The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 04, 1983, Page 6, Image 6
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
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\ The Gamecock welcomes letters and guest editorials. All letteis and guest
editorials must be typewritten, triple spaced on a 65 space line.
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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
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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
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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*
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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