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Tuesday, March 2, 1993
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
IN OUR OPINION
Congress should pass bill to restrict gun sales
Under the law, any person may purchase a handgun within a matter of minutes and take it from the store immediately—no questions asked. However, a bill presently before Congress would revise appallingly lax gun control laws.
The Brady Bill, named for former press secretary James Brady who was crippled by a gunshot wound in 1981, would impose much needed handgun regulations. Under the Brady Bill, anyone who wants to purchase a handgun would endure a seven-day waiting period before actually obtaining the gun. During this time period, a person's criminal and mental health records would be checked. Convicted felons and persons deemed mentally ill would be denied the right to purchase guns.
The Brady Bill was proposed and eventually defeated in Congress in 1988 and again in 1991. Now the bill has resurfaced, and Congress once again has the opportunity to enact a gun control law that is both logical and beneficial.
The benefits of the Brady Bill's seven-day waiting period are simple and obvious. By checking consumers' criminal and mental records, people who have been proven dangerous or mentally unstable are identified before they can purchase guns.
The waiting period also serves as a cooling-off period. By imposing a seven-day wait, an irate person who impulsively attempts to buy a gun has time to rethink his or her feelings. The waiting period could prevent enraged people from taking irrational actions they might not otherwise consider.
Skeptics argue that the Brady Bill will not alleviate the nation's violent crime epidemic. They're right. The Brady Bill will not prevent violent crimes from ever occurring again. No law can possibly do that. The bill is not a cure-all for violent crime, but it is a preventive measure that will keep potentially deadly criminals from obtaining firearms legally.
Members of the National Rifle Association and other opponents of the bill assert that it infringes upon citizens' right to bear arms. However, the vast majority of citizens will have no difficulty obtaining handguns after waiting a mere week. Keeping convicted felons and the mentally ill from purchasing guns is not unfairly prohibitive.
Purchasing a handgun should not be as quick and painless as picking up a loaf of bread, and every citizen should not have instantaneous access to deadly weapons. The present policy of allowing anyone and everyone to immediately obtain handguns regardless of criminal or mental history is both frightening and ridiculous. The Brady Bill would establish reasonable restrictions without encroaching upon people's freedom.
The Brady Bill is not a panacea for violent crime, but it does represent a significant improvement to the law. Even if the bill saves only a few lives, it should be considered a success. Congress should take the first step toward imposing strict handgun regulations by passing the Brady Bill.
COLLEEN McCAIN FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Kansan Editorial Board:
Kris Belden, Greg Farmer, Vered Hankin, Jeff Hays, Val Huber, Kyle Kickhaefer, Stephen Martino, Jolinda Matthews, Colleen McCain, Chris Moeser, Simon Naldoza, David Olson, Jeff Reynolds, Chris Ronan, and Michael Taylor
Kansan Cartoonists:
Kansan Cartoonists.
Michael Irvin, Michael Paul, David Rosenfield, Moses Smith, and Rob Tapley
KANSANSTAFF
GREG FARMER
Editor
GAYLE OSTERBERG Managing editor
TOM EBLEN
General manager, news adviser
BILL SKEET, Technology coordinator
STEVE PERRY
Business manager
MELISSA TERLIP
Retail sales manager
JEANNE HINES
Sales and marketing adviser
TOM EBLEN
Editorial Business Staff
Aest Managing ... Justin Knapp mgr
News ... Monique Guilain mgr
David Mitchell ... Stephen Martino mgr
Editorial ... Amy Stumbo
Campus ... KC Trauner
Sports ... David Mitchell
Photo ... Mark Rowlands
Features ... Lynne McAdobe
Graphics ... Dan Schauer
Campus sales mgr ... Brad Broon
Regional sales mgr ... Wade Baxter
National sales mgr ... Jennifer Porter
Anthony Sheehan
Production mgr ... Amy Stumbo
Marketing director ... Angela Cleverwong
Creative director ... Holly Perry
Classified mgr ... Jill Tormey
Art Director ... Dave Habager
The student should be typed, double spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writing affiliated with the University of Kassaa must include class and hometown, or faculty or staff position. **Guest columns** should be typed, double spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be placed in the Student reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kassaa newsroom, 111 Stuart Flare Hall and
Mr. Clinton, Mr. Bentson, You Wanted Specifics, Not Hot Air, So Here They Are!
Specific Enough For You?
Worthless anti-crime campaign makes McGruff the real criminal
worried about crime? A silly question. Of course you are. Who isn't, with children being shot in gang wars, drug addicts murdering for the price of a fixic, and motorists blasting each other away after exchanging traffic insults?
But I bring good news. Better times may be ahead.
Yes, your tax dollars are at work in the war against crime.
As TV viewers know, there is a cartoon character named McGruff. This canine wears a trench coat and a federra like a private eye while giving advice on how to avoid being a victim of crime.
He tells us that we should lock our doors, which is really good thinking. Until McGraff warned me about that, I used to sleep with all of my doors wide open, with a sign on my porch saying "Welcome thieves."
Or he might urge us not to leave valuables in our cars or leave the car unlocked. That was news to me. I had always put my wife's fur and my golf clubs on the back seat for all to see.
McGruff is a creation of the National Crime Prevention Council, which has received about $3 million in the last five years from the Department of
Justice.
But what's a few million in the war against crime? Who knows how many thousands of people are alive today because McGruff taught them to lock their doors at night so that a fiend could not creep in and lop their heads off?
Yes, who knows? That is the question.
And it appears that nobody knows for sure. So your tax dollars are again being put to work.
I discovered this in looking at the Medillian, an alumni newsletter put out by the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
It contained this story:
"McCruff has been urging the United States to 'take a bite out of crime'
for 12 years. Is the United States listening?
"...The law-and-order basset hound has been the central character of one of the most visible public service announcement campaigns since the early 1980s.
"Now, the US Justice Department, with the help of Professor Paul Lavrakas, wants to find out how effective it has been in preventing crime.
"The agency, which funds the campaign, has awarded Lavrakas a portion of the $350,000 University of Wisconsin grant to conduct a two-year study to examine the campaign's effectiveness. The Northwestern portion of the funding totals $131,000.
"Lavakras, who is also director of Northwestern's Survey Laboratory, is working on the project with Garett K'Oeeke of the University of Wisconsin and Dennis Rosenbaum of the University of Illinois.
"What the campaign has done so far is laudable and has involved a lot of work. Our job is to find out if it accomplished the Department of Justice's goals related to crime prevention," Lavrakas explained.
...The study began in February 1991, and the research team plans to
present their data and recommendations to the government by June of 1993. Whatever their findings, Lavrakas expects that they will have an impact on public policy.
"We are planning on writing at least two books on our findings, and there is already talk of future funding for a follow-up study to look at the other aspects of public service announcement campaigns such as this one," Lavrakas explained.
"These two years of study will generate a decade's worth of research."
This is the sort of thing that should silence those critics who think that the bureaucrats in Washington just sit around shuffling papers.
around the classroom. By having a few professors, who are renowned for their street smarts and crime savvy, conduct a study, we can all sleep a little sounder with McGruff and the professors on the job.
And as the Northwestern professor said, "These two years of study will generate a decade's worth of research."
How exciting. Just avoid getting shot for the next 10 years, and you can read all about it.
Mike Royko is a syndicated columnist with the Chicago Tribune.
Studies uncover the amazingly obvious
"What's News?" the front page of The Wall Street Journal regularly asks. This feature is a handy device that allows readers to scan news blurs and decide which articles they want to read. The page number of the corresponding news story conveniently accompanies the blurb.
I had to read it twice. "How breaking! How cutting edge! Unbelievable!" I thought. "Just think, normally this stuff is too expensive for me." Eagerly I turned to page B4 for
On this particular day, since school was canceled, I had a more leisurely approach to this section, so I scanned for more than hard news stories. One story in particular proved how much vital information can be missed by limiting reading to only headline news and opinions. The blurb read: "Two population studies confirmed that men who are physically fit have a lower risk of heart disease and death than sedentary men."
the more complete scoop. In case you missed it, allow me to fill you in on this most revealing story.
As it turns out, two studies have confirmed that men who regularly exercise had less risk of dying from heart disease. (The costs of these studies were not mentioned.) One study took 16 years to determine that the most fit man had a $30% lower risk of getting heart disease than the least fit man. The other study ventured to say that fit men run half the risk of
dying from heart disease than unfit men. I'm sure this is just the news all the couch potatoes have been waiting for. I'm sure they will all start sunrise programs. And I'm sure all the joggers, swimmers and basketball players are relieved to know that they can continue their exercise regiments.
I'm beginning to understand why Hillary Rodham Clinton will not allow the press into her National Health Care Reform meetings.
The Wall Street Journal article reminded me of the time recently when I was lucky enough to catch one of KCTV anchor Anne Peterson's health watch reports. She was relaxing a study that indicated that reducing salt in your diet, eating a wide variety of foods and exercising would reduce stress and high blood pressure.
I might have missed the intricacies of this finding if not for the small talk following her in-depth report during
which Wendall Anschutz attempted a summary: "So you mean if you eat right and exercise you'll be healthier?"
"Yes, Wendall, that's right," she pined cheerly.
Wendall was obviously so impressed with the news that he could barely control his grin and suppress his laughter.
Of course, these studies do not include female participants. Maybe I should sell my Body Boutique account, that is, until a 16-year study is done on women. Who knows, maybe reading The Wall. The control weight and lower stress better than step aerobics three times a week.
In the meantime, if you hear of any such reports, please let me know. I won't be sitting on the edge of my chair waiting for the results.
Ann Jurcyk is a Kanaan City, Kan., graduate student majoring in liberal arts.
Mystery Strip
by David Rosenfield