With two Toronto bystanders shot dead in one week, the New Democrats are calling for a cross-border political summit to tackle "the ongoing crisis" of illegal handguns crossing into Canada. Standing near the Chinatown East grocery where clerk Hou Chang Mao was killed by a stray bullet Thursday while stacking oranges outside, federal NDP Leader Jack Layton yesterday joined Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Toronto Mayor David Miller in urging an absolute ban on... (GunPolicy.org)

TORONTO — Police here on Friday appealed in English and in Cantonese to potential witnesses, in the city's East Chinatown, to help locate the gunmen responsible for killing an innocent father of two on Thursday. Investigators have identified the city's third homicide victim of the year as Hou Chang Mao, 47. On Thursday, in the midst of a bustling crowd of after-work shoppers and as he stacked oranges, Mao was shot and killed by a bullet meant for someone else in... (GunPolicy.org)

The spread of castle laws across the U.S. the past two years serves as the latest battleground between pro-gun forces and gun-control advocates. The two sides, led by the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign, use words carefully chosen for maximum emotional impact — and often the same words, though with far different meanings. And they fight state by state over bills that either provide "innocent victims" with an unlimited right to self-defense or place... (GunPolicy.org)

The Bush administration's position in the case before the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the District of Columbia's ban on handguns has created an unexpected and serious backlash in conservative circles, disappointing gun enthusiasts and creating implications for the presidential campaign. The government's brief, filed by U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement just hours before the court's deadline Jan. 11, endorses the view that the Second Amendment... (GunPolicy.org)

On Jan. 11, the DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice filed a brief in the Supreme Court, asking the court to uphold the District's gun control law in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. Our brief was co-sponsored by the D.C. League of Women Voters, the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, the Federal City Council, DC for Democracy and the Washington Council of Lawyers. All of these local organizations have one key interest in common: They believe that important public... (GunPolicy.org)

Scotland's top police officers have demanded an urgent review of gun law, claiming it is outdated and in need of radical overhaul. It is the first time the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) has come out and made such a strong comment on the country's firearms legislation. And last night, a former member of the group said he would not be surprised if some senior officers even backed calls for Holyrood to have gun law devolved from... (GunPolicy.org)

It's no joke to say that the arms race between gun manufacturers is deadly serious. After all, a successful deal could translate into millions of dollars, especially when the weapon for an entire army force is replaced. This is where the Heckler & Koch 416 comes in. Talk is rife that this state-of-the-art assault rifle is touted as the possible weapon that may replace the ubiquitous M16 rifle — some 8 million have been produced and used by many armed forces around... (GunPolicy.org)

The shootings came fast, a bang-bang-bang cluster of cases starting in early autumn that quickly had police, prosecutors and the media wondering about the sudden impact of Texas' new castle law. A business owner who lives at his West Dallas welding shop killed two men in three weeks as they tried to break in. A 79-year-old homeowner in east Oak Cliff, awakened by his dog, struggled with an intruder before grabbing a shotgun and wounding the man. A retired Army... (GunPolicy.org)