World Forum�
on the Future of
Sport Shooting Activities
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News Clippings - Vol 1 Issue 2 - June 26, 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."
* PRIORITY ITEM: Japan announces own actions on conflict-prevention. -
MIYAZAKI, Japan, July 13 (Kyodo) - Japan has announced a set of initiatives,
including financial aid, to support conflict-prevention and nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) working on the issue. Japan will contribute an additional
$700,000 to the Small Arms Fund which it established this year within the
United Nations, to tackle the problems of small arms and light weapons,
according to Japan's action on the issue of small arms, which was issued on
the occasion of Group of Eight (G-8) foreign ministers' meeting. Tokyo has
already given $1.27 million to the fund. Japan said in the action plan it
''adheres to a policy of not exporting, in principle, any kind of weapon,
including small arms and light weapons.'' Japan said it will also examine
how to contribute to solving problems regarding small arms and light weapons
in Cambodia, following the dispatch of a fact-finding mission there from
July 4-8. In another action plan for conflict-prevention, Japan said it
will reinforce aid aimed at supporting governance, strengthening the
foundations of democracy, enhancing legal systems and encouraging
market-oriented economic management. Japan also said it will swiftly
dispatch missions to assist in the formulation of rehabilitation and
reconstruction plans and will extend reconstruction and development aid
to prevent recurrence of conflicts. As for NGOs, Japan said in
the action plan that NGOs are ''important actors in conflict-prevention,'' and
it will promote coordinated efforts with them and the private sector in
extending emergency humanitarian assistance to mitigate various difficulties
during and immediately after conflicts. Japan also supports the creation of a
''Japan Platform'' network where various inputs and contributions from NGOs,
the government, companies and the media can be freely and flexibly articulated
to provide swifter and more effective humanitarian assistance, according to
the action plan.
* MIYAZAKI, Japan, July 13 (Kyodo) - Following is the full text of the
Miyazaki Initiative for conflict prevention adopted Thursday by
foreign ministers from the Group of Eight (G-8) countries after their
two-day meeting in Miyazaki.
G-8 Miyazaki Initiatives for Conflict Prevention I. Efforts for Conflict
Prevention - A Basic Conceptual Framework The G-8 Heads of State and
Government announced last June in Cologne, and we, Foreign Ministers,
reiterated last December in Berlin, the determination to make
prevention of armed conflict a high priority issue in coming years. We
have to nurture a ''Culture of Prevention'' throughout the global
community by encouraging international and regional organizations,
states, NGOs and other actors to view their activities and policies
from the vantage of conflict prevention, and to commit themselves to
work toward this goal. The G-8 confirms that efforts to prevent conflict
must be based upon observance of international law including the U.N.
Charter, democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, good
governance, sustainable development, and other fundamental values,
which constitute the foundation of international peace and security.
1. ''Comprehensive Approach'' The G-8 believes that, because of
the diversity and complexity of causes of conflicts, the following
''Comprehensive Approach'' should be adopted: Consistent efforts for
conflict prevention need to be made at every stage, from pre-conflict
to post-conflict (Chronological Comprehensiveness). During each stage
of a conflict, the international community should draw from a
wide-ranging menu of political, economic and social policy options.
Furthermore, it is crucial to address the issues of human rights and
protection of civilians. (Comprehensiveness in Measures for
Conflict Prevention) It should be noted that, in taking concrete
measures on individual conflicts, their characteristics, including
their causes; parties, modalities, and regional contexts, as well
as coherence with policies in other fields -- e.g. international
trade and finance -- need to be fully taken into consideration.
2. The U.N., the G-8 and Other Actors
We, the G-8 Foreign Ministers recalled at the Berlin Ministerial Meeting on
Conflict Prevention that the U.N. Charter confers the primary responsibility
for maintenance of international peace and security upon the Security Council,
and that the U.N. Secretary General also has an important role in this
respect.
We reaffirmed that a reformed and effective U.N. remains central. In this
context, the G-8 notes the relevance of the report of the U.N. Secretary
General in preparation for the U.N. Millennium Assembly.
While the principal responsibility for preventing conflicts lies with the
parties directly concerned, conflict prevention is a joint venture involving
all the international community, including other international and regional
organizations, states, business sector, NGOs and individuals.
The G-8 welcomes wider use of the relevant provisions of the U.N. Charter for
preventive diplomacy and will work for integration of the diverse elements of
the U.N. system so as to support more effectively preventive action. The G-8
regards the U.N.'s peacekeeping capacity as a key contribution to global
conflict prevention efforts. We note the establishment by the U.N. Secretary
General of an expert panel and welcome the effort to conduct a comprehensive
review in this field as a contribution to efforts to strengthen the quality
and speed of the U.N. response to peacekeeping challenges. We underline the
importance of efforts to create arrangements with member states for an
effective surge capacity for planning and conduct of peacekeeping operations.
We also look forward to the reinforcement of the capacity of the
U.N. in the area of CIVPOL.
The G-8 supports the U.N.'s existing mechanism for maintaining compliance with
the international human rights standards and regular communication of this
information to relevant U.N. bodies for use in their deliberations. We intend
to contribute to strengthening the conflict prevention and early warning
capacity of the U.N. by, inter alia, promoting the reinforcement of the
role of the Special Representatives of the Secretary General.
The G-8 stands ready to support the efforts by the international community for
conflict prevention, especially in those areas where it has a special
contribution to make.
* Washington --- Two words rally gun owners like nothing else:
licensing and registration.
And with the latest Democratic Party platform endorsing gun control
measures, such as child safety locks and strict background checks,
gun owners say they are increasingly worried. In the National Rifle
Association's July newsletter, the group's president, Charlton
Heston, warns: ''Once some Gore government has the names, addresses,
photos and ownership inventories of every gun owner in America, we
all know what comes next. Once liberty is transformed into license,
that license can be revoked.'' Conversely, groups that advocate gun
control say that licensing and registration will save lives. ''
(Licensing and registration)
would make sure that the wrong people don't get a hold of guns; make
sure that people know how to use guns properly; make it easier for
police to trace crime guns and detect gun traffickers; and it makes
sense,'' said Nancy Hwa, a spokeswoman for Handgun Control Inc., a
group that supports gun control. Proponents of licensing and
registration say it would help weed out criminals who are trying
to purchase firearms through legal channels and that it would
prevent illegal sales by making the registered owner responsible
for what happens to his or her own gun.
To obtain a license, which includes a photo ID, applicants would
have to pass a background check, including a check for violent
misdemeanor convictions, domestic violence and mental illness. In
addition, the applicant would have to demonstrate knowledge of
firearms safety and the laws governing the use, possession,
storage and transfer of handguns.
In the same way people who get driver's licenses must learn how
the vehicle works and the laws of the road, people who buy guns
should take a safety course and a test to prove that they know
how to handle a gun and that they know the rules, Hwa said.
But gun owners, such as Ken Bagby, say that licensing and
registration would burden only law-abiding citizens. ''The
laws that they are creating have nothing to do with stopping
crime. It is an issue that deals with the honest
citizen who will go register their gun,'' he said.
Bagby, who lives in Shelby, N.C., and has been a hunter since
he was a child, said that charging fees for licensing and
registration would discriminate against poor gun owners, who
are often the most vulnerable to crime. ''First it's $25 to
register your gun, then it's $50, then it's $200, then it's what
have you. . . . If a poor person can't afford that, that's
unfair as heck,'' he said. ''These are people that live on
the front line. They're in the housing projects. They need
the protection. The cops won't even go in there sometimes.''
The idea of more federal record-keeping also makes gun owners
uneasy as many are already skeptical of government and fear
that its ultimate goal is to disarm citizens.
''There's no ifs, ands or buts about it . . . the more
information that's there makes it that much easier,'' Bagby
said. Many gun owners have taken to the Internet to express
such fears. Dozens of sites, such as www.thefiringline.com, provide
chat rooms and other forums for concerned gun owners to share
information. ''Every gun owner in America gets really angry and
activated by this,'' said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of
the Violence Policy Center, a Washington-based group that
supports the banning of handguns and other gun control
measures. The intense reaction of the gun lobby to the issue of
licensing and registration is one of the reasons his group does
not push it as a solution to violence. The bigger reason, the
group says, is that licensing and registration would have little
effect on most U.S. gun violence because most homicides are the
result of arguments between people who know each other and who
purchase guns legally.
The focus should be on the product and the manufacturer, not
the user, Sugarmann said. He cites as an example that licensing
and registering of cars had no effect on automobile deaths and
injuries. Cars became safer only after the National Highway
Traffic and Safety Administration was established and
mandated road safety improvements and changes to car designs,
he said. Opponents to national licensing and registering also
say it would be too expensive.
That's what happened in Canada.
In Canada, the government originally estimated that licensing
and registration of that country's 7 million guns would cost
about $185 million Canadian ( $125 million U.S.) over five years
(sic). The project, which began in December 1998, has already cost
more than $320 million Canadian ($216 million U.S.), according
to the Canadian Firearms Centre.
With an estimated 65 million handguns in the United States, the
cost of such a system could be staggering. But proponents of a
national licensing and registration system say that saving lives
would offset any price. ''We definitely think it would be
(worth it) compared to the costs of the gun violence that we
have in this country --- the economic costs, the human costs
and emotional costs,'' Hwa said. While licensing and registration
of firearms is a major goal for gun control advocates, it has not
been on the congressional radar screen. The issue is not included
in a package of gun control proposals --- currently stuck in
Congress --- that includes stricter background checks at
gun shows, requiring child safety locks on guns, and banning
the import of high-capacity ammunition clips.
* Judge Refuses to Dismiss Mass. Gun Lawsuit - Join Together Online -
07/17/2000
Boston, Massachusetts' $100 million lawsuit against gunmakers
will go forward:
A Suffolk County judge refused a request from the firearms
industry to dismiss the case, the Boston Globe reported July 14.
The case will focus on the alleged willful ignorance of safety
issues by 31 gunmakers. It now moves into the discovery phase,
where gun executives could be questioned under oath and
sensitive internal documents subpoenaed.It will be a very broad
inquiry. Because Boston is now out front, we will be able to
discover information that no one has seen up to this point,"
said Eileen Roach, chief deputy general counsel for the Boston
Public Health Commission, which filed the suit on behalf of the
city.The ruling by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Margaret Hinkle
makes Boston's lawsuit the only one in the country so far to
survive challenges by gun manufacturers and lawmakers. Similar
lawsuits to recoup costs associated with gun-related violence
have been dismissed in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bridgeport,
Conn., and Miami, Fla.In addition, state legislatures have
blocked suits in New Orleans, La., Atlanta, Ga., and Detroit,
Mich.
--
Josh Sugarmann is a sly bugger, don't you think, although he
is so incredibly wrong in his assertion that most homicides
in the US are with legally owned guns that you have to
wonder what he's smoking.
And who on Earth would want to buy Japanese small arms
anyway? If you think the SA80 is bad...
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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