City gives out gun locks despite lawsuit, recall

WAGCEVP

New member
''Rapists love trigger locks.''
Sounds like South Miami could use a JPFO billboard sign. :rolleyes:
---- http://www.herald.com/content/today/docs/090861.htm
Published Sunday, August 27, 2000, in the Miami Herald

City gives out gun locks despite lawsuit, recall
BY CAROLYN SALAZAR

In the face of a lawsuit by the National Rifle Association and a wide-scale
recall of nearly a million gun locks, the city of South Miami kicked off its
controversial gun-safety awareness initiative Saturday by giving away more
than 325 gun locks.

The city has launched an aggressive campaign, lining the streets with
''in-your-face'' advertisements on gun safety. After passing an ordinance
requiring the use of gun locks within city limits, the city began offering
gun-safety classes for adults and children.

'We're trying to protect the safety of the children in this community,''
said Mayor Julio Robaina. ''And this is just the beginning.''

Under South Miami's ordinance, weapon owners who do not use a gun lock will
be slapped with a $250 fine the first time they are caught and a $500 fine
for each subsequent offense. The NRA sued the city last month claiming the
ordinance is unconstitutional.

Despite the suit, the city gave away 325 plastic or metal locks that prevent
a gun from being fired and require a key or combination to be opened.

The giveaway comes just after Master Lock recalled 752,000 gun locks because
of a manufacturing problem that made the devices useless. The city is not
giving away any Master Lock gun locks.

About a dozen demonstrators showed up at City Hall to protest the city's
stance on the issue. Arguing that they are unsafe and risky, some clutched
glossy cardboard signs that read, ''Rapists love trigger locks.''

''There are other things people can do to prevent accidental deaths. Parents
can put away guns, lock them inside a cabinet or unload the gun,'' said Ines
Rosado, president of the South Florida Firearms Owners. ''But forcing people
to put a lock on their gun is not the answer.''

Still, hundreds trickled in all day Saturday to pick one up.

Fernando Hernández had a personal reason for volunteering Saturday: a gun
lock could have saved his son's life.

His 11-year-old son, Christopher, came to his West Kendall home early from
school on March 2, 1998. Christopher went through his father's drawers,
found his .25-caliber pistol, pointed it toward his temple and shot himself.

''He was a good student, had a brown belt in karate and was a good kid. I
assume he did it because he thought he had disappointed us,'' Hernández
said. ''That would not have happened if the gun had a safety lock.''

Gun locks will be available at City Hall, 6130 Sunset Dr., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday, and anytime at the police department. Call the police
department at 305-663-6301 to have a gun lock delivered at home.

------
CLINTON IS A LIAR!

When women are disarmed, a rapist will never hear - Stop or I'll shoot!
Armed Citizens SAVE Lives! http://www.wagc.com http://sites.netscape.net/wagcga/homepage http://www.mothersarms.com http://www.2ampd.net


Gun Control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and
strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a
woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound.

"Quemadmoeum gladis nemeinum occidit, occidentis telum
est" ("A sword is never a killer, it's a tool in the killer's hands")
Lucius Annaeus Seneca "the younger" ca. (4 BC - 65 AD)
 
I'll put a lock on my guns the day that all uniformed LEO's have a lock on the gun in their holsters while on duty.
 
Oh, well . . . it's the thought that counts.

------------------
"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build it:
except the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." (Psalm 127:1)


"Freedom is given to the human conditionally, in the assumption of his constant religious responsibility."
(Alexander Solzhenitzyn)
 
I preface this by saying that I feel for Mr Hernandez' loss, but...

1. He left a loaded gun in the house without adult supervision.

2. He did not lock up the gun when he left.

3. Trigger locks are unsafe for use with loaded guns. (See #1)

If he had been a responsible gun owner, there is a good chance his son would be alive, even without trigger locks.



[This message has been edited by DialONE911 (edited August 27, 2000).]
 
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