Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, April 22, 1986
Opinion
Gun law opposition keeps hair-triggers happ
I t w a s h a p p v
hour al the OK
Corral Saloon on
Capitol Hill. The
place was jammed
with its usual 5
o'clock crowd
when the tall lob
byist with the
white hat strode to
the bar and said,
" Drinks o n the
Art Buchwald
house lor everybody.”
We tilled up and then turned to the
stranger. “And what victory might we he
toasting?" someone asked.
“Congress just said goodbye to the
IhhS Cun Control Act. I'm with the Na
tional Hair-Trigger Association, and
this is a great clav lot my people.”
“I didn’t know the hair-triggers had
their own lobby.”
“Ah ves. We've always had a strong
interest in a weak gun law. The easier it
is to sell guns the more hair-triggers
we re going to sell. 1 was given a million
dollars to make sure the people’s rep-
resentatives would vote the American
wav. Fill up, everybody. This is the last
ol mv money.”
1 le started to sing. “A gun for me and
a gun lor you. And a gun to shoot your
neighbor, too.”
All of us have seen lobbyists celebrate
when the\ got a bill through, but it was
nothing com pat eel to this.
“How come the police departments
were against you people weakening the
gun hill?" l oin the bartender asked.
The stranger said, “Cops don’t know
anything about guns. All they run up
against are the criminal elements who
use weapons to commit crimes. They
never see the law-abiding people who
buy their handguns to hunt and fish.”
“Fish?”
“Don’t tell me you never shot a fish
with a .38? The important thing to re
member is that under the old law you
couldn’t even bring a gun from one
state to another. Dealers were responsi
ble for keeping records of w ho bought
handguns and ammunition. Do you
know what this meant for thousands of
gun shop ow ners?”
“What?”
“It meant PAPERWORK. 1 hese
good merchants used to have to stay up
all night long trying to remember who
bought a gun and who bought ammuni
tion. We got all that red tape eliminated
and from here on out you’re going to
see a boom in the sale of every type of
firearm. Drink up, friends, the Consti
tution is alive and well in the hair-trig
ger lobby.”
“How did you get Congress to
knuckle under to a weak gun control
law?”
The stranger winked. “Let’s say we
just sent the legislators a message. If
they didn’t vote to reform the 1968 act
we would send our people into their dis
tricts and riddle them with innuendos.
On the other hand, if they promised to
be good boys and support us we would
make a donation to their favorite politi
cal c harity. One.more for the road, men.
Then I must make the rounds of the
halls of Congress to drop some goodies
on those who backed our bill, and mark
a red X on the doors of those who lost
their nerve.”
Then the man plunked $1,000 on the
bar. I raised my glass. “To good sport,”
I said.
We drank.
Someone shouted, “Death to all gun
laws.”
The stranger wasn't chinking. He
said. “We can’t have that. The threat of
stronger gun control bills keeps the Na
tional Hail - I'rigger Association aliv e.
Our members would refuse to prov ide
us with monev if they thought the battle*
was all over."
“And how do you keep the threat
going?” I asked.
“By putting out the word to out
members that the law enforcement peo
ple are as mad as hell at its and aren’t
going to take it anymore.”
The man exited through the swing
ing doors.
“Who was that strangerivl
here?" someone asked.
Scnti Lai
Scott Ai
Counlv I
“That was
tender replied.
no stranger,
’’ 1 hiit was tht
the PA(
•oc
Art Buchwald is a columni«lj,
Los Angeles Times Syndioto \>
Pen
Our generation must be willing to fight for freedott
riei, like
,,111(111101
rile II
|Stii>!n.n
nor she
Within m a n v
college students
today lurks a time
bomb of fear that
the decisions of
the bigwigs —
s u c h as those
made in the Li-
b v a n a f fair —
could be person
ally t hreatening.
FI ere we are at
war, and our reactions to news of
Fighter planes, bombs and the like are
the products of American thought for
the last 20 years. If we who have known
only peace aren’t willing to risk our lives
to preserve freedom, then we aren’t
worthy of this peace — and we re sure to
lose it.
round trip, refuel their planes in mid
air and endure unnecessary and riskv
fatigue.
Cynthia
Gay
the Big T. hoping to make our first mil
lion bv the time we're 30, and now Presi
dent Reagan is trying to get tis in a war.
Our career dreams and our pinings for
material success may go up in smoke,
and it's all for a few measely, dead
American citizens — some women,
some children and some servicemen.
Nothing more. No great loss. After all,
we have three tests next week and a pa
per clue, and we don’t have time to think
about it. And if we can so easily ignore a
few terrorists attacks, why does Reagan
have to get trigger happy all of a sud
den?
We are a generation unfamiliar with
What’s more, if we as students want to
point fingers at Reagan and call him a
hawkish warmonger or an ignorant man
who’s pushing us into disaster, we are
out of touch with the America of the
’80s.
In a poll by USA Today following the
attack, 80 percent of those surveyed sol
idly cheered our president’s action.
Not to be outdone in America-bash-
ing, the Soviet Tnion s ambassador was
quick to mob. the microphone at the
United Nations last week to condemn us
for killing civ ilians. Never mind the* fact
that they hold second place in the (iui-
ness Book of World Records for mass
murder of their own population. (China
is first, killing 26.3 million between 1945
and 1965, and theSoviets follow with es
timates of 8 million or 10 million vic
tims.) Never mind also that we asked
them on March 27 to restrain the Li
byans from attacking Americans in West
Berlin.
The news from Capitol Hill is that
Republicans and Democrats finally are
united on an issue and enjoying this pa
triotic camaraderie. Meanwhile, they’re
taking turns at lambasting the French
for their cowardly refusal to allow U.S.
fighter planes to fly within 45,000 feet
of their country’s air space. As a result,
our pilots had to fly 2,600 extra miles
Even more damaging to the Soviet
Union is that most of the killing and
wounding of c iv ilians in Libya was the
result of Libyan response to our planes.
Much of their gun fire went up and
came down in their own backyard harm
ing their own people.
We had only one true friend and ally
in this affair— Britain. And now British
Prime Minister Margaret I hatchei is
taking the rap from her own people.
Even in the face of the murder of two
kidnapped Britons in Lebanon.
Thatcher never wavered. But the frus-
trat'mg, exasperating fact is that she
stood alone — on princ iple alone, ignor
ing world opinion's anti-American c i ics.
The world is telegraphing us a mes
sage and we as Americans, and as col
lege students, must realize out NATO
alliance and our costly United Nations
cannot be relied upon. Like it ot not.
America is basically alone in the world.
Now more than ever, we must deter
mine our fate with courageous decisions
based on principle.
Principle means remembering the*
victims, and that is the heart of oui ef
fort to fight terrorism in Libya. From a
military standpoint, it appears that in
fantry maneuvers may be the only wav
to root out these terrorists. Principle,
therefore, may mean sending American
troops.
So we come back to us — college stu-
r
junds ol
dents uho'vc- ncvei lougbluhe
coimliv hut m.iv Mion li.ivttii.ll^Boke-
th< idea dishcai (ening,letdhj^H'kh
that Moud.iv wc ( ddii.iid,k^B ee -
which the- Mr\iian lorn
Sam Houston’s troops iddk '
one. In I 8 minutes, moretlwn
icans and nine Texans were
ol die most decisive Lillies
histot v. the battle ol S;mJaciiii ■
won 1>\ stm v -lxxtk heroes.huM
like v on and me who put lheii.1
the line.
Belore the battle, theTwm
a bridge that would huvepn'l
esc ape* horn the battleground,I
both thev and the Nlexicaml
trapped. 1 hev would haveIihim
death rather let the lives ofikl
at the* Alamo and Goliad be w*
lot gotten. Oui people remciM
vic tims and sacrificed lorthepifl
Alter 150 years of freedotl
faced with the same moiill
Soonet ot main lives later,wll
decide to light.
Cynthia Gay is a junior jounin
jor and a columnist fortheBir
Mail Call
A8cM funding oppression?
EDI FOR:
Please be so kind as to explain to me how Texas
A&M funds the killing and oppression of black
South Africans. How is “A&M’s money being used to
oppress and kill people just because they aren’t
white.?" Divestment in international companies in
South Africa is a controversial issue, but to say that
AcNM provides monev to kill and oppress anyone is
ludicrous. Such protracted logic is unethical
journalism.
1 low sinful Karl Pallmever must be to attend a
L niv et sitv which supports the perpetration of such
ac ts with his monev . How can he bear to associate
with ANM? I encourage him to please clisenroll.
Michael B. Roth ’86
Save it for the Enquirer
EDI FOR:
I find unfortunate the placement of the “Jackie
Sherrill, liar or truth-teller” storv on the front page
of Wednesday's Battalion. It would appear that
Assitant C'.itv Editor Scott Sutherland and Sports
Editor 1 rav is Tingle were obsessed to demonstrate
that Sherrill is a liar. Whv this story would warrant a
f ront page headline, I cannot fathom.
.7 Vie Battalion editors must have thought that the
student body needed to be informed of the events
which took place. I would have no disagreement
with this, but the manner in which the story was
reported was unacceptable. What could have been a
simple report of possible NCAA v iolations by Jackie
Sherrill was turned into an overblown find-the-
contradictions-in-the-athletic department-
statements investigation by The Battalion.
While media probes into scandals that could affect
many citizens is important to a free society, this storv
is not so newsworthy. I must ask what constructiv e
ends could possibly result from The Battalion's
exploitation of this matter. While 1 he Battalion
won’t win a Pulitzer Prize with this story, it has
gained the recognition of the Dallas l imes Herald,
which printed a summary of the article Thursday.
Please leave such worthless “investigative
reporting” to publications such as the Xational
Enquirer, and remove it from our University's news
paper.
David L. Martin ’89
Contradiction in terms
EDITOR:
Glenn Murtha’s comments on the conservativ e
element (April 16) might have been more
constructive. When discussing some proposed
course of action it is generally more helpf ul to
present the merits and drawbacks of the matter at
hand, and thus focus on issues rather than people.
Regardless of who tends to promote or resist
change, sometimes change is good and sometimes it
isn't.
Furthermore, the usual labels are not consistent.
When the issue is the development of commercial
nuclear power, it is the “conservatives" that are
promoting change. Today the country is wit nessing
a “conservative movement”, which seems to be a
contradiction in terms.
As academic, local and national issues are openly
debated good humor can be very useful (where
sensitivities allow). Some of your columnists,
however, need to learn the difference between good
humor and derision. It is poor behavior to draw a
laugh at the expense of someone else, no matter how
ludicrous his position appears to be. Ridicule only
causes animosity. Besides which, the other guy
might just be right.
Paul R. Koch
Blatant censorship
EDI FOR:
I think it is pitiful that the Southland Corporation
has finally bowed to a fanatic minority who claim to
know what is best for the majority of the population
bv banning the sale of P/aybovand Penthouse. This
action does nothing more than encourage other
corporations to change their policies in favor of an
unrepresentative group of extremists which deems
certain institutions unfit for mass exposure.
I am not a regular reader of any pornographic
magazine, but I believe that I will think twice before
pat ionizing a corporation which seeks to control the
population through such means as blatant
censors hip-
Brian A. Koontz
Lctici s to the Editor should not exceed IWO words in length. I he
editorial slatt reset ves the right to edit letters for stele and length
hut will make e\ er\ effort to maintain the author's intent, hatch
letter must he signed and must include the address and telephone
iiiimhcr nl the w riter.
The Battalion
(USPS 045 360)
Mi'inlKToi
I exas Press Assixialinn
Smitliwesi |t)Utn;ilism(iiiifcin
The Battalion EditorialBffl'
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( at hie Anderson, .Veitsfit
1 rav is Tingle. .Spoilthlw
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M*
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