A Missouri gun enthusiast is campaigning to ease firearms restrictions in his state, using Vermont law as a model. Steve Umscheid, 55, likes Vermont's firearms freedom so much that he has named his ballot initiative the Vermont Project 2002. He's circulating a petition that calls for a repeal of the Missouri laws that prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons. Vermont is the only state in the nation that doesn't require a permit to carry weapons. Vermont's concealed... (GunPolicy.org)

Existing guns are scary enough. Now Australian researchers have developed a weapon capable of firing a million rounds a minute. The extraordinary firing rate was achieved by replacing most of the mechanics of a gun with electronic parts. Most weapons work by mechanically moving individual bullets into the chamber. This puts a cap on how fast they can be loaded. Mike O'Dwyer, who invented the new weapon, says this is a first step to a new kind of armoury. I can see us... (GunPolicy.org)

WATERVILLE — Standing behind a display of handguns and rifles, Dick Taylor said his sales did not skyrocket after Sept. 11, but he has noticed one change. "Since Sept. 11, guns have become a lot more politically correct," said Taylor, of China, who mostly sells collectible and antique guns. "As a gun dealer, if I went to a party before, you really didn't mention you were a gun dealer," he said. Now, he said public perceptions have shifted. For the first time, he... (GunPolicy.org)

There is no record of officers being killed on the job, or statistics available on the number of officers who have been assaulted. But reports from individual probation and parole offices suggest that violence is a frightening part of many officers lives. For instance, nine of 10 field officers in one Maricopa County Adult Probation unit had to wrestle fleeing probationers to the ground last year, resulting in injuries that required medical attention. That same... (GunPolicy.org)

TOKYO — The Foreign Ministry will host a three-day international meeting starting Wednesday to follow up on an action plan adopted last July by the United Nations to curb illicit global shipments of small weapons, ministry officials said Monday. Representatives from more than 30 U.N. member nations and nongovernmental organizations are expected to participate in the meeting to discuss measures to realize the plan, the officials said. Adopted at the end of a two-week... (GunPolicy.org)

The Columbine tragedy curbed the legislature's appetite for the concealed weapons debate, but the issue could be back on the front burner this year partly because of Sept. 11. Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville, is sponsoring a bill that would force sheriffs and police chiefs to issue concealed-weapons permits as long as the applicants met age, residency and training requirements and didn't have a criminal record. Under a bill by Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs, the... (GunPolicy.org)

The Australian Institute of Criminology said while most people continued to be most concerned about the use of firearms by bandits, the nature of armed robberies in Australia was quickly changing. The use of firearms in the commission of armed robberies has declined, the AIC said. At the same time there has been a dramatic increase in the use of other weapons, particularly knives. The AIC said the use of guns in robberies had almost halved between 1993 and 1999. In... (GunPolicy.org)

BAGRAM, Afghanistan — Career militiaman Abdul Shaker fingers the trigger of his trusted Kalashnikov and fires off a verbal warning to the 60 international donors meeting this week in Tokyo to discuss rebuilding his war-torn homeland. With terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden apparently still on the loose, the enemy Taliban still lording over part of the country, and lawlessness rampant in cities and villages, neither Shaker nor thousands of Afghans are about to... (GunPolicy.org)

A retired Camden police detective has sued the City of Philadelphia over its requirement that a photograph be provided to obtain a gun permit. Gregory Green alleges that the requirement violates his religious freedom and his right to bear arms. In his lawsuit, Green said he belonged to the 115-year-old Church of the Living God the Pillar and Ground of the Truth in Philadelphia, which strictly adheres to the King James version of the Bible and believes photographs to be... (GunPolicy.org)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — It's almost startling: Police officers patrolling a shantytown's streets are relaxed and friendly, finding time to stop for chats with residents. Only a year ago, the Pavao-Pavaozinho-Cantagalo "favela" was a battleground, one of the most violent of Rio de Janeiro's 600-plus slums. Police spent their days dodging drug dealers' bullets, and firing a few of their own. When they get called these days, officers say, it's often to help with a... (GunPolicy.org)