SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2018
March
9 A
from 1A
According to store owner
Nathan Graham, he was con-
ducting business with two peo-
ple in his shop when the front
door opened and three marchers
entered displaying their signs.
Graham, who wasn’t aware
the march was going on until
that point, said he was behind
the counter as the three protest-
ers began talking about how
they didn’t support firearms and
how they took lives.
“They weren’t yelling, but
were just not supporting
firearms and trying to get their
point across inside of my store,”
he said.
According to Graham, he and
the two customers asked the
protesters to leave multiple
times before he walked from
behind the counter and again
asked them to leave.
“Finally, unwillingly, they
left,” he said.
Photos of the incident were
placed on the Florence Oregon
Facebook page, drawing con-
demnation from both sides of
the issue.
“I can’t defend someone
going into a business or on pri-
vate property. It’s indefensible
and
inappropriate,”
said
Kathleen Wenzel, who took part
in Saturday’s march. “That
shuts down what I think is a
valid public statement we were
making.”
While Graham supported the
right of Protesters to make their
voice heard, he questioned the
tactic of demonstrating in his
store.
“It’s okay to do it outside the
store, just not in the store during
business hours, or at any point,”
he said.
The local demonstration was
also missing one component
that was part of the national
march: Teenagers.
Most of the participants in
Florence were of retirement
age, with only two elementary
aged children joining family
members at the demonstration.
Despite the absence of stu-
PHOTOS BY JARED ANDERSON/SIUSLAW NEWS
Protesters walk Highway 101 in Florence Saturday in the rain, carrying signs in support of teachers, schools and sensible gun restrictions.
dents, demonstrator Mona
Nicholson, a former school
principal, viewed the march as
successful and allowing differ-
ent generations to support the
students protesting nationally.
“I’m here to be a cheerleader
for children and to show a
model because they will be the
ones who change the world,”
she said. “They will be the ones
to take over where we baby
boomers left off. I’m not saying
we need to give up all the guns,
but they need to be kept from
children and they need to be
kept out of schools.”
When asked why she thought
the debate wasn’t settled in pre-
vious generations, she stated
people got caught up in con-
sumerism and work.
“Everything else became
more important,” she said. “We
got involved in other things.
But the power we had back then
did begin to change, and the
children now have to pick it up.
I want to support them as much
as we can.
“Peace not war.”
As to the debate on whether
or not teachers should be
allowed to have guns in the
classroom for protection,
Nicholson said that she could
never imagine herself being
asked to carry a gun.
“We have to teach,” she said.
“Our classrooms are over-
loaded. If teachers had shooting
practice and knew how to han-
dle a gun and it was locked up,
maybe they could have the
option of carrying a gun. But
how are they even going to have
time to go and unlock a gun?
“It’s ridiculous what they’re
being asked to do.”
Demonstrator Cynthia Orr
believed that by participating in
marches like this, a message
will be sent to legislators to take
action.
“I don’t think we’re going to
change the minds of hardlin-
ers,” she said. “I do think that
this march, along with all of the
Life‛s Short.
Get Dirty.
many marches across the coun-
try, sends a message to our con-
gressmen and our senators that
we are concerned about gun
safety and kids.”
While Orr stated she was not
anti-gun, she did think restrict-
ing gun licensing is important,
particularly when it comes to
those with mental illness.
“I believe in the Second
Amendment, and I believe that
the majority of gun owners are
responsible and are very consci-
entious about it. I don’t think it
makes it wrong to say, even if
we have the right to bear arms,
that someone who is a danger to
the public does not have a right
to bear arms,” she said. “I don’t
want to disrespect anybody who
is mentally ill, but there are peo-
ple who are dangerous and
should never be able to have a
gun.”
Orr suggested hospitalization
for those with mental health
issues or for those affected by
bullying in school to receive
help.
“I think we need to pull in the
American Psychological
Association and talk with psy-
chologists about that very
issue,” she said. “They’re
already required to report when
someone is dangerous to them-
selves or the public. I think this
is just a step forward with that;
if someone is potentially dan-
gerous with a gun, they should
be reported. At the same time,
we don’t want to get to the point
where we’re restricting every-
thing. It’s a complex issue.
“But kids being killed isn’t so
complex. We have to start
somewhere and we need to start
now.”
The issue’s complexity was
on full display as demonstrators
looked to define their positions
on the issues, and where to draw
the line on regulations.
Nicholson suggested that a
mental health test be imple-
mented before an individual can
purchase a gun, such as a dri-
ver’s license for cars. When
asked if such measures should
also be imposed on the First
Amendment’s right to free
speech, she stated “absolutely
not.”
“I think you have to go
through background checks,”
she said. “You have to have
some kind of mental health
release. I don’t really know
what all has to be done, because
I don’t own a gun.”
But firearm advocates like
Graham see the issues as simi-
lar.
“I would agree with the fact
that life is very important, but I
would also say that the current
enforcement of the laws that are
already in place is the best thing
that can happen,” he said. “I
think more gun laws put into
place and the watering down of
the Second Amendment isn’t
the right thing to do.”
As to the question of whether
or not the two sides of the issue
can find any common ground,
the answer was up in the air.
“We can come together,”
Karin Radtke, co-organizer of
the march, said. “Sportsmen
who use guns for hunting seem
totally on board with stricter
background checks, banning
assault weapons, keeping their
guns locked up and keeping
ammunition separate.
“Those things have nothing
to do with affecting the Second
Amendment. Do the people
who are for the Second
Amendment
really
want
deranged people going around
with guns? Do they know what
they’re fighting for?”
When Graham was asked
about the possibility of coming
together, he believed the solu-
tion was in funding, not creat-
ing more restrictions.
“I think the most logical way
to do it would be to get more
funds to the people that conduct
the background checks and
more enforcement of the laws
that are already here and in
place,” he said. “If you look at
all the shootings across the
board, it was the deficiency of
the governments that enforce
those laws — and not quite
doing their jobs.
“And that comes down to
budgets not being there.”
Regardless of their positions
on the issues, all of those inter-
viewed believed that the lives of
children should not be at risk.
As for the solution?
“I think it’s a long process,”
demonstrator Frank Smith said.
Time for Spring Planting at
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Walk-in’s welcome.
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Shaun Curtain 360-921-2071
or email: FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com | www.FirearmTrainingNW.com