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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 12, 2001)
I Tuesday, June 12, 2001 o PINION Page 5 THE BATTALION ). This rate applies an additional 5 to end to qualify b Pushing the Limits WANTED wanted, service a automotive knows: II 776-1261. >le and instrument i t55-9416. Be part of the sfcver/.ea 1< >us sxGen Communici:: ge marketing tes s, valuable expe s id rapid advances control 599+/mo FT. 821® er on or AM/PM ersity Drive. App istant, student iu.edu/jobs/ for lawn marten &part-time, Does proposed gun show bill infringe on rights, or will it help save lives? M ne issue always on the con gressional agenda is lower ing the rime rate. However, xmgressmen nd crime jroups are Northgate r< r\t nng to re- luce crime ■ates through removing civil ights. One of the most glaring ex- unples of this is Senator J ack Reed’s (D-R.I.) Gun Show & FOUND Background Check Act of 2001. _ u . Senator Reed and the support- ite Siberian Husky rr iwardi 693-9199. Krs ol this bill, rather than tak- ORCYCLE l n g the time to create and pass ■HB^B-eal crime control legislation, ;ipe chea i f re seeking only to make a pame for themselves as crime- control advocates. I Instead of gun-show regula tion, lawmakers should work to nstitute more accurate back- round checks for laws already n place, and increase youth gun afety education. Supporters such as the Handgun Control Institute HCI) say that the “gunshow loophole” is a part of the Brady Bill which criminals are knowingly and unabashedly Exploiting. Senator Reed said, “I am in- roducing this legislation today to renew the process we started vo years ago of bringing some ommon sense to our gun laws by closing a loophole that has allowed — and even encour aged — criminals to buy firearms at gun shows.” I Under current legislation, those who are “engaged in the business of selling firearms” must be federally registered and are required to administer back ground checks. That leaves a loophole that allows private gun owners to go to gun shows and sell their guns to whomever they choose, without being fed erally required to perform a background check on the buyer. I The new background check act would close the gun show exes, 1st month loophole by extending the 214-906' Jrady Bill background check requirements to all firearm sales. This bill infringes on the second amendment rights of Atizens. According to an arti- 3 M ed ^nn drm/2 ( b H ,h i cle by 1 1. Sterling Burnett of my 680-8952. Ilh e National Center for Rohcy ——-—-d Analysis, the bill can be inter- >325/mo. -(.utilities, 1-r ijreted so that a father would more into call Josh8$ have to be federally licensed 96-0673, Ijind be required to perform a new 3bdrm/2bth ho/ background check on his son if , 4-mm. to mam oi |j e wantec | to gj ve }-,j s son a non-smoker, $3S|ig b 979-255-8938. it 1650. 774-5025. j PETS ss. Kittens, Cats. J eds! Occasional & others. Brazos J <5. ( becoming a | ole Crown Academy J uve certification | .ocated in greater* )rown Academy is |S g training and in the world, er counseling, job placement av ogtrainers.com o Our graduates i I in the industry. old, female, neeosj backyard. Very shl iris 695-8261. Puppies, AKC, IB i eyed masked i-2998. weeks old, $75/eacti les, one black male OM MATES House, remodeled,*? ♦-1/2bills. Rick 823-® nmate needed ondo, w/d, on th JO/mo. +no bills. nate needed, 3txJr : ase townhomes, SC i. (979)255-6885. nate needed, 4bdrft' $321/mo. -(-utilities. M 2227. I -bedroom in a 4-be:' se to campus, $36- -4595 jblicenergy.com eded for new house D/mo., move-in ASAP 1 hunting rifle. Senator Carl Levin (D- Mich.) stated, “It is incredible to me that more than two years after Columbine, lawmakers have not reduced the availabili ty of guns to young people and other prohibited persons by closing the gun show loophole. We should stand with our na tion’s law enforcement commu nity and take this common sense step to reduce the num ber of Columbine tragedies which plague our schools and communities.” However, in a report issued by HCI’s educational branch, the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence only two out of 48 major police chiefs in the Unit ed States felt that gun show sales were a significant problem in their city. In addition, a study in Michigan of juvenile offenders found that many of the three percent who obtained a gun from a gun show, did not buy the gun themselves, but re ceived it from a person legally able to purchase one. If the congress allows this legislation to pass, there will not be a sudden drop in the crime rate, but a windfall of more leg islation that does nothing to solve criminal behavior. The infrastructure that sup ports background checks of gun purchasers is failing. The Gen eral Accounting Office reported that the National Instant Crim inal Background Check System (NICS) has failed to provide in stant checks 28 percent of the time, and has denied a purchase to almost 3,000 people who have the right to buy a gain. If Senator Reed and others wish to avoid tragedies such as Columbine and Santee, they should not regulate gun shows. Instead, they should focus on educating youths on gun safety. T he NICS should be redone so that it provides what it is in tended to — an instant back ground check system for all. Reid Bader is a junior journalism major. I any Americans act like li censing and regulating the sale of gtms is a terrible hardship and an oppres sion of their freedom. Groups like the National Rifle Associ ation (NRA) often try to attach a patriotic importance to guns, as if they are a way for the struggling citizen to fend off the advances of an unjust govern ment. Many of these arguments are being used to stall a Senate bill which would require ven dors at gun shows to adhere to the same rules that gun stores already do. The only problem with these arguments is that they are ridiculous. The second amendment to the Constitution, which guaran tees the right of citizens to bear anus, is shaky in the first place in the modem world. That gun- rights activists want to add an amendment that reads “the right to transfer firearms shall not be infringed,” is absurd. The bill in question, which would require gun-show ven dors to run background checks on buyers and keep records of the guns they sell is nothing more than an extension of the already firmly entrenched Brady Bill. This law seems to have had no significant impact in gun sales — millions are still sold each year. No real economic hardship is being placed on gun buyers. The steps vendors would have to take to run back ground checks and enforce waiting periods are no different than what gun stores already do. Keeping accurate records of the guns should already be a matter of good business, so keeping them handy in the event authorities ever needed to see them in an investigation should not require anything more than the purchase of a large filing cabinet. Arguments that family mem- ANCELIQUE FORD/The Battalion hers would have to be licensed to give guns to other family members are false. The bill would apply only to events where more than 50 guns were being sold, not gifts from fathers to sons. Statements made against the bill also refer to police reports that say gun show arms sales are not major sources of crimes. This may be true in some cities, but according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), guns sold at gun shows are the second-leading source of illegal firearms recovered by gun trafficking investigators. Whether they cause large numbers of crimes or not, gun- show guns have an infamous history. Both the shootings at Columbine High School and Granada Hills were committed with weapons purchased from gun-show dealers who did not perform background checks. If anything calls for regulation of these sales, it is the cold-blooded killing of schoolchildren. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) said in a recent press release that he stands behind the bill. “Despite the tragic lessons we have learned, it is still far too easy for a convicted felon to buy firearms at a gun show,” Mc Cain said. “It’s about what’s right and wrong, and closing this loophole is the right thing to do.” There are also concrete facts that support closing the loop hole. According to the General Accounting Office’s report in February of 2000, 95 percent of background checks are complet ed within two hours. The report also stated that the majority of background checks are complet ed within two minutes .This hardly seems like too much to ask of a gun buyer to avoid an other Columbine. In addition, closing the loop hole really does reduce crime. An ATF report released this year shows that crime is lower in states like Illinois and Pennsyl vania which have already closed the loophole. In these two states, which rank second and fourth in number of gun shows in America, they rank 15 th and 18th respectively in the number of crime gun exports to other states since closing the loophole. The facts display a clear rela tion between closing the loop hole and lowering crime. De spite gun lovers’ complaints, it is the right thing to do. Jason Bennyhoff is a senior jowyialism major. SERVICES Defensive Driving. ^ jgh-a-lotl! irance discount. M-t Th(6pm-9pm), FflJ &Sat(10am-2:3* 'pm). Inside BankolAfi come. $25/cash. W J by law. 111-U# 16-6117. Show-up 3- 317). in I N 6 Bush's actions at odds with global warming concerns atisfied customs' your customers ready to buy. 845-0569 (U-WIRE) — The results are in. The [much-anticipated National Academy of Sci- [ence’s report requested by the White House [confirms what the majority of Americans al- | ready accepted as fact — global warming does [exist. Now the public is left wondering where [President Bush has been for the past 15 years. The administration is left to alter its position [before President Bush heads to Europe for a se ries of international meetings that will include global wanning discussions. Previously the president has dodged the issue by arguing the research is inconclusive. After the NAS study convinced even the most skeptical scientists [that climate temperatures are rising largely due to human activities producing harmful emis- jsions, the Bush administration is left no room to wiggle out of aggressive action. The United Nations has been telling the [world about the effects of global warming for r ears. It is about time for Bush to pull his head , lout of the sand. The White House remains quiet as it scram- jbles for the right rhetoric to address the issue. In a clear attempt to buy some time, the admin istration pushed Condoleezza Rice, the Nation- il Security advisor, onto the White House lawn :o tell Americans that the administration offi- ially recognized the existence of climate change. Although it is considered a huge step toward environmentally friendly policy, it is too little, too late for an administration that has bla tantly ignored the problem. The report is at odds with the Bush energy plan which relies heavily upon increased pro duction of power plants, construction of coal and oil refineries, and opening of previously protected federal lands for energy exploration. One of President Bush’s simple answers to a complex energy problem is to encourage the li censing of power plants through agency reviews aimed at easing regulations. Coal industry and refiners claim these already weak regulations discourage them from making technological ad vances because they run the risk of “tougher” environmental regulations. Vice President Dick Cheney has frequently pointed out that the federal government has not granted a nuclear power permit in 20 years, but he fails to mention that nobody has applied for one. Three Mile Island and Ghernobyl serve as examples of nuclear power gone wrong. Insur ance companies refuse to insure these bombs waiting to go off. Americans may initially support the idea of building nuclear power plants for lower costs and decreased dependence on foreign energy sources, but the support will diminish as soon as plans are made to build the plants in their own backyard. Another aspect of Bush’s long-term energy plan devotes $2 billion to research for so-called “clean coal” technology aimed at reducing emissions from coal-burning plants. Environmentalists understandably reject the idea of clean coal. Mountain top removal is the first step to extracting the coal and causes harmful, irreversible damages to the land. Mountain top mining began more than two decades ago and is responsible for the disap pearance of nearly 300,000 acres of tree-lined mountain tops and for burying of at least 750 miles of streams. Although the industry says it repairs the damage by replanting, the perma nent effects remain and the beauty of the land is sacrificed. For Texans, the Bush industry-oriented ener gy plan comes as no surprise. Texas has man aged to rank first out of all 5 0 states and Cana dian provinces as the top air and water polluter. By no means did Bush create the problem, but he never attempted to help it. During his six-year stay in Austin, he man aged to do his best at silencing concerned voic es speaking out about the state’s severe environ mental problems. Bush’s stay in the White House has been no different than it was in Texas, except now the whole country will feel the effects of his short-sighted policies. The Bush team’s recognition of global warm ing is a large step forward, but can we hope for a saner, more responsible energy policy? After all, it took all these studies in order to convince Bush of what was already common knowledge. How do we know he won’t return from Europe the same man who has denied the existence of global warming for this long? Lauren Hutton Daily Texan University of Texas The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 300 words or less and include the author's name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in per son at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid student ID. Letters may also be mailed to: The Battalion - Mail Call 014 Reed McDonald Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-1111 Campus Mail: 1111 Fax: (979) 845-2647 E-mail: battletters@hotmail.com
