Twenty-five of Abra's 27 mayors have surrendered unlicensed firearms to police authorities, raising hopes that peace will finally reign in the northern province which has long been hounded by violence between warring political factions. The local chief executives heeded the appeal of Philippine National Police chief Director General Edgar Aglipay for them to dismantle their private armies and surrender their unlicensed firearms. Chief Superintendent Rowland Albano,... (GunPolicy.org)

Every firearm handed in to police during the long-awaited three-month amnesty early in 2005 year will have a "significant impact" on the fight against crime. That is according to South African Police Service (SAPS) Deputy Commissioner Philip Jacobs, who was urging a parliamentary committee on Wednesday to approve the amnesty. "Every illegal firearm that we can retrieve should make a significant impact on crime," Jacobs told Parliament's portfolio committee on safety... (GunPolicy.org)

In one week the local papers carried three news items about people using guns in disputes. In one of the stories, a group of armed men surrounded a mosque demanding to get hold of one of the worshippers because he was involved in a land dispute. In a second, the imam of a mosque in a small town used a gun to threaten one of the worshippers who insisted on leading the prayers himself. The third incident happened in Jeddah; it was a violent dispute over land. Seven armed... (GunPolicy.org)

Over the past two decades, the West Africa sub-region has seen a lot of conflicts and wars which have led to the death of tens of thousands of innocent people as well as the displacement of millions from their homes, turning them into refugees scattered all over other countries. Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast easily come to mind. Rebels led by blood- thirsty warlords and armed to the teeth, are those mostly responsible for the grievous human losses that... (GunPolicy.org)

No assessment done of the economic effect of new legislation, Nqakula says Government did not consider the economic effect of the Firearms Control Act and will not consider changing the law if it was found to be adversely affecting certain businesses in the country, Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula has said. The Firearms Control Act, after being approved in 2000, was fully implemented in July this year. Reports of massive losses by gun dealers and... (GunPolicy.org)

At the first presidential debate, President Bush declared that "the biggest threat facing this country is weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist network." But as casualties mount in Iraq, it is obvious that the greatest current threat to American soldiers comes not from exotic bio-weapons cooked up in tractor trailer labs or barrages of scud missiles loaded with deadly nerve agents, but from the vast quantities of conventional weapons — guns, missiles... (GunPolicy.org)

The Canadian Firearms Program will cost taxpayers another $120 million. "It seems more like a money grab than anything," said Tom Hoy, an acquisition and possession instructor in Brandon. "To me, it's not going in the right place." Hoy was "shocked" to learn more money was being allocated for the program. "I thought after all that's been wasted on this, it would be cut back. It seems like we're flogging a dead horse," he said. October estimates show the... (GunPolicy.org)

We've all heard that "moral values" topped the list of voter concerns in the exit polls. As numerous pundits have noted, same-sex marriage was the ultimate wedge issue in this presidential election. But the Second Amendment was another critical element in the cluster of "traditional values" that President Bush successfully championed. The National Rifle Association wholeheartedly backed Bush and played a major role in mobilizing millions of gun owners against John... (GunPolicy.org)