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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2000)
WEdNEsdAy, J anuary 19, 2000 TI he CI ac I< amas P rint Right to Bear Arms: Freedom or Fear? Guns: The only defense Guns were intended to kill The Constitution of the United States guarantees every citizen the right to bear arms. Many people be lieve that owning agun is abasic free dom in America. Guns were invented to kil 1. very day people are sub an end to the attack. The assault jected to violence, but fight was so horrific that police and back with a gun to survive. paramedics who responded to her Then the bigger question arises: call cheered when they learned should we give up our right to bear Horne was dead. Foust survived. arms? Sacrifice the constitutional However, her nose was broken, guarantee to protect ourselves? four teeth had been knocked out (which she swallowed during the assault), the Salena De La Cruz bones in her Opinion Editor gums were crushed, her cheekbones I agree some laws may need to be had been fractured, her larynx was strengthened against the increase cut open, and her left eye required in crime. However, I do not agree an surgery. individual’s right to bear arms Without the gun, Foust probably should be taken away. would’ve been killed, but she chose I understand, with the rash of to fight back rather than submit to school violence and crimes involv her attacker. ing firearms, why people are con I don’t know about you, but af cerned, but firearms are not the only ter reading this story it makes me danger in society. There is just as glad to know I have the right to pro much chance of dying in a car acci tect myself, especially in this day dent, with power tools or in the bath and age. Many times victims were tub as being killed by a firearm. targeted because of their appear Everyone should have the right ance of vulnerability. I don’t want to choose whether they wish to to be the next target. 1 will choose “bear arms.” After all, firearms can to fight back. Hopefiilly, any at save lives as easily as they can de tacker will think twice before mess stroy them. ing with me or anyone who shares This is a true story obtained from my view. a book by Robert A. Waters called It is estimated some 225 million The Best Defense: True Stories of firearms are owned by Americans. Intended Victims Who Defended Of that number, 99.5% of the fire Themselves with a Firearm, arms will never be used in a crime. On the morning of May 6, 1996, However, around 108,000 firearms Sammie Foust was cleaning her are said to be used in self-defense bedroom when James Wayne Home according to the National Institute burst through the door. A crack of Justice. addict, he wore a stocking mask and Yes, there may be an exceedingly carried a boxcutter. Horne at high number of crimes, but fire tacked Foust, slicing her throat and arms involved in around .05%. shattering her face with brutal Thank the Bill of Rights for our blows. He forced her to give him right to bear arms, which gives us $400 in cash and all her jewelry. the right to protect ourselves. But he wasn ’t finished. This is a freedom I intend to keep. Convinced that there was a stash Questions, comments or con of money in the house, he tortured cerns, call ext. 2309 or email me her for more than an hour. Foust at salenadelacruz@netscape. net. was able to reach a .25 caliber Statistical information obtained semi-automatic handgun and put on www.conservativenews.org. H The way it really is! Make a statement, be heard... Their sole purpose is to inflict pain or cause death ofa living thing. That’s it The right to own these guns was deemed necessary during the birth of our nation because the founders had just escaped an oppressive govern ment The people wanted some secu rity against a government that was yet untested, and owning guns allowed these people to start militias to protect themselves against the ones in power if necessary. Times have changed. Contrary to popular conspiracy theory opinion, we do not need to protect ourselves from government by means of a firearm. Why, at this time in history, do we need a gun? To shoot a person that cuts us off on the freeway? To burst into a school and kill people we don’t like? Some would say toattoey only have guns to hunt I guess the thrill ofblast- ing an innocent deer or pheasant and watching its life spill out really makes some people’s day, but why? Where do these tendencies come from? The real question we must ask our selves is whether a constitutional right outweighs the fact that people are dy ing in droves in America from gun vio lence. Accordingtoa 1996 report from the National Centerfor Health and Sta tistics, 16 children died every day from shootings in this country. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated in 1996 that 50 people die vio lently from guns each year in Ameri can schools. People love to hear stories of die “victims fighting back:” those rare in stances when a woman or child has saved their own life by gunning down their attacker. While these are incred ible stories of heroism, these account for a miniscule amount of the shootings in America. In fact, a study by the New England Journal of Medicine said guns kept in Angie Daschel the home for self-protection A & E Editor are 43 times more likely to kill a person you know than to kill in self-defense. A right guaranteed by toe constitu tion is not enough to account for toe bloody deaths of so many in our na tion. Therighttobeararmsallowed 13 children to die needlessly in Colum- binelastyear. The amendment allowed President Kennedy to be assassinated in 1963. John Lennon, Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur were all victims of toe right to bear arms, as well as toe man for whom we had a day off from school on Monday. When people realize that children are dying and stop hiding behind toe constitution and it’s archaic right to bear arms, this country can begin to move past the bloody tragedies that plague not only toe inner cities, but our own homes as well. Forexample, comedic genius Phil Hartman, of Sat urday Night Live feme, was killed by his own wife, in his own home, with his own gun. I am not advocating tighter gun control laws, which offer at most longer waiting periods and back ground checks. I want guns and the right to own them to be abol ished, which I know is about the last thing that will happen in this paranoid, “get ‘em before they get me” society. For those who argue that toe right to bear arms is a freedom that we have in this country, think again. I wouldn’t call living in a world with drive-by murders and not-so-ran- dom school shootings living freely. I would call it living in fear. A Student's Voice... Is the administration incompetent or corrupt? Vacation is over, school is in session, and the learning begins with a bang. Can you say “re crimination”? I don’t think many of you can, which is why I will not be gentle. The Administra tion at this college is either in competent, corrupt or both. Why would I say such a thing? The administration knows why and you would too if you read page (120) of the Clackamas “Commu nity” College Comprehensive Annual Report (which is public record). It states that “Expenditures exceeded appro priations in the General Fund Col lege Support Services Function by $98,455; the Capital Con struction Fund by $152,953; and services in the Associated stu dent Government Fund by $49,369” Isn’t that ASG? Isn’t that the holier than thou Student Body Government who, by un democratic and unconstitutional means and help from the adminis tration, removed Jennifer Rankin from office? Yes! The same people who went on trips and planned parties while their tuition was be ing paid for with tax payers’ money. And they want us to pass bond 2000’ Never! First account for the $49,369 and then we can talk about how much you owe the taxpayers. I, along with many others, warned students of the administration’s tactics to remove Jennifer and advised them to fol low toe money trail, We identified that the reason Jennifer was being singled out was because she wanted, among other things, to au dit ASG and make it accountable to the students, not the adminis tration. Because some ASG offic ers had their own administration approved agendas, they failed to act on behalf of students, taxpay ers, and the community. They should al 1 be held responsible, if not for violating state budget laws, then for the action taken against Jennifer. As for the administration, well, from my experience they have no shame. This is business as usual. Adjunct faculty, trumped up fees, and poor service in everything from registration to food service has turned this college into the very rat race it has been charged with preparing the students of Clackamas County to navigate. Is this a business or a Community College? If it is a business who should be fired for the unchecked spending? If it is a Community College why does the administra tion think that is not answerable to the community? When caught time and again, by myself, with their incompetence hanging out they either patronize me or pass the buck to their minions in the ASG As for the students opposed to change in the ASG, I recall many articles and cartoons by students and the staff of The Print. The word “conspiracy” was used to imply the insanity of those who would take a stand with Jennifer. And I remember one “intelligent” article which included the argu ment: “your just mad because I’m right.” Does the attempt to cover up a crime constitute a conspiracy? Do you believe that the same negligent people who “misappropriated” $313,877 lost any sleep over removing a stu dent who was standing in the way of expedience? Who is right and who should be mad as hell? The lesson? I dont know if there is one. Lessons are to be learned and we the people are constantly repeating this one. P.S. If you started school be fore the ASG and toe administra tion raised the price of tuition, you are entitled to a refund. See the student hand book for more info. Glenn McCarthy Student
