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Page 9
JOHN DAVID
BLAKLEY
John David Blakley wants Congre
to extend the assault rifle b
I n 1994, the federal assault weapons ban prohibiting
the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons was
signed into law as part of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act. Its aim was
to take 19 of the deadliest assault weapons off'
the streets — guns not seen in any hunting
or Olympic event — but 19 of the deadliest
assault weapons, along with duplicates MKM
of the weapons and ammunition clips
which hold more than 10 rounds. In
10 days, the ban, which has been
successful in its objective, will expire,
and the terror these weapons bring w
have the opportunity to find its way back to the streets.
On the campaign trail in 2000, President Bush prom
ised to renew the ban. This is not surprising, since 70
percent of Americans support the banning of assault
weapons (including 60 percent of gun owners) ac
cording to The Chicago Sun-Times. Though it may
be the smart thing to do — politically and rationally
— The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the Presi
dent has not urged House Speaker Dennis Hasten
to renew the ban.
While one can only hope the President gives
in to the preference of the majority of Americans
and common sense, the clock is ticking and any
hope of action from the president is unlikely, as
expiration of the assault weapons ban is nearly a
week away.
Although the ban will not end all gun violence
in the United States, it is a step in the right direction.
According to a report by the Brady Campaign (an
organization named after Jim Brady. Ronald Reagan’s
press secretary who, along with President Reagan, was
shot by John Hinckley in 1981) and the Million Mom
March, “within the category of inmates who used guns
to commit crimes, semiautomatic assault weapons were
actually used in 6.8 percent of state prosecutions and
9.3 percent of federal prosecutions.”
Despite these facts, organizations such as the
National Rifle Association claim that assault
weapons do not play a significant role in gun vi
olence within the United States and that the assault weapons ban has been ineffective.
On the contrary, a study by the U.S. Department of Justice stated that the ban had clear effects on the
gun market and led to semiautomatic assault weapons “becoming less accessible to criminals because
there was at least a short-term decrease in criminal use of the banned weapons.” According to the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the ban has resulted in a 66-percent drop in. the rate in
which assault weapons are used in gun-related crimes.
Contrary to further empty rhetoric from the NRA, the ban is not an attempt to curtail citizens’ Second
Amendment rights. It is a successful attempt to relieve the American public of the dangers of military-
style assault weapons that have no practical purpose beyond violent turmoil.
In this year’s budget, the White 1 louse proposed cutting federal funding for 88,000 policemen. Along
with the layoffs, many large cities (where the terrorists aim) have endured due to tight budgets.
Gang-related murders rose 40 percent between 2000 and 2002, and statistics show the numbers remain
high. Along with firefighters, police officers are a vital part of a first response team in the event of a ter
rorist attack. The idea of taking police officers off the streets, while allowing weapons that are manufac
tured with the intent of killing as many people as possible as quickly as possible, back on the streets is
mind-boggling. While we light for security in the streets of Iraq and Afghanistan, we cannot afford to
forfeit security at home in such a discretionary fashion.
With the United States leading the world in gun deaths (30,000 average deaths annually in the past
decade), now is not the time to regress in gun control policy, especially concerning weapons as danger
ous as those prescribed by the assault rifle ban. If Bush does not act soon, he may find weapons of mass
destruction — and they will not be in a foreign land, but on the streets of our nation.
Friday, September 3, 2004
Page Design • MATT RIGNEY
'own says the Clinton Gun Ban
uld not be reloaded
n Sept. 13, 10 years of op
pression of the American
people by the federal govern
ment will end when Title XI of the
rederal Violent Crime Control
Act of 1994, more commonly
known as the Clinton Gun Ban,
will expire. If Congress looks
at the facts, it will find the only
sensible option is letting this
aw die.
This provision banned
the manufacture and import of guns defined by
Congress as assault weapons. These firearms
|| were categorized by cosmetic and ergonomic
|f|l features that present a military-like appear
ance but have no efiect on lethality. The act
also bans high-capacity magazines.
When President Clinton signed this bill
into law, he stated, “1 don’t believe that
everybody in America needs to be able to
buy a semi-automatic or fully-automatic
weapon, built only for the purpose of
killing people, in order to protect the
right of Americans to hunt and practice
marksmanship and to be secure.”
In the process of signing this bill into
law and making this statement, he forgot to
do his research. If he had, he would have known
that not everybody in America can buy a firearm
— felons, drug addicts, illegal aliens and fugitives
from justice cannot. Also, ownership of fully-auto
matic firearms has been heavily regulated by the
Federal Firearms Act since 1934. And semi-auto
matic fireanns, which have been around for more
than a century, are used by millions of Ameri
cans for hunting, self-defense, recreational
target shooting and in formal marksmanship
competitions such as the Olympics.
What has the Clinton Gun Ban actually done
to curb crime? Not much, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report National Crime
Victimization Surv ey. Between 1993 and 2001, firearms were used in only 10 percent of all violent
crimes committed. For this 10 percent, the majority of firearms used were handguns, not the banned
assault rifles. As with most other gun control laws, all this law did was punish law-abiding citizens who
were merely exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Most gun control laws actually increase the crime rate because as firearms are confiscated from law-
abiding citizens. The criminals are still getting them and know that their victim now has no way to defend
himself. This has been the trend in England and Australia where guns are outlawed.
In 1997, when England banned all handguns, the crime rate skyrocketed to its highest in the 100 years
records started being kept. According to BBC News, the murder rate rose 22 percent during the first eight
months of the law, as law abiding citizens no longer had a way to defend themselves on the street. Over
all, handgun crime in the United Kingdom rose by 40 percent in the two years after it passed its draconian
gun ban.
The Clinton Gun Ban was based on information from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire
arms and was drastically misconstrued by its sponsors; it was repealed in less than two years by the
House of Representatives. Also, during that same time frame, 20 Democrats who voted in favor of
the gun ban lost their seats in Congress after their constituents found the information on which the
bill was based.
Congress should look at other countries and leam from their mistakes. Congress should look at the
Second Amendment and not infringe upon it.
Branoi Dunn • THE BATTALION
John David BLikley is a junior
political science major.
Eric Brown is a student of
post baccalaureate studies in education.
MAIL^CALL
;008
s
udge!
ice
itcis 1
Stigmatized groups
can be compared
tin response to Chelsea Sledge's
■Sept 1 article:
Like many Greeks I was very disappoint
ed to hear a few weeks ago that the Greek
Block at Kyle Field was turned down by the
SBP for the upcoming football season (af
ter already being promised).
As a member of a sorority and an offi
cer on the Collegiate Panhellenic Council, I
find myself constantly defending Greek life.
Common accusations are that Greeks are
“2 percenters" and do not care about tradi
tions at Texas A&M. However, when we try
to show our spirit in a large force we are
rejected. It is a strange stereotype since the
motto of Aggie Greeks is, “Aggies First.”
Although the Corps is the first and old
est organization at A&M, the Greek system
started long before 1876. When Greeks
finally arrived at this campus; they brought
with them many traditions that long outlive
the Corp and this school.
Greek Life has more members than the
Corps, holds a higher grade point ratio than
the average student and Greeks contributed
more than $50,000 to this community.
My advice to future student leaders is
to follow through with your promises and
show your constituents the respect they
deserve. I am glad that A&M has an or
ganization like the Corps to represent the
past at this school; it‘s part of what makes
this school special. However, an institu
tion shouldn’t forget the organizations that
make up a campus today.
Mary Baugh
Class of2006
Greeks aren’t special,
don’t deserve seats
I do not intend to challenge the “values"
of our various fraternities and sororities,
but any student need go no further than
the MSC Open House to see the vast num
ber of student organizations on campus
that are available to the student body. Are
the various student organizations through
the MSC somehow less important than the
Greeks? Do they somehow make less of a
contribution to the student body and com
munity? Are the various Freshmen leader
ship organizations or community service
programs on campus not fully deserving
of block seating?
If the Greeks are deserving of such
seating, then so is a great number of
other organizations. It discourages me
to see a movement to further segregate
the Greeks as a separate entity, rather
than their incorporation to something
that is bigger than any fraternity, soror
ity or campus organization; the fightin’
Texas Aggie Twelfth Man.
This is not about values or com
munity impact, and 3,000 seats on
first deck designated for Greeks is
extreme. Corps members displace a
good portion of first deck seats from
battle-tested seniors.
No one is trying to discourage Greeks
from sitting together, but to say that they
are any more deserving than any other
student organization is detestable. Do a
group pull and sit on third deck like every
other organization does. If it works for
them, it should work for you.
Bill Black
Class of 2005
Jack flip-flopped
on football seating
Recently, Student Body President
Jack Hildebrand showed his true colors
by ditching a position he supported dur
ing the campaigns.
When it comes to his decision to veto
the plan for a Greek section at football
games, it matters less that Jack chose
not to support the plan, but rather that
he flip-flopped on the issue, speaking
for it when he was trying to get elected,
then voting against it once in office.
This is a troubling sign for the student
body, because no one can trust a leader
who agrees with you one day, and ditch
es you the next.
I, for one, am tired of student lead
ers claiming to want to work for the stu
dents during campaign season and then
catering to their resumes the day they
get into office.
It’s time A&M had moral leaders who
will stand by their convictions and keep
their word.
Robert Edmonson
Class of 2007
Do benefitting work
for the right reasons
I am sure that Texas A&M fraterni
ties hold the very highest of morals and
values. That is why I am sure they will
understand that they should not unfairly
be given a block of 3,000 seats for the
first deck for every home game.
Mr. Boben argues that because they
contribute to A&M then they should
have reserved seats. Every organiza
tion contributes to the University, but
you cannot give every deserving organi
zation their own block of seats. It just
isn’t feasible. I am not sure why Josh
and his brethren believe that their con
tributions and values should be reward
ed above everyone else’s. Apparently
Josh believes he needs to be compen
sated for his time spent doing "good
work." I hope in the future, he and his
organization will do good work for good
work’s sake.
Nicholas Scott
Class of 2004
For Corps benefits,
become a cadet
While I agree that fraternities and
sororities do contribute to the com
munity surrounding the University, they
do little on campus that makes them
stand out from the rest of the student
population. If the Greeks want to be on
equal footing with the Corps in respect
to block seating, they must show they
deserve it.
To the Greeks: Are you willing to wear
a uniform to class? Are you ready to
dedicate four years of your life to up
holding the traditions (regardless of per
ceived relevance) of this University? Are
you willing to accept the responsibility
of making up only a small percentage of
the student population while bearing 90
percent of the visibility? If you are willing
to do these things, then join the Corps
and you can have all the block seating
you can stand (no pun intended).
If not, then just go to the games like
everyone else, pull your tickets together,
and don’t be bitter about it.
Paul Sims
Class of 2006
Readership Program
uses student fees
In response to Jibran Najimi's
Sept. 2 article:
The recent Battalion news article re
garding the return of the Collegiate News
paper Readership Program to Texas A&M
quotes SGA Executive Vice-President
Chris Diem as saying that no student ser
vice fees were used to fund this program.
This statement is inaccurate.
A recent memo (available at www.
sgawatch.com) from Assistant Vice
President of Student Affairs Tom Reber,
states that the $250,000 cost of the
newspaper program is coming from the
student service fee reserve fund that is
administered by the Division of Student
Affairs. While the newspaper program
may not be an annual budgeted student
service fee expenditure, to say that stu
dent service fees do not pay for the
program is a gross misrepresentation
of fact.
Mark McCaig
Class of 2005
President, Aggie Watch