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POLL: Do you think background checks of gun buyers should be kept on record? Yes or No VoteTake the poll here: http://www.newscentral.tv CURRENT RESULTS WEB POLL QUESTION:Do you think background checks of gun buyers should be kept on record? 53% Yes <--- ARE YOU GOING TO LET THIS STAND?? 47% No

Ottawa — Former prime minister Jean Chretien's $1-billion gun registry is under review by the new Paul Martin government and likely will be significantly altered in a move that would appeal to Western Canada. Among the changes being considered, sources say, is reallocation of some of the resources used to finance the registry to beef up other areas, such as policing or security at borders where illegal guns make their way into Canada from the United States. A senior government official said yesterday the gun-registry legislation is not "a meaningful law." Most provinces and territories, including Alberta and British Columbia,...

Minn. Shuts Down Controversial Police Database POSTED: 10:51 PM EST December 18, 2003 UPDATED: 1:18 AM EST December 19, 2003 ST. PAUL -- A massive state-run database of confidential police files was shut down Thursday out of concern it violated privacy laws, officials said. Through a password-protected Internet site, the system gave police access -- sometimes right from their squad cars -- to a deep mine of records that included the names of suspects, witnesses and those who have been arrested, convicted and sought gun permits. The network sometimes offered a physical description and also contained juvenile files. Some saw...

Background checks on gun buyers would be retained for 24 hours, instead of 90 days, under a deal Republicans struck during final negotiations over an immense spending bill funding dozens of federal agencies. The $373 billion spending bill, which combines seven overdue annual spending bills, carries the changed rules for background checks that were first proposed in 2001 by Attorney General John D. Ashcroft. Gun rights groups, such as the National Rifle Association, say keeping the records raises privacy concerns. Gun control advocates say destroying the records after 24 hours would hamper federal officials who are trying to keep guns...

John Lott`s new book expands upon a refreshing theme that we rarely see in the firearm debate--that gun control has gone too far. His style is hard-hitting. This is exemplified in the title of Lott`s book, The Bias Against Guns: Why Almost Everything You`ve Heard About Gun Control is Wrong. And Lott doesn`t stop there, noting, "Unfortunately, this bias against guns costs lives." Lott looks at the firearm debate from the perspective of an economist--;the tradeoff between the costs vs. the benefits of civilian firearm ownership--and he finds the benefits far outweigh the costs. His outlook is coldly unbiased; he...

Sheriff's deputies were drawn to the Ford Bronco parked near the end of a runway at Albany International Airport because its custom paint appeared to match the airport's yellow security vehicles. When they confronted the man behind the wheel last May, it wasn't the paint job or the fact he was dressed as a woman that most alarmed police. They wanted to know about the loaded .22-caliber revolver next to him and the pair of rifles in the back. "Let's be real here; this guy was acting irrational," Albany County Chief Deputy Craig Apple said. But police said after questioning...

<p>In a finding that could affect thousands of criminal cases, the National Academy of Sciences has concluded that some techniques the FBI has used for decades to match bullets to crimes are flawed or imprecise.</p> <p>The study, expected to be released in the next few weeks, makes about a half-dozen recommendations to improve the FBI lab's science used to match bullets through their lead content.</p>

House panel OK's ban on lists of gun sales A House committee endorses a bill that would prevent police from compiling and maintaining lists of gun owners and sales. TALLAHASSEE - A man buys a gun at a pawnshop and, months later, mistakenly leaves it at a crime scene. To find him, police say, they could simply type the gun's serial number into a computer database of pawnshop transactions. That could no longer happen under a bill approved Wednesday by a House committee of the state Legislature. The bill, drafted by the National Rifle Association, would prevent police from compiling...

TALLAHASSEE - Invoking Adolf Hitler's and Fidel Castro's atrocities, a handful of conservative lawmakers have filed a bill to prohibit police from compiling gun-owner and gun-sale lists, saying it infringes on citizens' rights to privacy and to own firearms. The proposal, supported by the National Rifle Association, says the records are not legitimate law-enforcement tools and are instead part of ``a phony excuse to harass and abuse American citizens.'' The bill will be heard today in a House judiciary committee alongside two other measures likely to provoke controversy. One would ''immunize'' gun ranges from environmental lawsuits concerning lead and arsenic...

Friday, November 14, 2003 A bill has been introduced by Rep. Lindsay Harrington to prohibit any form of gun registration in Florida. NRA and USF SUPPORT THIS BILL. This bill is scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee next Wednesday morning, November 19, 2003 at 8:00 A.M. It is URGENT that you email members of the Judiciary Committee IMMEDIATELY and urge them to support HB-155 to stop gun registration by government agencies, local governments and law enforcement agencies. In the subject line of your email put the following message: SUPPORT HB-155 -- STOP GUN REGISTRATION Email addresses of...

Florida! Help Put A Stop To Gun Registration! Monday, November 17, 2003 Representative Lindsay Harrington (R-Punta Gorda) has introduced House Bill 155, a bill to prohibit gun registration in Florida. NRA and Unified Sportsmen of Florida (USF) support this critical legislation which is scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, November 19 at 8:00 a.m. It is extremely important that Florida NRA members e-mail the House Judiciary Committee IMMEDIATELY and urge its members to support HB 155, and put a stop to gun registration by government agencies, local governments, and law enforcement agencies. To locate e-mail...

September 03, 2003 TALE OF THE GUN Chicago reporters and pols are obsessed with the gun used in last week's workplace shooting. From the Sun Times: [Acting Chicago Police Superintendent Phil] Cline said Tapia had a Walther .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol and "at least one extra clip.'' Cline described it as "an older model gun.'' The weapon is small and easily concealed, designed for plainclothes officers. According to later stories, the weapon was a Walther PP (not the PPK/S I originally guessed). The Walther PP is one of the older members of a very well-known family of small, German-made semiautomatic pistols....

6/5/2003 5:00:00 PM - The Canadian Firearm Centre says anti-gun lobbyists contributed to a flood of data its infrastructure couldn't handle. We talk to EDS, CGI and the IT expert leading a gun control group for answers An overwhelming number of registrants and anti-gun lobby sabotage shut down the nation's online gun registry days before the New Year's Eve deadline, the Canadian Firearm Centre said Thursday. Both the CFC's main Web site and the secure site that received actual registrations were "down or up sporadically the three or four days before the deadline," said spokesman David Austin. Austin said that...

WASHINGTON, May 7 — President Bush and the National Rifle Association, long regarded as staunch allies, find themselves unlikely adversaries over one of the most significant pieces of gun-control legislation in the last decade, a ban on semiautomatic assault weapons. At issue is a measure to be introduced by Senate Democrats on Thursday to continue the ban. Groundbreaking 1994 legislation outlawing the sale and possession of such firearms will expire next year unless Congress extends it, and many gun-rights groups have made it their top priority to fight it. Even some advocates of gun control say the prohibition has been...

New York, NY, April 10, 2003 – Last week, VIP's gathered at Cipriani to support PAX: the fastest growing gun violence prevention organization in the country. Through its innovative national campaigns, PAX promotes practical solutions that are saving children’s lives every day. This year's event was chaired by Steven J. Heyer, President & COO of Coca-Cola and honored Michael D. Drexler, CEO of Optimedia. Actor and comedian Richard Belzer (Law & Order) emceed the evening with help from comedians Mario Cantone (Sex and the City) and Joy Behar (The View). The event featured a special musical performance by Roberta...

Handgun Licensing & Registration Act of 2003. Handgun Licensing and Registration Act of 2003 (Introduced in House) HR 124 IH 108th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 124 To provide for the mandatory licensing and registration of handguns. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 7, 2003 Mr. HOLT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A BILL To provide for the mandatory licensing and registration of handguns. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be...

(New Britain-AP, Jan. 4, 2003 7:00 PM) _ State police say only two places in the state will issue gun permits and permit renewals this year. A state police spokesman says three locations where permits were processed are closing to save money. The two locations accepting applicants for gun permits are the Department of Public Safety Headquarters in Middletown and the state police barracks in Bridgeport. The towns losing their application offices include Tolland, Litchfield and Montville. The state currently requires people who want a gun license to first obtain a temporary permit from their local police department. Then applicants...

NEWS STORY Countdown on to register guns Firearms owners have till Jan. 1   Barb Pacholik Saskatchewan News Network; Regina Leader-Post Thursday, REGINA -- The difference between being a registered gun owner or a criminal is a mere seven days away. As of Jan. 1, 2003, every gun in Canada is supposed to be registered. The federal government is anticipating "a last-minute rush" as thousands of gun owners aim for the target date, David Austin, spokesperson for the Canadian Firearms Centre (CFC), said earlier this week. "They don't want to run the risk of waiting," he said. After Dec. 31,...

Standing Guard by Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President . A good friend in England—an activist who has watched the rights of firearm owners systematically dismantled there—was asked, “If you had a message for Americans, what would it be?” Instantly, emphatically, he said, “Don’t let them register your guns. If they don’t know where they are or that you have them, they can’t come and take them away from you.” This man knows of what he speaks. He abided by their law, then government changed the law. And the government took his guns. The road leading to government confiscation taken...

Chretien knew of gun fiasco 'years ago'   Tim Naumetz The Ottawa Citizen Thursday, December 12, 2002 Prime Minister Jean Chretien told Liberal MPs and senators yesterday he knew "years ago" that the cost of the federal firearms registry was exceeding original forecasts.During a spirited defence of Industry Minister Allan Rock over the spiralling $1-billion price tag, Mr. Chretien told his caucus he accepts responsibility for the program as prime minister and vowed to "fix" the gun licensing and registry spending problems to continue the system in the interest of public safety.Mr. Chretien rushed to the defence of Mr. Rock...