European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Y Page 10 the stars and stripes saturday August 4,1990 Tom Wicker weapons need to be More four children killed in nine Days in new York City by bullets fired from semiautomatic weapons but intended for someone else. How much More horrifying can the evidence get before it becomes Clear to All that guns especially handguns that Are often semiautomatic arc too easily obtained kept and used in this country by almost anyone that a the cruel heart of a problem that can to be reached by such simplistic prescriptions As William Bennett a for a a Heck of a lot More police presence on the streets. The drug Czar did not say How Many More police or who was to pay for them. Those four dead children a the latest killed by 9mm bullets probably from a Taurus semiautomatic while playing in his Walker in his grandmothers Bronx apartment a May have an effect beyond political double talk or even the grisly and rising statistics of murder in America a 23,220 people will be killed in this country in 1990, a . Senate committee projects a 2,000 More than in 1989 and exceeding the record of 23,040 set in 1980. #473 murders were counted in new York City in the first three months of 1990, an increase of 22 percent Over the same period last year the projected 1990 total is about 2,000. Not All these killings were by firearms of course nor will Lye All of those still to come this year. But the vast majority were and will be shooting deaths an indisputable fact that Shames the people who tolerate it. Numerous reasons with varying degrees of plausibility Are put Forward to fend off effective limits on gun Possession. Bar guns to honest owners defending against Crooks its said and Only Crooks will have guns. Sportsmen have legitimate uses for guns. Patriotic americans need them to prevent a communist takeover. The second amendment protects gun ownership though it actually refers to a a Well regulated militia. If for the purpose of argument the Validity of every one of these arguments now Moo understand is i Neeb an assault Rifle item cent to take it away is Why. Because were granted none would offer any reason Why Congress should not take what would be the highly effective step of providing a seven Day waiting period Between the Purchase of a handgun and the Possession of it. In the interim police would run background checks on the buyer. If he or she were a Felon a fugitive an alcohol or drug abuser or had been judged mentally incompetent in court Federal Law would prohibit ownership of the weapon. No sportsman or Home defender would suffer no constitutional right however disputed would be violated Only Crooks or others to whom guns supposedly Are prohibited already would be denied. Gun a caters profits might decline but thousands of handguns would be kept from coming into criminal hands. The House judiciary committee has approved such a measure and it apparently will be part of the anti crime Bill to be considered by the House before its aug. 6 recess. But a waiting period was not included in the Senate crime Bill passed july 11. Its not Clear moreover what president Bush might do if confronted with a waiting period provision. He a known however to be dubious about the idea owing to the opposition of the National Rifle association and its supposed ability to Rouse up gun Loving americans against any and All gun control measures. If Bush vetoed waiting period legislation he would Only add to the damage already being done to the one limited step he has been willing to take a a ban on the importation of assault style semiautomatic weapons. Now even these military guns for instance the Uzi and the ak-47if altered to remove some of their most lethal features have been cleared for import by the Bureau of alcohol tobacco and firearms. These imported weapons once in the United states can easily be restored to their original dead Linss. Assault rifles have no defensible sporting purpose but Are the weapons of Choice for drug and other criminals already they and other semiautomatic Are easily available to people with no legitimate reason to own any gun a for instance those responsible for the deaths of the four new York children. Bush a backing might we a make possible waiting period legislation an ironclad ban on imported assault rifles and restrictions on american made counterparts. Even All that would not put an end to death by firearms in the United states. But it would diminish random and or criminal gunfire while threatening no ones legitimate rights or needs and move toward a Kinder gentler America. C new York times Thomas Taschinger women should carry handguns to combat crime in an Era when gun violence rages like a firestorm and accidental shootings kill thousands of americans annually is it sheer lunacy to advocate More use of handguns not if they re used by Law abiding women. Among crime victims women Are especially vulnerable to rape robbery and even murder at the hands of men who Are belter armed As in either biceps or pistols. Its time to change the nations Laws where necessary to allow women to carry handguns for self Protection in certain circumstances. With background checks that screen out the mentally disturbed or those with criminal records a plus instruction on weapons handling and shooting a America s women could begin to break the Cycle of fear that shadows them from preschool to retirement Homes. 1. All across the country feminists police optic gals and politicians Are crying out against the Icie Tuss criminal War on women. Congress is considering tougher penalties Lor sex crimes and a National commission to study violence against women. Model Marla Hanson told a Senate committee she has 1k\-i haunted Moie by a tin Quot Stigi Iki of \ in tiny i Tiou than that Grasli night m 198 1 when her face was slashed by a razor. Iowa rape victim Nancy Ziegenmeyer courageously Speaks out against the horror of sexual assault. Newsweek Magazine devotes a cover Story to the crime of rape which happens every six minutes in America. Even comedian Joan Rivers has applied for a permit to carry a pistol no doubt mindful of the special dangers that stalk female celebrities. Although longer prison sentences against sex of fenders and rape prevention classes will help protect women they wont do the Job completely. The Bottom line is that the average woman has according to one report 60 percent of the strength of the average Man. Invariably when the average Man tries to rape or Mug the average woman he will prevail physically unless deterred by bystanders the police a Lucks Hick to the Groin. Or a snub nosed .3 8. If Ann 1 h1ng, karate lessons and other self defense tactics could lid some women into a false sense of Security by making them think they can physically resist an attacker. While that might be True for some hefty a Mien or female Black belts it lust in t realistic to expect a 120 or 130-Pound woman to overpower a ruthless experienced criminal who might outweigh her by 80 or 60 pounds and choose the moment of attack. A Hill Only an idiot would try to relegate women to second class Legal status it would be equally Foolhardy to try to pretend in the eyes of the Law that men and women Are victimized equally by crimes such As rape. Like the debate about women in combat Radical feminists try to paper Over fundamental physical differences Between the sexes and promote the myth that men and women Are Carbon copies of each other with Only slightly different plumbing yes if More women were allowed to carry handguns there probably would be even More Grid caused by accidental shootings. But that would have to be measured against the rapes assaults and murders prevented by armed aware women. In my v Pewthe Trade off is Worth it. In some states it s already Legal for Law abiding women and men to carry guns under various conditions such As when travelling. But even in slates where carrying a concealed weapon Isnit Legal a variety of evidence suggests Many women have quietly decided to make sure they Arentt the Riet victim. Lets Stop making criminals out of the w otherwise lawful non violent taxpayers who simply want to gel through life without being raped or brutalized.  give them a fighting Chance to Detent. Them vex in the manner they deem Best. J nits you k dues