I OM LADS
Gun control goes out of control
What docs the recent passage
of anti-assault rifle legisla
tion mean to the mill ionsof
legitimate gun owners in America? A
lot more than anti-gun supporters bar
gained for.
Along with the signing into law of
the Brady Gun- Control Bill, the suc
cessful banning of nineteen types of
assault rifles shows just how success
ful the anti-gun lobby can be when
they focus all of their efforts toward
small-scale, specific objectives.
Previous to the above two relative
successes, such groups as Handgun
Control, Inc., and the Coal ition to Ban
Handgun Violence, have envisioned
rather superfluous goals of sweeping
bans of handguns. Their new (and
much more successful) stratagem of
utilizing the sycophantic mainstream
media in the targeting of only the
“weapons of choice” — of criminals
—should serve as a wake-up call to all
Americans who enjoy firearms own
ership.
Don t be tooled, folks. The anti
gun crowd has as its primary objective
the complete abolition of ALL fire
arms ownership by the general popu
lous, irrespective of the type of firearm
in question. They, of course, will deny
this. But a careful consideration of
anti-gun organizational activities since
the ill-conceived Gun Control Act of
1968, incontrovcrtibly proves my
point.
No less than one day after the pas
sage of this most recent assault rifle
legislation, I watched in amazement
as the media referred to a new “weap
on of choice”— of criminals. No, it
wasn’t the AK-47. It was the Glock
17,9mm handgun. Hmmm. Then, of
course, there stood Handgun Control,
Inc., explaining how their next goal
would be the attempted banning of
specific types of handguns, including
the Glocic. I wonder if that will be
nineteen types of handguns...or will
they round up this time?
I’m sure many of you out there sec
the banning of anything that starts
with the term “assault” as bcingOK in
your book. Certainly, according to
recent public opinion polls, Ameri
The anti-gun crowd has as its
primary objective the complete
abolition of ALL firearms
ownership by the general
populous, irrespective of the
type of firearm in question.
cans in large numbers agreed that
banning “assault” rifles was a good
idea. After all, who needs a Russian
AK-47 or Chinese SKS? Our very
own President, when told that the
overwhelming majority ofpeopleown
these guns purely for target practice,
suggested that they find a better use
for their time. He used reading a good
book as an example. I couldn’t help
but think that an astroturfed El Camino
bed was first to enter his mind.
Seriously though, let us not over
look the fact that “assault” rifles are
used in only a tiny fraction of one
percent of all gun-related crimes in
America. In fact, according to FBI
Uniform Crime Report statistics, far
more people arc killed annually with
cither fists or knives than with all
“assault" rifles combined. What this
means is that, unless you are a com
plete imbecile, in this country “as
sault” rifles do not characterize the
“weaponsofchoicc”—ofanybody—
except perhaps gun collectors.
Also, let s remember that the guns
affected by this ban arc no more or no
less deadly than just about any other
typeofsemi-automatic rifle. And those
guns not affected by this legislation
number in the thousands. So just ex
actly how is this ban going to do
anything in reducing violent crime?
The answer is simple: It won’t. The
fact that even the supporters of this
ban admit that their actions were pre
dominantly cosmetic politicking and
concede that crime rates won’t be
affected to any measurable degree is
just more icing on the cake.
Why, you may ask, do gun owners
get so wound up about this whole gun
banning issue? Well, if you look at
who gun ow ncrs arc, you w il 1 d iscovcr
a patriotic group of individuals who
hold in the h ighest reverence the Con
stitution of the United States. And you
will find these individuals in numbers
that far exceed the gun-banning crowd.
For example, Handgun Control, Inc^,
memberships number just over fifty
thousand, while the National Rifle
Association memberships exceed three
million.
Gun owners see the attempt at lim
iting gun ownership by the law-abid
ing private citizenry as a blatant vio
lation of their Constitutional rights.
More importantly, they see this as
an invasion of their privacy, a pur
poseful attempt at limiting their per
sonal safety, and an utter and nefari
ous attempt by the government to
obtain omnipotent powers without the
checks and balances specifically ac
counted for by the Founding Fathers,
of which private gun ownership is
one.
If you thought the NRA wielded a
heavy political ax before Bill and
Hillary took over as co-Commanders
In-Chief, just sit back and watch as
this newest round of legislation cata
pults their membership to nearly eight
figures.
Handgun Control, Inc., and other
organizations of their ilk, have truly
done gun owners a favor, I think. Each
successive ban of guns only serves to
direct NRA membership skyward, and
to strengthen—indeed cement—the
resolve of all legitimate gun owners.
They have, in all likelihood, awak
ened a sleeping giant.
Kades is senior political science major and a
Daily Nebraskan columnist.
Information graphic on new textbook prices courtesy of Nebraska Bookstore
Where the New.
Textbook Dollar Goes:
hMbtrn k Paper, hinting.
Editorial Cant* 37.3 cuts
U nunAxduing coals tom atmg
to pan cols b dot tbubon
aseedxs name, toad kept y
bdtng puUtshn ados
employees solars art tmetib
Author Income:
7.5 cents niter taxes
MM to aOnS loyally
(yrynM turn Much
a0n pies ireach ail
wMl^rriv
»- --« |, ft „
rvOitSnCf MnO AlnnOf
Taxon 1.7 cents
,)J fedet* star on) iocM toes ttkjdnj
wto to. pud dr outon aid pubtsims
7.3 cents nftor turn
MO Hi name Horn atych re pubbs/ei
poyskrm pnnUldnempnnl
*4hot thorns WU inseacti md
ihtndsmt to sloct/vlders
College Store Freight
Expense: 1.7 cents
Ur at&ol gelt*? books tarn
trpubtsleiieaielniseoi
bnteiylutecnlligeskm
t
* Ur sUnlis ntus otistoliiii.yrbiseden I'HU,ml 1191 hnmcoKUU
pnrin) tour Assaruhon d Ann ton UuUahns ail tr
Njhanjl Assocuturn ill College Skua
I hoe numtns »tr mum* Mid dun 1 rflurrw* art patnAr pMisIm a Me
College Store Income:
3.9 cents pre-tax'
'Nole the mots nl Mini
siaeaeVni *»J to. end ihneion■
Hr Jrr»MKjdtf!«CiV,ri>,l*fV ut
puM a tthmwnl ty llr darn
omrtstnp aid usually depends on
nemntecoltwshnaiMnnl
Or HI nslitibon ol highe ntcMnin
i cor OMl nitnigemeni niinmi
1 CHOOOM, o tnnUnn
a by pnvte ndMdntb.
i.oiluge Store Personnel
Coots: 1X9 cents
btrr einpkiyws sotaes tnd benelils
to lonMe anting leaning, pacing
slrhnng calms customs seme
teknd desk Mid sending edit leitbnhs
bah ti the mhlshs
College Store Operations:
5.5 cents
tsutam. utilities linking mi)
eguenni icnl aid nunlmair. amunlmp
aid dMi pmcessng ibages Mid din
metlmd tend by college dims
DON'T LET YOUR ORAL HYGIENE GO UP, UP,
AND AWAY THIS SUMMER
Call 472-7495 to schedule
your summer appointment. <£fk £
University Health Center Dental Office 15th & U Street
UNL is a nondiscriminatory institution.
Session II of the 1994 Summer Fitness Class
Schedule begins June 13. Four week sessions are
scheduled in areas including: step, step forward,
total body conditioning, progressive/low impact,
extended step, power step, and Spanish combo.
Session III of the 1994
Summer Fitness Class
Schedule begins July 18.
Class schedules are available
at the Office of Campus
Recreation. For more
information, call 472-3467.
i
Financial and Insurance Services
The Financial and Insurance Services profes
sion could be your ticket to the future. If you
would like to attend a short informational
meeting, please call Cindy at 483-4457 for a
reservation and meeting time.
Two recent UNL graduates have earned over
$50,000 during the past 12 months! This is a
high profile profession for the right person.
Woodmen Accident and Life Company
Mike Fardella, CLU, Agency Manager
1500 S. 70th Street, Suite 201
Lincoln, NE 68506
