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Politics : The Truth About Islam -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (464)	9/5/2006 3:04:46 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 20106

Turks demand stricter gun laws amid high death toll at festivities AP/International Herald Tribune ^ \| 9/4/06 iht.com ANKARA, Turkey-At a recent wedding, Abbas Karaca pulled his gun from his holster and began shooting in the air in celebration with other guests. Moments later, a wedding musician lay dead, his neck accidentally pierced by a bullet fired from Karaca's gun. Pianist Hakkan Kutlu was one of the hundreds killed each year in Turkey by stray bullets fired at celebrations. Critics say it is one of the world's highest death tolls from stray bullets at festivities and are demanding that the government take action to curb handgun ownership. "Guns should only be sold to people who can prove they are capable of being responsible gun owners," said Altay Akturk of The Umut Foundation, a gun control advocacy campaign group. "People in Turkey need to learn to enjoy themselves at festivities while letting others live at the same time." According to officials statistics, some 600 people were killed last year in gun accidents. The Umut Foundation — the name means hope in Turkish — estimates that at least 200 of those people were killed by revelers firing into the air to celebrate weddings, circumcisions or sports victories. The tradition is rooted in Turkish reverence for its former imperial glory. The calls for curbing guns come as Turkey is pushing to enter the EU — which has pressured the country on other cultural practices seen at odds with Western values, notably honor killings. The government has taken action and reformed laws which in some cases will sharply boost the penalties for firing in public or accidentally taking another person's life. But gun control advocates say that police laxly enforce the laws and that more must be done to curb the gun culture in a society that reveres its imperial past.