Arms trafficking should be put under tighter control to prevent conflict in Africa and violence in British cities, Clare Short, the international development secretary, urged yesterday. The availability of guns threatens both poorer nations and the industrialised west, Ms Short told delegates from 60 weapons-producing states at a London conference. Warning of a "new world disorder", she called for a consensus under the auspices of the UN to limit exports of guns and... (GunPolicy.org)

I asked the anonymous man, a former champion wrestler, sitting in the chilly cafe he owns on the ramshackle outskirts of Tirana, if he personally owned a gun. There followed about five seconds of nervous laughter, followed by a simple yes. He would hardly be alone — in Albania — in keeping a firearm at home. The chances are he owns several, anything from a Russian sub-machine gun to a Chinese army-issue pistol, to an anti-aircraft weapon. Many Albanian guns found... (GunPolicy.org)

In the ongoing saga of Canada's heavy-handed, mandatory national gun registration program, the Windsor Star newspaper in Ontario says there's increasing momentum among Canadians to start a nationwide gun owners group similar to the National Rifle Association in the U.S. The president of the Law-abiding Unregulated Firearms Association (LUFA) believes it's high time to have a real gun owners advocacy group. Wayne Fields last week told the Star that Canadian gun owners... (GunPolicy.org)

OTTAWA — Police officers likely won't lay charges under Canada's new firearms law until a new gun registration deadline runs out in several months, the Canadian Police Association said yesterday. Executive director David Griffin said officers will be using their discretion, until an amnesty runs out on June 30, when deciding whether to lay charges against gun owners. Under a new firearms law, all gun owners were supposed to register their firearms by Jan. 1. But... (GunPolicy.org)

OTTAWA — Police officers likely won't lay charges under Canada's new firearms law until a new gun-registration deadline runs out in several months, the Canadian Police Association said yesterday. Executive director David Griffin said his organization supports gun control and the registry but admitted officers will be using their discretion until an amnesty runs out on June 30 when deciding whether to lay charges against gun owners. Transitional Time Under a new... (GunPolicy.org)

RICHMOND, Virginia — A bill that would have required unlicensed dealers at gun shows to conduct background checks on people purchasing guns failed to get out of committee Wednesday. The Senate Courts of Justice Committee decided instead to request a study on the issue by the state Crime Commission. Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, said the move was a polite way of killing his bill. "I don't want to waste another year studying it," Marsh said. "There was no... (GunPolicy.org)

TORONTO — Oscar Lacombe hoped to be the first person charged with possessing an unregistered rifle under Canada's controversial firearms law. But after presenting himself to police in Edmonton, Alberta, Monday, he was finally told to go home. Mr. Lacombe is one of thousands of Canadian gun owners defying the country's National Firearms Program by not registering, or not giving intent to register, their rifles and shotguns by Jan. 1, 2003, risking up to 10 years in... (GunPolicy.org)

VANCOUVER — The 10-year-old daughter of a Clark County sheriff's sergeant was shot and killed by her 13-year-old brother with their father's service handgun, authorities said. Vancouver detectives said Emilee Joy Randall was shot once in the head at 7:14 p.m. Monday while she, two siblings and a friend of one sibling were in the family's Battle Ground home. Authorities said the shooting apparently was accidental. They declined to release the boy's name. The... (GunPolicy.org)