From: Jim Pullen, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Scourge of Guns
September 5, 2000
We live in a nation awash in guns where more than 30,000 Americans
die annually by gunfire, a toll that includes about 4,000 children
and teenagers. Yet despite these horrible statistics, Americans
are allowed, as in few other industrialized countries, to buy and
keep an unlimited arsenal of firearms with very few restrictions
and little government regulation.
The massacre at Columbine High School and multiple killings in
schools, workplaces, restaurants and other public places have
brought home to voters the need for stricter, more consistent gun
control laws. Yet Congress has been shamelessly servile to the
demands of the National Rifle Association, refusing to approve
even the most modest measures that might help curb gun violence.
On this central public safety issue the two presidential
candidates, Vice President Al Gore and Gov. George W. Bush, have
very different records and agendas that will determine whether
meaningful controls are achieved in the next administration.
There are now some 190 million firearms in civilian hands, about
three-quarters of which are owned by only 10 percent of the adult
population. About 65 million of those firearms are handguns, which
are responsible for most gun-related deaths and injuries.
In an ideal world, a central agency would oversee the manufacture
and distribution of guns in the way that government regulates
other potentially hazardous products, like drugs and pesticides.
But in the absence of a truly comprehensive regulatory regime,
there are several important steps that can be taken to prevent the
death toll from rising.
One key improvement would be a law establishing nationwide
licensing of gun owners and registration for the tens of millions
of firearms now in circulation. Such a system would ensure that
gun owners pass safety training tests and enable law enforcement
agencies to track weapons to their owners. The Brady law requiring
background checks of gun purchasers has stopped tens of thousands
of felons from buying handguns from licensed dealers. But in 1998,
the five-day waiting period for handgun purchasers under that law
expired and was replaced by a national instant check system.
Congress should approve at least a mandatory three-day waiting
period to allow for more thorough background checks of non-felony
records on mental health and domestic violence charges.
Congress also needs to close the loophole in the law that allows
criminals and other unqualified individuals to buy guns at gun
shows without having to undergo a background check. This is a huge
problem. There are more than 4,000 gun shows held annually around
the country, and these events have become a major source of guns
that are illegally trafficked and end up in criminal hands.
Congress's refusal to close this deadly loophole is an
unconscionable concession to the pro-gun lobby.
A nationwide one-gun-a-month purchase limit for individuals would
help reduce the number of guns on the street. Raising the minimum
age for possession of handguns and assault weapons from 18 to 21
and requiring mandatory child safety locks on handguns could help
prevent some gun deaths and injuries to children.
Mr. Gore has embraced many of these proposals -- pushing strongly
for licensing for gun owners, closing the gun show loophole,
banning the sale of cheap "junk guns" that are so often used in
crimes, enacting a three-day waiting period, a one-gun-a-month
rule and various child safety provisions.
Mr. Bush seems to be softening his pro-gun stance, but his record
in Texas has been one to gladden Charlton Heston's heart. In 1995
he signed a law that made it legal for Texas residents to carry
concealed weapons, and in 1997 he expanded that law to allow
concealed weapons in churches and hospitals unless those
institutions expressly prohibit weapons on their premises. Last
year Governor Bush signed a law making it extremely difficult for
cities in Texas to bring lawsuits against gun manufacturers. Such
suits by many cities around the country have been instrumental in
putting pressure on Smith & Wesson, the nation's largest gun
manufacturer, to agree to alter the way it makes and markets guns.
Mr. Bush opposes licensing and registration, a three-day waiting
period on purchases, and limiting purchases to one gun a month. On
the campaign trail and in his literature, he emphasizes tougher
enforcement of existing laws, although he does say he will not
push for a nationwide version of Texas's concealed weapons law. He
says he would accept some type of background check at gun shows,
and that he would sign a mandatory trigger lock requirement if
Congress put such a measure on his desk.
But relying on Congress to take the lead means nothing will be
done. Presidential leadership and passion will be crucial if there
is any hope of enacting new forms of gun control.
--
This is pure propaganda, Al Gore was very pro-gun until he
teamed up with Clinton, the difference between Gore and
Bush on the gun issue is that Gore is a blatant hypocrite.
Steve.
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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