University of South Carolina Libraries
More gun control I i;x_ necessary Tor me Nearly 20 years after the assassination of President John Kennedy, the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering passing the Firearm Protection Act. The bill, if passed, would severely gut the 1968 Gun Control Act passed following the slayings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert Kennedy. The bill, though mild, did put some restrictions on gun trafficking. Despite two attempts on his life ? one nearly successful ? and the recommendations for more eitective gun control oy a lasK rorce on violent Crime, Reagan supports the bill. Congress ignored the panel's suggestions to reduce violence in America, including a ban on importation of unassembled parts for making "Saturday Night Specials." The legislation would allow interstate mail-order sales of firearms bv anvone. not onlv federallv licensed gun dealers, to anyone. Not only would this make it easier to sell guns, it would be virtually impossible to trace firearms used in crimes. The definition of "gun dealer" would be redefined so that almost anybody could sell firearms without keeping records. Only those who earn their principle livelihood through gun sales ? presumably the most honest dealers ? would be required to keep records. Police could seize onlv the weapon used in a crime, even though the suspect may have a virtual arsenal at his disposal. Fawn brokers would be excluded from gun regulations because they sell other products as well as guns. The routine federal inspection of sales by gun dealers would be allowed only by search warrant. Last year, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., attached an amendment to a similar bill that would have required gun purchasers to wait 14 days for delivery of their weapons to give local police time to check their records. This was opposed by pro-gun forces as putting the responsibility on a potential gun buyer to prove his innocence. Such an argument is nonsense. It would simply keep handguns away from the wrong element. The bill appears to be aimed at making law enforcement more difficult, yet has 52 co-sponsors in the Senate and 115 in the House. A i: * ? cnT :? ? ?u? i?if ~ r ? 11 /"V^CUIUlllg IU I DA SlcUlMlCS, 1IIUIC lllctll Ilctll UI <111 murders in the United States are committed on the spur of the moment by relatives or acquaintances of the victim. More than 2,300 people lost their lives to handguns. Anti-gun control forces argue that their right to guns is constitutional, but so is our right to life. . Gamecock Editor in Chief [ J Johnny Boggs Copy Desk Chief Curt Cottle Copy Editor Mark Armstrong News Editor Chris Handal Copy Editor Beverly Simmons Asst. News Editor David Hill Copy Editor . Leigh Jones Opinion Page Editor . Ellen McCarthy Copy Editor Alan Seim Ent. Editor Julie Jameson Copy Editor Mark Farmer Asst. Ent. Editor Joan Kirchner Sports Editor Jeff Rogers General Manayer Ron Emler Asst. Sports Editor. . Andrew Miller Ad Manager Linda S. Haines - ... ? n ' I li.i.L.ll Wire Editor Leslie Uunson business manager jean naicnmi Photo Editor Mary Ann Hollis Production Mgr Mark McEwan Asst. Photo Editor Joe Jackson Graduate Asst Wanda M. Hite Graphics Editor Beth Harrison Adviser Mark Ethridge Jr. Newsroom 777 7181 Advertising 7774249 Business Office 777 3888 Production 777 2833 \ The Gamecock welcomes letters and guest editorials. All letteis and guest editorials must be typewritten, triple spaced on a 65 space line. i _i i-i OPin rxrAf r?n^ niioo* nHitnrialc chrwilH ho lirnitoH LKIIUrs 5IIUUIU UK liu lUiiyci man juu wuiuo onu jjijcji buhumu.j <???> <?. to one newsworthy subject no longer than (our typed pages. Letters and guest editorials MUST be signed with the writer's name, telephone number, mailing ad dress, class standing or faculty position and major. Pseudonyms are unacceptable, but the writer's name may be withheld upon request if the circumstances warrant. We reserve the right to edit guest editorials and letters. Address letters and columns to: Opinion Page Editor, Gamecock, Drawer A, USC, Columbia, S.C. 29208. j OpinioN T ^4-4 UCll Student questions p To the Editor: During the past few months, while looking over the opinion page, I have followed with great amusement the battles being waged back and forth in the Gamecock. First we were entertained with those poor unfortunates who live on the Horseshoe being victimized during the President's visit. Imagine my horror as I learned those unlucky souls were asked to vacate their rooms for an amazing five hours ? in the afternoon no less. And I thought this was a free country. . 1 Following the exchanges has been an enlightening experience I cannot even put into words. Why, just this past Friday I learned that God Himself said "the penalty for 1 homosexuality is death." Imagine that. This is a facinating thought; certainly, I'll never be able to look at an obituary the : same way again. Perhaps one letter that should not be taken so lightly also I appeared Friday. According to Arthur Williams, we have a group in our midst who promotes "a limited nuclear war for the betterment of mankind." Student opposes pa| To the Editor: . J a ?ettin8 sic According to USA Today, 68 per- 'lberal vlews e*Pre cent of the people surveyed support the Your recent editor joint United Stales and Caribbean na- u"8 ,he..Gay St"dl tions' invasion of Grenada. I would 1 f. ca.in? ? like to see your so called newspaper e. ra 10n S^.X1S .e print that on the front page. Your feel XO?r editona front page article Nov. 2 was a joke. ntons of the majori "Five professors condemn invasion of w 1C think a Grenada." Big deal. They are entitled should. to their opinions, but they should be . suppose your r?r? <->rioi nica nn* ? u^ invasion of Gren^ v/ll 111V VMUVi 1U1 UUftV , AIVSl VII lilt IIVJIIl ? surprise me. page. F I am sure that Gays not seeking exal To the Editor: In response to Vicki Harrell's letter to the editor, I say that homosexuals are not asking to be "put upon a pedestal"; all we want is to be accepted for the normal people that we are. We are not, however, accepted and for this reason I cannot have my name published at the end of this letter for fear of the consequences. I would think Harrell would be more sympathetic to homosexuals considering she is in daily contact with homosexuals and would have at least one gay friend and, therefore, some understanding of homosexuality. Harrell, the current Miss USC and Miss Columbia, also has no right to make moral decisions for others; everyone must do that for himself. Some people think putting one's body on Camaraderie exemplifies To the Editor: Finally, I would li On behalf of the Presbyterian Stu- word of thanks to dent Center, I would like to thank the Delta Upsilon frate Pi Kappa Phi fraternity for the time our support when and energy it put into Cockfest '83. problems. In this ca The event is an important part of the quite literal. The b Homecoming activities. I would also screen broke mome like to congratulate Alpha Delta Pi began. We improv and Delta Upsilon for their first-place podium backstage skit. The effort invested in the skit was could stand on it apparent. screen on top of th* erS :; z vinrifioc nf ffftkAvc* iiuiiugo ui uiucia Wonderful. Conceivably, while home for Thanksgiving break, I can convince members of my hometown to help test this theory. Things have been slow there the past few years, and I think there's a good chance they can be convinced a little annihilation and a few years of mutations is actually a small price to pay for being (to quote Williams) "socially, spiritually and financially better off." (It's not a very big town ? one bomb should suffice rather nicely.) Preferably, this operation could be carried out after I return to Columbia, so that I might be able to monitor and report the results to the Gamecock. We scratch our heads and question how in this day and age unarmed airplanes carrying civilians can be shot down, how young men can be murdered by a suicidal truck driver as they sleeD. how someone could trv to kill a nnnp nr nrPciHpnt Mahj ' -- '?' *" ?? we've got a group (assuming Williams is indeed serious) who believes we ought to get involved in a limited nuclear war. It just can't help but make you wonder. Lenoard Shustack Business graduate student ler's liberal views k and tired of the invasion was a "treacherous" act. As ssed by this paper. far as us breaking international law, so ials openly suppor- what? In my opinion Cuba invaded jnt Association and Grenada. There were about 1,000 the Homecoming Cuban troops on the island as well as xpress this. I do not enough arms for about 80,000 men. Is express the opi- Grenada only had an army of 6,000. I . A) ity of USC students, am sure the Cubans were just "storcollege newspaper ing" the arms there. About the United States policemen of the world, well all paper is against our 1 can say is this: It is better for us to be ada. This does not policemen of the world than for Russia to be dictator of the world. ??:ii u i- John Scott Gajda you still believe our < i Criminal justice freshman tation, student says public display in a beauty pageant is both morally wrong and ^ degrading. As to Antony Price's comment that "We (gays) are everywhere, and we are proud," 1 am gay, and I am not proud, although I am definitely not ashamed of mv homosexuali ty. Price may be proud, but I doubt that the majority of gays are proud of the fact that they are gay. If they were, the Gay Student Association would have a much larger membership than it has. An accomplishment is something to be proud of. Homosexuality is not an accomplishment, but rather a state of life. In closing, I quote advice columnist Ann Landers: "Homosexuals are born, not made." Name withheld by request > theme, student says ? ke to give a special Williams volunteered for this job and a member of the held the screen throughout the entire rnity who came to skit. I believe this type of cooperation, we had backstage even among competing organizations, se, the support was exemplifies the Carolina spirit that irace for our slide Cockfest celebrates. nts before our skit We look forward to participating in ised by placing a Cockfest '84 and hope that it will conso that someone tinue to grow into a campuswide event, and balance the Ernest Thompson a e backdrop. Darell Presbyterian Student Center President