In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
Anti-gun articles and links to reply to editors
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Risky weaponry J-W Editorials http://www.islandpacket.com/editorial/story/1036447p-1084396c.html Friday, January 25, 2002 An Alaska court allows mentally ill to carry weapons in an already gun-laden society.Officials in Alaska readily admit there are more guns per capita in their state than in any other in America. Matter of fact, there could be more firearms per family "up there" than there are anywhere else in the world.The reason is simple enough: Protection. Not from troublesome neighbors and criminals but from animals; most notably, bears. Matter of fact, a good many Alaskans, such as bush pilots who constantly risk being downed in the wilderness, are required to "carry."It stands to reason that with all those guns and those long winter nights there are bound to be wild west scenarios, even for the sanest of citizens. But now along comes a court ruling that says there should be no restrictions on "concealed carry" even for people known to be mentally ill.One Anchorage judge took away a man's gun permit after he claimed someone had implanted a computer chip in his head and injected him with deadly chemicals. A state appeals court, however, ruled that the judge was wrong. It said Alaska's concealed-carry law does not allow general concerns about mental illness to play a role in deciding whether someone should have a gun, presumably in bear-laden territory.Gun control advocates quickly declared that this shows a dangerous accommodation to the gun lobby. Gun owners, predictably, argue that Alaska's law safeguards Second Amendment rights and that the public is adequately protected.The Department of Public Safety has issued more than 18,000 such permits since 1995 when Alaskans were allowed to carry concealed handguns under restrictions that include an age limit and a gun-safety course. In 1998, the law was amended so that applicants did not have to prove they actually needed to carry a concealed weapon. Also, whether someone is mentally ill or has been treated for mental illness in the preceding five years has been taken off the list of questions applicants are asked.Alaska law requires applicants to disclose only whether they have ever been committed to a mental hospital or found mentally incompetent. "Yes" answers are supposed to be grounds for denying a permit, but now, even that is in question.Pro-gun supporters argue that anyone can obtain and carry a weapon regardless of what laws are in force. Those opposed to the new approach say every step should be taken to keep weapons out of the hands of known problem-makers.Then there is the added defense that even the mentally handicapped should have the right to defend themselves against predators because bears, for instance, make no distinction about mental stability when they are enraged or hungry.It is, however, not reassuring to many that there are no official barriers."They are taking away the discretion of local law enforcement to make these decisions in the best interest of public safety," says Nancy Hwa, a spokeswoman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.It's understandable that people need to defend themselves in the Alaska wilderness, but unrestricted concealed guns could be an even more serious threat than those posed by Alaskan bears.respond to Editor here: http://www.ljworld.com/site/submit_letter
With guns on every street, society's rights out of kilterGreatest protectors have now become the targetsPublished Wednesday, January 23rd, 2002 Two more emergency services professionals were killed over the weekend in South Carolina, a fact that is not only sad but aggravating.Combine those killings with three other recent deaths, including two in Beaufort County, and you find one common denominator: Guns on the streets. You find too many people with guns loaded and at the ready, and you find them using guns to settle their differences.Those who argue for the Constitutional rights of a militia to bear arms should remember that today's "militia" is a loosely knit group of cop killers.Yes, many reasons besides the weaponry will be discovered in the investigations into why these five productive lives were lost. These reasons probably will run the gamut from holes in the judicial system, the mental health system, the school system, the social services system and even the law enforcement system if the guns are found to be possessed illegally.All of society will be blamed, from its institutions to its mores. By now, everyone has heard how much the American entertainment system glorifies violence, from Saturday morning cartoons to adult video games.Weaknesses in all of these systems certainly deserve attention.But a system that doggedly clings to a perceived need for everyone to bear arms also deserves attention.The cold fact will remain that four police officers and an off-duty emergency medical technician have been gunned down in South Carolina in three weeks.The tragedy of it hit home in our county when the lives of two slain deputies were sketched for us from pulpits during back-to-back funerals on one cloudy day. Faces were put on these anonymous givers for the public good, while their children wept nearby.The two Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputies were killed on duty, responding to a call for help. A week earlier, an off-duty officer in Horry County stopped to intervene in a roadside domestic dispute. He was shot and killed. Then last weekend in Charleston, an emergency helicopter nurse and an off-duty police officer were shot and killed. The nurse was enjoying a dinner out when he heard a car crash and rushed to the scene with life-saving on his mind. Instead, he lost his own life when he was shot with a .40 caliber automatic pistol. The same suspect is accused of later shooting the police officer.Loss of life always is hurtful. But what we're seeing today is worse. We're seeing those trained and willing to help society be the ones with the biggest targets on their chests.On their behalf, society must reexamine why there is a gun so many cars, a gun in so many bedrooms and a gun so many pockets.More of the fervor that goes into keeping those guns on the streets needs to be channeled into protecting the rights for our police and emergency workersRespond to editor here: http://www.islandpacket.com/editorial/letters/
Gun culture kills a father, city's futureGrievous losses: How many more families must lose sons, daughters, mothers and fathers? http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/bal-ed.shoot19jan19.story Originally published January 19, 2002WILL THE murder last Tuesday night of Tifford Fields shock law enforcement into a renewed response to the plague of shooters on Baltimore streets? Will U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio become a full partner in the effort to prevent wanton, mindless killings? We pray he will not persist in his determination to operate as if the criminal justice system in Maryland, as now constituted, can protect family men like Mr. Fields. The system doesn't work. But so far Mr. DiBiagio withholds important elements of federal enforcement power. Yes, he's handling some gun cases, but not enough. And he's allowing offenders too many offenses before he takes a case. He's the U.S. attorney in a city overrun by guns and by shooters who feel absolutely free to use them at will. To end the cycle of shooting, Baltimoreans need to crack the gun culture. That will require communication of the certainty that shooters will be prosecuted efficiently and shipped away when convicted. It's a big job. So how can any bit of power be left on the shelf? Is the life of Tifford Fields a price we're willing to pay? We have every confidence that Mr. DiBiagio brings a high level of professionalism to his new post. We agree with his views about the importance of strengthening, and eventually relying on, the entire system of law enforcement. State prosecutors and courts must do better. But we cannot agree with his decision to run his office now as if it were a blue-stocking law firm, free to pick and choose its cases as if separated from the mayhem in the streets, as if the death of Mr. Fields, proud father of three sons, were not symbolic of every father in Baltimore and Maryland, symbolic of this city's precarious future. Every life is precious. But here, it seems, was a model father. He worked hard, cared for his children and seemed on the verge of a promising future. He'd purchased a 1992 Lexus, the car of his dreams. He was moving to a new house. He was the sort of man who anchors a decent and strong community, a man who nurtured and dreamed as all of us do. Now he is gone. We mourn his loss, and cry out in despair and anger at his killers. But we are not asking for uncoordinated, merely symbolic gestures. The approach must be thorough. It must utilize every resource. When society leaves enforcement powers on the shelf, it renews a criminal's license. Our nation must worry about international terrorism, but so far that threat pales in comparison to the daily carnage of gunfire. Shooters in Baltimore fire at will at anyone in their way every day. So far in 2002, 10 people have been killed on city streets and, by the time you read this appeal, the number may well be higher. Over the last 10 years, the toll exceeds 3,000. Death on the streets is part of the Baltimore way of life. We continue to applaud Mayor Martin O'Malley for his commitment to save city families. We applaud his police chief, Edward Norris, who puts every ounce of his professionalism to work. We are grateful to every cop who risks his or her life every day. Of course, we cannot command Mr. DiBiagio to join them. We just don't understand why he doesn't find the loss of life to gun violence worthy of his most intense effort. Perhaps he could explain his reluctance to Mr. Fields' wife and three sons. respond to Editor here: http://www.sunspot.net/about/bal-feedback.htmlstory
Why does Pa. allow guns to be sold to those being treated for mental illness? http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2002/01/18/opinion/ONEFRI18.htm This should begin with a moment of silence and sadness for a lovely young girl murdered as she stood on the brink of womanhood.Alexandra Wake, 14, was an honors student at the private Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr. She was radiant and optimistic, hoping to enroll in an African American university after high school and go on to law school. A few days before her murder, she wrote a paper for her English class, describing her advice to a friend who was reluctant to dance: "Come on," Alexandra advised. "You only live once."Alexandra, her mother, Sandra Watkins, and her maternal grandparents, Jimmy and Juanita Watkins, were all shot to death Tuesday around dinnertime at their Ardmore home by Sandra's husband of four years, Michael Burgess. After the massacre, Burgess killed himself with his semi-automatic handgun.It was all so sad. And such a typical domestic violence tragedy: Man flips out because his wife talks divorce; police called to the house because of loud fights but lack evidence to intervene; friends say later they saw the danger signs. Afterward, widespread reactions of "nothing could be done."That reaction is not good enough. There's no way to state confidently that different laws, different social programs could have prevented this calamity. The mysteries of a mind gone haywire aren't easily fathomed. But there's a chance Tuesday's carnage could have been averted had Burgess - a mentally unstable man under treatment for depression - been denied a gun. He bought one in October, after the first police visit to the troubled household.The purchase was legal because in Pennsylvania - unless one is involuntarily committed - mental illness doesn't prohibit gun ownership. That's true in most states; in Alaska, a judge ruled recently that denying a gun to a deranged man who believed he had a computer chip in his brain would violate his civil rights.Connecticut is one state forging a reasonable middle ground. There, if you tell police about someone who is a threat and possesses a gun, a judge can order the gun removed while police investigate. If Pennsylvania had such a law, friends worried about the spiraling family tragedy in Ardmore could have intervened before it was too late.Pennsylvania's existing gun-purchase laws have some teeth. In fact, guns are denied to many, including those under an active "protection from abuse" (PFA) court order.Lower Merion police say Sandra Watkins was given information explaining how to seek such an order. For her own reasons, she did not.If she had, if the PFA order had prevented him from buying a gun, five lives might have been spared.Too many "ifs." For the sake of a dead girl who will never soar as she might have, Pennsylvania must work to place more safeguards between the next Alexandra and a violent end.Respond to editor: http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/home/newsroom.htm
With guns on every street, society's rights out of kilterGreatest protectors have now become the targetsPublished Wednesday, January 23rd, 2002 Two more emergency services professionals were killed over the weekend in South Carolina, a fact that is not only sad but aggravating.Combine those killings with three other recent deaths, including two in Beaufort County, and you find one common denominator: Guns on the streets. You find too many people with guns loaded and at the ready, and you find them using guns to settle their differences.Those who argue for the Constitutional rights of a militia to bear arms should remember that today's "militia" is a loosely knit group of cop killers.Yes, many reasons besides the weaponry will be discovered in the investigations into why these five productive lives were lost. These reasons probably will run the gamut from holes in the judicial system, the mental health system, the school system, the social services system and even the law enforcement system if the guns are found to be possessed illegally.All of society will be blamed, from its institutions to its mores. By now, everyone has heard how much the American entertainment system glorifies violence, from Saturday morning cartoons to adult video games.Weaknesses in all of these systems certainly deserve attention.But a system that doggedly clings to a perceived need for everyone to bear arms also deserves attention.The cold fact will remain that four police officers and an off-duty emergency medical technician have been gunned down in South Carolina in three weeks.The tragedy of it hit home in our county when the lives of two slain deputies were sketched for us from pulpits during back-to-back funerals on one cloudy day. Faces were put on these anonymous givers for the public good, while their children wept nearby.The two Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputies were killed on duty, responding to a call for help. A week earlier, an off-duty officer in Horry County stopped to intervene in a roadside domestic dispute. He was shot and killed. Then last weekend in Charleston, an emergency helicopter nurse and an off-duty police officer were shot and killed. The nurse was enjoying a dinner out when he heard a car crash and rushed to the scene with life-saving on his mind. Instead, he lost his own life when he was shot with a .40 caliber automatic pistol. The same suspect is accused of later shooting the police officer.Loss of life always is hurtful. But what we're seeing today is worse. We're seeing those trained and willing to help society be the ones with the biggest targets on their chests.On their behalf, society must reexamine why there is a gun so many cars, a gun in so many bedrooms and a gun so many pockets.More of the fervor that goes into keeping those guns on the streets needs to be channeled into protecting the rights for our police and emergency workersRespond to editor here: http://www.islandpacket.com/editorial/letters/
Gun culture kills a father, city's futureGrievous losses: How many more families must lose sons, daughters, mothers and fathers? http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/bal-ed.shoot19jan19.story Originally published January 19, 2002WILL THE murder last Tuesday night of Tifford Fields shock law enforcement into a renewed response to the plague of shooters on Baltimore streets? Will U.S. Attorney Thomas M. DiBiagio become a full partner in the effort to prevent wanton, mindless killings? We pray he will not persist in his determination to operate as if the criminal justice system in Maryland, as now constituted, can protect family men like Mr. Fields. The system doesn't work. But so far Mr. DiBiagio withholds important elements of federal enforcement power. Yes, he's handling some gun cases, but not enough. And he's allowing offenders too many offenses before he takes a case. He's the U.S. attorney in a city overrun by guns and by shooters who feel absolutely free to use them at will. To end the cycle of shooting, Baltimoreans need to crack the gun culture. That will require communication of the certainty that shooters will be prosecuted efficiently and shipped away when convicted. It's a big job. So how can any bit of power be left on the shelf? Is the life of Tifford Fields a price we're willing to pay? We have every confidence that Mr. DiBiagio brings a high level of professionalism to his new post. We agree with his views about the importance of strengthening, and eventually relying on, the entire system of law enforcement. State prosecutors and courts must do better. But we cannot agree with his decision to run his office now as if it were a blue-stocking law firm, free to pick and choose its cases as if separated from the mayhem in the streets, as if the death of Mr. Fields, proud father of three sons, were not symbolic of every father in Baltimore and Maryland, symbolic of this city's precarious future. Every life is precious. But here, it seems, was a model father. He worked hard, cared for his children and seemed on the verge of a promising future. He'd purchased a 1992 Lexus, the car of his dreams. He was moving to a new house. He was the sort of man who anchors a decent and strong community, a man who nurtured and dreamed as all of us do. Now he is gone. We mourn his loss, and cry out in despair and anger at his killers. But we are not asking for uncoordinated, merely symbolic gestures. The approach must be thorough. It must utilize every resource. When society leaves enforcement powers on the shelf, it renews a criminal's license. Our nation must worry about international terrorism, but so far that threat pales in comparison to the daily carnage of gunfire. Shooters in Baltimore fire at will at anyone in their way every day. So far in 2002, 10 people have been killed on city streets and, by the time you read this appeal, the number may well be higher. Over the last 10 years, the toll exceeds 3,000. Death on the streets is part of the Baltimore way of life. We continue to applaud Mayor Martin O'Malley for his commitment to save city families. We applaud his police chief, Edward Norris, who puts every ounce of his professionalism to work. We are grateful to every cop who risks his or her life every day. Of course, we cannot command Mr. DiBiagio to join them. We just don't understand why he doesn't find the loss of life to gun violence worthy of his most intense effort. Perhaps he could explain his reluctance to Mr. Fields' wife and three sons. respond to Editor here: http://www.sunspot.net/about/bal-feedback.htmlstory
Why does Pa. allow guns to be sold to those being treated for mental illness? http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2002/01/18/opinion/ONEFRI18.htm This should begin with a moment of silence and sadness for a lovely young girl murdered as she stood on the brink of womanhood.Alexandra Wake, 14, was an honors student at the private Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr. She was radiant and optimistic, hoping to enroll in an African American university after high school and go on to law school. A few days before her murder, she wrote a paper for her English class, describing her advice to a friend who was reluctant to dance: "Come on," Alexandra advised. "You only live once."Alexandra, her mother, Sandra Watkins, and her maternal grandparents, Jimmy and Juanita Watkins, were all shot to death Tuesday around dinnertime at their Ardmore home by Sandra's husband of four years, Michael Burgess. After the massacre, Burgess killed himself with his semi-automatic handgun.It was all so sad. And such a typical domestic violence tragedy: Man flips out because his wife talks divorce; police called to the house because of loud fights but lack evidence to intervene; friends say later they saw the danger signs. Afterward, widespread reactions of "nothing could be done."That reaction is not good enough. There's no way to state confidently that different laws, different social programs could have prevented this calamity. The mysteries of a mind gone haywire aren't easily fathomed. But there's a chance Tuesday's carnage could have been averted had Burgess - a mentally unstable man under treatment for depression - been denied a gun. He bought one in October, after the first police visit to the troubled household.The purchase was legal because in Pennsylvania - unless one is involuntarily committed - mental illness doesn't prohibit gun ownership. That's true in most states; in Alaska, a judge ruled recently that denying a gun to a deranged man who believed he had a computer chip in his brain would violate his civil rights.Connecticut is one state forging a reasonable middle ground. There, if you tell police about someone who is a threat and possesses a gun, a judge can order the gun removed while police investigate. If Pennsylvania had such a law, friends worried about the spiraling family tragedy in Ardmore could have intervened before it was too late.Pennsylvania's existing gun-purchase laws have some teeth. In fact, guns are denied to many, including those under an active "protection from abuse" (PFA) court order.Lower Merion police say Sandra Watkins was given information explaining how to seek such an order. For her own reasons, she did not.If she had, if the PFA order had prevented him from buying a gun, five lives might have been spared.Too many "ifs." For the sake of a dead girl who will never soar as she might have, Pennsylvania must work to place more safeguards between the next Alexandra and a violent end.Respond to editor: http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/home/newsroom.htm