The Battalion
Opinion
Wednesday January 21, 1998
'S
TUDENT LIFE
Holiday interim proves a source of trauma, not a vacation
ie period be- r H is worse than actually having classes. Isn’t the information highway. make these bums realize that their lives wrapped a total of five gifts.
mMween the last
(gfew final of the fall
frr letter and the
Da\ t class of the
■ ing semester
|re, »ultl be called
Ion neihing other
n tne “winter
ak. There really
o break to it for
|j t ' : ststudents.This
outrfpd should be
led the “Wintei-
Lgo umaWeeks.”
I remember as a child counting the
rs until Christmas break from the very
t day of school. However, I can honest-
ay things have changed drastically
ce 1 have gotten older.
I, Sun , you have more days off from
hir ; iooI. but sometimes having no classes
Mickey
Saloma
columnist
e a
is worse than actually having classes. Isn’t
there supposed to be some sort of break
during these days of no school?
The best day of the “break” is the very
first day you are home. You sleep until you
can’t sleep anymore. Your parents are glad
to see you home, and you are actually glad
to be home. After this one day of true
bliss, the trauma begins.
The victims of these Winter Trauma
Weeks are many. They can be categorized
into three types: the workers, the students
and the bums.
First, many decide to join or rejoin the
work force. This alternative is, at first, a
good idea as people begin to make a list of
all the gifts they have to buy during the
holiday season. However, the fun ends
when one comes home from work and
does not even have the energy to see
friends with whom their only contact in
the previous three months has been via
the information highway.
Then, the braver people decide to tack
le an even more depressing duty by taking
a class in what is known as a mini-mester.
If many people like myself can’t learn a
single thing from most classes lasting six
teen weeks, what makes people think that
we can learn anything in three weeks?
Yet, the poorest of souls are those who
neither work nor decide to go to school:
the bums. These are the people who spent
these weeks living vicariously between re
runs of “Saved by the Bell” and intense
power naps.
Each day, these people put up with
constant abuse from the entire world.
Their parents think they are lazy and try to
encourage them to use their free time to
do a little home improvement. Their
friends think they have it easy because
they sleep until noon. But worst of all,
television shows such as “Jerry Springer”
make these bums realize that their lives
are absolutely boring and lack real drama.
Yet, rarely can anyone’s life compete
with those who are in love with transsexu
al aliens that come from dysfunctional
families of devil worshippers.
In addition to the rigors that each of
these three types of people endure in the
path that they ultimately chose for
themselves, they have to deal with the
fact that this “season of giving” is not like
it used to be.
What happened to the days when you
unwrapped so many presents that you
lost count? Once you hit a certain age,
these days are gone forever.
It is said that it is better to give than to
receive, but people who say this are liars. I
cannot think of anything better than div
ing in head-first into a mountain of pre
sents that I did not have to pay for. Maybe
I am just too old for Christmas. I un
wrapped a total of five gifts.
I do not mean to sound like an ingrate to
my girlfriend and members of my family
who found a place in their heart to buy me
something, but I want my Christmases to be
like they used to be. I want neatly wrapped
presents that are more personal than a
three-pack of multi-colored boxer briefs.
I am not saying that my Winter Trauma
Weeks were all bad and I am definitely not
happy to continue on my road to academ
ic uncertainty at this fine university for
another semester. I am just saying that
there was no break during these past few
weeks. I am going to spend most of this
first week of class resting in the environ
ment that is most conducive to my sleep.
Yes, I am referring to sleeping in class.
Wake me up if I snore too loud.
Mickey Saloma is a senior
journalism major.
ONE STAR LOWDOWN
CGi
iFoott;
I
nerLi
Potential for violent encounters
escalates with legalizing handguns
,
|Sf»
r lhis being
[Texas,
one
e c 5u|d not be
1 aMa.-prised that
.3 state so
[g7) idily passed
>ill to carry
ard
ncealed
he c:
Wee:
ndguns in
36. The
Joe
Schumacher
columnist
mght
)cess behind
chair : P assin 8 of
j “right to cany” law is that it
uld enable the law-abiding citi-
is to protect themselves from
i-toting criminals. However, this
Sl rhas not only put handguns in
i U(t hands of law-abiding citizens,
pi ‘. civmmals as well.
M sC There is no question that crime
i ids to be dealt with. However,
i enforcement should be left in
hands of the police, not every-
' citizens. People should have
right to defend their homes
family, but carrying a hand-
to the workplace, a movie or
rch is absurd,
g pu *\n armed populous casually
)lling around town is very bad
a. People constantly have to
d with stress, whether its dri- 1
in traffic to difficulties in a ’
rk place. However, a handgun n V
avi ij|: onies a catalyst for disaster
very day life. People are
iiiiuif ne to volatile emotions at
es, and getting angry is only
a’ itural reaction to stress. Usu-
,, after a few minutes a person
975 ns down.
Mow imagine that the time to
ik over an action is not there,
ead of the driver beeping the
n at someone who cuts them
he reaches under the seat and
1 produces a .44 magnum.
Secondly, the issue of self-de-
/^jjse arises. The idea is that people
ying handguns will be able to
tect themselves from attackers,
iere’s a scenario: A man with a
I ti cealed handgun is walking
home late one night. He is then ap
proached by a mugger, who has his
gun already drawn, and tells him to
hand over his wallet. Does the vic
tim go for his wallet, or does he go
for his gun? If he goes for his gun,
somebody will die. Hopefully it
would be the criminal. The chance
of him living is greater if he gives up
his cash and reports it to the crime
to the proper authorities.
Here’s another example: the bru
tal crime of rape. Victims of this
crime are told to fight back and re
sist. However, if the victim is carry
ing a handgun and is over-powered,
a dangerous weapon has just
been placed in the hands a
brutal criminal, and the
life of the victim is
in even more
jeopardy.
ted
Addi
tionally
would-be
victims have
been fighting
off these at
tacks without
the help of
handguns, so
handguns would
\ add a potentially
dangerous variable
' V to an already life-
threatening situation.
Or yet another situation: a dis
gruntled man walks into a restau
rant with several assault weapons
under his arm. Maybe he did not
like the cuisine, but for some rea
son he just starts shooting people.
The patrons, knowing the risks of
eating at restaurants in Texas, are
armed to the teeth, and a shoot-out
ensues. Were any lives saved? It is
possible, but then there is the risk
of others being caught in the cross
fire. Neither alternative represents a
pleasant outcome.
The most compelling evidence
that this law is backfiring is the fact
that a significant amount of crime
has been committed by people with
a license to carry a handgun since
the law took effect in 1996. In 1996,
115 felonies and 319 misdemeanors
were committed.
In 1997, the amount of felonies
rose to 229 and the amount of mis
demeanors rose to 571. Some of the
crimes included kidnappings,
felony drug offenses, robbery, retali
ation, sexual assault, domestic vio
lence, engaging in organized crime,
aggravated assault and four counts
of impersonating a police officer.
“What we need to focus on is
the premise that only law-abiding
people apply for these licenses.
That’s a myth,” said Susan Clicks,
of the Vi olence Policy Center in
Washington, D.C., in a Houston
Chronicle article.
The author of the “right to carry”
law, Jerry Patterson, R-Houston,
says that, “More than 99 percent of
concealed handgun license holders
are behaving responsibly just like
we thought they would.” Well, most
of the population is law-abiding.
Only a percentage are criminals,
now we have a small percentage of
a small percentage legally carrying
dangerous weapons.
“The plain fact is that most Tex
ans have more than enough sense
than to run around with a gun
stuffed in their pants,” says Clicks,
“But those who do carry concealed
handguns get into trouble more of
ten than other Texans.”
Chances are the law will not be
repealed. However, appropriate
measures should be taken to make
the guidelines of obtaining a con
cealed handgun permit more strin
gent, including psychological test
ing,disqualifying those with old
criminal records and expanding
the list of disqualifying crimes.
Joe Schumacher is a junior
journalism major.
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FINALLY, A Second
TERN\ ACCOMPLISH whkt ]
WTlfcX
‘Right to carry’ laws ensure
citizen rights of self-protection
Len
Callaway
columnist
L ast Tuesday the state
released new data
about the impact of
Texas’ “right to carry” con
cealed handgun law.
As with any statistical re
port, the applicable num
bers may be interpreted or
construed in a number of
ways depending on the view
taken by the interpreter.
There are no actual fig
ures available to shed light
on how many lives have been
saved or how many crimes have been stopped by
Texans licensed to carry a concealed handgun.
The new data released does report figures
about lives taken and crimes committed by li
cense holders; however, that is all that it does.
Regardless of how one might choose to inter
pret the study, Texans should be appreciative
for the right to carry a concealed handgun for
their personal defense.
In a society where the value of human life
seems to continually decline and criminals do not
seem overly concerned about the possible penal
ties of their crimes, the Texas Legislature has at
tempted to give criminals another possible ramifi
cation to consider before committing a crime.
Since the law went into effect on January 1,
1996, 163,096 Texans have become licensed to
carry a con
cealed hand
gun.
As state Sen
ator Jerry Pat
terson, Class of
’69, notes, the
arrest figures
do not match
the conviction
figures and the
total number of arrests represent
less than one percent of the total
number ofTexans licensed to carry a
handgun. The data also show that
many of those arrested have had their
licenses permanently revoked or at
least suspended.
So, it would appear that state law
makers are taking care before allowing
one accused of a crime to regain the
right to carry a concealed weapon.
However, as the Houston Chronicle re
ported, an anti-gun activist organization
called Texans Against Gun Violence,
which is merely a focal branch of a left-
wing national organization called the Vio
lence Policy Center in Washington, called the
data “shocking” and urged lawmakers to reex
amine licensing procedures in the 1999 legisla
tive session.
TAGV flatly said the figures indicated that
concealed handgun license holders are commit
ting crime at twice the rate of the general public.
“TAGV once again tries to create hysteria,”
Patterson said in a press conference answering
the charges made by the organization.
A simple analysis of the correct numbers al
lows one to see that most of the Texans applying
for and being issued concealed handgun licenses
are males over the age of 21.
The total number of males over the age of 21
who have obtained concealed handgun licenses
totals 114,890. There were only 399 arrests last
year of men in this category which reveals the
“shocking” number to be that four-tenths of
one percent of males licensed to carry a hand
gun are committing crimes.
The total male population of the state aged
21 and over is 6,250,000. Statewide, there were
609,726 arrests made last year in this category,
revealing that the general population is really 20
times more likely to commit crime than those
with concealed handgun licenses.
If people were to allow themselves to follow
the rhetoric of the ultra left, it would appear that
it must be the legislature’s fault that 399 of the
people that went through the licensing process
turned out to be charged with a crime.One must
remember that there is no data available as to ac
quittal rates or grand jury no-bills.
It appears as if though notion of personal re
sponsibility for one’s actions has become an anti
quated attitude that has no place in modern society.
Instead of pointing to criminals and demand
ing answers and responsibility, TAGV prefers to
portray concealed handgun license holders as
reckless yahoos with itchy trigger fingers.
In society today, it often seems that some
how it is inappropriate for those accused of
breaking the law to be the ones to take respon
sibility for their actions; some set of circum
stances or some mystical force that the govern
ment must be responsible for prompts
criminals to rape, plunder and pillage.
While, at die same time, citizens who prefer the
right not to become a victim are slandered because
of a predetermined disagreement with firearms.
Do most peo
ple recognize that
it is wrong and
against the law to
sneak up on an
other while using
an ATM, then kid
nap, rob and rape
them? Of course,
but some still do
not place blame
on the person
: that committed
jgigg the crime.
People point
the finger at all
sorts of scenarios
such as family,
environment, so-
jg A cioeconomic sta
tus and an end
less list of other
excuses used to
keep people from
accepting the re
sponsibility for
their crimes.
Instead of pointing the finger, people ought to
be doing is giving the finger to criminals by forc
ing them to take responsibility for their actions.
If that responsibility happens to be a Texan
countering with his or her own offensive then
good for the Texan.
That was the point of the “right to carry” law,
to give criminals something to think about before
they attempt to take advantage of someone else,
and to give citizens the ability to even the odds a
bit if ever faced with a dangerous situation.
To anti-gun polidcal action committees, a state
giving its citizens the right to carry a gun for person
al defense is like adding insult to injury—it is sim
ply that they are worrying about the wrong injury.
Len Callaway is a junior
journalism major.