European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes letters writers see no need for at Home assault rifles after Reading two recent letters. I concluded that As a nationality most americans completely misunderstand the Calls for gun control. The Point made from the Stockton shootings the deaths of five Stockton Calif., children by ak-47 wielding gunman Patrick Edward Purdy Jan. 17 and similar incidents is that we make it much too easy to own assault Type weapons and hand guns and that we also fail to recognize that we Are the most violent and criminal nation in the Western world. Though guns do not cause crime their use does prop Agate it. The vast majority of common Street crimes involving firearms Are not committed with Hunting guns but with assault rifles and handguns. I will even venture so far As to say most firearms used in crimes were at some Point legally purchased and possessed. Any municipal police officer in the states can attest to the fact that guns arc favorite items among burglars who take them from legitimate owners and place them into criminal hands. One need Only watch the local news in any major City to witness the unbelievable proliferation of violence accomplished with guns. The one statement that Crimi Nal violence will be accomplished through other Means if guns arc not available is untrue. Guns make violence convenient and impersonal. The causes of criminal be Havior arc Many and Complex but Jet us Wake up to the reality that we As Law abiding citizens with a Choice make firearm ownership treacherously easy. We arc a nation held prisoner by the fear of our own criminality. The time has come to outlaw those firearms that have no other purpose than to end human life. Cape. Patrick l. Colbert Augsburg. West Germany. Who cares How Many bullets the ak-47 held or How fast it reloads human innocent life has been snuffed in an instant because an insane person got easy Access to this deadly and powerful weapon. Does t this mean anything. 1 know responsible gun collectors and Hunters exist. Please recognize that there must be More control Over who receives the possible Power to kill who can buy guns that must override fearful gun fanciers wishes for absolutely no gun restrictions. These May be the extreme exceptions among the majority of the responsible gun owners but the problem exists and we must not Only face it but Correct it. Hundreds of live shave been taken prematurely by guns accidentally or intentionally because of easy Access let alone those hundreds maimed for life mentally or physically. It s a shame these writers did t exert As much attentiveness and retrospection to helping clean up the gun Laws and provide a safer America before such unwarranted shots were fired narrative by speaking to such a de senseless weapon. Their put Crys arc deafening but the moral and ethical questions raised by the California incident will eventually bring the Era to its Knees and make its members realize others have rights too. We recently heard on to news How our police Force is overwhelmed by the firepower capabilities of the under world and i Don t mean la Cosa Nostra. Our police Force is outclassed in firepower by neighbourhood drug thugs. When is enough going to be enough the Only positive aspect on the views of the two gentlemen was their courage to put their names on their views. As disagreeable As their views were to me i thank you. Stars and strips for showing different aspects of human nature. Don t censor yourselves to please a few. These writers should be pleased their views weren t censored or excluded but included in the paper just As was the nationally important incident that occurred in Cali fornia. Dear Reader if you vehemently disagree with me please at least Stop to examine your reasons Why you do in the name of life. Who would Benefit most by your views you just might not be totally right in your beliefs. I admit i m tar from perfect but i still keep trying to do what s right. Rosalinda Valadez de Eurek Oesterberg Netherlands i am addressing this letter to the writers who complained about technical errors in the Story of the play ground shootings in Stockton Calif. Gentlemen i wish to thank you for your enlightening letters. I was duly impressed by your thorough knowl Edge of weaponry and the efficient manner in which you debunked the newspaper article. I now feel confident that 1 can go into my neighbourhood gun shop hold my head up proudly Ana ask for the ak-47, armed no Pun intended with an abundance of information. I must state however that i am appalled at the Man Ner in which you reduced the coldblooded murder of innocent schoolchildren into a simple discussion of muzzle velocity Caliper and recoil i am sure that the families of the murdered children Are truly glad that you have cleared the air so of speak such that the gun used is not blamed for the deaths. I am not a gun nut nor am i an anti gun nut. I would like to think that i am an average american when it comes to the gun control Issue. If you want to Hunt then do so humanely. If you want to Hunt humans then by All Means buy an ak-47, an my 6, or to make sure none of the innocent victims escape an Uzi. Regarding the comment about baseball bats i am sure that fewer children if any would have died if the assail ant used a baseball Bat. Somebody would have tried to Stop him. After All a Bat does t spit out a lethal projectile. No there is absolutely no reason whatsoever Why any private citizen should own a weapon such As the assault Rifle. In the Case of the Stockton tragedy the weapon did exactly what it was designed to do it killed people. Do you honestly believe that we should continue the proliferation of virtually any weapon into the hands of private citizens do you truly think that the Constitution guarantees such unbounded Freedom. The Bullet in itself is not an object of evil. The evil exists in the fact that it was manufactured in the first place to fill an Ever burgeoning Market. Such a Market continues not Only because of purchases by military forces but also because people insist that the assault Rifle is perfectly suitable for the american Home. No guns do not kill people people kill people. But can t you understand that we must do something to keep such weapons As assault rides out of the hands of the common citizenry in View of the fact that Purdy Vio lated Laws when certifying his competence to buy the weapon docs it not make sense to make those Laws stronger and More enforceable in closing let me say to both of you that i Hope you arc not the Type of persons portrayed in your letters. I Hope that you do care about the terrible loss suffered by those in Stockton. I Hope that you support the denial of such weapons to private citizens and that you will fight for stronger and More enforceable Laws to govern such Pur chases. As i said before if you want to Hunt then do so. If you want to shoot a acct or targets then do so. But i you want to Hunt humans i will do everything in my Power to prevent you from doing so and from obtaining the Means to do so my thanks however for setting the record straight and pulling All of us Back to the important issues re Coil Caliper and muzzle velocity. John  Lassel Parma sons West Germany Reader says drag racing has its benefits i m an avid fan of sanctioned drag racing and since i m stationed in Germany i find it difficult at times to find out race results within a few Days after a National cd Cal is run. Normally i have to wait a month to read the results in a racing publication. I would like to thank the stars and stripes for print ing the results of the recent Nora a internationals that were held in Pomona Calif. I was also surprised to Sec the picture of Eddie Hill s top Fuller in its top end crash at Pomona in the stripes. With 27 More Nora and Ihra National events left in the year i am hoping that the stars and stripes sees fit to print More race results As they receive them. Now if an would show a few taped delayed races on to it would almost be like Back in the slates. For the Benefit of anyone not familiar with sanctioned drag racing it is very much a sport and it is done the world Over. For the Louring race professionals and after Market parts manufacturers it is also a Busi Ness and livelihood. Sanctioned drag racing has been around for three dec Ades now. The supposed dude with the leather jacket who races Down the highways from traffic Light to traffic Light is not a drag racer but an idiot endangering his life and those around him. Sanctioned drag racing on a drag strip is real racing and an excellent sport to be involved in whether you Are a Spectator or participant. A drag racer is not limited by his physical abilities Ina abilities or his bankroll although the latter will help you go faster. Anyone with a car truck or motorcycle can participate. The major sanctioning bodies Nora Ihra or the Udra have Many different classes in which you can race. The classes Range from 20-Sccond, Quarter mile sedans up through to the top fuel classes which can run a Quarter mile in about five seconds at 280 Mph. The technology of the sport is amazing with advances almost As often As there arc races. Many High tech innovations on the family Sedan started out life As an idea in a racer s mind that was applied to his race car and was picked up on by parts manufacturers. The big three automakers in Detroit sponsor various drag cars and frequently use them As test Beds to help in the refinement of systems and parts on new cars. Computers arc now playing a big part in drag racing As Well As wind Tunnel testing of bodies. Most serious drag racers have inboard computers to record and Analyse what goes on in the various systems of the car during a Quarter mile pass. Wind tunnels Are also being used by the professional teams in order to help them smooth out the car bodies to cheat the wind to go faster. For the touring professionals drag racing is not Only a sport but a business and income. Crew chiefs on a pro team can earn salaries of $350,000 and More a year. Major sponsorship deals for a pro team usually mean Hie difference Between racing because you have a sponsor and not racing due to the Lack of one. For a top fuel or funny car team the average Cost of a Quarter mile pass can run Between s2.000 and $5,000, so the need for a corporate sponsor is almost a must Many Large corporations such As camera Oil Candy Beer and soda pop companies along with a to. Network sponsor Many pro race teams paying them from several thousand dollars a year up to a Mil lion dollars a year. Safety is of the utmost concern of a racing sanctioning body. No matter what class of racing it has safety require ments that must be adhered to. The faster the class the the More safety standards there arc for the car o meet. An individual s chances of walking away from a 250 Mph crash in a top fuel car Are far greater than those if you wrecked your privately owned Venice a at 50 Mph. Yes drag racing has come of age. Attendance at drag races continues to increase with each event. National drag racing events arc held throughout the states usually starting the season in late Winter and continuing until october. These events usually last three to four Days. The first two or three Days arc the Elimina Tion rounds while final round eliminations Are con ducted on the last Day. Speaking of excitement have you Ever seen a 720 cubic Inch race prepared Beretta or thunderbird per form its pc race burnout or How about watching a3,800 horsepower dragster Cross the finish line at 280 Mph in my opinion it is fantastic almost unreal. Again i say thanks to the stripes for thinking of us drag racing fans and hopefully this letter will enlighten those who May not think much of drag racing. It might even spark interest in others to become fans of the quickest sport on Earth. Rob Anderson bad kissing in West Germany pen pals i Wouk to to be inducted m your pen pal column. I am 31 end enjoy cooking and Reading Tsie a Serrano 39 Mcwey is. Stiff cof. Negro Occo Fenta Philippines i would Hka to be to lauded in your pen pal column i to 27 years old and be raiding magazines and watching to. Urn a Obergas 39mckmleysl. Stay City. Negro Occidental Philippines a old. My Hobo Are str naming Bike Riding and listening to music i would Uke pen pals from a or the world. Denyce Moorer   i would us to correspond with peo to Iff Over Trie world t enjoy Dik ing play my chess playing to Deylii. 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