European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 the stars and stripes i . Monday december 20,1993fear, new Laws trigger gun sales by the new York time frightened by a spate of mass shootings and Othef mgl  and worried that new gun control Laws May make it All but impossible to obtain a firearm for self defense or recreational use Many americans Are Rushing to buy pistols rifles and shotguns. Firearms caters in informal interviews from coast to coast reported a surge in sales in recent weeks often to record Levels. Some manufacturers said they Are having trouble keeping up with demand from retailers and As a result prices for some guns Are soaring. Many purchasers said they had never contemplated owning a gun until the carnage left by recent mass shootings in places like new York California and Colorado starkly focused their attention in the stars and stripes10 years ago dec. 20,1983 a the syrian defense minister said his nation s pilots would make suicide attacks on the . Fleet off Lebanon if Washington continued to involve itself in the Region s hostilities.20 year Sago dec. 20,1973 a Melvin r. Laird resigned As president Nixon s chief Domestic Counselor and called on the House to decide by March 15 whether it would impeach the a lion s chief executive.30 year Sago dec. 20,1963 a the great Christmas reunion of families separated for More than two years by the Bolln Wall began dec. 19, a Day earlier than originally scheduled.40 year Sago dec. 20,1953 a the French parliament in a sixth ballot tailed again to elect a president with Premier Joseph Laniel getting 397 votes six shy of a majority.50 year Sago dec. 20,1943 a soviet forces converged on the key Dnepr Bend rail Junction of Kirovograd in the face of German resistance made desperate by the realization that loss of the City would strangle nazi communications. World War ii 50 years ago today dec. 201 a 9 4 �3 the allies create a joint air Force for the Mediterranean putting Alt american British free French and italian air units in the Region under a single command. A shortage of Landing Craft forces Allied commanders to cancel plans for an amphibious assault behind German lines on the Western end of the italian front. Source 2194 Days of War w. H. Smith publishers inc. A on the nations crime problem. They were finally moved to make a Purchase they say upon learning that Congress had passed one gun control Law the Brady Law and that president Clinton was pushing for other Laws. Quot i wanted to be Able to come and get it when i wanted to get it a Diana Skaggs a Secretary said thursday in Greer s.c., As she paid $401 for two Bopes of bullets and a 9 my pistol the pm weapon she has Ever owned. Personal safety has become a major Issue with Skaggs and not just because of recent mass slayings and other criminal. Violence around the country. A few nights ago in her own neighbourhood she heard a Man screaming out in the darkness for help. Other gun buyers mainly collectors and recreational shooters say they arc Rushing to make a Purchase because they fear new regulations being proposed May outlaw or sharply curtail safes of the particular kinds of firearms they want or because they anticipate  firearms will become a Good investment. Quot i collect guns and in a trying to beat put the president before he makes it so i can to get one Quot Nathan Ellis a heating and air conditioning installer from Jacksonville ark., said while cradling a newly purchased assault Rifle at Don s weaponry in North Little Rock. He described the Purchase As Quot an investment a noting that the gun he had just bought for $269 had been Selling Fer $179 several weeks earlier. There Are no comprehensive National figures on just How much gun sales have surged Over the past few months. But a random sampling of gun dealers across the country produced numerous reports of month to month increases of 50, 60 and even 100 percent. Quot sales have skyrocketed a said John Kayson manager of Rick s gun amp sport in Lockport Itu a town 35 Miles Southwest of Chicago. Quot we have trouble getting guns from  Ricks gun amp sport made 75 gun sales in september 150 in october and 250 in november Kayson said. Quot crime is obviously a Factor a be said. A but people also Are afraid of All this talk of regulation a actually despite All the debate surrounding the Brady Law which goes into effect on feb. 28, the measure has a limited bite it does Little More than require a five Day waiting period before a gun Sale can be completed so that the authorities can Check out the  resist urges Black Community by the new York time new York a the Rev. Louis Farrakhan on saturday combined a message of Black Pride with a denunciation of what he called the corrupted moral Tenor of the nation. In a fiery speech at the Quot Stop the killing rally Farrakhan the Leader of the nation of islam told an audience of nearly 25,000 in the Jacob k. Javits convention Center in Manhattan of the need for Black people to take greater responsibility for addressing the violence in the Black Community and the necessity to de clop stronger spiritual discipline Quot look men we must make our Community decent for. Our women children and the elderly a said Farrakhan whose organization provides Security services for some Urban areas plagued by drugs. A we can do it better than the police. If we clean up our communities we will be Able to walk the streets in peace and  the rally whose ticket prices ranged from $10 to $100, also Drew a collection of people representing celebrity and controversy. They ranged from the Rev Ai Sharp ton the political activist to Stephanie Mills the Broadway Singer Ana recording artist and Wesley Snipes the actor. Farrakhan spoke for nearly two hours touching on everything from a defense of the entertainer Michael Jackson to a perspective on the sexual misconduct of some Catholic priests. Most of Farrakhan a speech dealt with religious and moral topics time and again he said that the reason for the violence within the Black Community was not Only the proliferation of guns and a Ulster Farrakhan Speaks to a rally of nearly 25,000 people at the Jacob drugs but also what he described As the decay of morality in the United states. Quot the United states of America the greatest nation on Earth invincible to any outside Force Quot Farrakhan said Quot is now vulnerable because of an internal rot and  the country he said a is a Brilliant nation that can Send men and women to outer space to Correct a Telescope but can t help students out of High school with a 30 percent functional illiteracy. The morality of the country has gone to the depth of a bottomless  the rally was attended principally by Young Black men and women Many of whom stood in line wailing to enter for nearly an hour and most of whom were followers of Farrakhan. They included crisply dressed men in dark suits and Bow ties and women dressed All in White with Long dresses gloves and hair coverings. . Reports 7 tonalities in lethal 8 hours new York up police said seven people were killed or found dead in new York City during a bloody eight hour period starting at k . Friday and five of them were slain within one hour. The first victim was a teen age girl found stabbed More than a dozen times in her bedroom in a Brooklyn housing project. Police said Wonoika Dumas 14, was found by her 16-year-old brother just before 10 . Friday in the family a apartment in the Linden houses in East new York. It. Tom Sbordone a housing police spokesman said detectives Are stumped by the killing. Investigators have no motive or suspects and Sbordone said the apartment showed no signs of forced entry. Police said the last victim Carole Adams 53, suffered a heart attack moments after a robber jumped into her car and grabbed her purse on the Horace Harding expressway a service Road to the Long Island expressway in Queens. Officer Merri Pearsall a police spokeswoman said Adams was rushed to Booth memorial Hospital in Queens where she died. Police said Adams assailant who is still at Large could face manslaughter charges if prosecutors decide the heart attack was a direct result of the carjacking. J the other homicides included an unidentified Man shot inside a Sandwich shop m the Bronx and a Man identified As Jamie Laurent 19, fatally shot during a dispute in Staten Island. Both were slam around 10 30 . In Queens three men were found shot inside a House in the St. Albans Section just before 11 . One Man Leighton he slops 35, died two others were in critical condition. Two victims were also found shot to death in cars. Dalton Cyrus 32, was shot once in the Back of the head in the front seat of a car found in the Bedford Stuyvesant Section of Brooklyn. Marcus Otero 21, was found shot to death in his car in the Bron and no suspects in any of the killings