South African gun owners hold rally: "Gun owners will protest on Friday and Saturday against new legislation on gun ownership. 'This unjust law must be scrapped,' the Black Gunowners Association (BGA) and Victims Against Crime (VAC) said in a joint statement on Friday about the newly-implemented Firearms Control Act. The protests would begin on Friday in Cape Town outside parliament with a lunch-hour 'solidarity' demonstration by VAC followed on Saturday by a rally in Johannesburg. BGA chairperson Abios Khoele is expected to address 'thousands of gun owners' at the rally. The two organisations said the current procedure to qualify for firearm licence was 'cumbersome, very expensive, frustrating' and discriminated against the disadvantaged who could not read or write."




Firearm fever in Russia: "After the recent terrorist act in Beslan, Russians began purchasing legal means of self-defense. Some even address direct letters to different law-enforcement agencies across country with a plea to authorize sales of hunting rifles and self-defense firearms. State Duma plans to adopt certain amendments by the end of this month, aimed at restricting the overall turnover of firearms and explosives in the country. The amendment however will apply only to Russian special services. At the same time, many delegates express their affirmative views to make the firearms market more liberal. According to them, if the state is unable to protect its citizens, let them have the right protect themselves, writes 'Izvestia.'"




Brazil gun buyback plan : "Brazil's federal police force says a government campaign to cut gun crime by offering to buy back weapons is going twice as well as expected. Police said they had met their target of collecting 80,000 guns in under three months, rather than six months. Brazilians who hand back their weapons are eligible for up to $100."