<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dale Mullin:
The New York Times
May 31, 2000
Editorial
The Latest Gun Killings
Two outbreaks of gun violence just before the Memorial Day weekend -- the brutal massacre that left five dead at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant in Flushing, Queens, and the killing of a middle school teacher apparently by a 13-year-old student in a classroom in Lake Worth, Fla. -- showed once again the high price America pays for having too many guns that are too easily available.
The Florida student is said to have obtained the .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun used in the shooting from an unlocked drawer of his grandfather's bureau. Florida, like 17 other states, has a child access prevention law on the books that requires gun owners to lock up their weapons. If the grandfather is found culpable, he will deserve severe punishment.
But even where child access laws exist, their effectiveness is often undermined by the absence of any requirement that would-be gun owners be familiar with the rules for safe storage of weapons. That is one of the virtues of moving to a national gun licensing system in which such a requirement could be imposed. The further tragedy is that this killing could probably have been prevented had all handguns been required to have safety locks that prevented their firing except by an authorized user.
Let me see if I understand this correctly ... State laws aren't enough, but a Federal law would have prevented tragedy ... ?????
One immediate effect of the killings at the Wendy's in Queens has been to ratchet up fears of violent crime at neighborhood fast-food outlets and stores throughout New York City. Some politicians, including Representative Rick Lazio, the Republican Senate candidate, have responded by calling on the Queens District Attorney, Richard Brown, to seek the death penalty against two suspects.
Yet if the idea is to prevent future gun horrors, the death penalty is the wrong remedy. Its deterrent effect is unproved, and the nation is just beginning to grapple with the unfairness and inaccuracy of many death sentence convictions. Instead of reflexively calling for the death penalty, Mr. Lazio and others could play a more constructive role by tightening the nation's gun laws to deny violent thugs inappropriate access.
The two suspects now in custody for the multiple murders have criminal records that presumably would have prevented them from passing a Brady background check had they attempted to purchase their weapons from a licensed gun dealer. Yet one of the suspects told police that they had no trouble buying a .380-caliber semiautomatic on the street in Jamaica, Queens.
In New York where only the rich and well connected can legally possess a handgun, another gun law is the answer?????
In Congress, meanwhile, small but important steps on gun control remain stuck in a House-Senate conference committee, largely because of hard lobbying by the National Rifle Association. These latest high-profile gun tragedies argue for passing that legislation and moving on to stronger measures.
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company[/quote]
The New York Times
May 31, 2000
Editorial
The Latest Gun Killings
Two outbreaks of gun violence just before the Memorial Day weekend -- the brutal massacre that left five dead at a Wendy's fast-food restaurant in Flushing, Queens, and the killing of a middle school teacher apparently by a 13-year-old student in a classroom in Lake Worth, Fla. -- showed once again the high price America pays for having too many guns that are too easily available.
The Florida student is said to have obtained the .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun used in the shooting from an unlocked drawer of his grandfather's bureau. Florida, like 17 other states, has a child access prevention law on the books that requires gun owners to lock up their weapons. If the grandfather is found culpable, he will deserve severe punishment.
But even where child access laws exist, their effectiveness is often undermined by the absence of any requirement that would-be gun owners be familiar with the rules for safe storage of weapons. That is one of the virtues of moving to a national gun licensing system in which such a requirement could be imposed. The further tragedy is that this killing could probably have been prevented had all handguns been required to have safety locks that prevented their firing except by an authorized user.
Let me see if I understand this correctly ... State laws aren't enough, but a Federal law would have prevented tragedy ... ?????
One immediate effect of the killings at the Wendy's in Queens has been to ratchet up fears of violent crime at neighborhood fast-food outlets and stores throughout New York City. Some politicians, including Representative Rick Lazio, the Republican Senate candidate, have responded by calling on the Queens District Attorney, Richard Brown, to seek the death penalty against two suspects.
Yet if the idea is to prevent future gun horrors, the death penalty is the wrong remedy. Its deterrent effect is unproved, and the nation is just beginning to grapple with the unfairness and inaccuracy of many death sentence convictions. Instead of reflexively calling for the death penalty, Mr. Lazio and others could play a more constructive role by tightening the nation's gun laws to deny violent thugs inappropriate access.
The two suspects now in custody for the multiple murders have criminal records that presumably would have prevented them from passing a Brady background check had they attempted to purchase their weapons from a licensed gun dealer. Yet one of the suspects told police that they had no trouble buying a .380-caliber semiautomatic on the street in Jamaica, Queens.
In New York where only the rich and well connected can legally possess a handgun, another gun law is the answer?????
In Congress, meanwhile, small but important steps on gun control remain stuck in a House-Senate conference committee, largely because of hard lobbying by the National Rifle Association. These latest high-profile gun tragedies argue for passing that legislation and moving on to stronger measures.
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company[/quote]