Just In Case They Come Too Ya Door...
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Artist:
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Album:Jaws Soundtrack
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Track:Jaws Theme Song
!http://img3.ifilmpro.com/resize/image/stills/films/resize/istd/2802070.jpg?width=130!Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is asking the state Legislature to adopt a series of gun control bills he hopes will "reduce the violence."The proposals include a ban on assault weapons as well as state monitoring of gun dealers to see if there is any relationship between individual sellers and later use of guns in criminal activity. The proposals would also require background checks on persons buying guns at gun shows.The mayor said there were 31 gun-related killings in Seattle in 2006. He made the announcement on the same day a student died of gunshot wounds in a Tacoma high school."You ought to have an expectation that when your child leaves for school in the morning they are going to come back home that evening safe and sound," he said. "And we can't guarantee that any more."The State School Superintendent publishes yearly totals of reported weapon incidents. Here are the statistics that worry the mayor: The statewide numbers for the 2005-2006 school year reveal there were 30 incidents involving handguns, and 11 others involved rifles.The handgun incidents included four in Seattle, three in Franklin Pierce, two in Highline and one each in Tacoma and Lake Washington. "It takes only a moment to take a life with a gun; we cannot waste another moment," Nickels said.The mayor and Seattle's police chief referred to the call for mandatory trigger or gun locks as common sense.But long time gun collector and advocate "Doc" Carlson says the problem is the enforcement of the laws, not the gun laws themselves."Oh, Greg, Greg, Greg, Greg," he said of the mayor. "What's a common sense gun law?"Carlson said many accused felons see crimes reduced to misdemeanors and are released on personal recognizance, still able to legally buy a gun.Under present federal law, a person buying a new pistol or revolver gets a factory supplied gun lock. If you purchase a used gun from a registered dealer, the dealer provides a lock.Gun dealers say the problem comes when laws tried to mandate use of the gun laws."How are they going to enforce that? I'd love to find out," Carlson said. "Are they are going to walk in at two in the morning and say we need to see where your guns are and see if they are locked up. How are they going to enforce that?"Gun supporters traditionally have had the votes in Olympia to block gun control laws. This year, Mayor Nickels believes he may have the votes.The Washington State Constitution provides for the right to keep and bear arms in even stronger language that the U.S. Constitution. "But neither state law nor the Constitution outlaws common sense," Nickels said.
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