European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 14, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                \ not an employee at the Sturm Ruger & co. Plant in Prescott Ariz., assembles semiautomatic pistols. Gun maker on crime it s not our fault by David Moore the associated press e insists it s not his fault. Yes William b. Ruger designed the p-89 semiautomatic pistol. And yes when Colin Ferguson strafed a Long Island commuter train last december killing six and wounding 17, his weapon was a p-89 semiautomatic  ". But no Ruger maintains he s not to blame. The world knows it s not our fault says the 78-year-old founder of Sturm Ruger & co., one of the country s largest firearms makers. People use All sorts of tools to display antisocial or criminal behaviour and it does t necessarily say anything about the morality of the manufacturer despite the misrepresentation of some false thinking  these false thinking people people who press for gun control who blame the gun Industry for the carnage on american streets vilify him. These Days it is not easy to be a gun magnate or a tobacco executive. Guns have been a lifelong passion for Ruger. And he s not going to let that passion die. He has spent most of his life designing refining and manufacturing firearms. His handguns shotguns and rifles Are known for their clean efficient design and precise workmanship. Ruger first designed and built a gun in a neighbourhood machine shop when he wednesday september 14, 1994 was still in High school. He dropped out of the University of North Carolina after two years to work on a design for a Light machine gun he went on to design Light weapons for the army during world Warll. After the War Ruger met fellow gun enthusiast Alexander Sturm and with $50,000 of Sturm s Money opened Sturm Ruger & co. In a rented barn in Southport Conn. Their first product was a .22-caliber automatic pistol that looks much like the famous German Luger an instant and continuing Success. Simenc answer deprived of firearms or if they were somehow made inaccessible you would be downgrading the whole concept of american citizenship William  founder of Sturm Ruger & go. His partner died in 1951, but Ruger pressed on building a business that now Sells More than $150 million Worth of guns annually producing them in Southport Newport n.h., and Prescott Ariz. To Ruger it seems guns Are a benevolent Force. The deterrent effect of an armed household in this country has got to be a hell of an important beneficial effect. The fact that half the households have Means to protect themselves has got to turn off a lot of would be burglars and rapist and  Ruger blames Hollywood violence for twisting America s Conception of firearms. Movies and to these Days have sold the idea of the shootout As though that were the purpose of firearms he says. To is an enemy of civilization. You take the program violence away and All these immature slightly crazy mentalities watching that would no longer be stimulated by what they see on  he believes the problem of guns in school has been greatly  i just have to wonder How Many schoolchildren go to school and worry about getting shot. If there Are some Rotten kids who Are carrying a gun that can t happen very often. But it gets a lot of play with the press he says. The real danger to american society he says is not firearms makers but gun control advocates. If americans were deprived of firearms or if they were somehow made inaccessible you would be downgrading the whole concept of american citizenship he claims. He scorns the group of people out there who just Don t like guns and Don t want anybody to have them. It s a characteristic of the times and it s a very adversarial  not that he is worried. He is certain that those people Are not in the majority he is certain that fewer guns would not mean less violence. He is certain that he is not to blame. It in t the existence of guns that causes crime he says and there is no Way of preventing crime by eliminating  Short subject police latest Charity for Many la. Donors by Hugo Martin los Angeles times in los Angeles a new cause has joined aids research the homeless and rain forests. It is the los Angeles police department. With offerings of Cash computers cameras furniture and even a motor Home donations to the Lapp in the first five months of 1994 surpassed the tally for All of 1993. The increase in donations from private citizens businesses and other government agencies has been attributed partly to City officials Effort to prod the private sector into helping the City during its fiscal crisis. But some police officials speculate that residents and businesses Are Chipping in because they feel helpless in the War against crime and want to do their part to assist the department. I think it s kind of an outpouring of support predicated on the fact that we have just been through some tumultuous experiences said Al Beuerlein who Heads the department s financial support Bureau. According to City records 16 donations had been accepted by the department by May four More than for All of last year. Because most donations to the land Are goods such As used computers and cars police officials could not provide a Cash total for offerings or a precise breakdown of How i Neil by much each station has received. Leading the City s Campaign to draw donations have been mayor Richard Riordan and Council woman Laura Chick both of whom came into office last july and immediately began tapping Community groups and private firms to beef up a department so fiscally strapped that officers had not had a raise in two years and must use dilapidated equipment such As cars with More than 100,000 Miles on them. The motivations behind the donations vary. A spokesman Tor Duskin co. Ltd., a cleaning equipment rental firm based in Osaka Japan said the firm donated $20,000 the biggest Cash donation in the first half of the year to the police department s asian crime investigation unit because an executive vice president was acquainted with a sergeant and wanted to help. Last year Rice Honda co. Lent the land two sea Doo watercraft similar to oversize Jet skis to be used in part to make rescues when the los Angeles River overflows. Tim Rice vice president of the firm said american Honda offers the use of its products not Only to assist police but also to receive publicity. In the past the land has received such unusual offerings As a 4-year-old gelding thoroughbred named Mesa Blaze in 1992 to be used in the department s mounted police unit physical fitness equipment from Jack Lalanne and a cellular Telephone from the staff of the television show Hunter. Public answering Call for help. The stars and stripes 17