Page A4
(Fije DJorthuiö tö lw m r
July 28, 1999
Editorial Articles Do Not Necessarily
Reflect Or Represent The Views Of
CDlie ^ o rtla n b (If)bscrucr
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straightforward bill that closed a
irearms are very controver
loophole in our gun law that al
sial. They are controversial
lowed people to sell firearms at
due to the recent publicity
gun shows without getting a back
generated by the recent school
ground check. HB 2535 opened
shootings and they were controver
many more loopholes than it closed.
sial 200 years ago when our coun
Many o f those loopholes within
try was founded. That is why our
HB 2535 were not publicized to the
founding fathers added the 2nd
general public. Several o f those
amendment to the United States
stipulations caused me great con
Constitution, to make sure that in
cern as I studied the bill.
controversial times, the right to bear
For instance, in Section 6 of
arms for protection or recreation
HB
2535, there is a requirement
would be preserved.
that
if a person, a private person,
No one wants criminals to have
transfers more than 25 guns in a
access to guns. But the goal o f
year, they are required to have a
keeping guns out o f the hands o f
background check on the 26,h and
criminals should not be an excuse
all subsequent purchasers. How
to take 2“d Amendment rights away
can this be enforced? If a person
from law-abiding citizens.
does not have respect for the law,
Many people have questioned
they are not going to m eticulously
why I would vote for SB 700, an
keep track ofhow many guns they
earlier bill concerning gun shows,
have sold until they reach 26 and
but vote against HB 2535. It is
start p erfo rm in g b ac k g ro u n d
incorrect to assume that the bills
checks. Only law-abiding citizens
are identical, because they are re
will follow this rule.
markably different. SB 700 was a
F
Tony Washington
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Why I Voted Against The Gun
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Another thing that was o f vast
concern to me was Section 16.
Section 16 says that a person com
mits the offense o f unlawful stor
age o f a firearm if a child, age 15
or younger, gains access to their
gun and kills or injures another
person within 24 hours. In order to
avoid the risk o f being liable, you
would have to store your gun in a
locked storage device or area with
either a combination or a key stored
separately, or have a locked de
vice in place on the gun at the time
that it was stolen.
Besides the unfairness that en
forcement o f this provision could
bring in certain situations, I was
also vastly concerned with the chill
ing effect that this could have on
the ability to defend your family,
yourself, and your property. If, in
order to avoid potential liability,
you have to lock up your gun, your
access to your gun is diminished. In
an emergency situation, such as a
break in, you may not be able to
defend yourself because o f the in
ability to get your gun in position to
fire. This is dangerous. In fact, it
could embolden thieves to actually
steal more guns because o f in
creased confidence that law-abid
ing citizen’s guns are not as likely
to be used on them.
After carefully studying HB
2535, I concluded that it creates
more problems than solutions as
well as being a possible infringe
ment upon the Constitutionally
guarded 2nd Amendment rights of
Oregonians. There are over 40,000
gun-related laws on the books
across this country. I believe that
sound enforcement of existing laws
already on the books here in Or
egon will be much more beneficial
than passing w ell-intended but
flawed legislation such as HB 2535.
Senator John Lim
(503) 986-1711
Dear Editor
ever, But the terrible irony is, this
his July marks the 100th anni
“Spanish tradition” is kept alive
versary
of
E rnest
by tourists.
Hemingway’s birth, but the
author’s legacy is more than a fine Many visitors to Spain believe
that a bullfight is an artful and
body o f literature. Hemingway’s
dram atic co n test betw een the
1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises,
m atador-which means “K iller” in
g lam o rize d b u llfig h tin g , and
Spanish—-and a powerful animal.
spurred and an annual pilgrimage
The bullfight gives the appear
to P am plona th at has grow n
ance o f a lone man taking on an
through the decades. As a Span
enormous beast many times stron
iard, I take pride in my heritage-
ger and terribly dangerous. But
with the exception o f this barbaric
that im age is a lie.
tradition Hemingway popularized.
Despite the occasional well-
I’m not alone. More than a mil
publicized goring, the truth is, the
lion Spanish citizens have signed
bulls don’t stand a chance.
a petition to ban bullfighting for
T
Former bullfighters have admit
ted that the animals are severely
debilitated with laxatives and beat
ings for weeks before the fight.
This hidden abuse is followed in
the arena by multiple stabbings
and piercings with lances and dag
gers until life and blood literally
drain away.
Hemingway wrote lovely words,
and I enjoy them as much as any
body, but he never missed an op
portunity chase, shoot, or hook an
animal or fish. He was into death—
right up to the moment he shot
himself in the head. Fortunately,
we can admire the artistry o f his
words without participating in the
slaughter he describes.
If you are planning to visit Spain
this summer, enjoy the wonderful
sights and delicious cuisine. But
steer clear o f the “Corrida.” The
torture and killing of bulls will
cease only when tourists stop pay
ing to see it.
Sincerely,
Sheba Behdaoui
PEXb
P eople of
the
E thical T reatment of A nimals
London Office
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To The Editor
Citizens of
Portland:
As Portland Fire Fighters, we
play a central role in Multnomah
County’s public safety system, in
cluding responding to medical
emergencies. The 911 EMS sys
tem is designed to be a partner
ship, with fire fighters as the first-
responder and a private ambulance
company used for transporting the
patient to the hospital.
O ver the past year, we have
becom e alarm ed at what we be
lieve to be dangerous shortfalls
in the perform ance o f Multnomah
C ounty’s current provider o f am
b u la n c e s e r v ic e s , A m eric an
M edical R esponse (AMR). As
p a r t o f th e ir c o n tr a c t w ith
M ultnom ah County, AMR made
critical prom ises - prom ises that
are not being kept.
122 Arrested...
CONTINUED FROM PAGE A3
mission, was inexperienced in
criminal law. In addition, wit
nesses came forward during the
1995 post-Conviction R elief Ap
peal hearings, saying they were
coerced by police to lie, suppress
or change their initial accounts o f
the December 9, 1981 incident.
According to Brutus, "At this
point, despite all efforts by the le
gal team, the system has denied
Mumia his due-process rights. Now,
we have to take this matter to the
streets for the Court o f the People
to judge. July 3 is only the begin
ning o f massive civil disobedience
Promises
Made
Promises
Broken
The Multnomah County con
tract requires that an ambulance
arrive at the scene within 8 min
utes, at least 90% o f the time
Based on data from the Bu
reau o f Emergency Communi
cations, AMR has not met these
re s p o n se
re q u ire m e n ts
throughout the contract, with
a significant deterioration in
the last year.
The contract requires that am
bulance services be delivered in
a non-discriminatory manner,
with no area o f Multnomah
County receiving better or worse
service than any other.
As the City o f Portland, Office o f Transportation
and it ’s partners carry out the plan details o f NE
Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., it needs contracts
that can respond to
In addition to not meeting
response time requirement gen
erally, different parts o f the
county receive widely differ
ent levels o f service. At vari
ous times, southwest Portland,
N o rth e a st P o rtlan d and
Gresham have been particularly
poorly served.
• Sheltered Markets
• Bid Opportunities
This problem can be solved, but time is short. It’s up to your County
Commissioners
By August 31,1999, the Multnomah County Commission must decide
whether to renew AM R’s contract or to reopen Multnomah County’s
ambulance service to a fair and open competitive bid - the only way to
ensure that we get the safe, responsible ambulance service we need.
Call Multnomah County Chair Beverly Stein and your County Com
missioners. Tell them you want an open bid - and the ambulance service
you were promised.
Chair Beverly Stein
248-3308
Commissioner Diane Linn
248-5220
Commissioner Serena Cruz
Contact Community Resources
and put yourself and your ideas to work.
CONTRACTORS CAN CONTACT:
Loretta Young • City of Portland
(503) 823-6850
NE M AR TIN LUTHER KING JR. BLVD.
PR O JEC T TE A M
248-5219
actions countrywide. I will be a
_
„
part o f that planning process.
For more information on up-
coming activities, contact Herman
Ferguson and the Free Mumia Abu-
Jamal Coalition at (7 18) 949-5153.
_
, ,
Commissioner Lisa Naito
248-5217
Commissioner Sharron Kelly
....
MG
City of Portland • Office of Transprtatlon
1120 SW Fifth Avenue, Room 802 • Portland, Oregon 97204
A n d re ' B a u g h , P roject M anager • T o d d L ile s , P roject E ngineer • P roject P hone : 8 2 3 - 7 5 3 0
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