European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 23, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a the stars and stripes saturday March 23, 1991 a distraught Edward Prince comforted by daughter Jackie testifies on behalf of gun control before a House panel. Panel hears anguished pleas to toughen gun control Laws Washington a raw grief echoed through the hearing room As the distraught father of a Yale University student shot to death last month haltingly asked Congress to toughen gun control Laws. A to All of the handgun sports enthusiasts in this world i Only wish that you had an Opportunity to know Christian Prince a Edward m. Prince told a House judiciary  As tears streamed Down his face. Christian Haley Prince 19, Wras killed on Campus during an attempted robbery As he walked Home from a party feb. 16. His father and sister Jackie urged Congress on thursday to pass the so called Brady Bill which would  seven Day wait on handgun purchases so police could Check the background of prospective buyers. The legislation is named for James s. Brady who was shot in the head by John Hinckley during the 1981 assassination attempt on president Reagan. Brady who. Nearly died remains seriously disabled. Democrats in Congress have predicted the Bill will. Pass this year despite Bush administration opposition a How Many tragedies does it take to change political. Priorities or can Good common sense Pul individual a rights in. Proper perspective a Prince asked choking. Out the last few words. /. Prince an attorney argued that the second Amend Niento does not preclude passage of gun control measures. It Stales a a Well regulated militia being necessary to the Security of a free state the right of the people to keep and Bear arms shall not be infringed a a was that a Wel regulated militia that killed my son a he asked. A there is Only one infringement in . Rapes by Michael Usikoff the Washington Post Washington a More than 100,000 women reported being raped last year a nationwide record and the rate of sexual assaults  four times faster than the Overall crime rate according to a Senate judiciary committee study released  these numbers  rape has reached epidemic proportions in our country a said committee chairman Joseph r. Biden jr., a Del a american women Are in greater peril now from attack than they have Ever been in the history of our  estimating the number of rapes has always been difficult the report said less than 10 percent of women who Are assaulted report it to the police. But the. Judiciary committee staff in addition to compiling official state records also contacted rape crisis centers a where women can go for counselling and medical Aid without having to disclose their names to the police a and found that they were reporting Eyen More dramatic increases. For example the report noted that Michigan Law in instance namely the infringement of Christian Princess right to life Liberty and property.�?�. The second amendment concerns keeping and bearing arms not acquiring them he added. Several panel members pointed to a recent poll to support their View that the nation a and Congress a Are ready to pass the Brady Bill after several years of trying. The Gallup poll last september found that 95 fierce Cut of the people surveyed favored such a National a. The Telephone Survey of 1,031 adults had a margin of error of 4 percentage Points a common sense can to be quelled forever a not even at gunpoint a said rep. Charles Schumer  chairman of the crime subcommittee a that is Why members of Congress Are changing their  Brady noted that he was shot almost 10 years ago on March 30, 1981. A since that Day Over 200,000 men women and Chil Drew have been killed in Iii Erica a gun War a Brady said. A More than Korea Vietnam Grenada Panama and the persian Gulf combined. And the War goes  Justice department official Paul Mcnulty told the panel that the administration continues to oppose the Brady Bill. A we think if ,�?� he said a to use a harsher word its useless a. Mcnulty acting director of the office of policy development  measure is a a a distraction and the administration is a not convinced lives would be saved if the Bill were passed. Criminals will get guns despite limits on legitimate gun purchases he said. For Cement authorities reported a 4.7 percent increase in rapes while state rape crisis centers showed a 36 percent increase. Louisiana records showed an increase of Only 0.3 percent in reported rapes but the states Central rape crisis Center reported a 39 percent increase. A this data. Silences the sceptics who believe that the rising rape rates Are nothing More than a function of More women reporting their rapes to police a the report said. Y the number of reported rapes has increased dramatically in the Washington area the 303 rapes reported in the District of Columbia in 1990 represented a 63 percent increase Over the. Previous year the largest proportional increase in the country. But the five states re porting the greatest number of rapes Are located in every area of the country California 12,413texas 8,427michigan 6,938 Florida 6,874 and new York 5,315. The committee report noted that the reported rape rate in the United states was higher than m Portugal Japan England and Italy. A last year american women were eight times More Likely to be raped than were eu7 rope an women a the report said. �?~2 killed in fort Worth when Light pole Falls from wire reports fort Worth Texas a an 80-foot Light pole fractured and collapsed at a downtown Park thursday killing two men and injuring two other people a there was no indication that anything was wrong before the mishap a said police it. Alvin Allcon. A it just snapped. A the pole snapped at its base in the fort Worth water Garden a 4.3-acre, multilevel Concrete and Stone Park that contains waterfalls and tree shaded seating areas. It was built in 1975. Police said a North Carolina Man was killed and a South Carolina Man fatally injured. Both were 44 years old. Y. A 53-Ycar-old Man from Mississippi was hospitalized in fair condition and a 54-year-old California woman who was slightly injured refused treatment officials said. The injured were in fort Worth for an internal Revenue service convention that ended wednesday fire department spokesman Butch Hall  of Honor Day Washington a president Bush has set aside monday As medal of Honor Day to Salute the winners of the nations highest military award. The Day will be observed every March 25. In a proclamation the president noted that the medal had been awarded to 3,440 americans since the civil War. He said the recipients had distinguished themselves through Brave and self less actions that were a far above and beyond the Call of  reactors shut Down Chicago a Commonwealth Edison co. Is shutting Down both nuclear reactors at its Zion generating station to investigate a safety system failure that shut off one of the reactors a company spokesman said Friday. The Utility shut Down unit 2 on thursday after a transformer supplying Power to its safety systems failed spokesman Gary Wald said a a we be shut unit 1 Down As Well. The two units Are approaching a cold shutdown now a Wald said Friday cold shutdown is a Low level of operation. Wall said both reactors at the northeastern Illinois station arc out of service and will remain Idle while officials attempt to determine what went wrong. The situation is not dangerous and there wits no damage to the equipment at Zion Wald said. Edison s other Power plants will be Able to meet consumer demands he  Dies Fullerton Calif. A Clarence Leo fender whose revolutionary strato Caster was the guitar of Choice for Rock stars from buddy Holly to Jami Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen died thursday. He was 82. Fender was found unconscious in his Fullerton Home by his wife Phyllis and died in route to St. Jude medical Center and rehabilitation Center said police sgt. Mike Maynard. A the exact cause of death Wasny to immediately known Maynard said. Fender had suffered from Parkinson a disease for decades but continued to work on guitar de signs. A afire strato Caster introduced in 1954, revolt lionized the Industry because the electric guitar could be mass produced making it affordable while still offering great  lab damaged canaveral  a pressurized Laboratory to be used on a space shuttle Mission. Was damaged when a technician removed a Latch an module tilted and hit a tray Nasa officials said. The Accident thursday came As workers were preparing to lift the space lab module from a Sta to friary test stand Nasa had planned to install the module into the shuttle Columbia this weekend. Nasa spokesman Mitch Varnes said damage appeared to be minor and was not expected to delay columbian a scientific research Mission in. Late May. The flight already was running about a Vij week late because of trouble in assembling the shuttles two solid rocket boosters