European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday june 6, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 5handgun sales set record after . Riots up a californians rushed to gun stores and snapped up weapons last month after the los Angeles riots attorney general Dan Lungren said thursday. Gun dealers across the state reported Selling 58,311 weapons last month nearly a 46 percent increase Over the 40,001guns sold in a 1991. May a handgun sales set a California record. The previous monthly record was 38,000 set in 1981. Handguns accounted for More than two out of three weapons purchased during the buying spree. Gun shops in los Angeles county alone sold roughly 14,125 handguns in May according to the state department of Justice. The department of Justice could not immediately provide the previous top sales figure for All guns. Lungren said a hundreds or perhaps thousands a of guns also were stolen during the riots which broke out april 29 after a jury acquitted four Whites in the videotaped police beating of Black Motorist Rodney g. King. A unfortunately it appears that the los Angeles area riots have raised concerns about Law enforcement s ability to adequately protect citizens from violence and convinced Many of the need to protect themselves a a Lungren said. A while the right of Law abiding citizens to legally possess certain firearms is not to be questioned Quot it is also True that an increasingly armed citizenry is a dangerous Road for our society to travel a he said. Gun control supporters said Many buyers Are firs time gun owners who did not grow up around firearms and May not know How to store and use a gun. A what we re scared about is that As the fear recedes As the riots become More of a Distant memory those guns will remain a deadly threat in the Home a said Luis Tolley state director of handgun control inc. A Many of these guns will end up in the closet inside a shoe Box. In five or 10 years we re going to Sec an increase in accidental shootings kids taking guns to school and suicides Quot he predicted. In response to the explosion in gun sales the National Rifle association will Send teams of instructors into los Angeles next week to offer free gun safety classes Era lobbyist Brian Judy said. He attributed soaring gun sales to the perception that police cannot protect people at All times. A people Are coming to realize that Law enforcement is not going to be there All the time. What they saw on to during the riots is the los Angeles police department retreating because the situation was too dangerous a Judy said. A when Law enforcement Wasny to there when 911 was Busy when the National guard arrived without ammunition when everything else failed the second amendment governing the right to Bear arms  Lungren said the explosion in gun sales demonstrates the need to bolster Law enforcement strength in California. In the stars and stripes 10years ago june 6,1982 a a . Plan to eliminate cheap Trade credits and restrict the Sale of High technology items to the soviet Union and its allies met with Strong opposition from foreign leaders during the second Day of a seven nation economic Summit in Versailles France. 20years ago june 6,1972 a a rocket scored a direct hit on the cambodian defense ministry in phenom penh killing two people and wounding at least two others while two other rockets straddled the Villa of president Lon not. It was the first Daylight rocket attack on the cambodian capital in More than two years of War.30 years ago june 6,1962 a German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer declared that West Germany demands the Berlin Wall be Quot put out of commission Quot As the Price the communists pay for lines of credit from the West. 40years ago june 6,1952 a Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower told a press conference that he had no prescription for winning the korean War and warned against either a drive to Manchuria or a Retreat from present positions.50 years ago june 6,1942 a because of wartime blackout restrictions in new York City the baseball All Star game to be played there was rescheduled from a night to a Twilight game. Worl d war50 years ago today june 61 9 4 2 Japan s Midway invasion Fleet is ordered to Retreat american planes sink the Cruiser Rikuma and a japanese submarine sinks a . Destroyer. Japanese warships land infantry on Kiska in Alaska s Aleutian islands. In Libya Germany s 15th Panzer division joins the attack trying to push free French troops out of Bir Racheim at the Southern end of the Battle line retired police officials Volunteer to track Down missing children Washington a a team of retired Law enforcement officers has been formed to help local police departments find missing children. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady and Sens. Alfonse do Amato r-n.y., and Dennis Deconcini d-ariz., announced the formation of project Alert at a news conference thursday. The acronym stands for americans Law enforcement Retiree team. Officials said the initial team of 10 retired officers would be from the Fri secret service customs the new York and Chicago police departments and other agencies. A Many police departments simply do not have the resources needed to solve the Many missing children cases they must face a do Amato said. He said the retired officers were volunteering and would enter cases Only at the request of local departments. They will serve As consultants and will not be armed or have authority to make arrests. Do Amato said he and Deconcini both members of the appropriations committee arc seeking $171,000 in Federal funds to help pay for Start up costs and operating expenses. The Justice department estimated there Are More than 400,000 children abducted every year plus 450,000 runaways and More Brady than 100,000 children lost injured otherwise missing Brady said. A equally disturbing a he said a the Fri Law enforcement bulletin has reported estimates that less than one in 10 child molestations Are Ever  Brady said local organizations facing child abduction cases would Contact the National Center for missing and exploited children a private organization through which the services of Trie Retiree or team would be offered. A in cities and Small towns nationwide local agencies often have nowhere to turn for expert assistance into these Complex and far reaching crimes a Brady said. Officials said the project was developed after John Libonati a secret service agent working As a congressional fellow in do am atoms office took on the Case of a Buffalo woman who wrote to the senator that three of her four children were abducted the Day after Christmas 1990. The children were located in Tennessee in january. Their Mother Barbara Harless had last seen them when they left her apartment for a visit with her estranged husband. Harless appearing at the news conference appealed to parents to a put yourself in my position and imagine what it is like to not know where your children Are even for one Day or one  Libonati said the volunteers would not take sides in custody cases but would be concerned with the safety and Well being of the children. Funds secured for Vietnam exhibit Washington a a private fund raising Campaign has obtained enough Money for the smithsonian institution to go ahead with an exhibit of messages Ana mementos left at the Vietnam veterans memorial Over the last decade. A we made it a said Jennifer Locke an armed forces history specialist at the smithsonian a National museum of american history. She said thursday that a Check and pledges totalling $70,000 had been turned Over this week by the Volunteer group beyond the Wall. Locke is the museums manager for the project. She and National Park service curators Are selecting for display 200 to 300 of the 25,000 items left beside the Black Granite Wall by comrades and loved ones of the nearly 60,000 dead and missing whose names Are inscribed there. The exhibit at the museum just blocks Down the mall from the Wall will begin oct. 27 and will run through june 7, 1993. John Wheeler a Vietnam Veteran who organized beyond the Wall to mount this exhibit turned Over a $55,000 Check and pledges of $5,000 each from Boeing Northrop and Primerina financial services. Earlier the group had Given the smithsonian $15,000 to Start work. Of that $85,000 total Wheeler said the two largest contributors were a the Freedom foundation in Arlington va., which gave $47,500. A Vietnam veterans of America chapter 172 in Cumberland md., which contributed $25,500 of its Revenue from sales of posters of the Wall. Wheeler said Bryan Hall of the Cumberland group offered whatever was needed to meet a goal set for this week by the contract Between beyond the Wall and the smithsonian. Wheeler also has received $12,000 in contributions a much of it in Small contributions in letters from around the country. That Money will go toward a final payment of $21,480 owed the smithsonian by oct. 1 for constructing the display. And he is seeking an additional $94,000 to pay for a guard at the exhibit preservation of the other mementos stored in a Park service warehouse research on state and local Vietnam memorials and an opening reception to Honor a the whole family of memorials around the  magic Johnson s wife gives birth to son source 2194 Days of War w. H. Smith udi stiers inc world almanac Book of world  ii Bison books corp1981 a los Angeles a retired los Angeles lakers Star magic Johnson and his wife cookie Kelly a brought a Little magic into the world a with their first child spokesmen announced. Mother and son were in excellent health after delivery thursday said their obstetrician or. Scott Serden. Neither was infected with his the virus that causes aids. They a brought a Little magic into the world today when they announced the birth of their son Earvin Johnson Iii a said a news release from Johnson a agent Lon Rosen and Cedars Sinai Hospital spokesman Ron Wise. The child is 20 inches Long weighs 7 pounds 15 ounces and was delivered by Serden the statement said. He was born at 7 52 . A cookie and Earvin Iii Are doing Fine and the father is said to be looking Forward to Many late night feedings and endless diaper changes a the statement said. Johnson retired from professional basketball last november after announcing he is infected with the virus that causes aids. He has since become an activist working on president Bush a National commission on aids. Johnson named the most valuable player in the Aba All Star game plans to play for the . Olympic team in the summer olympics in Barcelona. He also has a 10-year-old son