European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 24, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday March 24, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 17women Are target of handgun debate by Amy Singer new York times l Orene Wozniak owns a hair Salon i Manhattan. She is divorced and has a 15-year-old daughter. She is one of Man women who live on their own take care of families run businesses and have chosen to protect themselves by owning a gun. Women like Wozniak have become the focus of two rival campaigns. The National Rifle association which opposes gun control legislation that prevents Law abiding people from having guns is seeking out these women As new members. At the same time the handgun information Center an educational organization affiliated with handgun control inc., a group that lobbies for gun control is trying to make them aware of the hazards of gun ownership. The Era is trying to make it a casual decision to buy a handgun said Charles j. Orasin executive vice president of handgun control. What they re trying to do is to make it another easy consumer product to buy. They Don t Point out the  Orasin contended that one reason the association is recruiting women is because gun sales have gone Down. But John d. Aquilino director of Public education for the Rifle association denied the allegation. That s an absolute grasping at straws he said. We have no relationship with the gun Industry except that we re Consumers. To say that is to continue  instead he said the of the association s Campaign is to attract new members. A traditional misconception is that the Era is mostly for  an Era advertisement puts the organization s position plainly millions of women live alone and Are concerned with their safety. Many want to learn How to select and properly use a handgun strictly for self Protection. A gun is a Choice women need to know More about and be free to  millions of women do live alone. According to a census report in 1984 nearly 24 million households were headed by women. However it does not appear that More women Are making the Choice to own a gun. Statistics from a National opinion research Center Survey indicate that gun ownership for both women and men has been relatively stable for the past five years. Carol tonn for example a 41-year-old benefits manager in new Castle pa., bought a .22-caliber pistol soon after she was divorced 10 years ago. She lives alone with her two children and frequently works late or attends meetings at night. You pick the most practical thing you have to protect yourself she said. For me that s a  one night last Winter when her dog s Barking awoke her at 3 a.m., tonn went downstairs to investigate gun in hand. She discovered a Young Man hiding behind the Couch aimed the gun at him ordered him not to move and shouted upstairs for her daughter to Call the police. The police arrived and the Man was arrested without further incident. Using a gun Wozniak has scared off an intruder in her apartment and prevented two holdups in her hair Salon Erma Bombeck s sometimes you get to wondering if there anything people won t steal anymore. Outhouses Are held together with locks an bolts. Our cars Are wired with alarms against intruders and thieving fingers have taken anything that in t nailed Down. From Library books to Pink flamingos from the Lawn. This nation has become paranoid about its possessions. We be come a Long Way since we left bicycles out on the sidewalk All night Long and slept with our doors open in the summer. I never knew How far until i entered a restroom recently and an attendant handed me two squares of tissues before i entered the Booth. I Felt like a kid at Camp. Thank you but i can help myself i said. There in t any tissue in the Booth she said. People steal  a restroom frequented by a class of freshman girls before the prom i could understand the concern for. New York times Ohot woman at target practice in new York City. Some women Are turning to handguns for Protection. She says. In those instances she did not have to shoot but concerned that she May have to she brings her gun to the shop Only if she expects it to be a Busy Day with a lot of Money coming in. I d rather talk my Way out of a situation she said. If i feel there s trouble i will have to pull the piece out and if you pull the piece out you have to use  Many women have never had to use their guns but owning the weapon gives them a sense that they could defend themselves if they had to. The gun is going to serve to produce physical Equality said Gary Kleck a professor in the school of criminology at Florida state University. It is going to produce the capacity to Deal violence against  in new York As in most states it is necessary to apply to the police department for a permit to own a gun. However Many police officers oppose the private ownership of guns. This department does not advocate the use of a gun for Protection said inspector Robert Burke a spokesman for the new York City police department. We find that they Are stolen and get into the hands of people who should t have  recognizing that people Are going to buy them the handgun information Center works with local police departments to educate gun owners and prospective gun owners so they handle weapons safely. We do not promote firearms ownership says Jane Clarenbach the Center s executive assistant. We acknowledge that it s out there. Our concern is what happens to those handguns once they re in the  the Era offers a voluntary practical firearms program a course in the use of handguns for personal safety and family Protection. Era officials say that 250,000 people have taken the course 55 percent of them women. Many women who own guns seem concerned about the weapons safety especially if children Are in the House. I m very concerned about that in the same Way i worry about them sticking their fingers into electric sockets or getting into household poisons said gun owner Carol Ruth Silver a member of the san Francisco Board of supervisors. It s a piece of machinery like my cuisinart or my Drill. It s dangerous if used improperly. It is not a toy and is not to be treated As such. As far As i m concerned it s a necessary piece of household  the Supply of toilet tissue but what did she think i was going to steal it for however there Are still a few things left in this world that even an habitual thief will not filch and i thought the world would sleep better tonight knowing what they Are. There is no need to Bolt Down hotel lamps and pictures anymore. Honest. We re not talking Art Here. We re talking ugly lamps that even the hotel does t want to waste a bulb on. The picture is the same one in every hotel room. A japanese fishing boat with an Orange Sun going Down behind it hangs above every bed in the country. The theft of a grocery store shopping cart is punishable by fines or imprisonment or both. Think about it. How can you steal something that is welded together with 30 other carts and can be separated Only through the use of a Blowtorch assuming you separate one what would you do with a Large Metal Basket with four wheels that do not go in the same direction and is incapable of turning a Corner the warning that always puts me off is the one posted in City and state Parks about stealing the picnic tables. You could steal the Chrysler building easier than you could steal a picnic table. The Chain on it is tethered 30 feet underground and the benches Are set in Cement. The table itself has enough Graffiti on it to Supply new York. A Post office pen is perfectly Safe and does t even need a Chain to contain it. The reason is obvious. They never work. No one steals a stray Mutt or a generic Kitten an abandoned car or a broken umbrella. As a matter of fact this very newspaper you Are Reading that is packed with vital information entertainment and the talents of writers photographers and cartoonists could be left in a Public place tomorrow and not one person would steal it. Maybe you la sleep better tonight knowing that. I won t. C 1986, los Angeles times Syndicate