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Atlanta Constitution: Ensuring easy gun access keeps children in danger
Tuesday, May 30, 2000
Charlton Heston and his allies in the National Rifle Association contend that America's lax gun laws and plentiful firearms are not factors in youth gun violence --- episodes such as the recent shooting death of a 13-year-old Bartow County child.
Sure, they'll admit that the boy's death and the arrest of his 14-year-old friend last week represent a tragedy. But look at last week's story about the Atlanta man who shot and killed a home invader. Why, the NRA asks, don't gun control advocates ever mention the instances where guns protect people?
Consider them mentioned.
Those examples, however, do not negate the necessity for Georgia to enact tougher gun laws. Nor would tougher laws force the man who defended himself to surrender his gun.
Gun laws and gun ownership are compatible for everyone except those extremists paranoid enough to believe gun registration is a step removed from gun confiscation. Those folks can't be reached.
The only hope for sensible gun laws rests with the moderate gun owners who are not threatened by licensing and registration, thorough background checks and safety regulations. Those responsible gun owners understand these measures would protect them and their children.
In an analysis of the 17 adolescent boys who killed 45 students and teachers, and wounded 85 others in school rampages over the last seven years, researchers found several common denominators. Among them: Easy access to guns.
School counselors compare boys to bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out Playboy magazines or guns in their homes. Tucking a gun in a drawer or in the back of the closet is insufficient deterrent to a teenager's curiosity and determination.
Some parents understand this and either remove guns from their homes or store them so painstakingly that not even Houdini could get to them. But if a weapon is locked up, gun advocates complain, it isn't instantly available to fend off intruders. And besides, "their" kids would never touch the family gun. "Their" kids understand how to use and handle guns.
If that were true, there would not be so many tearful parents expressing shock and dismay after "their" child shot someone with a family gun. Many of the mass killers who opened fire at their schools were experienced marksmen. That's why they succeeded in murdering and maiming so many classmates so quickly. Parents who want to safeguard their homes would be smarter to invest in an alarm rather than an arsenal.
Because so many parents have failed to get the message about locking up their firearms, a law is necessary to change the culture. Just as the threat of criminal prosecution inspired parents to buckle up their children in car seats, so can safe storage laws propel parents to secure their guns.
Unfortunately, the Georgia Legislature rejected such a law this past session after the NRA flexed its lobbying muscle. In fighting even modest gun measures, the NRA endangers our children.
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Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited May 30, 2000).]
Atlanta Constitution: Ensuring easy gun access keeps children in danger
Tuesday, May 30, 2000
Charlton Heston and his allies in the National Rifle Association contend that America's lax gun laws and plentiful firearms are not factors in youth gun violence --- episodes such as the recent shooting death of a 13-year-old Bartow County child.
Sure, they'll admit that the boy's death and the arrest of his 14-year-old friend last week represent a tragedy. But look at last week's story about the Atlanta man who shot and killed a home invader. Why, the NRA asks, don't gun control advocates ever mention the instances where guns protect people?
Consider them mentioned.
Those examples, however, do not negate the necessity for Georgia to enact tougher gun laws. Nor would tougher laws force the man who defended himself to surrender his gun.
Gun laws and gun ownership are compatible for everyone except those extremists paranoid enough to believe gun registration is a step removed from gun confiscation. Those folks can't be reached.
The only hope for sensible gun laws rests with the moderate gun owners who are not threatened by licensing and registration, thorough background checks and safety regulations. Those responsible gun owners understand these measures would protect them and their children.
In an analysis of the 17 adolescent boys who killed 45 students and teachers, and wounded 85 others in school rampages over the last seven years, researchers found several common denominators. Among them: Easy access to guns.
School counselors compare boys to bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out Playboy magazines or guns in their homes. Tucking a gun in a drawer or in the back of the closet is insufficient deterrent to a teenager's curiosity and determination.
Some parents understand this and either remove guns from their homes or store them so painstakingly that not even Houdini could get to them. But if a weapon is locked up, gun advocates complain, it isn't instantly available to fend off intruders. And besides, "their" kids would never touch the family gun. "Their" kids understand how to use and handle guns.
If that were true, there would not be so many tearful parents expressing shock and dismay after "their" child shot someone with a family gun. Many of the mass killers who opened fire at their schools were experienced marksmen. That's why they succeeded in murdering and maiming so many classmates so quickly. Parents who want to safeguard their homes would be smarter to invest in an alarm rather than an arsenal.
Because so many parents have failed to get the message about locking up their firearms, a law is necessary to change the culture. Just as the threat of criminal prosecution inspired parents to buckle up their children in car seats, so can safe storage laws propel parents to secure their guns.
Unfortunately, the Georgia Legislature rejected such a law this past session after the NRA flexed its lobbying muscle. In fighting even modest gun measures, the NRA endangers our children.
------------------
Gun Control: The proposition that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her own panty hose, is more acceptable than allowing that same woman to defend herself with a firearm.
[This message has been edited by jimpeel (edited May 30, 2000).]