Senate bill proposes background checks at gun shows
A community forum met
to advocate the bill to the
Legislature
By Felicity Ayles
Oregon Daily Emerald
In 1996, 13 children were
killed every day by guns. That is
the equivalent of a Columbine
High School shooting every day.
It is for that reason the Eugene
Community Action Forum came
together Monday afternoon to ask
the State Legislature to pass Sen
ate Bill 700. The bill, which
would require background
checks for individuals attempt
ing to buy guns at gun shows,
was sent back to committee Fri
day after passing through the
Senate earlier in the week.
The current system allows any
one, even a convicted felon, to
purchase a gun at a gun show
without a background check.
Star Wars
Continued from Page 1
other “Star Wars” fanatics at Cin
ema World, are joining thou
sands across the country in simi
lar scenes. The quartet set up
camp Saturday at 10 p.m. and
takes turns watching over their
prized spot. Andrew began his
first extended shift Monday at 8
a.m. and said that a few people
have attempted to bribe him for
tickets, to which he responded,
“No way.”
He also had to endure some
ribbing Saturday night during the
initial stakeout, while moviego
ers streamed out of late-night
movies.
“We’ve had a lot of mixed
comments from people,” he said,
with a few biting ones coming
from the high school-aged crowd.
“We’re like caged monkeys to
them, and they’re laughing at us
like we’re in a zoo. We’ve had
other people come out who are
my age (25) and they’ve said,
‘You know, if I didn’t have to
“We want to make it clear that
we will not go away or forget,”
said Anthony Biglan, Communi
ty Action Forum president. “We
demand the support of the Legis
lature to prevent the slaughter of
our children.”
If this bill is not recognized,
Oregonians must put people in
office who do support it, Biglan
said.
“We are redoubling our efforts
to have our voices heard in
Salem,” Biglan said. He said it is
hard to believe that any legislator
would oppose such a modest
step toward violence prevention.
Biglan pleaded with the 30
people present to contact their
representative in Salem to show
support for the bill.
Dr. Martin Jones, board mem
ber of the Oregon Chapter of the
American College of Physicians,
work, I’d be right there with you.
You guys are so cool to be able to
do this.’
“I was just trying to stand
proud,” he added. “This is fun,
it’s going to be an adventure, and
it’s cool to be out here with all
these people.”
As of late Monday afternoon,
11 tents were set up snake-like,
winding around the building.
Elizabeth Becker, first assistant
manager at the cineplex, said the
theater is “going to do whatever
it takes to keep the campers com
fortable and happy. We’ve re
ceived a big-screen television
from Circuit City and we’re going
to be showing the ‘Star Wars’ tril
ogy, and hopefully ‘The Making
of Star Wars.’”
Once tickets go on sale, buyers
can snag up to 12 per person and
can purchase for shows up to
four weeks in advance, said Ted
Hatfield, promotions director for
Regal Cinemas, based in
said legislators need to stand up
for the health and safety of all
Oregonians.
“This bill closes a loophole in
the government and deserves to
be passed exactly as is,” Jones
said. Those representatives who
think differently are out of touch
with the will of the people, he
said.
Jones called for legislators to
put aside partisan politics and
put an end to gun-related vio
lence.
“Oregonians deserve gutsy
leadership that will help to pro
tect them from this crime,” he
said.
City Councilor David Kelly
said this bill is supported
throughout the state across re
gional and party lines. He said
this new piece of legislation is
simple, inexpensive and reason
able but passing it is like “pulling
teeth” in the Legislature.
“This is not rocket science, it’s
common sense,” he said. “The
Legislature is not listening to the
public.”
Kelly said the public needs to
demand that strong background
checking come out of this legisla
tive session and urged Eugene
citizens to contact their represen
tatives and register their support.
Carol Metzler, founding presi
dent of Children First for Oregon,
spoke with tears in her eyes
about her worries for the safety of
her children. She said she is ded
icated to advocating public poli
cies for the safety of Oregon’s
children.
“How does it benefit the chil
dren that we continue to allow
individuals to buy weapons at
gun shows?” she asked. “People
who should not possess guns get
easy access to them through gun
shows.”
Metzler said she feels the bill is
modest and would simply close a
loophole in the current gun law.
“As a mother, I fail to under
stand how requiring a back
ground check at gun shows in
fringes on the rights of gun
owners,” she said. “If the NRA
are truly concerned about chil
dren’s safety, they would be do
ing everything they can to keep
guns out of felons’ hands.”
She said her children and chil
dren all over Oregon are the main
reason she is so concerned about
this particular bill.
“Enough is enough,” she said.
“Now is the time for some action
on gun safety legislation.”
Felicity Ayles can be reached via e
mail atfizzer@gladstone.uoregon.
edu.
Nashville, Tenn. Hatfield once
worked for Lucas Films and is
happy to be part of the hubbub.
“I’ve been in the film business
since I was 11 years old, working
as an usher,” he relates. “This
‘Star Wars’ is the biggest one of
all. This is going to be one of the
highlights of my career.”
Cinemark 17 in Gateway Mall,
Cinema World’s local competi
tion for “Star Wars” viewers, will
not experience an on-site atmos
phere similar to its rival.
“Anyone who is here before 6
a.m. Wednesday morning will be
asked to leave,” said Debbie Of
fill, Gateway Mall marketing sec
retary, pointing to mall security
and safety rules as the reason for
the lockout. She added that Cin
emark officials did meet Monday
afternoon with mall management
in an attempt to bend the rules,
but the policy remains un
changed.
“In terms of promotion, that’s
a theater-by-theater, market-by
market decision,” points out
Randy Hester, vice president of
marketing for Cinemark, from
the corporate office in Plano,
Texas. “Honestly, though, this
movie needs very little in the
way of promotion. We’ve never
before had the hype and the an
ticipation surrounding this
movie.”
At least one other person wait
ing in the Cinema World line
echoed Hester’s sense of expecta
tion.
“I think a lot of the hype is be
cause of how long we’ve had to
wait for the next movie after ‘Re
turn of the Jedi,”’ said University
graduate Neil Ripley, while
lounging with his friend Jacob
Henner, a Lane Community Col
lege student.
Ripley and Henner arrived at 2
a.m. Monday after cruising by
earlier to see when the line was
going to start forming. Andrew’s
group, as well as six others, beat
them to the starting point, how
ever, and the pair had to settle for
the eighth spot.
“Whenever the sun is out,
we’re gonna set up our chairs,
talk with people as they come by,
maybe even see a movie while
we wait,” Henner said.
For the less-enthusiastic trying
to grasp why someone would
wait almost four days to buy tick
ets for what, after all, is still just a
movie, Andrew shed some light
on the “Star Wars” appeal.
“It’s such a basic story, but it
breaks down like a mythological
tale, sort of a modern-day ‘Illiad’
or ‘Odyssey,’” he said. “We’ll
probably do this again for the
second and third movies when
they come out. Someday they
may release all six films together
in a theater and we’ll be about 50
or 60 years old and we’ll be
telling our grandchildren, ‘Have
we got tales to tell.’”
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