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