Editor, Times-Union: I don't want to shoot off at the mouth, but here are some gun facts for those that care.
Guns save more lives than they take; prevent more injuries than they inflict.
1. Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year, or about 6,850 times a day. This means that each year, firearms are used more than 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.
2. Of the 2.5 million self-defense cases, as many as 200,000 are by women defending themselves against sexual abuse.
3. Citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as police do every year (1,527 to 606). And readers of Newsweek learned in 1993 that "only 2 percent of civilian shootings involved an innocent person mistakenly identified as a criminal. The 'error rate' for the police, however, was 11 percent, more than five times as high."
4.ÊOf the 2.5 million times citizens use their guns to defend themselves every year, the overwhelming majority merely brandish their gun or fire a warning shot to scare off their attackers. Less than 8 percent of the time, a citizen will kill or wound his/her attacker.
5.ÊHandguns are the weapon of choice for self-defense. Citizens use handguns to protect themselves over 1.9 million times a year.Ê Many of these self-defense handguns could be labeled as "Saturday Night Specials."
Police cannot protect - and are not required to protect - every individual.
1. The courts have consistently ruled that the police do not have an obligation to protect individuals, only the public in general. For example, in Warren vs. D.C. the court stated "courts have without exception concluded that when a municipality or other governmental entity undertakes to furnish police services, it assumes a duty only to the public at large and not to individual members of the community."
2. Former Florida Attorney General Jim Smith told Florida legislators that police responded to only about 200,000 of 700,000 calls for help to Dade County authorities. Smith was asked why so many citizens in Dade County were buying guns and he said, "They damn well better, they've got to protect themselves."
3. The Department of Justice found that in 1989, there were 168,881 crimes of violence which were not responded to by police within 1 hour.
4. Currently, there are about 150,000 police officers on duty at any one time to protect a population of more than 250 million Americans - or almost 1,700 citizens per officer.
The Libertarian Party is the ONLY party that fights for your gun rights 100 percent. For more gun facts, go to www.gunowners.orgÊ Kosciusko Libertarian info at http://LPKC.8m.com
Daniel Stevens Warsaw via e-mail
Legislation By Lawsuit
Editor, Times-Union: Your commentary in Saturday's Times-Union was right on the mark. You expressed the concern that what is most bothersome about the government's latest attempts to protect the American people from themselves by means of its anti-smoking and anti-shooting campaigns is that it is legislation by lawsuit - going after the manufacturer of the instrument of death rather than the user.
You mentioned that "one must wonder what industry will be next." I can tell you what our God-ordained authorities are already going after, and it isn't exactly an industry. Here are some news items that may give you an idea of what I'm talking about.
Oklahoma, 1978 - Sheriff's deputies padlocked the doors of a Baptist church after the Christian school that it was operating defied a judicial order to shut down on the grounds that its curriculum had not been approved by the state. Arrest was promised for anyone who used the church building for any purpose, including Sunday worship.
San Diego, 1992-Celebration Community Church was forced to close its doors when the local zoning board ruled that its property, a former warehouse, could be used for industrial purposes only. Despite 100 percent favorable testimony from members of the community as to the positive impact the church was having on the youth of the area, the board ruled that the church must cease its Sunday meetings and weekly children's clubs, allowing only a daily work training program to continue in the multipurpose ministry center. As a result of this ruling, the church disbanded and the building has been turned into an apartment.
Florida, 1993-Jerry Jenkins, a Baptist pastor, was told by the zoning board that he could not hold summer Bible clubs in a residential neighborhood, since it was not zoned for religious activity. The Bible clubs for that neighborhood were cancelled.
Egypt, 1999-Christians, who comprise 10 percent of the population (think what would happen if blacks in America were still treated this way!), are allowed to meet freely in their church buildings. The only stipulation-any construction or remodeling of a church building requires government approval-which is routinely denied. Any church that defies this order is bulldozed to the ground or confiscated by the government. All over Egypt, Christians are forced to meet in crumbling, crowded church buildings-or not at all.
Sudan, 1999- One after another, church buildings in various parts of the capital, Khartoum, are being razed to the ground "to make way for the new highway." No neighboring buildings are touched, and no serpentine highway has been laid out to cover the ground left bare by bulldozers.
There is no need to outlaw the practice of Christianity-only to restrict it by regulation until it is forced underground. This has already begun to happen in America. With our current government's preference for legislating by regulation and judicial fiat, we can expect to see more and more violations of the First Amendment under the guise of protecting ungodly Americans from being unduly influenced by godly ones-the exact opposite of God's purpose for government.
Daniel Buck Argos
Harsh Discipline
Editor, Times-Union: On March 10th the administrators at Warsaw Community High School, kicked Maha Ibrahim off of the Student Council, because she used two inappropriate words in the presence of 8th grade students at the freshman orientation. Maha is someone special. She has great leadership capabilities, and she wants nothing but the best for that school.
Maha is a very enthusiastic, outgoing person. In trying to express herself, she said two inappropriate words. This was wrong! And nobody knows better than Maha that this was wrong. She is supposed to be a leader and using inappropriate words is not a good form of leadership.
Maha wrote a letter to the editor apologizing for her actions and begged for forgiveness. Again, she realizes to be a good leader you must use restraint in your words and actions. Maha has had good role models for leaders in parents, teachers and other adults in her life, however, there are adult role model leaders that also use inappropriate words in trying to get a point across.
Maha was (and should have been) punished for her actions, but very seldom are adult leaders punished for using inappropriate words. By dismissing her from Student Council for the balance of this school year seems to me to be an appropriate punishment. To not be allowed to participate in Student Council (or any school functions for that matter) for the balance of her high school career seems very harsh.
Could the school administrators of the high school re-think their position on this matter?
Michael Smith Warsaw via e- mail
Triton Concert
Editor, Times-Union: I'm the proud parent of a child who attends kindergarten at Triton Elementary School. I recently had my first opportunity to attend her first "Spring Concert," and what a delight it was! I would like to applaud all of the children for doing a fabulous job, their teachers, and the principal for putting on such an entertaining program.
I was really amazed at the number of parents, grandparents and relatives that took the time out of their busy schedules to enjoy this concert. It does my heart well knowing that my child attends a school that can bring so many families together with song! Great job kids, can't wait until next year's concert!
