European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 1, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes thursday May 1. 1986 James Kilpatrick gun taws Nof weakened by House passed measure now Bill Hiil passed the. House last month is being denounced everywhere As i perilous and reckless Vii Kenni of the Owhi Jim. Lei me voice a dissenting View. The Bill in my judgment is Mil Tajii but n piece of work. In most of its provisions inc mouse Bill parallels the Mii lure Volkmer Bill that sailed in rough the Sun no Psi summer on i Vole of 79-15. The Misti re passed the mouse by a vote of 102 Ijo. When you have a combined Vale in lie two chamber of 371-145, you have an impressively lopsided display i is difficult la believe Juil such majorities Erc achieved because members were Earvil Lodeal fihe National Rifle association. This is Castru Ellic legislation. The 1%k Aci you May mail was pm Wail an a Nave of Emulio onanism set in motion by the assassinations or Robert f. Kennedy and Martin Luther King it. It contained mime useful provi Sions bul the act is predicated upon sonic implicit assumptions for example that gun dealers Are a men arc to society and that gun us Ricks generally Are a Bunch of potential felons. The Rcd cml Govi a Mem set out 10 enforce the i a act in Hal spirit. Gun dealers were subjected to bureaucratic harassment. Gun collectors in some instances saw their collections effectively confiscated tons of paperwork was generated. And while Law abiding gun owners chafed under needless Rusl Rillions criminals Leonii Nudd along their criminal Way. Last months Bill will put matters in better balance. It no longer will be unlawful for haulers to Loans Orl rifles and shotguns across state lines. That makes sense. Gun dealers will be Subj Al to Only one unannounced inspection a year bul that provi Foit will not prevent a local prosecutor from gelling a warrant on a showing of Proba blk cause. Tiie interstate of handguns would be prohibited the Bill bans All future sales and Possession of machine guns. The measure contains Tough provisions covering use of a firearm in Camm Siun of u crime a mandatory five years for a first offence. 10 years for a second. Significantly the Bill adds drug offences to the list of violent crimes. Under this Bill it still will be possible for persons to buy silencers and automatic weapons bul Only after care Ful checking fingerprinting and a slav of two to four months. Tim procedure effectively limits such purchasers to Bona fide collectors and hobbyists. An entirely spa rate piece of legislation intended to prohibit the Sale or Possession of cop killer Armor piercing Buhl. Has passed both houses by overwhelming Voles. It will go to the a Lite House after a conference com Millie resolves David Broder 9jftkin upon this a in a 1w$ a Matt 1wesb arg for . Nwawe lion Coett know you got itt you Sot i concealed that Why it s Small. ,y0u6etin ?an6�, maybe two fat minor differences. All in All it is hard to Sec How gun Laws have been greatly weakened by these legislative efforts. For my own part 1 wish he final Bill had provided a mandatory two week wailing period on the Sale of concealable hand guns. At one Lime the Era ii if supported a wailing period. Such a delay said he Era. Could help in reducing crimes of passion and in preventing people Wilh criminal records or dangerous menial illnesses from acquiring the Era was right Ihen and it is wrong now m opposing so modest n provision. The Bill also could have been much improved by imposing lighter regulations on he Sale of ammunition. Sen. Pal Moynihan b-n.y., is Cicily. Rijs Jil in saving that the key control is ammunition control but if dealers had to preserve records of every Sale of bullets and to Cheek on the eligibility of every purchaser. The bureaucratic hand would be Lou heavy it seems to me that we come Down to i Feu intractable realities. The United slates of America is the most gun Happy nation in the world no unc has 3jiy Good idea of How Many handguns Are kicking around there Are Mil Lions of Ihm and no Laws yet have been devised thai would prevent criminals from acquiring them. Proposals for gun registration Are pure Folly la is unbelievably naive jul criminals i Kulil obey them. This k one of those areas in which be must do the bes we can. There is no perfect solution the no decl of legis lation should be to contain the terrible misfortunes that go with widespread ownership of guns and to punish criminal misuse of weapons. Nothing in the House Bill will detract t Rurik Ilise Pur. Poses. If tie Senate will concur promptly. It can Pul ibis fight behind us a nil go on to More important things
