http://www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20000623/opinion/10675.html
On June 4, the Associated Press reported that 204,000 people were stopped from buying guns in 1999 out of 8.7 million. This was haled as a "success" of the watered down Brady Bill.
There are now 8.7 million more guns in the hands of criminals, gun nuts and drug dealers. The Brady Bill was suppose to stop the sale of guns to these people, instead thanks to the NRA, millions more guns are on the street where they can kill our kids.
I thought maybe Ithaca could show some sanity. It can't. According to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Department, 7,604 guns are in the city. Almost one out of every four people in the city can get a gun.
That means there are hundreds of kids who have access to guns to bring with them to school. And the city has no law mandating that guns be stored safely away from children.
Those 7,604 guns in the city are just those the police know about. I told this scary news to my neighbors and one of them told me he had two guns that were not registered with the police. The police would not investigate when I called because, "Unless you see the gun, or know where the gun is, he has not committed a crime." In the meantime you have children attending IHS who could bring these guns to school.
The Center for Prevention of Handgun Violence has some suggestions for a safe city:
Prohibit the sale and ownership of more than 50 bullets within the city.
Pass laws requiring the disclosure of gun ownership like Megan's law.
Require inspections of gun owner's homes to verify safe storage of weapons.
Prohibit weapons in all public areas, supermarkets, theaters, post offices, churches, and parks.
Do not allow your children to go into a house where you know or suspect a gun is. Let the parents know that you are doing this and tell them firmly that your children will be allowed to go back only when they have turned their guns over to the police.
We as parents need to isolate our children from guns, tell them of the dangers of associating with people who have guns. A gun in the home shows a lack of love of children. It's a tragedy waiting to happen.
Richard Hunter
City of Ithaca, June 14
On June 4, the Associated Press reported that 204,000 people were stopped from buying guns in 1999 out of 8.7 million. This was haled as a "success" of the watered down Brady Bill.
There are now 8.7 million more guns in the hands of criminals, gun nuts and drug dealers. The Brady Bill was suppose to stop the sale of guns to these people, instead thanks to the NRA, millions more guns are on the street where they can kill our kids.
I thought maybe Ithaca could show some sanity. It can't. According to the Tompkins County Sheriff's Department, 7,604 guns are in the city. Almost one out of every four people in the city can get a gun.
That means there are hundreds of kids who have access to guns to bring with them to school. And the city has no law mandating that guns be stored safely away from children.
Those 7,604 guns in the city are just those the police know about. I told this scary news to my neighbors and one of them told me he had two guns that were not registered with the police. The police would not investigate when I called because, "Unless you see the gun, or know where the gun is, he has not committed a crime." In the meantime you have children attending IHS who could bring these guns to school.
The Center for Prevention of Handgun Violence has some suggestions for a safe city:
Prohibit the sale and ownership of more than 50 bullets within the city.
Pass laws requiring the disclosure of gun ownership like Megan's law.
Require inspections of gun owner's homes to verify safe storage of weapons.
Prohibit weapons in all public areas, supermarkets, theaters, post offices, churches, and parks.
Do not allow your children to go into a house where you know or suspect a gun is. Let the parents know that you are doing this and tell them firmly that your children will be allowed to go back only when they have turned their guns over to the police.
We as parents need to isolate our children from guns, tell them of the dangers of associating with people who have guns. A gun in the home shows a lack of love of children. It's a tragedy waiting to happen.
Richard Hunter
City of Ithaca, June 14
