Gun Policy News, 13 January 2011
Blame America's Lax Gun Laws, Not Sarah Palin, Says Chicago Mayor
13 January 2011
Chicago Sun-Times
Mayor Daley on Wednesday decried the political blame game triggered by the Arizona massacre. He said the problem is not Sarah Palin, but easy access to semiautomatic weapons.
Daley said the shooting rampage has sent America off on a finger-pointing "tangent."
"America has to blame people… That's the thing that really bothers me. They're trying to blame the left or the right or Sarah Palin. Or they're trying to blame political ads or rhetoric on TV… It has nothing... (GunPolicy.org)
How Glock Became Weapon of Choice for Cops, Gun Hobbyists and Killers
13 January 2011
Business Week / Bloomberg (USA)
For all the anguish and outcry in the days after a community college dropout named Jared Loughner allegedly sprayed a Tucson crowd with 33 bullets from a semiautomatic pistol, one response was notably absent: any sense that America's latest shooting spree, which killed six people and wounded 14, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, would bring new restrictions on the right to own or carry large-capacity, rapid-fire weapons.
The gun control debate has vanished... (GunPolicy.org)
Obama Consistently Supports Assault Weapon Ban, 'Continues to Do So'
13 January 2011
USA Today
The White House is studying new proposals to regulate gun sales in light of the Arizona shooting, but is holding off on endorsing any of them until they can be studied.
"Obviously we are and have been focused on the important healing process, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "We will have an opportunity to evaluate ideas and proposals that may be brought forth as a result of the circumstances and the facts around this case."
Gibbs did say that Obama has... (GunPolicy.org)
Militarized Rhetoric, Extremism, National Failure to Enact Gun Control in US
13 January 2011
Washington Post, Column
The tragedy of Tucson hasn't shaken us out of bad political habits.
Instead of promoting a sober conversation about the dangers of violent political talk, it has reinforced divisions between left and right. Even responsible conservatives have dismissed any suggestion that Saturday's attack is reason enough to condemn the threats of violence that have become standard to the discourse at the extremes of their side of politics.
More important: We have not focused at all... (GunPolicy.org)
Crisis Hits Tshwane Police as South African Cops Lose Illegally Held Guns
13 January 2011
Pretoria News
A crisis with the potential to threaten the lives of tens of thousands of Tshwane residents and the city's metro police officers is fast developing following revelations that scores of law enforcers are illegally in possession of their weapons.
The revelations come after four Tshwane Metro Police Department motorcycle unit members had their firearms taken from them yesterday because their firearm permits had expired.
The confiscation of the guns, say TMPD members on... (GunPolicy.org)
Germany Bans Heckler & Koch Gun Sales to Mexico in Human Rights Row
13 January 2011
Canadian Business / AP
BERLIN - Germany's government has banned weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH from any new arms deliveries to Mexico amid concerns they are ending in parts of the country where Berlin has forbidden weapons exports over human rights issues, according to a letter obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.
The letter from the Economy Ministry to the arms manufacturer, dated Jan. 4, says the company's applications for exports of "weapons and other defense goods" to... (GunPolicy.org)
South Africa Shuts 23 Gun Registration Centres, Police Stations Take Over
13 January 2011
South African Press Association
The 23 firearm registration centres in Gauteng will be closed down because the Firearms Control Act has been amended, provincial police commissioner General Mzwandile Petros' office said on Thursday.
"This office wishes to state that the decision was based on the amendment regulations as proclaimed in the Firearms Control Amendment Act which indicates that all renewals and competency applications will be dealt with at local (police station) level," said Colonel Neville... (GunPolicy.org)
Gun Regulation for Public Health: A Better Memorial for Tucson Victims
13 January 2011
Los Angeles Times, Editorial
Thursday's "Morning Edition" reported an increased interest in the same high-capacity ammunition magazine used in last Saturday's massacre, which allowed 31 bullets to be shot in rapid succession. Sales have gone up dramatically at the Arizona gun shop Glockmeister. And at Don's Guns and Galleries in Indianapolis, owner Don Davis has seen an influx of young people at his shooting range experimenting with how fast they can change those same ammunition magazines in their... (GunPolicy.org)
America's 'Fiercest Gun Control Advocate in Congress' Touts Magazine Ban
13 January 2011
Politico (Washington DC)
The fiercest gun-control advocate in Congress released the text of a bill she plans to introduce next week that would outlaw high-capacity magazines like the one a gunman used to shoot 20 people in a matter of seconds in Arizona this weekend.
Rep. Carolyn McCarthy's (D-N.Y.) bill also goes further than the assault weapon ban that expired in 2004, outlawing the sale or transfer of clips that hold more than ten rounds, even those obtained before the law takes effect,... (GunPolicy.org)
Senator's Gun Tale Untrue, 17 Montana Legislators Pack Hidden Handguns
13 January 2011
Independent Record (Montana)
The president of the Utah Senate on Thursday debunked a Montana lawmaker's story about six gun-wielding Utah senators stopping an armed intruder there.
Utah Senate President Michael Waddoups, a longtime legislator, said the incident recounted by Montana Sen. Verdell Jackson, R-Kalispell, is not true.
"No, the closest thing we had was the (Utah) Jazz Bear mascot come into a (House) legislative meeting one day and shoot a confetti gun," Waddoups said. "One of the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Legislators Tote Handguns, NRA Goes Quiet Amid Clamor for Gun Limits
13 January 2011
New York Times
TUCSON — The National Rifle Association has gone uncommonly dark since the weekend shootings here. A posting on its Web site expresses sympathies for the victims of the violence, and N.R.A. officials said they would have nothing to say until the funerals and memorial services were over.
In Washington, bills were being drafted to step up background checks, create no-gun zones around members of Congress and ban the big-volume magazines that allowed the Tucson gunman... (GunPolicy.org)
Maryland's Top Court Offers Weak Defense for Strong, Sensible Gun Law
13 January 2011
Washington Post, Editorial
Just days before the rampage in Arizona, the highest court in Maryland issued a ruling that now seems more apt than ever.
The Court of Appeals dealt with a challenge to a Maryland law requiring a gun owner to obtain a permit to carry a weapon in public. In Arizona, no such permit is required. Maryland's concealed-carry law contrasts sharply with Arizona's lack of such a law and is among the strictest in the country, requiring a criminal background check, employment... (GunPolicy.org)
Texas Aims to Relax Another Gun Law, Marks Growing Trend Across USA
13 January 2011
ABC News (USA)
The shooting tragedy in Tucson has intensified some calls for gun control, but one state may soon be relaxing its firearms law further, signaling a larger trend across the country.
A bill pending in the Texas state legislature would allow employees to carry legally-owned concealed handguns in their vehicles on their employer's property.
If it passes, Texas would join 13 other states that already allow employees this freedom -- Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia,... (GunPolicy.org)
Maine Republican Chairman Receives .50 Sniper Rifle Gun Death Threat
13 January 2011
Kennebec Journal (Maine)
AUGUSTA - Police were called to the Maine Republican Party headquarters to investigate a threatening message discovered Wednesday morning.
GOP Executive Director Christie-Lee McNally said the voice mail message directly threatened Charlie Webster of Farmington, the party chairman.
"A 9 mm might not be able to silence Charlie, but a .50-caliber will. And there's a lot of angry people out there, so Charlie Webster should be very careful," McNally said, paraphrasing the... (GunPolicy.org)
US Gun Shops Cite Uptick in Gun, Magazine Demand, Survey Finds Little
13 January 2011
USA Today
Since Saturday's deadly shooting in Tucson, Don's Guns in Indianapolis has run out of a magazine that enables Glock pistols to fire extra rounds.
"We sold out, just since that happened," says owner Don Davis. He has ordered more and expects the resupply to sell quickly. The rush to buy the accessories, he says, probably is motivated by fears that lawmakers will try to limit magazine capacity in the wake of the shooting.
Jared Loughner allegedly used a Glock 19 with an... (GunPolicy.org)
Extremism, Militarized Rhetoric, Feeble US Gun Laws Cost American Lives
13 January 2011
Washington Post, Column
The tragedy of Tucson hasn't shaken us out of bad political habits.
Instead of promoting a sober conversation about the dangers of violent political talk, it has reinforced divisions between left and right. Even responsible conservatives have dismissed any suggestion that Saturday's attack is reason enough to condemn the threats of violence that have become standard to the discourse at the extremes of their side of politics.
More important: We have not focused at all... (GunPolicy.org)
After US Democratic Party Policy Shift, Little Chance for New Gun Controls
13 January 2011
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — The first federal gun control law was passed in 1968 after the assassinations of the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., and the Brady bill mandating background checks on gun purchases was enacted in the years following the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981. But don't look for any new gun control laws coming out of Capitol Hill in the wake of the Tucson shooting rampage.
The reason is not only the new Republican majority in the... (GunPolicy.org)
Licensed Hidden Pistol Owner Drops Gun, Shoots Woman in Texas Eatery
13 January 2011
KHOU-TV News (Houston)
HOUSTON – A gun discharged and injured a woman after a man accidentally dropped it Thursday inside a northeast Houston restaurant, police said.
The Derringer fell out of the coat pocket of a 66-year-old man at about 8:30 p.m. inside Raffa's Waterfront Grill on West Lake Houston Parkway, police said.
The 71-year-old woman was shot in the rear end and transported to Ben Taub Hospital in stable condition.
Police said the man was licensed to carry a concealed handgun... (GunPolicy.org)