning spike in toddler related shootings than in the previous year.
As the second biggest killer in the country, 23 incidents of shootings that involve toddlers have already happened this year alone. That's... (GunPolicy.org)
11 Americans Shot to Death By a Toddler So Far This Year
3 May 2016
Vocativ (USA)
In the United States of America, you are just as likely to be killed by a toddler as by a venomous snake, a lizard, a or spider, and even more likely than by lightning—all because of the worrisome access small children have to firearms.
On April 27, a toddler in Milwaukee accidentally shot and killed his mother from the back seat of her car. The two-year-old picked up the gun after it slid under the seat and fired as they were driving down the highway. His mother... (GunPolicy.org)
Kansas Gives Away Free Gun Locks, No Questions Asked
25 April 2016
Fox 4 Newsroom (USA)
KANSAS CITY — After a little girl was killed by gunfire inside her own home on Thursday, Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp is reminding families of the 'No Questions Asked' program.
Gun owners can pick up a gun lock at Children's Mercy Hospital's Adele Hall campus, the south campus in Overland Park, and the Midtown Broadway clinic. They can also get one at the Jackson County Sheriff's Office in Lee's Summit.
"Protecting firearms in the home more than a substantial... (GunPolicy.org)
Activists Say US Gun Violence is a Crisis Driven by Profit
10 April 2016
Daily Nexus (USA)
Legislators and activists spoke Thursday night at the Marjorie Luke Theatre on gun violence in America and what can be done to address the "profit-driven crisis" causing mass shootings, domestic violence, suicide and accidents across America.
The panel discussion, which followed a screening of the film "Making a Killing: Guns, Greed, and the NRA," included the film's director, Robert Greenwald; State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson; Assemblymember Das Williams; Mayor... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Governor Vetoes a Flurry of Pro-gun Bills
9 April 2016
Washington Post
RICHMOND -- Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who struck a compromise on guns with Republicans this year, has gone on to veto a flurry of gun rights bills that were not part of that deal.
In the past week alone, McAuliffe (D) vetoed bills that would have given domestic-violence victims under protective orders the temporary right to carry concealed weapons without applying for permits or getting training. He also nixed measures that would have allowed retired police... (GunPolicy.org)
Canadian Conservative MP Calls for Gun Amnesty Program
7 April 2016
CTV News (Vancouver)
Surrey parents who discover their children are keeping a gun in the house should be able to turn the weapon over to police worry-free, according to the city's former mayor.
Dianne Watts, now a Conservative MP, is calling for a temporary amnesty program that would encourage parents to help get firearms off the streets.
The details haven't been worked out, but Watts said parents who hand over guns could be assured their children won't be charged for having them. She... (GunPolicy.org)
Firearm Dealers Challenge Gun Suicide Taboo in Colorado
6 April 2016
San Francisco Chronicle
MONTROSE, Colorado -- Keith Carey is a gunsmith in Montrose, a town with a frontier flavor set amid the mesas of western Colorado. He's a staunch, though soft-spoken, defender of the right to bear arms.
Yet now he's a willing recruit in a fledgling effort to see if the gun community itself — sellers and owners of firearms, operators of shooting ranges — can help Colorado and other Western states reduce their highest-in-the-nation suicide rates.
"Suicide is a... (GunPolicy.org)
Québec: Bill to Impose Mandatory Gun Registration [FR]
5 April 2016
Institute National de Santé Publique Québec (Canada)
[Translated summary: In Québec, suicide is the leading gun-related cause of death. Between 2009 and 2013, an average of 127 people died annually as a result of gun suicide - most of them men in their own homes. Bill No. 64 aims to make the registration of firearms mandatory again.]
Les enjeux liés à l'accès aux armes à feu vont bien au-delà de leur utilisation dans le cadre d'activités criminelles. L'accessibilité aux armes à feu constitue un facteur de... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Institute National de Santé Publique Québec (Canada)
US Gun Law Loopholes Raise Fatal Domestic Abuse Risk
4 April 2016
Refinery 29 (USA)
The beginning of Jitka Vesel's story is familiar. Back in 2008, she briefly dated a man she met online. When she decided they didn't have a connection, she broke it off.
That's when Dmitry Smirnov began stalking her.
For three years, Smirnov pursued Vesel. She reported the harassment, changed her phone number, cut off contact with her stalker — even moved. In 2011, Smirnov followed Vesel to the parking lot of her workplace. He killed her, shooting her 12 times as... (GunPolicy.org)
Do You Own a Gun? Why Your Kid's Doctor Needs to Know
1 April 2016
Washington Post, Opinion
'Do you have guns in the home?" It's a standard question pediatricians ask patients and their parents, an entry into a conversation about storage and safety.
"Of course not — we don't believe in that," answered one mother who came to our practice with her 7-year-old.
Her son looked up from his iPad and grinned. "But Bobby's dad has a really cool gun! Bobby showed it to me last week."
"What do you mean?" his mother asked. "A toy gun?"
"No, a real one!" he boasted,... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,United Kingdom,Japan,Australia
So, America, This Is How Other Countries Do Gun Control
14 March 2016
Guardian
Thirty people will be shot dead in America today. On average. It could be more. If it's less, then more will die tomorrow. Or the next day.
The United States's gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than other high-income countries, according to a recent study.
Americans are divided on whether the country's gun deaths could be reduced through tougher laws on gun ownership. Liberals argue that legal restrictions on gun ownership could save lives. Conservatives say that... (GunPolicy.org)
Africa,Americas,Asia,Europe,Oceania
13 March 2016
GunPolicy.org
With apologies for being absent so long, Gun Policy News bulletins are back. At least for now.
Beginning in 1997, our dozens of regional E-mail and RSS news feeds delivered daily bulletins of small arms-related mass media articles up to June, 2014. From today we'll try to do so again, at least until the end of 2016.... (GunPolicy.org)
Macabre Truth: US Toddlers Shoot, Kill More than Terrorists Do
13 March 2016
Guardian, Opinion
This week, in my country, considered by some of its more embarrassing denizens to be the "greatest country in the world", an outspoken Florida "gun rights" advocate left a loaded .45 calibre handgun in the back seat of her car and was promptly shot and wounded by her four-year-old child. Truly a pinnacle of human potential, much like the invention of paper in second-century BC China, or Aristotle holding forth in the Lyceum, or whoever first pointed out that Florida... (GunPolicy.org)
Pro-gun Florida Mom Shot by Her 4yr-old Son While Driving
9 March 2016
Daily Mail (UK)
Pro-gun Florida mom is accidentally shot by her four-year-old son while driving after the boy found her pistol in back seat - just a day after she bragged about his shooting skills
- Jamie Gilt, 31, was driving with her son, 4, through Putnam County, Florida
- The child picked up a loaded .45 handgun from the back seat and fired
- Gilt was shot and wounded after the round passed through the truck's seat
- She told deputies that she had been shot in the back by her... (GunPolicy.org)
South African Women Most Likely to Be Shot by a Partner
7 March 2016
ISS Africa
Tomorrow is International Women's Day. Observed annually on 8 March, it is a time to not only reflect on progress made by women, but also a call to action for increasing the global momentum towards gender equality.
The prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is one of the clearest markers of continued inequality between men and women in any society. South Africa has particularly high levels of SGBV for a country not involved in conflict.
Between 29% and... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Australia,Brazil,South Africa
Gun Control: What Works and What Doesn't
7 March 2016
Washington Post, Blog
Gun control works, but you have to be smart about it.
That's the takeaway from a major new analysis out this month in the journal Epidemiologic Reviews. Columbia University's Julian Santaella-Tenorio and a team of researchers pored over the results of 130 studies on gun control legislation passed in 10 different countries to find out which policy interventions worked, which ones didn't and on what issues the jury was still out.
Big caveat up front: Sussing out cause... (GunPolicy.org)
Interest in Sport Shooting Up Since France Gun Attacks [FR]
2 March 2016
Zoomdici (France)
[Translated summary: Since the dramatic attacks of 2015 in France, there has been a rising interest in sport shooting, according to clubs, and not only due to the passion for the sports practice.]
Depuis les dramatiques événements de 2015 en France et la mise en place de l'état d'urgence, le sujet est tellement tabou que toutes les personnes interrogées ont préféré garder l'anonymat. Selon des membres de la direction de clubs, l'intérêt croissant pour le tir... (GunPolicy.org)
Restricted Guns Up 82% in Canada Under Tory Government
11 February 2016
iPolitics (Canada)
The number of restricted firearms across Canada rose more than 82 per cent while Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in power, with the sharpest increase after the Conservatives formed a majority government.
The increase is found in calculations made by iPolitics from statistics found in several reports of the federal Commissioner of Firearms, which released its 2014 report last month.
One of the biggest increases was in Alberta, where the number of restricted guns rose... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Botswana,Algeria,Libya,South Africa,Kenya,Rwanda,Djibouti
7 African Nations More Effective at Gun Control than the US
11 January 2016
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg)
In a BBC interview last July, US President Barack Obama admitted that failure to pass "common sense gun safety laws" in the US has been the greatest frustration of his presidency.
Since he took office in 2008, there have been repeated mass shootings including the 2011 Tucson Arizona shooting in which Gabrielle Giffords, then a member of Congress and 18 others were shot in a supermarket parking lot. Six people died that day.
Another shooting was at Emanuel African... (GunPolicy.org)
How Many US Mass Shootings Are There, Really?
3 December 2015
New York Times, Opinion
On Wednesday, a Washington Post article announced that "The San Bernardino shooting is the second mass shooting today and the 355th this year." Vox, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, this newspaper and others reported similar statistics. Grim details from the church in Charleston, a college classroom in Oregon and a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado are still fresh, but you could be forgiven for wondering how you missed more than 300 other such attacks in 2015.
At Mother... (GunPolicy.org)
How US Mass Shooters Got Their Guns
3 October 2015
New York Times
The vast majority of guns used in 15 recent mass shootings, including at least two of the guns used in the San Bernardino attack, were bought legally and with a federal background check. At least eight gunmen had criminal histories or documented mental health problems that did not prevent them from obtaining their weapons.
- DEC. 2, 2015: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, husband and wife, killed 14 people at a holiday office party in San Bernardino, Calif. Four... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,Yemen,Switzerland,Finland,Serbia
US Has 5% of World's Population, 31% of Mass Shootings
23 August 2015
EurekAlert! The Global Source for the Science News (USA) - American Association for the Advancement of Science
Chicago - Despite having only about 5 percent of the world's population, the United States was the attack site for a disproportionate 31 percent of public mass shooters globally from 1966-2012, according to new research that will be presented at the 110th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
"The United States, Yemen, Switzerland, Finland, and Serbia are ranked as the Top 5 countries in firearms owned per capita, according to the 2007 Small... (GunPolicy.org)
Does Rural Australia Have a Gun Problem?
27 October 2014
The Conversation, Opinion
The recent multiple homicide in a small Victorian township, coming barely a month after a mass shooting in rural New South Wales, may give the impression that firearm-related murders in rural Australia are rampant.
It would be easy to attribute this to higher density of gun ownership in country areas relative to cities, particularly where farming is a dominant industry and firearms are "tools of the trade". But understanding gun violence is not that simple.
Firearm... (GunPolicy.org)
Lockhart Shootings: Body, Gun Pulled From Dam in NSW
10 September 2014
Guardian (Australia)
A body has been recovered from a dam in the NSW Riverina region following the shooting deaths of a woman and her three children.
Farmer Geoff Hunt has been missing since the bodies of his wife Kim, 41, and his children Fletcher, 10, Mia, eight and Phoebe, six, were discovered at a property near Wagga Wagga on Tuesday.
Police divers entered a dam on Wednesday afternoon and pulled out a body a short time ago. A firearm was also found in the dam.
Police said the body... (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)
French Pensioner Shoots Son Mistaking Him for Bird
23 June 2014
Local (France)
A Frenchman shot his son three times after mistaking him for a blackbird raiding the family cherry tree. The story is just the latest in a long line of tragic and freak shooting accidents in France.
A Frenchman aged in his 70s noticed some rustling in his cherry tree tree on Saturday night in north-western France and, assuming it was hungry blackbirds pillaging his fruit, he pulled out his shotgun and opened fire.
But the movement in the tree was not in fact... (GunPolicy.org)
Three Dead After Estranged Greek Husband Shoots Family, Self
19 June 2014
Xinhua
NICOSIA - A 40-year-old Cypriot man shot his estranged wife and two under-aged children and then turned the gun on himself, the police said on Wednesday.
A police source said the man had called his estranged wife to talk and they met on mid-afternoon Wednesday in a busy Nicosia suburb, but he started shooting with an army-issued assault rifle when the meeting developed into a shouting argument.
He then took his own life by shooting himself in the head, the police... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: Pistorius and the Unfinished Gun Ownership Debate in South Africa
12 June 2014
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg), Opinion
When Oscar Pistorius first entered the courtroom where he stood accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the case raised great interest. It was followed online, on radio and even watched on TV, where it received a lot of coverage. While some see the spotlight put on gun ownership by the trial as nothing but the "negligent actions of but one famous public figure", recent headlines evidence that the problem is much deeper than that.
Some of the headlines... (GunPolicy.org)
US States Move to Keep Guns Out of the Hands of Domestic Abusers
8 May 2014
Nation (USA)
Lawmakers in Minnesota and Louisiana overwhelmingly passed bills this month barring people convicted of domestic violence from possessing or purchasing firearms, both states joining a national movement to keep guns out of abusers' hands.
Minnesota's bill, signed by Gov. Mark Dayton into law Monday, would expand existing handgun restrictions for convicted abusers to include rifles and shotguns and also prohibit anyone subject to a temporary restraining order from... (GunPolicy.org)
Brazil,United States,United Kingdom,Australia
Lessons in Gun Control from Australia and Brazil
6 May 2014
Emergency Management
In the year and a half since 20 children were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., a handful of states have passed laws requiring universal background checks, bans on semi-automatic weapons and limits on high-capacity magazines. But the U.S. remains a patchwork of uneven regulations on firearms, ammunition and gun owners. Meanwhile, at least 44 school shootings have occurred since the Newtown tragedy.
If state leaders want to curb... (GunPolicy.org)
Australian Youth Gun Programme Ends in Mentally Ill Woman Fatally Shooting Dad
27 April 2014
Sydney Morning Herald, Opinion
Eighteen years ago today, a lone gunman brandishing semi-automatic firearms shot dead 35 people and wounded 23 others at Port Arthur in Tasmania.
Most of us would remember where we were when we first heard that news. But nearly two decades on, there are young people who may have never have heard of this massacre. Tighter gun laws in Australia have meant no gun mass killings in their lifetimes.
Recent statistics on gun ownership from Gun Control Australia reveal that... (GunPolicy.org)
Italian Man Fatally Shoots Wife and Daughter, Attempts Suicide in Brazil [PT]
22 April 2014
Globo (Rio de Janeiro)
[Translated summary: Italian national Enrico Telese was hospitalised after he attempted suicide following the fatal shooting of his wife and daughter in Brazil. Telese had 71 guns registered to his name although only the one involved in the crime was found at their home. Officials are searching for the remaining weapons.]
RIO - O italiano Enrico Telese, de 58 anos, que tentou suicídio após matar a tiros a mulher e a filha, de 3 anos, no fim da tarde da última... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Quietly Backs Down on Some Domestic Violence and Guns
22 April 2014
Huffington Post (USA)
WASHINGTON - For nearly a decade, the National Rifle Association successfully blocked a bill in Washington state that would have required alleged domestic abusers to surrender their firearms after being served with a protective order. Only those actually convicted of felony domestic violence, the nation's largest gun lobby argued, should be made to forfeit their gun rights.
This past year, the NRA changed its tune. As the bill, HB 1840, once again moved through the... (GunPolicy.org)
Zimbabwe,South Africa,Swaziland
Zimbabwe Homicide Rate Among the Lowest in the World
22 April 2014
Herald (Zimbabwe)
Zimbabwe's homicide rate is among the lowest globally making it one of the world's most peaceful and safest places to live in.
Even though Zimbabwe's figures were not captured in a new study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on global homicide rates, police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi, told The Herald they recorded between 30 and 45 murders per month countrywide.
This gives an average of 420 murder cases per annum, which roughly... (GunPolicy.org)
The 'Public Health Crisis' That Is US Gun Culture – Analysis
16 April 2014
CBC News (Canada), Opinion
Three days after Frazier Glenn Miller tried to kill some of the Jews he has spent his life despising (the self-styled paramilitary warrior actually wound up gunning down three Christians instead), the National Rifle Association's website remains silent about the attacks.
Instead, the site features, among other things, a Fox News appearance by the NRA's chief legislative lobbyist about the need to defeat Barack Obama's nominee for surgeon general.
The nominee, a doctor... (GunPolicy.org)
New Zealand Girl Shot with Airgun by Teen Brother, Police Warn of Risks
15 April 2014
Dominion Post (Wellington)
An eight-year-old girl accidentally shot by her brother is in a stable condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital.
The girl's 12-year-old brother shot her in the stomach with a low-powered slug gun near Wairoa around 4.45pm on Sunday.
The girl suffered minor injuries and was flown to the hospital by the Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter.
Wairoa police senior sergeant Tony Bates said the pellet lodged deep within the girl's abdomen.
He said the circumstances were still being... (GunPolicy.org)
Haiti,Americas,Asia,Africa,Europe,South Sudan,Liberia,Oceania
Over 400,000 People Murdered Worldwide in 2012, 40 Percent Caused by Guns
10 April 2014
UN Dispatch (New York)
Almost half a million people across the world lost their lives in 2012 as a result of intentional homicide, with the highest murder rates logged in the Americas and Africa, and the lowest in Europe, Asia and Oceania, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports.
"Too many lives are being tragically cut short, too many families and communities left shattered. There is an urgent need to understand how violent crime is plaguing countries around the world,... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun-Related Homicides Rising in Uganda - Report
9 April 2014
Observer (Kampala)
The number of cases of murder by shooting in Uganda rose by 14 per cent last year, the annual police report has shown.
The 2013 Crime, Traffic and Road Safety report, which was released in Kampala on Monday, shows that the police investigated 131 cases of gun-shot murder, compared to 115 the year before. Some 192 people were shot dead last year, the report said. Of these, 163 were men, 20 were women, six were boys and three were girls.
Releasing the report, Inspector... (GunPolicy.org)
Thai Teen Shoots, Kills Family Over Sibling Rivalry
12 March 2014
Nation (Bangkok)
A 19-year-old boy has allegedly confessed to shooting dead his parents and younger brother after he tried and failed to pass the blame on to the dead sibling, according to police.
Pol Colonel Sunthorn Himarat, a superintendent at Pathum Thani Police Headquarters, yesterday said the suspect made the confession in the face of solid evidence.
"Recordings from a closed-circuit TV system show the suspect turned off all eight security cameras at home where three... (GunPolicy.org)
Pistorius Trial Renews South Africa Gun Ownership Debate
28 February 2014
BBC News, Video
Oscar Pistorius is due to go on trial on Monday for the murder of his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp.
The case has raised questions for South Africans about safety, as the paralympian claims he shot Ms Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder.
Andrew Harding reports from... (GunPolicy.org)
US Man Kills Himself While Demonstrating Gun Safety
25 February 2014
RT-TV Novosti (Russia)
A Michigan man from Independence Township accidentally killed himself after reportedly firing a gun into his head while attempting to demonstrate how safe the weapon was.
The 36-year-old man's girlfriend told law enforcement that he'd been drinking throughout the day when the incident occurred Sunday evening. Police told the Oakland Press that when they arrived at the home, the girlfriend was performing CPR on the man. He was declared dead at the scene.
Authorities... (GunPolicy.org)
US Study Shows Having a Gun in the House Doesn't Make a Woman Safer
23 February 2014
Atlantic (USA)
Christy Salters Martin is a professional boxer and the owner of a concealed carry permit. But when she attempted to leave her husband, she was shot with her own gun. Today, she cautions other women against making the same mistake. "Just putting a weapon in the woman's hand is not going to reduce the number of fatalities or gunshot victims that we have. Too many times, their male counterpart or spouse will be able to overpower them and take that gun away."
Wayne... (GunPolicy.org)
Virginia Republicans Flinch at Restricting Guns for Criminals
20 February 2014
Washington Post, Editorial
In Virginia, about 5,600 people were convicted in 2011 and 2012 on misdemeanor counts of assaulting a member of their family or household. During the same period, the state's courts found 171 individuals guilty of misdemeanor stalking charges and 158 guilty of misdemeanor sexual battery. In Richmond, Republican lawmakers in the House of Delegates want to ensure that these offenders can continue to own handguns and rifles if they so wish.
House Republicans last week... (GunPolicy.org)
Estranged Husband Crashes Baptism, Kills Ex-wife, Wounds 4 in Brazil
16 February 2014
Latin American Herald Tribune (Venezuela)
BRASILIA – A woman died and four other people were wounded Sunday when an armed man fired several shots in a church in the town of Guarulhos, near the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, police said.
The incident occurred during the baptism ceremony for a baby and the woman who died – according to what police commissioner Joao Blase, who is handling the case, told reporters – was the child's mother.
Blase confirmed that some witnesses had said the man who fired the... (GunPolicy.org)
Boston Plans Gun Buybacks After Shooting Death of 9-Year-Old by Brother
9 February 2014
Reuters
Boston plans to launch a gun buyback program in a bid to reduce shootings following the death last week of a 9-year-old boy who was shot by his 14-year-old brother in an apparent accident, Mayor Marty Walsh said.
Walsh, who took office last month, said he was still developing a specific plan, including how much would be paid and how collection would work, with the city's newly appointed police commissioner, William Evans.
"It's a short-term solution," Walsh told... (GunPolicy.org)
Puerto Rico Man Jailed for 109 Years After Fatal Shooting of Wife
8 February 2014
Latin American Herald Tribune (Venezuela)
SAN JUAN - Pablo Casellas Toro, the son of a former Puerto Rico treasury secretary now on the U.S. federal bench, was sentenced here Thursday to 109 years in prison for the murder of his wife.
Casellas was convicted Jan. 22 of killing wife Carmen Paredes on July 14, 2012, at the couple's home in the affluent San Juan suburb of Guaynabo.
"I want to make it clear that this conviction and this sentence that you are ready to impose are an injustice, because I did not kill... (GunPolicy.org)
Chinese Man Shoots, Kills Six in Revenge for Wife's Affairs
31 January 2014
Xinhua
KUNMING - A man shot six people dead and wounded three more as he took revenge against his wife's lovers in southwest China's Yunnan Province on Thursday afternoon, local police said on Friday.
The suspect, Shao Zongqi, 38, is now wanted by the police of Tengchong county.
Shao, who is from the village of Qingkou, is suspected of carrying out the killing with a semi-automatic rifle before escaping in a cross-country vehicle.
When Shao discovered that his wife had been... (GunPolicy.org)
Malaysian Enforcement Officer Shoots at Wife After Supermarket Fight
26 January 2014
Malaysian Chronicle
KLANG - In what was believed to be a marriage-related dispute, a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency officer fired several shots at his wife after a heated argument at the Giant supermarket here today.
The 45-year-old MMEA officer then went to the Port Klang police station and surrendered his Glock pistol with a bullet magazine, said Klang Selatan police chief Assistant Commissioner Kamarul Zaman Mamat.
"It was learnt that he and his wife were at the ground floor of... (GunPolicy.org)
Sean Penn Turns His 65 Guns Into $1.4m Sculpture Due to Charlize Theron
14 January 2014
Canoe (Québec)
Sean Penn is putting down his pistols.
It's reported that a new relationship with South African actress Charlize Theron has prompted Sean Penn to surrender his weapons.
Penn — who some of us cannot look at without immediately thinking of Yosemite Sam — has declared that he has changed his mind about keeping guns at home and will have them turned into art. According to E!, the diminutive thespian has 65 guns; one can only hope that's a typo.
Penn famously fired on... (GunPolicy.org)
Five Recent Shooting Deaths in Namibia Linked to Failed Romances
8 January 2014
New Era (Namibia)
Keetmanshoop — Police Crime Investigations Coordinator in the //Karas Region, Deputy Commissioner Rudolf Isaaks, has called on people to seek counselling following failed relationships and not to resort to passion killing and suicide.
Isaaks' remarks come in the wake of a series of suicides and passion killings in the region over the festive season. Speaking to New Era, Isaaks says although very few crimes were reported in the region over the festive season, the... (GunPolicy.org)
Man Shoots and Kills Four, Self After Family Row in Philippines
1 January 2014
Arab News (Jeddah) / Agence France Presse
MANILA: A gun enthusiast held hostage three members of his family and their maid for 10 hours before killing them and committing suicide in the eastern Philippines, police said Wednesday.
Witnesses said Anthony Zepeda had argued with family members in their home in the town of Pili in Camarines Sur province on Tuesday, police said.
The confrontation later culminated in Zepeda taking hostage his father, brother, sister-in-law and the maid, provincial police chief... (GunPolicy.org)
Swedish Man Held Over Xmas Fatal Shooting of Father
27 December 2013
Local (Sweden)
Police in southern Sweden have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with the Christmas Eve shooting in Lund, and it has emerged the victim is the suspected gunman's father.
The fatal shots were fired late on Christmas Eve when a 57-year-old man was found wounded outside a student residence in the city. He was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
A man was arrested close to the crime scene shortly afterwards. He was questioned on Boxing Day on grounds... (GunPolicy.org)
South African Man Shoots, Kills Ex-Wife Then Self
18 December 2013
South Africa Press Association
JOHANNESBURG — Nicolette du Randt has died after being shot by her ex-husband, the musician Zirk Bergh, last week, the office of North West premier Thandi Modise said on Wednesday.
Du Randt died at the Garden City Clinic, in Johannesburg, on Monday, Modise's office said in a statement.
Bergh also shot Du Randt's new husband Dr Charl du Randt and his 23-year-old social worker Deon Kondos before turning the gun on himself.
Charl Du Randt, Bergh and Kondos died on... (GunPolicy.org)
Teen Hunter Accidentally Shoots Father Dead, Kills Self in France
16 December 2013
National Post (Toronto)
France is in shock after a 14-year-old boy mistakenly shot his father dead while out hunting then turned the gun on himself in despair and committed suicide.
The father and son had been out hunting on Saturday afternoon in Sourribes in the Alpes-de-Haute Provence when the boy slipped on leaves, accidentally pulling the trigger, police said. The bullet struck his 42-year-old father in the legs.
The distraught teenager then called contacted a family member who alerted... (GunPolicy.org)
Women Twice as Likely to be Shot Dead by Partner Than by Stranger
13 December 2013
University of California / EurekAlert, Media release
SACRAMENTO, California — More intensive screening to identify firearm owners among individuals who are subject to domestic violence restraining orders, and streamlining processes to recover guns at the time those restraining orders are served could help enforce existing laws that prohibit these offenders from having firearms, a pilot study conducted by violence prevention experts at the University of California, Davis, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public... (GunPolicy.org)
Behind the Bloodshed - The Untold Story of America's Mass Killings
4 December 2013
USA Today, Web page
Since 2006, there have been more than 200 mass killings in the United States.
Well-known images from Newtown, Aurora and Virginia Tech capture the nation's attention, but similar bloody scenes happen with alarming frequency and much less scrutiny.
USA TODAY examined FBI data - which defines a mass killing as four or more victims - as well as local police records and media reports to understand mass killings in America.
They happen far more often than the government... (GunPolicy.org)
Report on Sandy Hook Mass Shooting Raises Questions
25 November 2013
Guardian (UK)
Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who convulsed America when he shot dead 20 young children and six of their adult carers at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut last December, was obsessed with mass murders in the run-up to his meticulously-planned attack and kept photocopies of newspaper articles on shootings of children dating back to 1891.
A 48-page summary of the official investigation into the tragedy in Newtown on 14 December 2012 has revealed new details about... (GunPolicy.org)
Girl Killed by Grandfather in Turkey as He Cleaned Pistol
13 October 2013
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
A young girl was accidentally killed by her grandfather while he was cleaning his pistol in the western province of Bursa on Saturday, adding to a soaring number of similar incidents which are raising the issue of effective gun control amid increasing fatalities.
The recent deadly incident took place in İnegöl, a district of Bursa, at around 9:00 p.m. when Satı Örs, 7, was accidentally shot by her grandfather while he was cleaning his pistol.
To save her father... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: What Happened to Gun Control in Pakistan?
11 October 2013
Express Tribune (Pakistan), Blog
Earlier this week in Lahore, a 10-year-old boy shot his mother with a 12 bore gun. This boy wasn't waging a jihad against drone strikes or attempting to rise against the status quo. He shot his mother because the reason was simple: our gun control laws are weak.
Access to guns is easy.
In Pakistan, out of every 100 people, 11 people have guns. In a country where rule of law is supposed to be a part of the constitution, bearing guns is what has resulted in tribal... (GunPolicy.org)
Two Dead, One Injured After Swiss Farm Family Shooting
7 October 2013
Local (Switzerland)
A 60-year-old Swiss farmer suspected of shooting a 44-year-old woman dead and injuring his brother with a revolver in the canton of Lucerne died on Monday after apparently turning the firearm on himself.
The shootings occurred on Sunday at 6pm on the man's farm in the rural village of Luthern, west of the city of Lucerne, cantonal police said.
The man opened fire on the woman and his brother in a shed, where they were milking cows, before pulling the trigger on... (GunPolicy.org)
Namibian Man Accidentally Shoots and Kills Son, Allegedly While Drunk
30 September 2013
New Era (Namibia)
WALVIS BAY — An-eight-year-old boy was reportedly shot and killed by his father on Saturday in Walvis Bay, while he lay sleeping.
The incident occurred early on Saturday morning in Kuisebmund during a house party at the family home. Namibian Police (Nampol) acting Crime Investigations Coordinator in the Erongo Region Inspector Erastus Iikuyu yesterday confirmed the incident during a routine crime briefing. "According to the information we gathered the suspect was... (GunPolicy.org)
Family Kills Itself Over Money – 4 Dead, 91yr-old Survives US Shootout
29 September 2013
Daily Mail (UK)
A long-running feud in a Pennsylvania family ended in violence after a woman and her husband broke into her parents' home and killed her mother and brother - before the two were shot dead by the woman's own father, police have revealed today.
The horrific violence Friday night that left four dead and only one survivor in the house in rural Ashville, Pennsylvania, may have been sparked over lingering resentment over inheritance, a family member revealed exclusively to... (GunPolicy.org)
Children and Guns: The Hidden Toll of Unintentional Shootings in the US
28 September 2013
New York Times
The .45-caliber pistol that killed Lucas Heagren, 3, on Memorial Day last year at his Ohio home had been temporarily hidden under the couch by his father. But Lucas found it and shot himself through the right eye. "It's bad," his mother told the 911 dispatcher. "It's really bad."
A few days later in Georgia, Cassie Culpepper, 11, was riding in the back of a pickup with her 12-year-old brother and two other children. Her brother started playing with a pistol his father... (GunPolicy.org)
Father Shoots Daughter Dead While Cleaning Gun in Turkey
11 September 2013
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
A father shot and killed his daughter while he was cleaning his gun in Zonguldak late on Tuesday, according to reports.
The incident took place in the Tepebaşı neighborhood in Zonguldak. Ayhan Ercan, a father of two, said he accidentally fired his gun while he was putting it on the table after cleaning it. The bullet hit his daughter in the face.
The girl was then rushed to the hospital, where she died despite attempts to save her.
Reports speculated that Ercan... (GunPolicy.org)
South African Girl of Seven 'Shoots Friend Dead'
26 August 2013
BBC News
A seven-year-old South African girl has shot dead her friend, aged six, with her grandfather's revolver while playing at a farm, police say.
A murder case has been opened after the dead girl, a daughter of a farm worker, was shot in the face, reports say.
The alleged killer's grandfather has been charged with failure to safeguard a firearm, police added.
South Africa has tight gun ownership regulations but many people still possess firearms.
'Great shock'
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Man Dies, Injures Wife in Swiss Toy Store Shooting
20 August 2013
Local (Switzerland)
A domestic dispute in a Toys'R'Us store in the canton of Zurich turned deadly on Tuesday when a 28-year-old man used a handgun to shoot his 24-year-old wife before pulling the trigger on himself.
The incident occurred around 1pm in an underground parking area at the store in Dietlikon, a municipality northeast of the city of Zurich, cantonal police said.
The woman, a Swiss citizen, was taken to by ambulance hospital with serious gunshot wounds.
Her husband, an ethnic... (GunPolicy.org)
German Police Hunt Man Suspected of Shooting Wife and Daughter
15 August 2013
Local (Germany)
Police launched a nationwide man hunt on Wednesday night for a fugitive who is suspected of killing his daughter and shooting his wife.
The father-of-three is wanted for shooting his 19-year-old daughter and leaving his wife with life-threatening injuries in the attack in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia.
A police spokesman told The Local that the man had been known to officers for years. He added that they had been called out to his house to reports of domestic... (GunPolicy.org)
Swiss Man Shoots, Kills Brother Over Inheritance
14 August 2013
Local (Switzerland)
A 48-year-old Swiss man admits to shooting and killing his brother during a property dispute on Tuesday at the family's estate in the canton of Solothurn.
The incident occurred at around 8pm at a home in Büsserach, a town of about 2,000 people, after a dispute that led to the attacker pulling out a hunting rifle to shoot his 55-year-old brother, cantonal police said.
The victim was seriously wounded in the incident that involved a dispute between the two men and... (GunPolicy.org)
Turkish Groom Kills Nephew at Wedding with Celebratory Gunfire
12 August 2013
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
Sixteen-year-old Onur Yılmaz died after being hit by a stray bullet fired by his uncle at his uncle's wedding ceremony in Çorum, Turkish media reported on Monday.
The incident took place in Aşdavul village, in Çorum's Ortaköy district, at the wedding of Osman Yılmaz and Oya Çelik. Yılmaz fired celebratory rounds of gunfire and a bullet hit and seriously injured his teenage nephew.
Onur Yılmaz was taken to Ortaköy State Hospital and later transferred to Hitit... (GunPolicy.org)
Brazil Shocked as 'Sweet Child' Apparently Murders His Own Family
7 August 2013
Guardian (UK)
São Paulo police have said that Marcelo Pesseghini was a "sweet child". They are mystified as to why on Sunday evening the 13-year-old pupil seemingly murdered his police officer parents, his grandmother and his aunt before shooting himself.
Three of the victims were apparently sleeping in the family home in Brasilândia, north São Paulo, when they were killed. The body of his mother, Andreia, 36, was found slumped on her knees beside a bed, her arms covering her... (GunPolicy.org)
Domestic Abusers Facing Gun Ban in UK
31 July 2013
BBC News
People with a history of domestic violence should be prevented from having guns, says the Home Office.
Police in England, Wales and Scotland should review a person's suitability to keep firearms after every domestic violence incident, ministers say.
Police have also been told to ask family members confidentially if they have concerns about an applicant.
The change comes after a man from County Durham shot three members of his family and then himself in... (GunPolicy.org)
Italian Cop Shoots Wife Then Commits Suicide
21 June 2013
Local (Italy)
A policeman in southern Italy used his service gun to kill his wife before committing suicide, local media reported on Friday.
Louis Chiumiento, 44, shot 41-year-old Raffaella Ranauro in her car in the southern city of Benevento earlier today, local newspaper il Quaderno reported.
Chiumiento then shot himself in the head, the newspaper said.
The incident happened in a busy area of the city during lunchtime and so there were numerous witnesses.
Chiumiento's... (GunPolicy.org)
Two Killed in Family Dispute in Southeastern Turkey
21 June 2013
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
Two brothers were killed as a result of a family dispute in the southeastern province of Gaziantep on Thursday.
The incident began when Bahattin C. came across his brother-in-law, Mikail C., near Bahattin's house. Bahattin C. pulled out his gun and shot Mikail C. after a fight erupted between the two men. Mikail's brother Nedim C. was also shot while trying to separate the two.
The two brothers were severely injured at the scene of the incident, and a child on the... (GunPolicy.org)
Indian Police Seize Licensed and Illegal Guns Ahead of Election
20 June 2013
Deccan Chronicle (India)
Anantapur - Police have been concentrating on seizing licensed weapons from leaders of all political parties in the wake of the upcoming local body elections, in the wake of several incidents of misuse of licensed weapons in faction feuds.
Recently, a YSR Congress party leader was attacked by his rivals of the same party in Pulivendula Assembly constituency and two assailants were gunned down in retaliation last month. Police found that the assailants had used a... (GunPolicy.org)
Finnish Man Shoots, Kills Wife then Self After Allegedly Stalking Her
16 June 2013
YLE (Finland)
Police have sketched out a clearer picture of events leading up to an apparent murder-suicide that took place at Helsinki's west harbour Saturday afternoon. Officers interviewed eye witnesses as well as relatives of the Finnish-Estonian couple.
Helsinki police say that they have for the most part been able to piece together a narrative of events preceding a deadly shooting incident at Helsinki's west harbour Saturday, in which a Finnish man shot and killed his Estonian... (GunPolicy.org)
Five Dead After Shooting at US Home, College Campus
8 June 2013
BBC News
At least five people are dead and several others injured after a gun rampage in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, police say.
The attack began at a house and ended on a college campus where police say they shot the gunman in the library.
Police initially put the death toll at six, but later revised it to five people dead, including the shooter.
The gunman was in his late 20s and had been carrying an assault-style rifle, say witnesses.
President Barack... (GunPolicy.org)
South African Man Denies Fatal Shooting of Former Girlfriend
15 May 2013
News24 (Cape Town) / The Witness
PIETERMARITZBURG - A KwaZulu-Natal man charged with murdering the mother of his child after she had obtained a protection order against him has denied killing her.
Thembinkosi Sibiya, 27, is charged with shooting Gugu Anette Ndlela in the head on 3 November 2011, when he also allegedly tried to shoot Ntuthuko Nxasana, the man he believed she was in a relationship with.
He pleaded not guilty before acting judge Sibusiso Mngomezulu in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court on... (GunPolicy.org)
Israeli Police asks Public to Hand in Illegal Guns After Rise in Murder Rate
13 May 2013
Times of Israel
Following a recent surge in gun murders in Israel, Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich has called on citizens to hand illegally held guns to police without facing criminal charges. The public will be able to turn the munitions at police stations throughout the country for a month, starting Wednesday.
The law calls for a maximum penalty of seven years in jail for someone caught in possession of an unlicensed firearm. Police sources told Ma'ariv they expected... (GunPolicy.org)
Russian Boy Unintentionally Kills Brother with Unregistered Gun
12 May 2013
Reuters
A 7-year-old Russian boy told investigators he had shot and killed his 4-year-old brother by accident with their grandfather's rifle on Sunday, law enforcement authorities said.
The boy said he and his brother had found the gun under a bed in their grandparents' house in the Siberian town of Bukachacha and were playing with it on the porch while the adults slept, the federal Investigative Committee said.
The boy said he accidentally pulled the trigger while trying to... (GunPolicy.org)
German Man Kills Wife Then Shoots, Injures 3 Neighbours
10 May 2013
Local (Germany)
German police are picking through the remnants of a blood bath after a man shot dead his wife, and then roamed the neighbourhood ringing door bells and shooting people who answered. He then shot himself and is in a coma.
Aachen public prosecutor Robert Deller said on Thursday that the man turned his gun on himself before the police could arrest him.
The 63-year-old man from the town of Langerwehe in North Rhine-Westphalia shot dead his 64-year-old wife with a... (GunPolicy.org)
Opinion: Why Real Guns That Look Like Toys Should be Banned
9 May 2013
Washington Post, Opinion
CHICAGO — Two summers ago, my husband and I took our sons to a shooting range for multiple days of firearms training with a certified instructor. Our logic was simple: In our low-income community with lots of gang activity, it was laughable to imagine that our boys wouldn't someday find themselves in a situation where a pal had brought a gun to school or asked them to come see his parents' gun.
Did we want them to clumsily handle a deadly weapon — seduced by the... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Indian Gun Owner Shoots Son in Dispute
7 May 2013
Times of India
LUCKNOW - A man shot at his son in Alambagh area on Monday morning, reportedly after a heated argument. The injured youth was rushed to the Trauma Centre by family members for treatment and was under observation till late Monday night.
Surjeet Singh, an ex-defence personnel, was arrested by police and the licensed revolver with which he shot his 36-year-old son Jaspal recovered from his possession, said Shreekant Prasad, the sub-inspector who made the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Girl's Death by Gunshot is Rejected as Symbol
5 May 2013
New York Times
BURKESVILLE, Kentucky — Last Monday, Kristian Sparks and his sister, Caroline, visited a Fred's Super Dollar store here. A store manager recalled that it was an ordinary shopping trip, saying that the boy was outgoing and energetic, his little sister was cute and their grandmother was "like any grandmother — she bought them anything they wanted."
The next day Kristian, 5, shot and killed his 2-year-old sister with a gun marketed for children as "My First Rifle" in... (GunPolicy.org)
Drunk Kosovo Man Shoots, Kills Wife After Divorce Request
1 May 2013
Croatian Times
A Kosovan man who shot his Swiss wife dead at the bus stop when she refused to consider changing her mind about divorcing him - and then went for a beer at a local pub - has claimed her death was her own fault.
Afrim Mujaj, 45, then sat calmly watching as ambulances sped by in a bid to try and save the life of his 35-year-old wife Mirvete in Riniken, Switzerland. And as emergency services tried in vain to keep her alive - the court heard he bought rounds of drinks for... (GunPolicy.org)
Swedish Police Shoot Drunk Gun-Toting Man
27 April 2013
Local (Sweden)
A drunk man was shot in the foot by police in Umeå in northern Sweden on Friday night after he pointed a pistol at them in an attempt to evade arrest.
"They determined that they were faced with a deadly threat," said Benny Ahlenius at Umeå police.
Police were called to an address in the Umedalen area of the city on Friday night following a report that a man had assaulted and threatened his wife.
When the police unit arrived the apparently drunk man pointed a gun at... (GunPolicy.org)
Questions Over Gun Ownership Rates in Israel as Gun Crime, Theft Rises
26 April 2013
Ha'aretz (Tel Aviv)
A 36-year-old mother of four was killed Tuesday by a gunshot in the Galilee village of Rama. Preliminary evidence shows she was killed while her husband, a career soldier in the Israeli army, who possesses a registered weapon as part of his duties, was cleaning his weapon. The loaded firearm apparently discharged a bullet by accident, hitting the woman.
This incident raises – yet again – the question of whether there is a need for all members of the Israeli armed... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Gun Owner Used Legal Gun to Kill 14 in Serbian Mass Shooting
11 April 2013
Guardian (UK)
The Serbian veteran suspected of killing 13 people in a shooting rampage and then turning the gun on himself and his wife died on Thursday, hospital officials have said.
Belgrade Emergency hospital said Ljubisa Bogdanovic, 60, died from head wounds. His wife Javorka Bogdanovic, also 60, was recovering from surgery and in a stable condition.
Bogdanovic went on a pre-dawn house-to-house rampage on Tuesday, police said, killing his mother, his son and a two-year-old... (GunPolicy.org)
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Some 437,000 People Murdered Worldwide in 2012 - UNODC Study
10 April 2013
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Media release
VIENNA - Almost half a million people (437,000) across the world lost their lives in 2012 as a result of intentional homicide, according to a new study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Launching the Global Study on Homicide 2013 in London today, Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, said: "Too many lives are being tragically cut short, too many families and communities left shattered. There is an urgent need to... (GunPolicy.org)
England & Wales,United States,Serbia
Motives Unclear in Serbian Gunman's Rampage, Law Change Demanded
10 April 2013
Montreal Gazette (Québec) / Associated Press
Serbia held a national day of mourning Wednesday as police searched for possible motives in the Balkan nation's worst peacetime shooting massacre, which left 13 villagers dead and triggered demands for tighter gun-control laws.
Police say a 60-year-old veteran went on a pre-dawn, house-to-house rampage Tuesday in a village near Belgrade, including killing his mother, his son and a two-year-old cousin before shooting himself and his wife. The two are in critical... (GunPolicy.org)
Serbia,Montenegro,Bosnia & Herzegovina,Kosovo,Slovenia,Croatia,Macedonia,United States,England & Wales,Yemen
Citizens in Former Yugoslavia 'Traumatised and Heavily Armed'
10 April 2013
Washington Post
SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — The wars from 1991 to 1999 as Yugoslavia broke up took up to 200,000 lives, turned millions into refugees and left much of the region's people traumatized and heavily armed. It was the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II.
The millions of weapons that remained in possession of civilians after the fighting have caused fatalities every week, as traumatized former soldiers either shoot family members or commit suicide or... (GunPolicy.org)
War-Affected Serbian Man Kills 13, Injures Self and Wife in Mass Shooting
9 April 2013
CTV News (Toronto) / Associated Press
He went from house to house in the village at dawn, cold-bloodedly gunning down his mother, his son, a 2-year-old cousin and 10 other neighbours. Terrified residents said if a police patrol car hadn't shown up, they all would have been dead.
Police said they knew of no motive yet in the carnage Tuesday that left six men, six women and a child dead in Velika Ivanca, a Serbian village 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of Belgrade.
After the rampage, police said suspect... (GunPolicy.org)
Legally-Owned Guns Weapons of Choice in Domestics in Canada
5 April 2013
Ottawa Sun (Ontario)
Police say it's nearly impossible to prevent domestic-related murders like the one that rocked a Gatineau daycare Friday morning.
Hunting shotguns similar to the gun used in Friday's incident can be legally owned but police no longer know who they belong to.
"Since the long gun registry was abolished, there's absolutely no way now for law enforcement to know who owns or possesses long guns," said Ottawa police weapons expert Det. Chris O'Brien.
Most often, it's women... (GunPolicy.org)
South African Women Remain at Risk of Homicide by Their Partners
2 April 2013
News24 (Cape Town)
JOHANNESBURG - There has been no significant decrease in the rate of South African women murdered by their partners, the Medical Research Council of SA said on Tuesday.
"In South Africa, the murder of women by their partners remains a serious problem," senior researcher of the gender and health unit Naeemah Abrahams said in a statement.
According to a recent study led by Abrahams, the murder rate for women older than 14 was substantially lower in 2009 than in... (GunPolicy.org)
Austrian Pensioner Shoots and Kills Girlfriend, Self in Costa Rica
28 March 2013
Inside Costa Rica
An Austrian citizen in Guanacaste shot his partner twice before turning the gun on himself Tuesday night, according to the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ).
The murder-suicide occurred in the couple's home in Villa Margarita, 400 meters north of the main traffic lights in Liberia, Guanacaste, where the couple had lived for about five years.
The Judicial Police identified the man by the last name Ladstetter, 71, and his partner by the last name of Achio,... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Indian Gun Owner Kills Wife, Neighbour and Self in Spree
27 March 2013
Times of India
KANPUR - An enraged man went on a shooting spree gunning down a teenage youth in the neighbourhood and critically injuring his wife, before killing himself on Tuesday. The gruesome incident took place at Muradpur Nagariya village under the limits of Bhogaon police station in Mainpuri district.
"32-year-old, Prem Narain apparently first opened fire from his licensed firearm at his wife, Radha (28), then his neighbour, Vishal (18) and later killed himself," said circle... (GunPolicy.org)
New US Research Proves Guns in Homes are Health Hazard
25 March 2013
New York Daily News
According to a poll released this month by the Pew Research Center, nearly half of American gun owners report that their main reason for having a gun is protection; fewer than a third own a gun primarily for hunting. This is a striking change from 1999, when nearly half of gun owners kept firearms mainly for hunting and only about one quarter cited protection as their most important reason.
Pew's results might make sense if violent crime were surging. But it's not.... (GunPolicy.org)
Facts Show Guns Don't Offer Protection, Despite What the NRA Says
25 March 2013
Guardian (UK), Blog
"The one thing a violent rapist deserves is to face is a good woman with a gun!" That was Wayne LaPierre, executive director of the National Rifle Association, the standard bearers for America's gun lobby, making the case that personal firearms prevent rape.
The assertion that guns offer protection is a mantra the NRA has repeated often. In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting, LaPierre opined: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Law Heads to US Senate, Leader says Background Checks a 'Must'
21 March 2013
Reuters
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Thursday any gun-control bill that passes his chamber can only be effective if it includes universal background checks, an embattled centerpiece of President Barack Obama's bid to curb gun violence.
Reid voiced hope an elusive bipartisan compromise could soon be reached on requiring virtually all firearm purchasers to be screened for possible criminal and mental-health records.
Republicans have voiced concerns that a proposed... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Lobbies for Domestic Abusers and Drinking, Disturbed Gun Owners
20 March 2013
al Jazeera
The National Rifle Association's guns-at-all-costs mentality and total disregard for public safety has already put it in the uncomfortable position of opposing the most basic laws to protect the public safety. It opposes the regulations that would help stop disturbed young men from going on shooting sprees in schools with weapons that are as easy to fire as video game controllers. It opposes the international Arms Trade Treaty, which according to the Washington Post... (GunPolicy.org)
What's Worked, and What Hasn't, in Gun-Loving Switzerland
19 March 2013
NPR (USA)
Switzerland has an entrenched gun culture that is embraced by most of its 8 million citizens, some of them as young as 10 years old.
Every Swiss community has a shooting range, and depending on who is counting, the alpine country ranks third or fourth in the number of guns per capita.
"You can walk into a cafe in a town where there is a shooting festival and you'll see rifles hanging on the hat rack. It's just incredible. It's just proliferation all over the place,... (GunPolicy.org)
In US Around 88 People Die Every Day to Gun Violence
12 March 2013
Mother Jones (USA)
LF: What do you say to people who argue that these kinds of regulations don't work, that criminals will always find some way to get guns?
GW: All of the research evidence shows that increasing regulation of firearms—whether the firearms themselves, the people who are allowed to have them, or the conditions under which they are bought and sold—makes a difference. I think it can be hard to prove that any one law makes a difference because laws are enacted in groups,... (GunPolicy.org)
Of 200 US Mass Killings in 7 Years, Only 29 Involved Random Victims
12 March 2013
USA Today
Tuesday's arraignment of James Holmes, accused of mass murder in Colorado, was a rarity among massacre suspects.
Holmes, who was scheduled to enter a plea for the July 2012 murders of 12 patrons in a suburban Denver movie theater and the attempted murder of nearly 60 others, is just one of a handful of suspects to face legal proceedings in a case involving no prior connection to murder victims. Judge William Sylvester declined a request by Holmes' attorneys to delay... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Coroner Calls for Radical Overhaul of Gun Licensing
8 March 2013
Guardian (UK), Press Association (UK)
A coroner has called for radical overhaul of gun licensing at the conclusion of an inquest into a taxi driver who shot dead three members of his family before killing himself.
Andrew Tweddle described the current system as flawed, adding that it was fortuitous there had not been more incidents like the one in Horden, near Peterlee, County Durham, on New Year's Day 2012.
Michael Atherton, 42, killed his partner, Susan McGoldrick, 47, her sister, 44-year-old Alison... (GunPolicy.org)
Europe,China,Asia,Americas,Oceania,Kenya,Cuba,Côte d'Ivoire,Africa,Central America,Russia,United States
Women Explain Why an Arms Trade Treaty Can Save Many Lives
7 March 2013
Amnesty International (London), Media release
It is estimated at least half a million people are killed with guns every year and on average a further 200,000 men, women and children die as an indirect result of armed conflicts and violence that are frequently fuelled by the uncontrolled flow of small arms.
And for every person that is killed in an armed conflict, many more are injured and tortured, raped, abused, forcibly disappeared, taken hostage or displaced. Even more have their access to food, water, shelter,... (GunPolicy.org)
Switzerland Debates Gun Registration Law in Shootings' Aftermath
7 March 2013
Bloomberg Business Week
On a snowy late-February morning, a man walked into the cafeteria of a wood-processing plant in the Swiss village of Menznau and opened fire with a Sphinx AT .380 pistol. Four people died, including the gunman. Six others were wounded. It was Switzerland's second mass shooting in less than two months. In January a man with a history of mental illness fired a rifle from his window in the Alpine village of Daillon, killing three and injuring two. The shootings have... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Cop Illegally Sold Guns, Granted Licence for Killer With Abuse History
4 March 2013
BBC News
A police officer who illegally sold guns to the public played a part in granting a gun licence to a man who shot three members of his family.
Michael Atherton, 42, shot his partner Susan McGoldrick, Alison Turnbull, her daughter Tanya and then himself, in County Durham on New Year's Day 2012.
Former Durham PC Damien Cobain was convicted of misconduct in a public office in 2010 and left the force.
An inquest heard he was part of a team that dealt with Atherton's... (GunPolicy.org)
Comprehensive Study of Mass Shootings by US Gun Control Campaign
22 February 2013
Demand a Plan / Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Blog
Using new data from the FBI, Mayors Against Illegal Guns updated its comprehensive study of mass shootings. The 25 percent increase in incidents — to a total of 56 over the last four years, more than one per month — strengthens its conclusions about where mass shootings occur, what weapons are used, and what other factors are at play:
- Less than 1% of gun murder victims were killed as part of incidents with four or more victims.
- In at least 57 percent of the... (GunPolicy.org)
New Australian Data Shows Most Gun, Knife Victims Know Killer
22 February 2013
Age (Melbourne)
Slain Victorians are four times more likely to have been killed as a result of domestic violence or by an acquaintance than under other circumstances, research from the Australian Institute of Criminology has revealed.
Knives and other sharp objects are the most often used weapons, with most offenders in domestic homicides being men who have killed female partners.
The findings have renewed calls for the Baillieu government to reinstate the $250,000 funding needed for... (GunPolicy.org)
South Africa Athlete Case Shows Risk of Having Guns at Home
18 February 2013
Guardian (UK)
There is a rule in screenwriting that if you introduce a gun into a scene, at some point you must use it. The rule applies to real life too. That's how Reeva Steenkamp lost her life. A gun appeared in her story, and she got shot dead. Regardless of the circumstances, when guns are near people, they kill people.
I know the gun fraternity will say that it was Oscar Pistorius who pulled the trigger, and not the rest of the gun community out there. But that's what... (GunPolicy.org)
How Strict Are South African Gun Laws?
15 February 2013
Time (USA)
The paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been charged with murder by a South African court following the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, from gunshot wounds at his home within a gated Pretoria housing estate. The woman sustained wounds to her head and the upper body, and was reported to have been shot four times. A 9mm pistol was recovered from the scene.
According to Gunpolicy.org, there are just under 6 million licensed firearms in South Africa, which has a... (GunPolicy.org)
South Africa Gun Culture in Spotlight After Athlete's Murder Charge
14 February 2013
Telegraph (UK), Video
About one citizen in every 20 owns a registered firearm and millions more weapons circulate illegally. The gnawing fear of violent crime is such that most houses are surrounded by walls and barbed wire, often electrified to deter intruders.
The wealthier neighbourhoods of Pretoria and Johannesburg are patrolled by armed guards from private security firms, who can be summoned at the touch of a panic button.
Even so, many people opt to live – like Oscar Pistorius –... (GunPolicy.org)
Murder-Accused South African Athlete 'Enjoys' Target Shooting
14 February 2013
Guardian (UK), Video
Oscar Pistorius the Paralympic star and inspiration to millions around the world, was contemplating his future from a police cell on Thursday night after being charged with murdering his girlfriend.
In a drama that stunned South Africa and admirers abroad, Pistorius allegedly fired four bullets into Reeva Steenkamp's head, chest and arm at his home in the capital, Pretoria, in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The life of the glamorous athlete, known as the Blade... (GunPolicy.org)
Switzerland Guns: Living with Firearms the Swiss Way
11 February 2013
BBC News
Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, but little gun-related street crime - so some opponents of gun control hail it as a place where firearms play a positive role in society. However, Swiss gun culture is unique, and guns are more tightly regulated than many assume.
Throughout the attack, Anne Ithen kept her eyes shut.
"I didn't want to see it. I didn't want those images in my head for the rest of my life… but I remember... (GunPolicy.org)
Switzerland,United States,France,Yemen
Three Dead, Two Injured in Swiss Shooting
8 February 2013
Washington Post
DAILLON, Switzerland — On Jan. 3, the day Sandy Hook Elementary students returned to school in Newtown, Conn., Florian Berthouzoz leaned out his window and opened fire on this tranquil Swiss village with an old military carbine and a 12-gauge shotgun.
By the time he finished shooting, three women were killed, apparently at random, and two men were wounded. Berthouzoz was brought down by a police officer's bullet in the chest.
The shooting in Daillon, on a steep... (GunPolicy.org)
Fact-Check: Dispelling Pro-Gun Myths in America
31 January 2013
Mother Jones (USA)
By cutting off federal funding for research and stymieing data collection and sharing, the National Rifle Association has tried to do to the study of gun violence what climate deniers have done to the science of global warming. No wonder: When it comes to hard numbers, some of the gun lobby's favorite arguments are full of holes.
Myth #1: They're coming for your guns.
Fact-check: No one knows the exact number of guns in America, but it's clear there's no practical way... (GunPolicy.org)
Fijian in Court on Charges of Neglecting Gun Safety After Death
30 January 2013
Fiji Times
Pilot Mohammed Rizwan Khan has been refused bail by the Lautoka Magistrates Court for offences relating to the death of six-year old Mohammed Khubayb Salman Khan last weekend.
Appearing before Magistrate Sujeewa Nishanka, Mr Khan was charged with one count of failure to maintain arms in a safe and secure custody and one count of manslaughter by negligence or breach of duty.
While ruling on Mr Khan's bail application by his lawyer Vishal Pillay, Magistrate Nishanka... (GunPolicy.org)
Australian Gun Death Rate Falls After Gun Buyback, Law Change Says MP
15 January 2013
Sydney Morning Herald, Opinion
Since the 1997 gun buyback, your chance of being a victim of gun violence has more than halved. Yet as Monday's Herald pointed out, the number of guns in Australia has increased by nearly one-fifth over the same period. What's going on?
The simplest answer is that the population is a fifth larger than it was in 1997. In reality, Australia has about as many guns per person as we did after the gun buyback. The only way to conclude the gun buyback has been undone is to... (GunPolicy.org)
Gunman Critically Injures US Student as Authorities Debate Gun Control
11 January 2013
Reuters
A 16-year-old boy armed with a shotgun opened fire in a California high school classroom on Thursday, critically wounding a fellow student before two staff members talked him into surrendering the weapon, authorities said.
The accused gunman was arrested at Taft Union High School in inland Kern County following the shooting and investigators later said he felt he was being bullied by one or two students in the class, including the boy who was shot and seriously... (GunPolicy.org)
Guatemala,El Salvador,Venezuela,United States,Australia,Jamaica,Russia,Colombia
NRA 'Good Guys With Guns' Theory Already Disproved in Latin America
5 January 2013
New York Times
In the wake of the tragic shooting deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last month, the National Rifle Association proposed that the best way to protect schoolchildren was to place a guard — a "good guy with a gun" — in every school, part of a so-called National School Shield Emergency Response Program.
Indeed, the N.R.A.'s solution to the expansion of gun violence in America has been generally to advocate for the more widespread deployment and... (GunPolicy.org)
Swiss Fondness for Guns Under Scrutiny after Shooting Tragedy
5 January 2013
Sydney Morning Herald
As much as Americans, the Swiss love their guns, seeing them as integral to their national traditions of self-reliance, independence and international neutrality, with a trained and equipped citizen-army capable of deterring any foolish invader.
Many Swiss, after serving in the army, keep their service weapons at home, and the country has no national register for firearms. In February 2011, the Swiss handily rejected restrictions on gun ownership in a national... (GunPolicy.org)
8 Dead in Philippines Shooting, Unlicensed Guns Rife Say Police
4 January 2013
CBC News (Canada) / Associated Press
A man with domestic problems fatally shot eight people, including a pregnant woman and two children, after taking alcohol and drugs in a rampage Friday near the Philippine capital that ended when he was shot dead by police, officials said.
At least eight other people were wounded in Kawit township, about 16 kilometres south of Manila, Cavite provincial Gov. Jonvic Remulla said.
The violence happened days after the death of a 7-year-old girl who was hit in the head by... (GunPolicy.org)
9 US States Gave Millions in Tax Breaks to Support Assault Rifle Makers
2 January 2013
Pine Tree Watchdog (Maine)
Taxpayers across the country are subsidizing the manufacturers of assault rifles used in multiple mass killings, including the massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. last month.
A Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting examination of tax records shows that five companies that make semi-automatic rifles have received more than $19 million in tax breaks, most within with the past five years.
"I feel horrified at the power of... (GunPolicy.org)
Stop the Gun Madness in the US - Opinion
1 January 2013
Washington Post, Opinion
Guns do kill people. Our national New Year's resolution must be to stop the madness.
It is shameful that gun control only becomes worthy of public debate following an unspeakable massacre such as Newtown — and even more shameful that these mass killings occur so often. What usually happens is that we spend a few weeks pretending to have a "conversation" about guns, then the horror begins to fade and we turn to other issues. Everything goes back to normal.
"Normal,"... (GunPolicy.org)
Turkey NGO says Potential for Mass Shootings Due to Lack of Gun Control
23 December 2012
Today's Zaman (Istanbul)
As long as Turkey does not take action to put in place gun control measures, the country is likely to face mass shootings like the one that shook the United States in mid-December, killing 26 people, observers have said.
A 20-year-old man, Adam Peter Lanza, on Dec. 14 shot and killed his mother, Nancy Lanza, at their Newtown home before fatally shooting 20 children and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. He then took his own... (GunPolicy.org)
India's Growing Gun Culture, 40 Million Firearms 'A Concern'
20 December 2012
Gulf News (Dubai)
At about noon on November 17, Ponty Chadha, 55, a shady liquor baron, was gunned down outside his family farmhouse near New Delhi — by his brother, Hardeep Chadha, who was in turn was killed by the billionaire's guards. The feud centred on a property dispute. Things came to a head after Ponty asked his guards to deface the farmhouse board carrying Hardeep's name. When the younger brother got wind of this, he rushed to the spot and opened fire. Fifteen slugs were... (GunPolicy.org)
Security Guards Shoot Their Wives, so Israel Re-examines Gun Law
19 December 2012
YNet News (Tel Aviv)
State Comptroller Yosef Shapira is planning to conduct a special inquiry into Israel's gun control regulations following recent incidents involving security guards who murdered their wives – as well as the massacre of children in Newtown, Connecticut.
The inquiry will focus on the Ministry of Public Security, which is responsible for the supervision of firearm licensing and security companies authorized to posses weapons and hand them over to their employees.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
Without the Fear of Guns, Other Countries More Free than America
19 December 2012
ABC News (USA)
If there is one country that best represents the possibility of cutting gun crime by increasing gun control, it is Australia.
In 1996, 28-year-old Martin Bryant finished his lunch in a café in the seaside resort of Port Arthur and pulled out a semi-automatic rifle. In the first 15 seconds of his attack, he killed 12 and wounded 10. In all, he shot more than 50 people in six locations, killing 35. The worst mass shooting in Australia's history capped a violent decade... (GunPolicy.org)
United States,El Salvador,Brazil,Philippines,Jamaica,South Africa,Swaziland,Guatemala,Panama,Mexico,Colombia,Honduras
Top 12 Countries for Firearms Related Deaths
17 December 2012
Forbes (USA)
Few major nations have the right to bear arms configured in their Constitution. Even fewer (as in we are the only one) have gun control legislation as a hot button political issue. The U.S. is the most violent core economy in terms of gun related deaths. It is also the leader in gun violence at school campuses. Yet, the U.S. does not lead the world in firearms related deaths. Countries where gangs and drugs are a problem top the list, even where there is strict gun... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia's Gun Ownership Rate Rising Despite Shootings, Law Reform
17 December 2012
Sydney Morning Herald
Thirteen years after John Howard's historic gun reforms, a woman with a history of chronic paranoid schizophrenia walked out of the Sydney Pistol Club with one of its weapons, a .22 calibre Ruger semi-automatic pistol. Shamin Fernando, a probationary club member, used it to pump bullets into the head of her 70-year-old father, Vincent Lalin Fernando, in August 2010. He was her only target.
But gun control campaigners worry that there is nothing to stop a mass killer... (GunPolicy.org)
US Stings Show Need for Controls on Online Gun Sales, Family Sues Site
12 December 2012
Guardian (UK)
The family of a woman who was murdered last year by a stalker wielding a .40-caliber handgun bought illegally on the internet is suing the gun website through which the firearm was procured for allegedly causing the shooting.
The legal action against Armslist.com, a web listing site that specialises in firearms, is the first of its kind and opens up a new front in the ongoing battle to tighten America's loose gun controls. It was filed in an Illinois court on Wednesday... (GunPolicy.org)
India Struggling with Illegal Arms Trade, Rise in Gun-Related Crime
28 November 2012
Time (USA)
In a small tent, in a village about 60 miles outside the capital, Salim is putting the finishing touches on his gun. Despite the bright sun outside, the shelter is dark and Salim, who uses only one name, has to bend close to see the homemade pistol he's been working on for the last hour. Salim, 50, makes pistols and rifles in his clandestine workshop in Jhola, in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where many villagers work in India's illegal gun making trade. Low... (GunPolicy.org)
Namibia Authorities Worried Over Rising Armed Domestic Violence Rates
28 November 2012
New Era (Namibia)
OSHIKANGO — Crimes of passion are among the top offences committed in the country and they are a serious cause for concern, says police Inspector-General Sebastian Ndeitunga.
Lieutenant-General Ndeitunga made this observation during the inauguration of a new police station at Oshikango on Monday. A total of 31 men from several regions across the country have been arrested between January and November for murdering at least 32 women after their love relations hit the... (GunPolicy.org)
Australia Plans New Gun Laws, Hotline to Combat Illegal Gun Availability
25 November 2012
Sunday Telegraph (Sydney)
A new national campaign targeting gun-toting criminals will be launched encouraging people to phone-in anonymous tip-offs about illegal guns.
The initiative, run by Crime Stoppers, will start next year. It is hoped the move will encourage people, who may be reluctant to speak to police, to come forward with information. The Australian Crime Commission has confirmed there are at least 250,000 illegal guns on the black market.
It's suspected most have been stolen from... (GunPolicy.org)
South Africa Women Face Higher Risk of Violent Death with Gun in Home
22 November 2012
South Africa Government News Agency (Tshwane)
PRETORIA — Women are three times more likely to die violently if there is a gun in the house, Minister for Women, Children and People with Disabilities Lulu Xingwana said on Thursday.
"Domestic violence becomes even more deadly when guns, legal or illegal, are present in the home because they can be used to threaten, injure or kill women and children," Xingwana said.
This is according to the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) Women's Network.
The... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Authorities Condemn Decision to Give Killer Licence, Guns Back
19 November 2012
Guardian (UK)
A man who shot dead three women had been allowed to keep his guns by police despite complaints of domestic violence and then threatening to shoot himself, according to a report seen by the BBC.
Michael Atherton, 42, killed his 47-year-old partner Susan McGoldrick, her sister Alison Turnbull, 44, and her niece Tanya Turnbull, 24, before taking his own life on New Year's Day. The four bodies were found in Horden, near Peterlee, County Durham.
The BBC's Inside Out North... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Anti-Guns Campaigner Killed by Grandson
5 November 2012
Guardian (UK)
The anti-guns campaigner Pat Regan, two of whose six sons were shot in gang violence, was stabbed to death by a mentally ill grandson, an inquest has heard.
Rakeim Regan, who was 21 at the time of the attack, in Leeds in May 2008, suffered delusions that his grandmother, whom he had idolised, was "conspiring with police to get him", the city's coroners court was told.
He was diagnosed with severe paranoid schizophrenia after the tragedy, in which he stabbed Regan, 53,... (GunPolicy.org)
Kosovar Man Admits Shooting Brother-in-Law, Authorities Seize Gun
1 November 2012
Local (Switzerland)
Cooperation between Vaud and Neuchâtel cantonal police forces led to the arrest on Thursday of a Kosovar man suspected of murdering his brother-in-law in a Lausanne suburb earlier this week.
The 27-year-old-man was arrested in La Chaux-de-Fonds at 1.30am following an investigation by the two forces, Vaud police said.
The dead body of a 29-year-old Swiss man of Kosovar origin was found on Monday with bullet wounds in a garage in Chavannes-près-Renens, west of... (GunPolicy.org)
Kenya Police Officer Shoots Wife, Kills Daughter and Self
29 October 2012
Capital FM (Nairobi)
NAIROBI — A police officer shot and killed his 23-year-old daughter in Kakamega and wounded his wife before killing himself on Monday morning.
The officer had just collected his AK 47 rifle from the armoury at 7.30am in readiness to go supervise the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations when he suddenly went back to his house and found his daughter in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
"As soon as he collected the rifle, he was supposed... (GunPolicy.org)
8-Year-Old Samoan Boy Accidentally Shoots, Kills 5-Year-Old Cousin
29 October 2012
Stuff (New Zealand)
The Kiwi father of a 5-year-old boy shot dead by his 8-year-old cousin has flown to Samoa to be with the child's body.
James May was visiting the village of Samamea, 44km from the capital Apia, with his family when he, his cousin and uncle went into the woods to shoot pigeons and collect coconuts on Wednesday, Samoa's Weekend Observer reported.
James was shot in the face and killed.
The shooting happened when the uncle reportedly put the loaded gun down briefly while... (GunPolicy.org)
Teen Accidentally Shot Dead by Brother in France
16 October 2012
Local (France)
A teenage boy has died after his brother accidentally shot him in the head with a handgun in the town of Metz, north east France.
The police were called out to a fourth-floor family apartment in the town just after midnight last night, newspaper Le Parisien reports.
A 17-year-old boy was found shot in the living room, but his brother was missing.
It is thought the boys stayed up late after the rest of their family had gone to bed, and were playing with a 9mm... (GunPolicy.org)
Samoa Considers Gun Amnesty After Recent Shooting Deaths
15 October 2012
Radio New Zealand International (Shortwave)
Samoa's Ministry of Police is considering calling a gun amnesty following concerns over the increasing number of unlicensed and illegal firearms in the community.
The assistant police commissioner, Leaupepe Fatu Pula, says it's not only the public who are worried but police officers have also raised their concerns.
He says guns were found at a recent police drug raid, and a gun was used recently to kill a local taxi driver.
He also says police are investigating the... (GunPolicy.org)
Punjab Women Take Up Guns to Shoot Criminals, Rebels, 'Spoiled Brats'
1 September 2012
Tribune (India)
CHANDIGARH - Septuagenarian Amrik Kaur of Amarkot, a recipient of the Shaurya Chakra, a top civilian gallantry award, wants arms licences for both her daughters-in-law to carry forward the family tradition of keeping its women armed.
Amrik Kaur — once known as the "lioness of the border areas" — used to engage militants in night-long encounters during the peak of militancy in Punjab. Though she lost her husband Shahbeg Singh and domestic help Mukhtyar Singh in one... (GunPolicy.org)
Finland MP Calls for Law Review After Two Children Shot Dead
29 August 2012
Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)
Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen (Christ. Dem.) called for tighter legislation on gun safety on Sunday.
She voiced her views to Helsingin Sanomat after two shocking incidents at the weekend in the North Savo region, in which two children were killed by accidental gunfire.
The first tragedy took place on Friday night when two brothers, aged five and eight, found a gun in their house.
The loaded firearm went off and hit the five-year-old in the head. He... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Law Change Lowers 'Femicide' Rate in South Africa But Work Needed
22 August 2012
Money Web (South Africa)
One to two women killed are killed by their husbands, boyfriends or partners.
Most South African women are killed by their husbands, boyfriends or same sex partners, a Medical Research Council (MRC) study has found.
"In South Africa every one to two women killed are killed by her partner," said MRC gender and health researcher Naeemah Abrahams on Tuesday.
The study, giving comparative figures of 1999 and 2009, indicated an overall decrease in female homicides as well... (GunPolicy.org)
German Police Hunt Father After Family Shot Dead
21 August 2012
Local (Germany)
German police are hunting the husband of a woman who was found with their two children, all three shot dead, at their home near Düsseldorf on Monday night.
Police were called to the flat in Neuss by a neighbour who said there was music playing inside, but no-one answered the door when she rang.
Officers who entered the flat found the bodies of a four-year-old boy, his eight-year-old sister and their 26-year-old mother. There was no trace of the father.
All three... (GunPolicy.org)
UK Remembers Hungerford Mass Shooting, 25 Years On
18 August 2012
BBC News
"People just want to forget about it, but they can't," says Bryan Geater, whose daughter was nearly killed by gunman Michael Ryan 25 years ago.
Say the name Hungerford and most people will associate the town with the events of Wednesday, 19 August, 1987.
That summer afternoon Ryan, a 27-year-old unemployed labourer, killed 16 people, injured 15 more and then turned the gun on himself to end a six-hour shooting spree.
He changed the lives of residents in the west... (GunPolicy.org)
UK NRA Boss Calls US NRA Fanatical: LaPierre 'Made Me Physically Ill'
9 August 2012
Telegraph (UK)
On the rainy summer's morning that I arrive at Bisley, a sprawling collection of colonial buildings and rifle ranges set in 3,000 acres of Surrey heathland, news is breaking about a policeman who has been shot dead in Essex. An unfortunate coincidence, this, given that I've come here not to write about gun crime but to meet some typical – that is to say, non-deranged – gun owners.
In a clubhouse which has silver trophies in display cabinets and sepia photographs of... (GunPolicy.org)
South Africa Cop Kills Wife, Self After Court Overturns Gun Order
7 August 2012
Sowetan Live
A month after a court dismissed a protection order that prevented him from carrying a gun, a Mpumalanga cop has shot dead his wife and then himself.
Distraught family members of Nelisiwe Nkomo, 21, of Kwaggafontein outside KwaMhlanga, said the justice system had failed to protect their daughter from her abusive husband, Witbank policeman Themba Nkosi
Nkomo's father, Daniel Nkomo, said: "Clearly my daughter was killed by the justice system. If the court had granted her... (GunPolicy.org)
Tampering With Guns Results in Hundreds of Casualties in Yemen
2 August 2012
Yemen Observer
Abdulkhaleq, 8-year-old child, was killed last Wednesday when he was tampering with Russian-made pistol in his district of al-Qaflah, Amran governorate. According to the police, the bullet lodged in his head and died on the spot.
In another accident, an 8-year-old child killed his father during his tampering with a machine gun in his home in Sabwah governorate.
According to the Ministry of Interior, the bullet launched from his fathers' gun that the child was playing... (GunPolicy.org)
Swedish Man Shoots Self After Shooting At Family, Police Chase
27 July 2012
Local (Sweden)
A man who shot at his wife and her daughter, set alight to the family home and then fled from police in western Sweden on Friday morning, finally turned his hunting rifle on himself is now in hospital recovering from gun shot wounds.
"It is a family-related incident," said press spokesman Thomas Fuxborg to daily Dagens Nyheter (DN) on Friday morning.
Police received a call at 3.23am that a man in his sixties had fired shots against his wife and her adult daughter,... (GunPolicy.org)
French Man Kills Father, Brother in Shooting Spree
27 July 2012
Local (France)
A 23-year-old man killed his father and 8-year-old brother, and left his 17-year-old brother in a coma after a shooting spree in the village of Bozel in Savoie in eastern France.
The shootings took place late Thursday afternoon at the family home in the quiet Alpine village.
The teenager was hit in the head and was transported in a coma to hospital in Grenoble, according to the Le Parisien newspaper.
The man's mother, who was also subjected to an attack, managed to... (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)
Rate of Homicide Using Unlicensed Guns Rises in Maharashtra, India
23 July 2012
Times of India
The police in Maharashtra seem to have another growing problem on their hands. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the number of murders with unlicensed firearms increased in the state every year by more than 30% since 2009.
An NCRB report showed that 37 people were killed in Maharashtra in 2009 with unlicensed firearms. The next year, the figure rose by 32% to 49. And the year after that, it reached 67, a rise of 37%. Altogether, from 2007 and 2011, more... (GunPolicy.org)
Australian Gun Club Blames Fatal Shooting on Police, Loses Licence
16 July 2012
Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Pistol Club, from which a mentally ill woman took a pistol she used to kill her father, has failed to have its sport shooting licence reinstated amid concerns it has not acknowledged responsibility for its role in the incident.
The club had instead unfairly tried to shift responsibility to the Firearms Registry, the Administrative Decisions Tribunal found. The tribunal could not be satisfied the club would ensure the safety of its firearms.
Shamin Fernando,... (GunPolicy.org)
Over 2 Million Lawfully Held Guns in Italy, But a Very Soft Law [IT]
29 June 2012
La Stampa (Italy)
[Translated summary: Yesterday in Giugliano, Naples, a three-year-old child found a gun in his house and accidentally shot himself to death. An analogous fact took place in Catania on June 18 and caused the death of a fifteen-year-old. But how many weapons are in circulation in Italian homes? The exact number has never been released by the Interior Ministry, but it is estimated that there are over 2 million lawfully held guns.]
ROMA - Ieri a Giugliano (Napoli) un... (GunPolicy.org)
Domestic Violence Now Predictable, Most Deaths in Arizona Involve Guns
10 June 2012
USA Today
PHOENIX – Pamela Blaies handed her daughter a pamphlet on domestic violence, opening it in her hands to point out specific signs of an abusive relationship.
"Look at this. Look at all this. See this? This is you," Pamela told 28-year-old Amanda Blaies-Rinaldi.
"… your partner controls everything.
"… your partner calls you names or yells at you.
"… your partner shoves, pinches, hits, punches, kicks or otherwise hurts you.
"… your partner destroys your... (GunPolicy.org)
Puerto Rico Police Support to Citizens Using Guns for Defence Raises Concern [ES]
7 June 2012
La Prensa / EFE News Agency
[Translated summary: Amnesty International in Puerto Rico raises concern on the possible consequences of the explicit support of the police superintendent to citizens using firearms for self-defence.]
SAN JUAN - Amnistía Internacional (AI) Sección de Puerto Rico expresó hoy a través de un comunicado su preocupación ante las posibles consecuencias del apoyo explícito del jefe de la Policía de la isla, Héctor Pesquera, a que la ciudadanía utilice armas de fuego... (GunPolicy.org)
Report Details Arizona Mass Shooting: Neo-Nazi Shot 4 in the Head
29 May 2012
Seattle Times / AP
GILBERT, Ariz. — All four people killed by a former neo-Nazi before he turned the gun on himself this month in a quiet Phoenix suburb were shot in the head, according to a police report released Tuesday that paints the clearest picture yet of the gruesome crime scene.
Various Gilbert police officers and detectives wrote about what they saw at the home where they believe Jason Todd "JT" Ready, 39, shot and killed his girlfriend and three others, including a toddler,... (GunPolicy.org)
In Turkey, Debating a Woman's Right to Have a Gun in Domestic Violence
19 May 2012
National Public Radio (USA)
In Turkey, hundreds of women die each year at the hands of a husband or family member, in a society that critics say too often ignores violence against women. After years of frustration, one organization has shaken up the debate with a controversial proposal: arming women and training them to defend themselves.
Looking back, Yagmur Askin thinks perhaps she should have paid more attention on her wedding day, when her husband's family welcomed her by saying, "You enter... (GunPolicy.org)
Florida Mother Kills Her Four Children Before Turning Gun on Herself
15 May 2012
KSee 24 News (California)
Florida police say a Port St. John mother shot and killed her four children early Tuesday morning before turning the gun on herself. Tanya Thomas, 33, shot her children Joel Johnson, 12, Jazlin Johnson, 13, Jaxs Johnson, 15, and Pebbles Johnson, 17, in their home before taking her own life.
A next-door neighbor was awakened by the sound of gunfire, then a knock at the door. Three of the children were there, asking for help. Joel Johnson was bleeding, and said he'd been... (GunPolicy.org)
NRA Gunfest Focuses US Fight Over 'Shoot First' Hidden Handgun Laws
14 April 2012
CBS News (USA)
ST. LOUIS - Avid hunter Rob West drove from Chillicothe, Ohio, to St. Louis this week to join some 70,000 fellow National Rifle Association members at the organization's annual convention, where seven acres of guns and gear were on display and where politics was never far from anyone's mind.
For the NRA, which opposes any restrictions on gun ownership and President Barack Obama's re-election, the Second Amendment right to bear arms is sacrosanct.
"We don't want... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns, Domestic Shootings Factor in Kenya's 1,756 Violent Deaths
4 April 2012
Nation (Kenya)
Some 1,756 people were killed last year by violent and armed criminals, a new police report shows.
The report, which records an increase in serious crimes like murder and violent robbery, cites the rise of criminal gangs and availability of guns on the black market as the reasons.
It shows a seven per cent surge in incidents reported to police compared to 2010.
Police, however, note that a "significant" number of victims were not killed by gangsters but died at the... (GunPolicy.org)
Quebec Seeks Injunction to Stop Canada Deleting Gun Registry Records
4 April 2012
Montreal Gazette (Québec)
After months of threatening legal action against the federal government to preserve records on the 1,560,359 long guns registered in Quebec, Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier announced Tuesday that he will challenge in Quebec Superior Court the constitutionality of Bill C-19, empowering Ottawa to destroy the records.
Quebec has asked repeatedly that records on Quebec residents be transferred so the province can create its own registry. As well, the National Assembly... (GunPolicy.org)
Man Shoots Dead His Brother with Licenced Gun in Tafara, Zimbabwe
3 April 2012
Herald (Zimbabwe)
Police yesterday confirmed the arrest of Tendai Mungororo of Tafara on charges of fatally shooting his brother Tichafunga in the early hours of Sunday morning. Police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau said Tendai Mungororo was facing murder charges and was being held in police cells as investigations continue.
"I can also confirm that the firearm Mungororo used in the murder of his brother was licensed for the purposes of cash-in-transit.
"We are also getting reports... (GunPolicy.org)
The Fatal Flaw in Florida-Style 'Shoot First' Gun Laws – NY Times Editorial
29 March 2012
New York Times, Editorial
As the investigation of the shooting death of the teenager Trayvon Martin by a self-appointed neighborhood watchman goes forward in Florida, news accounts are reporting a toll of shootings, knifings and other violent homicides in which the state's dangerous Stand Your Ground law was successfully claimed as a defense.
The killings included domestic disputes, barroom brawls and drug violence, according to The Tampa Bay Times, which surveyed 130 cases in which the 2005... (GunPolicy.org)
Hidden Handgun Permit Holders Killed 391 US Civilians, Police in 5 Years
28 March 2012
New York Times, Column
The debate over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin seems to be devolving into an argument about the right to wear hoodies, but it really does not appear to be a promising development.
Congress, which never draws any serious conclusions from terrible tragedies involving gunplay, did have time on Wednesday to fight about whether Representative Bobby Rush of Chicago violated the House dress code when he took off his suit jacket, revealing a gray sweater he was wearing... (GunPolicy.org)
Calls for Gun Control in Israel as More Guards Shoot Their Families
18 March 2012
ABC News (Australia), Audio
Israel has a booming security industry, but a loophole in the law allows guards to take their weapon's home. That's led to an alarming incidence of domestic gun-related crime against women. Israel's only disarmament lobby group has launched a campaign to tigthen Israel's gun laws before more women are... (GunPolicy.org)
Estonia,Dominican Republic,Ecuador,Ukraine,Kyrgyzstan,Moldova,Kazakhstan,Belize,Latvia,Venezuela,Belarus,Lithuania,Bahamas,Bolivia,Azerbaijan,Russia,Antigua & Barbuda,Guyana,South Africa,Jamaica,Honduras,Guatemala,El Salvador,South America,Colombia,Brazil,Central America,Caribbean
1/3 of Femicides Committed With Gun in Latin America and Caribbean [ES]
2 March 2012
RT-TV Novosti (Russia)
[Translated summary: Nearly a third of crimes against women are committed with a firearm and in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras this indicator is 60% - Small Arms Survey.]
El mayor nivel de feminicidios se registra en Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Catorce países latinoamericanos aparecen entre los 25 del mundo con la tasa más elevada de crímenes contra la mujer.
El informe de la organización de investigaciones independientes Small Arms Survey,... (GunPolicy.org)
Guns Used in 66% of Homicides in Dominican Republic [ES]
27 February 2012
Listin Diario (Dominican Republic)
[Translated summary: In the last seven years in Dominican Republic, 10,955 people were killed with bullets. Firearms are used in 66% of homicides.]
SANTO DOMINGO - En enero de 2011, desconocidos asesinaron al teniente coronel Virgilio Casilla Minaya, en momentos en que departía junto a su esposa en un colmado del barrio La Fe, de Los Alcarrizos.
Cuatro meses después, fue encontrado muerto un mecánico en la autovía del Este, en San Pedro de Macorís. Al finalizar... (GunPolicy.org)
Spanish Family Arrested for Running Gun 'Supermarket' at Home [ES]
21 February 2012
Europa Press (Spain)
[Translated summary: Spanish National Police arrested a married couple and their son for allegedly running a "supermarket" of firearms in their house and in a storage room in San Vicente dels Horts (Barcelona), selling craft guns to criminals and drug traffickers who used them for settling accounts and threatening rival gangs. It is, according to the Chief of Police, "one of the largest arsenals of Catalonia".]
BARCELONA - La Policía Nacional ha detenido a un... (GunPolicy.org)
Southern Africa,South Africa,Swaziland,Angola,Congo (DRC),Mozambique,Namibia,Zimbabwe,Central America,South America,Caribbean,Central Africa,Europe,Asia,Africa,Americas,Oceania,Botswana,China,Czech Republic,Germany,Russia,United States,Philippines,Italy
High Gun Death Risk for Young African Men, Women at Home - UN Study
19 February 2012
Southern Times (Southern Africa)
WINDHOEK - Young men in Southern Africa are at the greatest risk of cold-blooded murder, while women in the region are more likely than others from around the world to be killed in domestic violence, a UN agency says.
The statistics from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) come as the region battles to contain the proliferation of gun-related crimes.
Experts have said gun-related crime is a major problem in South Africa and Swaziland, and is on the rise in... (GunPolicy.org)
Dominican Republic: 181,381 New Gun Licences in 8 Months [ES]
15 February 2012
Listin Diario (Dominican Republic)
[Translated summary: The acquisition of firearms in Dominican Republic has increased significantly in recent months, the number rose to 333,436 licences to possess and carry firearms with 181,381 new gun licences in the past 8 months. These numbers attest the interest for Dominicans to equip themselves for self-defence.]
CON ESAS LICENCIAS 333,436 PERSONAS POSEEN DISTINTAS ARMAS DE FUEGO
SANTO DOMINGO - La adquisición de armas de fuego en el país ha registrado un... (GunPolicy.org)
Arguments for More, Less Gun Control as Tasmania Mulls Firearm Law
29 January 2012
Hobart Mercury (Tasmania)
Spouses' permission and tougher documentation requirements are among measures that should be added to the state's gun licensing system, says the leader of Tasmania's anti-gun lobby.
"I would like to see [applicants] get the consent of their spouse before they can get a gun licence," Tasmanian lawyer Roland Browne said.
Mr Browne is the Coalition for National Gun Control spokesman.
Gun licence applicants now answer a series of yes-no questions about their criminal... (GunPolicy.org)