Chambers vows to fight concealed weapons bill
GUNS from page 1
study by University of Chicago Law
School Professor John Lott that found
crime dropped in areas allowing con
cealed weapons permits.
“This is going to be the toughest
legislation of any concealed-carry in
this country,” Schellpeper said. “I
think this bill is probably in as good a
form ... as it possibly could be.”
Sen. Shelley Kiel of Omaha, how
ever, disputed Lott’s study, offering
statistics of her own showing
increased crime in areas with con
cealed weapons laws - including sev
eral arrests of concealed-weapons
permit holders in states such as Texas.
“We as policy-makers must fight
the effort to put a gun in everyone’s
pocket or purse to enhance security,”
she said. “Putting more guns on die
street does not reduce crime. Better
enforcement does.”
Sen. Chris Beutler of Lincoln said
concealed weapons could cause argu
ments to escalate into violence.
Domestic disputes, child-custody
fights or “road rage” cases could turn
deadly if a gun were involved, he said.
“There will be an increase of
immediately available, loaded, deadly
weapons being handled on a daily
basis,” he said.
Schellpeper disagreed, saying
opponents had exaggerated the bill’s
potential for inciting violence.
“This won’t put one more gun on
the street in this state,” he said. “This
is just the opposition using scare tac
tics to keep it from passing.”
Janssen agreed, saying the bill
contained sufficient safeguards to
ensure only law-abiding citizens
received permits.
For example, under LB476, appli
cants must be 21 years old, pass back
ground checks for criminal records
and mental health and complete gun
safety training.
Chambers showcased his oft-used
filibustering tactics, offering succes
sive amendments to prolong the
debate. The amendments, which
sought to raise the fee for a permit
from $100, all failed.
Chambers sparred with other sen
place requirements and restrictions
on meat packers, on a 43-0 vote.
No one spoke in opposition to the
bill, but Chambers said he expects to
see some soon. He said he would try
to increase penalty portions of the bill
if packers tried to change it.
Staff writer Shane Anthony
contributed to this report.
66
This is just the opposition using scare
tactics to keep it from passing
Sen. Stan Schellpeper
ators, sang a song about people who
love guns and denounced what he
called an effort by the National Rifle
Association and other lobbies to ram
the bill through the Legislature.
“Yes, I’ll play hardball,” he said,
“and I believe I’ll be the last one
standing.”
In other news, the Legislature
advanced LB835, a bill that would
Buhler earns teaching award
Buhler gives a lot to his classes, but
he’s always learning from his students
and from further readings of articles and
texts.
“There are worlds within these texts
I have not encountered,” he said.
Buhler used interactive teaching
tactics as a high school teacher and for
five years as a professor at the
University of California in Los Angeles,
where he also earned his masters degree
and doctorate in English before coming
to UNL in 1989.
Buhler said he could tell his method
was effective by reading students’jour
nal responses and by observing their
eagerness in class.
“I know it works when I can call on
virtually anyone attending and get
something that’s of value to everyone.”
Shapiro said Buhler’s theatrical tal
ent is what sets him apart from other
English professors, who tend to be less
prone to acting out literature in class.
“Steve is a performer. He’s obvious
ly an incredibly smart guy, and he’s a
very gifted scholar. Unlike a lot of us,
he’s a performer,” Shapiro said. “He
brings a performer’s love of interaction
to the act of teaching.”
When he’s not in the classroom,
Buhler said, he spends a lot of time with
his wife, Carla, and 8-year-old daugh
ter, Tess. And yes, he also reads
Shakespeare in his spare time.
This year is not die first time Buhler
has been singled out for teaching excel
lence. After just a few years at UNL, he
won the 1991 award from the arts and
sciences college for outstanding teach
ing. He has also received the Award of
Recognition for Contributions to
Students four times since 1990.
“I was amazed by it, and I think a lot
of people were,” Shapiro said of
Buhler’s 1991 award. “It became appar
ent that he was extremely effective in
the classroom and just redly beloved by
his students.
“He’s one of the brilliant teachers in
our midst.”
Read and earn UNL credit
at your pace this summer
Add hours to your schedule while you:
■ Take course work with you to summer destinations.
■ Study at home at your own pace.
Meet the instructors:
■ Instructors will hold individual
meetings April 5-9. Read the
Monday, March 29, Daily
Nebraskan for a list of courses,
instructors and meetings.
■ Choose from 30 undergraduate
courses in 12 departments.
Register by May 14 with $25 reservation fee.
Call for your Reading Course catalog:
„, , 472-1392
Nebraska
PMIVIMITT OF CTMUSKA- LINCOLN
Division of Continuing Studies
Department of Part-Time Student Services Kk "
and Degree Options ^BnB opportunity institution.
BUHLER from page 1
Caesar,” with Marlon Brando as
Antony, entrapped him in
Shakespeare’s world.
Not long after that, he acted in a
school play of “Julius Caesar,” which
immediately prompted him to see
Shakespearean literature from the
angles of performance and reading.
Buhler grew up watching the Royal
Shakespeare Company perform. He
was amazed by a production of “A
Midsummer Night’s Dream” where the
actors playing fairies floated above the
stage on trapezes.
“When you have experiences like
that, it’s easy to get hooked,” he said.
When he entered California State
University in Fresno in the early 1970s,
he became more interested in music
than performance.
He had been playing the guitar since
he was about 14 years old, attempting to
emulate the guitar greats of that time.
When he taught high school in
southern California from 1976 to 1984
he joined a band at the prompting of a
student, who was also in the band.
Now he plays occasionally with
“The Miltones,” a group of Milton fans
and musicians from across the country.
Last year in San Francisco the group
played at the 50* anniversary meeting
of die Milton Society of America.
Buhler, who is easily identified by
his long black hair pulled into a low
ponytail, also plays guitar in his classes.
This semester he teaches a 400-level
Milton class and Hancock’s
Shakespeare class.
Recendy, Buhler got back into act
ing when he portrayed Friar Lawrence
in the Lied Center for Performing Arts’
“Romantic Rhapsody,” an adaptation of
“Romeo and Juliet.”
Buhler’s willingness to perform in
class is encouraging, Hancock said.
“In a way, he serves as a model
because he’s not afraid to get himself
into it,” she said.
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