-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Coos Co. man wants a gun in every house Former sheriff Mike Cook proposes an ordinance that he says would not be enforced but might well deter crime Sunday, July 1, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By Wendy Owen, Correspondent, The Oregonian COQUILLE -- A former Coos County sheriff is hoping the pen is mightier than the . . . rifle. Mike Cook wants Coos County Commissioners to pass an ordinance requiring every household to have a firearm, but he said it doesn't have to be enforced. It's the written law he hopes will scare away criminals, much like a "beware of dog" sign on a gate. Cook, who works part-time at a North Bend gun shop, said the death of a 15-year-old Coquille girl last summer had sparked his plan. "A lot of people in the community, especially a lot of ladies, were nervous about their safety," Cook said. "I thought this has really got the community upset." So, Cook hopped on the Internet and came across an article about a gun ordinance in Kennesaw, Ga. that was credited for helping reduce crime in the town by requiring a gun in every household. The effect of the ordinance was unforeseen, said Cpl. Craig Graydon of the Kennesaw Police Department. The city council had passed the law in 1982 as a political statement, supporting the right to bear arms after a town in Illinois had banned handguns. But a year after its highly publicized passage, crimes fell by 27 percent, according to police records. The number of crimes has remained at 1982 levels despite a jump in Kennesaw's population from 5,000 to 19,000 during the past 19 years. Graydon said word of the ordinance must have spread in criminal circles as a result of the widespread media coverage. While the nation concentrated on Kennesaw, the city council in Chiloquin, north of Klamath Falls, passed a similar ordinance, which stands today. Neither of the towns enforces the laws and both documents contain loopholes for citizens who can't have firearms because of their religion, a disability, criminal record or because they are philosophically opposed to the idea. The Coos County ordinance would hold the same provisions. The law didn't change anything in Chiloquin, said Joyce Smith, the mayor and city recorder. The town of 716 has always had very little crime. News accounts in 1982 quote Chiloquin city council members as supporting the ordinance out of worry that Californians moving to the area would bring their anti-gun ideas with them and restrict firearms in town. In the early 1990s, a new city council reviewed the ordinance as it cleaned its books of useless laws -- such as making it a crime to kick off the head of a snake sticking through the boardwalk -- but the unenforceable gun ordinance remained, Smith said -- "I think because it puts us on the map and it's a good conversation starter." A citizen's group in Jackson County tried to pass a similar ordinance in 1993 but failed. Neighboring Josephine County passed a charter amendment in 1994 forbidding any new law that would infringe upon rights of citizens to bear arms. A statewide attempt in 1993 by then-Rep. Liz VanLeeuwen, R-Halsey, would have required gun ownership and training as a deterrent to crime. It didn't even make it to the House Judiciary Committee. VanLeeuwen, who served in the House between 1980 and 1999, said she still believes every household should have a gun, especially in rural areas. "I think what sparked it for me is people who live where I do would never get a law officer (in time). You'd be gone. That's pretty slow help," she said. "If you're prepared and strong, someone is not so apt to attack." When Virgin, Utah, passed a similar ordinance last year, the town of 400 people made international news. According to reports, three U.S. cities have repealed similar laws they passed. Coos County Commissioners agreed to meet with Cook to discuss the proposed ordinance, but they're going in with eyebrows raised. Commissioner Nikki Whitty said she wants to get local law enforcement's thoughts about the ordinance, including how to implement the law when it has no enforcement mechanism. Coos County Sheriff Andy Jackson said he doesn't believe the unenforced law would cause additional problems from more guns in the hands of more people. But he does sees it as a hypocrisy. "From what I hear, nobody wants to be forced into a demand to have a gun, just like people don't want guns taken away," he said. Cook guessed that almost every household in Coos County already has a gun in it, as was the case in Virgin, Kennesaw and Chiloquin. "It's not going to change things that much," Cook said of the law. "But it will tell the world, 'Don't mess with us.' " *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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