Wednesday, Aug 20, 2008
Was it the guns, or the racism, that caused last week's shooting? Plus: Mourning Times Square; Cintra's sour grapes; beautiful days with Mister Rogers.
Aug 17, 1999 |
Guns and money
BY JAKE TAPPER
(08/11/99)
CORRECTION: In a story about former George W. Bush fund-raiser Richard Dyke, owner of Bushmaster Firearms, Salon News repeated a police reporting error that a Bushmaster rifle was used in the shootings at the North Valley Jewish Community Center. In fact, the Bushmaster rifle was found in accused killer Buford Furrow's van, but was not used in the shootings. Salon regrets the error.
L.A. killer's "wake-up call to America to kill Jews"
BY VIVIENNE WALT
(08/11/99)
It seems to me that America's news outlets do not want to discuss the real danger posed by organizations like the Christian Identity Church. There seems to be little discussion of the role that racist political ideology plays in the lives of individuals such as Eric Rudolph or James Krupp, or groups like the oddly accepted Reform Party. (Check out Jack Gargan's views on immigration.)
As a visible minority (I'm black) and as an American, I am frightened and worried by this lack of critical national discussion. Those of us who are easily identified as non-white, or Jewish, or gay, know that racist ideology often turns into violence. I guess until this violence is visited upon white America, all that will be discussed is gun violence -- as if there were nothing more than the possession of a weapon behind a man's desire to kill.
-- Stuart Perkins
America the armed
BY HAROLD MEYERSON
(08/11/99)
Harold Meyerson's article seems somewhat illogical. He points out that nut cases never have any trouble getting guns, and then calls repeatedly for stringent gun laws. Thus, he appears to be arguing only for disarmament of the potential victims. The fact is, we live in a society that worships violence. It's too bad we have this sort of situation, but it starts from the top down: Our chief executive bombs foreigners with cruise missiles every few weeks, to the applause of supposed liberals -- when they're not busy calling for new gun laws. Maybe some gun control at the top would help?
-- Gordon Fitch
It isn't the anti-Semites, the anti-choice Bible-thumpers, the neo-Nazis, the Manson-worshipping teenagers, the disgruntled postal workers or the day traders. It isn't the violence on television or the movies or song lyrics.
It's the guns, stupid. Let's get rid of the easy availability of guns.
-- Evelyn Gray
Los Angeles
Harold Meyerson writes that "a certain freedom and ease" has departed from the lives both of Jews and of schoolchildren in the wake of the school shootings at Columbine. What freedom and ease is he talking about? Jewish life has always been at least slightly tinged with angst, even in nations friendly to Jews.
As for the lives of schoolchildren, those scarcely bear speaking of. Schools are not citadels of freedom and ease. They are stages upon which a war of all against all transpires, occasionally breaking out into overt violence. Let us not indulge ourselves with fantasies about the "freedom and ease" enjoyed by adolescents. Such qualities are found from time to time (if rarely) in synagogues, but in high schools they do not exist.
-- R. Warner
We do not want the government to have control of who has dangerous weapons and we do not want crazy extremists to have access to weapons. What do we do? Place the responsibility for gun ownership in the private sector.
Make civil responsibility for crimes committed with guns the responsibility of the most recent legal owner. Liability for improper use of guns is an insurable risk. When a gun manufacturer sells a gun to a distributor the liability falls on the distributor, who will have to have insurance to cover his potential liability. This liability will continue down the chain of purchasers. Insurance companies will tell you who you can sell a gun to, not the government. No one with assets to protect will sell to a high-risk buyer, or to a reseller who sells to high-risk customers. This liability must be absolute. The last legitimate (and insurable) buyer of gun is responsible for any damage done with that gun, no matter how the gun was acquired.
Years ago I read of a study in New York state where they determined that if hunting licenses had been denied to anyone with poor credit they would have prevented 90 percent of hunting accidents. Insurance companies will take a potential gun buyer's entire profile into consideration on the costs of coverage for a gun purchase. Crazies and losers will not be able to afford the insurance. If the seller still sells the gun to the crazy he retains liability.
We cannot register a car without insurance. We do not need to register guns in order to require insurance. The last insurable owner should be responsible for who he sells to.
-- Alan Donaldson
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