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World's parliaments urged to act on gun control

30 Apr 2007 12:31:40 GMT
Source: Reuters

JAKARTA, April 30 (Reuters) - Parliamentarians around the world should press for urgent action on gun control, particularly in view of recent tragedies, the head of a global body representing lawmakers said on Monday.

Anders Johnsson, secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, was speaking after the launch of a handbook aimed at guiding legislators in the area of gun control.

"We are pushing parliamentarians to act on this," he said by telephone from the resort island of Bali where the IPU, which claims 148 affiliated national parliaments, is meeting.

The handbook has been jointly launched by the IPU and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based think tank.

"The statistics are damning. There are currently an estimated 640 million small arms and light weapons in circulation, from handguns and assault rifles to shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles," Johnsson and Martin Griffiths of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue said in a joint statement.

"Most of this arsenal, or about 60 percent, is in the hands of civilians. Recent dramatic events have proved the urgent need for action," they added, noting that parliamentarians had a key role in gun control through drawing up national laws, improving implementation and enforcement, and leading public debate.

The statement said small arms and light weapons took between 200,000 and 270,000 lives a year in countries that were at peace, through homicide and suicide.

The gun control issue was thrown into the spotlight again in April by the massacre of 32 people at Virginia Tech in the United States by lone gunman Cho Seung-Hui.

The Democratic-led Congress has ignited fresh talk about tightening U.S. gun laws, but many politicians are reluctant to take on the nation's numerous gun owners or the powerful gun lobby.

Johnsson said that no U.S. lawmakers were able to attend the meeting this week in Bali.

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Last updated:Mon Apr 30 12:33:36 2007