Here is the "UNedited" version of the article which appeared in The Tri Valley Herald, Sunday 22 December 1996...........
Proposed Gun Ban Lacks Merit
The junk-gun ban being considered by the City of Livermore is, for all intents and purposes, the same as many of those passed in cities all over the Bay area.The wording of the ban lacks merit, is vague, and puts in place certain authorities which are a dangerous threat to individual liberties. Additionally, the arguments used to justify the ban are specious at best.
On the surface it appears that city leaders are acting in an arbitrary and possibly capricious way in their approach to certifying this gun ban. It is, in fact, a gun BAN and therefore a form of gun-control. To fully appreciate the underlying intent of the ban one must read the entire document. Among the reasons given for the need for such a ban is "Violence is an increasing threat to our society and residents". In point of fact, violent crime is down in Livermore.
Recently, an expensive high-capacity hand-gun was stolen in Livermore. When the police report came back is was stated that the case lacks investigative priority". It was not a "junk-gun" and the ban would not have stopped this crime.
This gun ban lacks credibility by its very wording. Most people "assume" it means hand-guns, but only the word "guns" is used in the wording. By law, if you "transfer" ownership of a firearm it must be done through a dealer who possesses a Federal Firearms Dealer’s License. That means that you could not legally "transfer" your collection of guns to your relatives without licensing all of them through a dealer. If any of them happen to be on the list of banned guns, you have a problem. In addition, the gun ban as written does not contain a list of guns falling under the category of "Saturday Night Special" or "Junk-gun".
Perhaps one of the most disturbing aspects of this ban is the absolute power it vests in the Chief of Police to be the sole person with the power to administer the ban. "On a semi-annual basis, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall determine the need
to place firearms on the roster. Upon identifying one or more firearms as a Saturday Night Special, the Chief of Police or his/her designee shall prepare a draft list of the additions to the Roster". The whole section on The Roster gives the Chief of Police unbridled power to decide what guns may or may not be legal.
Economics of enforcement of the ban cannot be determined. In fact, it would have the effect of creating a "black-market" underground for guns in Livermore.
"Cheap" guns are not necessarily "junk-guns". There are many well-made guns that are inexpensive due to product liability laws and market forces. "Cheap" eliminates availability of a tool for self-defense from the lower socioeconomic strata. "Small" and "concealable" could include very expensive, highly regarded guns. Essentially, this would upgrade the criminals’arsenal. Crime is the real culprit. Increasing drug and gang activity are the root causes of the majority of crime and violence. Guns are merely one tool of their activity.
Gun control will simply create a "contraband" gun culture which will aid and abet criminal activity and increase the number of "unregistered" guns in our society.
Law, in and of itself cannot stop anything. People enforce laws and stop things. Focusing more on increasing the number of police officers available would do more to deter
crime than any gun ban. But that costs money and gun bans don’t. On the contrary, when Florida allowed its citizens to carry concealed weapons in 1987, the homicide rate dropped by 40%. If the media ever reported how many crimes were thwarted BECAUSE a citizen was armed you would be amazed. Because the citizens were armed the thugs backed away. Crooks fear an armed citizen more than they fear the police.
This issue poses other serious, thought-provoking issues. How will one more meaningless law help a government and police that can not even disarm the convicted criminals who continue to flow through the revolving door of the judicial system to terrorize ordinary citizens over and over again?
Perhaps the more urgent need is to promote less law making, more law enforcement, criminal justice streamlining and stricter penal punishment.
Written by Dennis Towner and Cheryl Noble on behalf of the Livermore ProActive Citizen's Committee
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