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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 the numbers are still lower than tistical anomaly. The long gap strongly oppose. For example, other acts of public violence they were before the ban was between incidents post-1996 to purchase most guns, the gov- goes back nearly a century. So put in place. may simply reflect a return to a ernment fully vets a potential too does the tug of war between In the 14 years before gun rights and gun con- All firearms had to be regis- trol. One of the first tered, and gun owners had to it, there were approxi- “You’re never going to get rid of all guns. That’s never modern debates hap- prove a “genuine reason” for mately 13 gun mas- pened during the era of owning a firearm, including sacres. Fourteen years going to happen. Even if they did a ban right now, there are occupational uses or member- later, there were six. millions of guns out there. I don’t know anybody who’s going prohibition. Was the gun ban the In 1929, the Saint ships in target shooting clubs. to go to someone’s house and start taking their guns away.” Valentine’s Day Since then, it has been cause of the reduction? — Commander John Pitcher, Massacre in Chicago left claimed that there have been no Possibly, though it’s Florence Police Department seven dead as mobster mass shootings in Australia, hard to prove definitive- Capone sought to con- though that depends on one’s ly. In March 2018, the solidate control by elim- definition of a mass shooting. publication more ‘normal’ state of affairs.” buyer, including consulting a inating his rivals in the trades of There have been shootings, non-partisan The article also pointed out psychiatrist. bootlegging, gambling and including a school shooting in Science Daily looked at a new People with alcohol addiction prostitution. While the massacre 2002 and an ISIS-inspired report published in the Annals that some argue it is a big leap hostage attack in 2014. But of Internal Medicine on the to believe a 22-year decline of issues are prohibited from own- was never linked to Capone, the mass shootings is simply an ing a gun, and purchasers must victims were associates of the under many statistical models, issue. “Most people hear these anomaly. In fact, the odds pass a handling and shooting Irish gangster George “Bugs” these incidences would not be considered mass shootings — starkly contrasting numbers and against that hypothesis are test if they are going to buy a Moran, a fierce competitor. gun for defensive purposes. That massacre wasn’t an the majority were either fami- conclude that Australia’s gun 200,000 to one. In 2017, the nonpartisan web- Many owners have also had anomaly during the time. There ly/friend disputes, or terrorism, law reforms effectively stopped massacres here,” site FactCheck.org stated that training from mandatory mili- was a constant barrage of gang- which often gets left off of mass firearm Daily reported. there was no hard evidence for tary service. land warfare reports spread shooting lists. And they also did Science But as people point to differ- across the nation, horrifically not have the general baseline of “However, some scholars and the argument either way. The four or more people dead. If that members of the gun lobby have site did admit that there was a ent countries to uphold their displayed in newspapers and metric is included, there were argued that since mass shoot- drastic decrease in homicides arguments on gun control, there idolized on screen with stars zero mass shootings after the ings are relatively rare events, after the gun ban, dropping 23 are a multitude of factors that like James Cagney. the concentration of incidents in percent from 1996 to 2013. get lost in the argument, from America was just as scared of ban. But even if the loosest defini- one decade and their absence in However, that decline began social support systems and uni- gun violence then as it is today. versal access to mental health In 1934, the National tion of mass shooting was used, another decade is merely a sta- before 1996. There was a study done in care, to systemic problems like Firearms Act (NFA) was passed 2011 that showed the average drug trades and sectarian vio- to restrict access to certain firearm homicide rate per lence. firearms, including submachine 100,000 before the ban was .43, Ultimately, there are many guns, like the popular “Chicago but dropped to .25 seven years elements that can influence a Typewriter” Tommy gun, shot- after the ban. country’s crime rate when it guns and rifles having barrels “No study has explained why comes to firearms. This is not to less than 18 inches, and firearm gun deaths were falling, or why say that researching other coun- mufflers and silencers. they might be expected to con- tries’ attitudes and laws sur- The NFA didn’t ban these tinue to fall,” the website rounding guns can’t be helpful firearms and accessories out- reported. “That poses difficulty when crafting U.S. policies. right, but put a $200 tax on the in trying to definitively deter- There are multiple tactics them, which is equivalent to mine the impact of the law.” used around the world that $3,500 in today’s currency. In While Australia is often could potentially help the U.S. addition, the firearms had to be pointed to as a bellwether for determine a path to reducing registered with the Secretary of less guns, gun-rights advocates mass shootings — but no one the Treasury. point to Switzerland as a reason country can act as a solution, While the act was used as a to actually have more guns. because no one country mirrors deterrent to purchase these According to the research the laws of the United States. firearms, it was used even more group Small Arms Survey in In fact, many of the laws that to prosecute those who were 2007, Switzerland ranks third in Australia passed have already found with them; if a gangster gun ownership per capita been put in place in America. was found with an unlicensed throughout the world, and has a Some still exist, while others weapon, then more fines and lower rate of violent crime. were found unconstitutional. To jail time could be lobbied The country ranks 147th in understand why, we have to go against them. the world for violent crime, per back to Al Capone. But that practice brought up the United Nations Office on some very difficult constitution- Drugs and Crime in 2010. Unwanted guns al issues that have little or noth- But Switzerland also has While it may seem that the ing to do with the Second stringent gun ownership rules, recent rash of public gun vio- Amendment. many of which some American lence in America is a new phe- In the 1960s, Miles Edward gun rights advocates would nomenon, mass shootings and Haynes was charged with fail- ing to register a firearm under the NFA. Haynes argued that, because he was a convicted felon, requiring him to register the weapon and making an open admission to the government that he was violating the law, he was being forced to violate his Fifth Amendment right to not incriminate himself. See Jim for your auto sales needs! Jan Jagoe In 1968, the Supreme Court Broker agreed with Haynes, and Special Series from 1A Let me Showcase your property. 541 999-0879 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 7 A mandatory gun registration on a federal level was stricken. The year of the Haynes case was yet another period where gun violence was sweeping the nation. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. had been shot. John F. Kennedy was shot in 1963. Urban riots began flooding the streets in 1964. A whole host of crime legis- lation was passed in response, including the controversial Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, which clarified rules for wiretap orders, and the Gun Control Act (GCA). While the GCA couldn’t cre- ate a blanket registration requirement because of the Hayes decision, it could prohib- it certain classes of people from owning a firearm, including felons and those who were involuntarily committed to a mental institution. This was constitutionally legal because it was a punitive extension of a crime already committed. More controversial portions of the Safe Streets Act put restrictions on gun sellers and interstate sales, and led to accu- sations that the government used those rules to drive sellers out of business. To counteract that, in 1986, the Firearm Owners Protection Act was passed, rescinding many of the gun sellers’ restrictions from 1968. That bill also marked the first times that gun legislation officially banned a weapon that was widely distributed: machine guns. (That law was covered more extensively in Part I of this series.) In 1993, America was under yet another sustained barrage of crime reports. The crack- cocaine epidemic had been ris- ing and racial tensions in cities like Los Angeles were turning into mass riots. In response, the Brady Handgun Violence Act was passed, creating the National Instant Criminal Background Check System that would help gun sellers find those who are already deemed unable to buy firearms. It should be noted that the Background system does not act as a national registry; once the checks are completed, any information regarding indi- vidual gun ownership is to be deleted. In fact, the 1986 act prohibit- ed any governmental agency from creating a registry that ties firearms directly to their own- ers. See SPECIAL SERIES 8A 87817 Terrace View Dr. – Enjoy living on the coast and walking to the beach from this beauti- ful 2,562 sqft 2015 Golden West Home. 3 Mas- ter bedrooms with 3.5 baths and an oversized garage with 2 rooms for a shop and storage. $345,900. #2791-17621653 1749 Highway 101 • 541-997-1200 Siuslaw Pioneer Museum AU DI TIO NS Presents Readers Choice Voted #1 Realtor Yard Debris Disposal A Collection of Fabric Woven by Alice Peckham of Swisshome and a demonstration of the antique 4-harness fl oor loom used in the Peckham family for 3 generations. A 4-harness direct tie-up counterbalance 1951 Allen Loom, built-in Milwaukie, Oregon, and woven on by three generations of the Peckham family of Mapleton, was donated to the Pioneer Museum by Peckham with the hope that it might inspire someone to weave. Th e warping process will continue every Saturday at the museum (noon to four) until the job is done and weaving commences. All weavers are welcome to come and help or share ideas, including (1) what we could do next and (2) what commitment we can collectively make to assure that the loom remains an active, interactive, part of our community. Th at four-hour window off ers a good opportunity for Florence area weavers to get to know each other. Spinners, there is room on the same fl oor of the Pioneer Museum to bring your spinning wheels to share your craft and maybe inspire some new spinners too. Th e museum has a few spinning wheels, none near operational. 278 Maple St, Florence, OR 97439 (541) 997-7884 Next Date is April 21 9am to 2pm at the Kingwood entrance to the airport, located at Kingwood & 27th St. COST Pickup load $10 2018 Collection Dates: Small Utility Trailer (Single Axle) $10 APRIL 21 Medium Utility Trailer (10-12 ft) $15 JUNE 16 Large Utility Trailer (12-18ft) $21 Greater than 20 cubic yards $21 +$5/yard over MAY 12 JULY 21 AUGUST 18 SEPTEMBER 15 OCTOBER 20 Bring: • Tree Clippings • Leaves • Grass Clippings • Weeds • Prunings • Brush DO NOT Bring your: • Food & Household waste • Animal Waste • Plastics • Construction Debris • Hazardous Waste For questions, please contact the City of Florence Public Works Department at 541-997-4106
