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News Clippings - Vol 1 Issue 1 - June 13, 2000
"These items are sent to WFSA members, and others, as a non-commercial
informational service. They consist of third party press reports and
government material. Unless otherwise noted, they do not necessarily
reflect the views of the WFSA."
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* G-8 Seeks to Prevent Wars by Stemming Diamond, Small-Arms Trade - Miyazaki,
Japan, July 12(Bloomberg) - The Group of Eight industrialized nations unveiled
plans to prevent wars from breaking out in the world's poorer regions by
regulating trade in diamonds and in small weapons. Foreign ministers from the
U.S., Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia said they will
present plans tomorrow to stem illegal trading in diamonds, curb small-arms
sales to war-torn regions, prevent children from becoming soldiers and help
set up civilian police forces in developing countries.
* Gun Crime Report Draws Mason-Dixon Line; Weapons Migrate From South to
North, Study Suggests WASHINGTON (July 10) -- New York Sen. Charles Schumer
says the North is engaged in another bloody contest with the South -- but
this time the fight is over illegal gun running. Schumer released a study of
"raw, unanalyzed data" obtained from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms (ATF) that says most crime guns seized in 1999 by law enforcement
agencies in the North originally were purchased from gun sellers in the
South. The Schumer report, titled "War Between the States," details ATF
statistics that purportedly show guns sold in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi
and Texas habitually end up on the streets of states such as New York and
New Jersey. From a nationwide total of 30,453 out-of-state crime guns
traced by the ATF last year, the four Southern states were the source
of 24 percent, or 7,494, of the guns. "A Georgia criminal using a New
York gun is a rarity. A New York criminal using a Georgia gun is
commonplace," the Democratic senator said in a statement. Of the top
four states responsible for out-of-state crime guns, Florida led with
2,065, Georgia with 1,945, Mississippi with 1,788 and Texas with 1,696.
New York and New Jersey have some of the strictest gun laws in the nation.
Schumer argued that tougher gun laws make it harder for criminals to get
guns, and therefore they rely on out-of-state guns to commit violent
offenses. Massachusetts' gun laws are stricter in some regards than
those in New York; they require a permit to purchase any firearm and
a license for the owner. Yet only half of the guns used in the commission
of a crime in the Bay State were traced back to purchases originally made
in other states. National Rifle Association spokesman Bill Powers said
the Schumer report overlooks the fact that every gun traced by the ATF to
those states was sold legally by federally licensed firearms dealers who
are required by federal law to do FBI background checks on buyers.
--
But as I recall those stats most of the guns used in New Jersey
were originally sold in New Jersey, although perhaps this year's
stats are different. The one that made me laugh was that the
greatest proportion of guns used in crime in Nevada were originally
sold in California, which has much tougher laws!
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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