Montini is a liberal who once did a column on me (and our Department of Revenue activism) http://free_arizona.tripod.com/montini.htm
http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0624montini24.html
http://www.azcentral.com/news/columns/articles/0624montini24.html
Guilty of carrying a loaded opinion without a license
Jun. 24, 2004 12:00 AM
Alan Korwin, author of the Arizona Gun Owner's Guide, believes that I'm ducking his question, which I am. "Really," he says, "why wouldn't you support a license for opinion writers?"
Korwin is good at interviews. He has given lots of them. In press releases sent out through his Web site, gunlaws.com, media representatives are urged to "call for cogent positions on gun issues, informed analysis on proposed laws, talk radio that lights up the switchboard, fact sheets and position papers."
We've been talking about the law in Arizona that permits qualified citizens to carry a concealed weapon. It is 10 years old this summer, and Korwin says that the law has worked so well that it's not necessary. "Widespread reports about impending shootouts in traffic or in restaurants can now be seen, in 20/20 hindsight, as virtually delusional," he wrote. And he's correct. The concealed carry law, which requires applicants to take 16 hours of training and pass a background check, has worked. There was no epidemic of tragedies. From Korwin's point of view, this proves that people are responsible and the law is superfluous. He believes Arizona should follow the lead of Vermont and Alaska, where restrictions like ours don't exist.
"It is our position that a civil and human right must not be conditioned on classes, testing, ID cards, taxes called fees, expiration dates, fingerprinting, photo imaging, inclusion in criminal-record files, and severe penalties for victimless non-compliance," Korwin wrote.
Since gun ownership, free speech and religious practice are protected by the U.S. Constitution, Korwin believes there should be no pre-emptive restraints on any of them. Then again, maybe the requirements of the concealed carry law create safer gun owners. And law enforcement officials say that the concealed carry law helps them deal with gang criminals. Korwin and others may not believe that it is a good enough reason to inconvenience law-abiding citizens, but common sense and the common good have led us to restrict other rights as well. There are things a person in the United States cannot say even though the Constitution proclaims that "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press."
According to a Phoenix police spokesman, the department's gang squad handled 77 cases over the past year in which gang suspects were arrested for violations of the concealed carry law, some of which led to more serious charges. Still, Korwin believes it is unfair (if not unconstitutional) that gun owners face restrictions not imposed on those expressing free speech or freedom of religion.
"A better plan would be mandatory gun training of some sort at the school level so that kids know enough gun safety so that if they ever had one, or found one, or decided to buy one, they could take care of themselves," he says.
I'd go along with a school program (while not eliminating the concealed carry law) as long as those who back firearms education also support sex education. I'm not sure why they wouldn't. After all, if information on guns won't cause kids to act dangerously, then the same must hold true with libidos.
What about Korwin's other loaded question? "Would you support a license for opinion or editorial writers?" he asks again.
Actually, I would. As long as the procedure for gaining a "writer's license" is modeled on our concealed weapons requirements and involves a total of 16 hours of training. That would make it only slightly more rigorous than the work I did to earn a degree from Penn State.
Reach Montini at (602) 444-8978