WFSA Current News - March 2002

March 30, 2002

Japanese office reorganization covers small arms
            According to a Kyodo report today, the Japanese Foreign Ministry has indicated its intention to reorganize its efforts to handle policy relating to land mines and small arms. Alterations to staffing were initiated after an abuse of power by a ministry official, since found guilty and sentenced to gaol for embezzlement.
            At the same time as the reshuffle, the Ministry intends to put in place a Conventional Weapons Division with the task of implementing foreign policy concerning conventional weapons.
            The announcement made it clear that the new section is intended to assist Japanese efforts to clear land mines out of Afghanistan . This is part of the larger Japanese view that it has a role in collecting up rebel arms and helping damp internal strife in countries all over the world.
            Japan is the only country to have a separate office for small arms and landmines.

March 30, 2002

Arms smuggling in Taiwan
            The Taiwanese Coast Guard has announced the interception of a weapons haul that was being smuggled in from the Philippines.
            More than 170 items, including automatic weapons and hand grenades, were found in a boat registered locally and pulled over by coast guard vessels some fourteen miles off the coast.
            Reuters today reported an unnamed official as saying this was the largest smuggling attempt in the history of Taiwan.
            It would appear, however, to be difficult to comment accurately on the actual figures for smuggled firearms, considering the nature of smuggling.

 
March 29, 2002

American gun trade deplores litigation approach
            The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) today issued a press release through Newswire. Officials in Jersey City , NJ , have announced their intention to continue the process of mounting lawsuits against gun manufacturers in a bid to have them blamed for criminal and accidental misuse of firearms.
            Cities have been urged by anti-gun groups to follow this course of action, but in no case so far has it been successful. Only one day before the Jersey City announcement, the City of Boston abandoned one such case of its own.
             Lawrence G. Keane, the NSSF Vice President, said, "We are surprised and disappointed that Jersey City is choosing expensive and time-consuming litigation rather than following Boston's leadership to embrace cooperation and communication as the best way to reduce the criminal and accidental misuse of firearms, goals our industry has long supported."
            The NSSF is a member of the WFSA, which espouses the principles of government and the firearm trade working together to produce effective answers to perceived problems.
            Keane declared the firearm trade to be willing to continue with communication in the hope of receiving co-operation from the Jersey City Mayor, Glenn Cunningham. He pointed to the City of Boston in dropping its lawsuit acknowledging that “the firearms industry has a genuine and longstanding commitment to reducing accidents and working cooperatively with law enforcement."
            The NSSF was founded in 1961 and today represents about 1,900 members involved in the sales and marketing of firearms and related products. Information about its activities is available on the NSSF website at http://www.nssf.org .

March 27, 2002

European Union game proposals
            The on-line magazine leadshot.com today published a piece concerning the European Union (EU) and its intrusion into longstanding practices related to game shooting.
            The taking of driven game by shooters in Britain has always had a component of marketing. In many shoots, the participants are given a number of birds to take home for personal consumption, and the rest of the bag is sent to market to offset costs of breeding and management programs on the properties hosting the shooting.                 
             The handling and storage of game are of course heavily covered by local law. Game shooters in the United Kingdom have been managing these affairs in their own jurisdiction for a very long time, as would be expected in an environment where produce from local shooting clubs finds its way through the markets for public consumption.
            Next month the European Parliament is to consider new regulations. The article suggests considerable concern in Britain at what they entail. EU member states would be required to present courses in the “normal anatomy, physiology and behaviour of wild game animals”. Anyone taking game to market would be required to have “sufficient knowledge of wild game hygiene and pathology in order to undertake an initial examination of wild game on the spot”. In the absence of bureaucratically-qualified people on the ground in the local shooting club to carry out such checks, the birds once shot might have to be transported to a veterinarian for examination.
            The full story is available at: http://www.leadshot.com/story.asp?id=502  

March 27, 2002

 Israelis and self-defence
            As attacks on Israeli citizens in public places have increased, concerns for safety have risen. A spokesman for the Police, Gil Kleiman, is reported by Reuters as saying that terrorists are selecting any public places including synagogues as targets, and the Jewish Passover holiday is a time of special concern because of the large numbers of people assembling.
            Using electronic equipment and carrying arms are activities usually prohibited during religious holidays. These rules have exceptions when it is necessary to save human life. Thousands of police and soldiers will be deployed over the critical days with a view to widely increasing their presence, but within the population there will also be individuals armed with guns and cellular telephones, even in synagogues. More than 1,400 people have been killed in the unrest since Palestinian peace negotiations broke down in September, 2000.
            The conclusion appears to be that as a general principle a state has a limit on its capacity to take responsibility for protecting all of its citizens at all times.