South Africa: New gun law chaos: "No new firearm licences have been issued in the Western Cape since the new Firearms Control Act came into effect. And experts believe that at the rate that renewals are now being handled, it will take literally thousands of years to complete the process. The latest statistics on this act paint a gloomy picture for firearm owners in the Western Cape. The police's Phuti Setati said that up to 15 August only 16 firearm licences had been renewed in the Western Cape and that no new licences had been issued in the province. "



Texas: Mom acquitted in shooting of boyfriend: "A woman who shot her boyfriend and then allowed her 9-year-old son to initially take responsibility was acquitted of murder today in a Harris County courtroom. Jurors apparently accepted Erika Lynn Ruiz's contention that she was protecting herself and her son from abuse when she shot Jose Flores Martinez once in the head in her southwest Houston apartment last year. . Ruiz, a former Sharpstown High School security guard, told jurors that Martinez was physically abusing her when she grabbed a pistol from the bedroom and shot him as he continued approaching her. She said she thought he might assault her son, who witnessed the shooting.After police arrived, however, the boy told them he had fired the gun at the man he knew as `Pepe.' After spending the night in police custody, however, the boy recanted and told police his mother had shot Martinez. Ruiz's son, now 10 and living in Kansas, testified this week that he saw Martinez assault his mother and slam her to the floor before she ran into the bedroom and grabbed her gun. She then backed into a corner, but Martinez continued advancing toward her, the boy said."