Archive for March, 2014

MANILA: SC gets 2 petitions vs gun control law

Wednesday, March 26th, 2014
By Ina Reformina, ABS-CBN News
Posted at 03/26/2014 10:09 AM | Updated as of 03/26/2014 10:09 AM

MANILA – Two petitions have been filed with the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday that seek to nullify certain provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 10591, also known as the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act of 2013.

The law, signed on May 25, 2013, has become controversial for imposing stricter requirements for obtaining firearm licenses, and stiffer penalties for violators.

The Peaceful Respondent Owners of Guns, Inc. (Progun) filed its petition against the Philippine National Police (PNP), alleging grave abuse of discretion on the part of the PNP for ordering the centralization of all firearms requirements, testing, and licensing in its headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

The group said this is “arbitrary, whimsical, and so difficult to comply with,” considering that there are 1.5 million licensed gun owners in the country spread all over the regions.

Progun also hit the law for being violative of the constitutional guarantee against unreasonable searches, for providing that “all firearms applicants and owners under compulsion to ‘waive’ their right [to] the privacy of their homes and allow the police to enter their dwelling under the guise of inspection.”

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National gun control lobby pushes for a dangerous weapons search in Tasmania

Friday, March 21st, 2014

Via ABC.NET.AU

The national gun control lobby wants more resources put into finding dangerous weapons hidden in the Tasmanian community.

On Monday police in Devonport seized a semi-automatic assault rifle and other unregistered firearms from a local property.

Only a few assault rifles have been seized in Tasmania since they were outlawed after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

Detective senior sergeant Joanne Stolp says police believe there are more in the community.

“They have just never come to light because either searches haven’t been conducted or people have forgotten about them lying around,” she said.

Roland Browne from Gun Control Australia says police need more resources to find the guns.

“They are liable to be stolen, we can’t rely on people handing them in,” he said.

Police say no semi-automatic rifles have been used in crimes in Tasmania since 1996.