WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
NEWS
Wyden talks gun control with area students
Wyden said he’d like to
ban bump stocks, a modifi-
cation that allows a semi-au-
There was one major issue tomatic weapon to fire as an
on the minds of students who automatic, and lift restric-
showed up at U.S. Sen. Ron tions that prevent research
Wyden’s town hall meeting from being conducted on gun
at Umatilla High School on violence.
Finally, he said, he’d like
Tuesday.
“How many of you would to ensure that people can’t
like to talk about guns?” have military-style weapons
Wyden asked. Many students on the street.
raised their hands.
“Those four things I
The meeting was open to described can be done within
the public, with about half the Second Amendment,” he
the audience comprising said. “I haven’t said to get rid
community members and the of the Second Amendment.”
rest students. Though audi-
A student suggested that
ence members were able to schools should conduct a
ask questions on any sub- mental evaluation for each
ject, after a student asked a student each year, to deter-
question about guns, Wyden mine what resources schools
might need to sup-
switched
focus,
port them.
talking mostly with
“That might be
students about their
a little hard to oper-
concerns from a vari-
ate,” Wyden said.
ety of viewpoints.
“I heard you
But he said that get-
ting protective orders
talking about guns,
should be easier, if
and people who
shouldn’t
have Ron Wyden
a family member or
them,” said a student.
teacher notices that a
“How do you plan on stop- student is showing signs of a
ping that? There’s always problem.
going to be a way for some-
“In the case of the shooter
one to get guns.”
in Florida, everyone in town
Wyden outlined his goals knew there was a problem,”
for gun violence prevention. Wyden said. “But they didn’t
“If someone has mental put the pieces of the puzzle
health problems, domestic together.”
violence in their background,
The student also asked if
on a terrorist watchlist,” there would be more funding
Wyden said. “I want back- toward mental health pro-
ground checks for every time grams and help for students
a gun is sold in America. showing signs of problems.
That applies to gun shows,
“I have been supporting,
any kind of sale at all. Right and think we should be get-
now, we have this hit-and- ting more money for law
enforcement at schools, and
miss system.”
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
health care services,” Wyden
said.
Some students disagreed
with Wyden’s stance on guns,
with one asking why, if gun
violence accounts for fewer
deaths than car accidents,
Congress was focusing on it.
Aden Cappello, a junior, said
there are a lot of false statis-
tics about gun violence.
“I don’t think the focus
should be on assault weap-
ons,” he said. “Anything
can be turned into an assault
weapon.
He noted that a .223 cal-
iber rifle, a semiautomatic
weapon, is smaller and
speedier, but bullets from a
30.06, a gun used for deer
hunting, are bigger and can
cause more damage.
“More crimes and mur-
ders are committed with
handguns daily,” Cappello
said. “How do you suggest
we fix that instead of going
after assault rifles?”
Cappello noted that he
agrees with the policy of
background checks, and
would like to see them con-
ducted every year.
Wyden reviewed his gun
policy with Cappello, com-
mending him for doing his
research.
“I think the assault
weapon issue is compli-
cated,” Wyden said. “What
I feel strongly about, and
which is backed by the police
of this country, is that these
military-style assault weap-
ons are clearly not used for
sport.”
Cappello said he under-
stood the policy, but that
it may not be so simple to
enforce.
“There are always things
that can happen outside of a
law,” he said. “There are peo-
ple that make firearms from
scratch.”
Though gun violence was
the prevailing topic, Wyden
fielded questions from stu-
dents and adults on a variety
of issues. A woman whose
husband is a veteran said she
was concerned about the pri-
vatization of the VA.
“What can we do as citi-
zens and elected officials?”
she asked.
Wyden said he encour-
aged people to continue
speaking up.
“Policy change doesn’t
start in D.C.,” he said. “It’s
just the opposite — bottoms
up.”
He said providing health
care and assistance is part of
the commitment elected offi-
cials and citizens make to
veterans.
Audience members spoke
to Wyden about irrigation,
farming, disability services
and immigration.
The final question came
from another student, who
asked what could be done
to protect children from
exploitation on the internet.
“We have online report-
ing, but it almost seems like
it’s ignored,” he said.
The student noted a time
that his friend had tried
to report a site that posted
explicit images of minors,
but did not get a response,
and the site was not taken
down.
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
A procession of hundreds follows actors during the Way
of the Cross on Good Friday in Hermiston.
BTW
continued from Page A1
Butte on Good Friday as
part of the annual Way of
the Cross hosted by Our
Lady of Angels Catho-
lic Church. The pageant
took participants through
14 “stations of the cross”
depicting the crucifixtion
of Jesus Christ and the
hours before his death.
• • •
Hermiston/Pendle-
ton Local Program #510
revived its Special Olym-
pics powerlifting program
this winter with training
at the Boardman Recre-
ational Center.
Coached by Jason
Bartman, four athletes
powered their way through
the competition March
17 at McArthur Court
in Eugene. Jose-Angel
“JoJo” Ramos earned
two gold and two silver
medals, Camron Goldie
received three bronze med-
als, Jeff McEachran gar-
nered a bronze medal and
Timothy Tichy took home
four silver medals.
Special Olympics pro-
vides year-around train-
ing and athletic competi-
tions for people of all ages
with intellectual disabili-
ties. There is no charge to
participate.
Practice for the sum-
mer sports season begins
in April. If interested,
call Angela Scheider at
541-314-0166.
• • •
A fourth grade stu-
dent at Charlotte Latin
School in North Carolina
is requesting readers send
items that will help his
class learn about Oregon.
Ivy Young sent a let-
ter saying part of his class
project for the North Car-
olina State Fair is to
research a state. Ivy is hop-
ing people will send small
items — such as postcards,
pictures and facts — by
April 30 to help..
Send items to:
Ivy Young, Mr. McCo-
naughy’s Class
Charlotte Latin School
9502 Providence Road,
Charlotte, NC 28277
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