A call for gun control : High Holy day message from JTS
kai...@biosys.net
JTS Calls for Gun Control in Annual High Holy Day Message
New York, NY — September 11, 1998 — Preventing a sin is the shared burden
of individuals, families and fellow citizens. Citing the Talmud, the Jewish
Theological Seminary draws from Judaism's rich heritage in its call for gun
control and communal responsibility.
In a year when the national crime rate plummeted to an unprecedented low,
Americans were stunned by a seemingly endless series of incidents of youthful
violence in small towns across America. But the murders that took the lives of
young students and teachers in places like Springfield, Oregon; Moses Lake,
Washington; and Paducah, Kentucky not only raise questions as to why these
youngsters were so filled with rage, but also asks how they were able to carry
out such crimes. In each case, they had easy access to hand guns, rifles and
semiautomatics found at home, in a neighbor's house, or given to them by their
parents as gifts.
JTS issues a plea for gun control in a full page ad in the New York Times
that will appear on September 24. Underlying its call is the philosophical
idea that not attempting to prevent a violent act places the burden of
responsibility on us all.
Whoever can prevent members of his household from sinning but does not,
is responsible for the sins of his household. Whoever can prevent fellow
citizens from sinning but does not, is responsible for the sins of fellow
citizens. Whoever can prevent the whole world from sinning but does not,
is responsible for the sins of the entire world. This quote from the
Talmud is the JTS conclusion to its own deliberations about accountability.
The ad suggests that the burden of responsibility lies not only with the
offender, not only with the gun owners who do not protest the excesses of
the gun lobby, not only with the families that provide the weapons, not
only with the adults who ignore the warning signs, but with us all.
Each year, the Jewish Theological Seminary's High Holy Day message addresses
an area of universal social concern. "I am thrilled with the timeliness and
punch of this year's message," says Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, chancellor.
"It makes our tradition speak to the world, without a stretch or distortion."
Who is Responsible? was drafted by a committee of learned and concerned
individuals that includes Rabbi Schorsch; vice chancellors Anne Lapidus
Lerner and Roy Rosenbaum; Rabbis Gordon Tucker of Temple Israel Center in
White Plains, NY and Gerald Skolnik of the Forest Hills Jewish Center;
JTS faculty members Neil Gillman, Burt Visotzky and David Kraemer; author
Rita Kashner; businessman David Oestreich; and graduate student Golan
Ben-Chorin. The committee was chaired by businessman and philanthropist
Lee Javitch, a member of the JTS board of directors. The High Holy Day ad
was also signed by JTS chairman, Gershon Kekst.
The Jewish High Holy Days begin on the evening of Sunday, September 20
when the year 5759 will be ushered in on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, falls on Wednesday, September 30.
Founded in 1886, the Jewish Theological Seminary is the academic and
spiritual center of Conservative Judaism worldwide.
For further information or to arrange interviews with Chancellor Schorsch or
authors of the High Holy Day message, please contact Goldine Eismann, public
relations counsel for JTS at (516) 728-5686; or Jane Rosen, media relations
manager at (212) 678-8957.
Visit the JTS website to discuss the message after September 24 at
http://www.jtsa.edu/pubs/hh/5759/.
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Randy B
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
>
>JTS issues a plea for gun control in a full page ad in the New York Times
>that will appear on September 24. Underlying its call is the philosophical
>idea that not attempting to prevent a violent act places the burden of
>responsibility on us all.
===> Who says *gun control* prevents more violent acts? Schoolyard
shootings are dramatic and get fromt page press, but the thousands of
violent acts prevented by people defending themselves w/ firearms go
unreported. Knee jerk legislation will not fix the problem. The idea
that just throwing another law at a problem is the answer is not
condusive(sp?) to a free society.
Randy
Robert Kaiser
Hey, you're right. Less gun control is needed. That way we can
have even more murdered people, and more schoolyard shootings.
Randy, it is the weekend before Rosh HaShanah, and you're spouting
the kind of nonsense that always leads to death and destruction!? This
by you is the will of God? It is very sad that you would throw away
all Jewish ethics when it comes up right-wing politics.
Children are dying, and this is the best you can come up with?
Perhaps you should spend some time with the families of those who were
murdered, and you might learn to have a bit of compassion for human beings.
Or, you can just attend another NRA pro-gun ralley. You decide: What
is the Jewish thing to do?
Robert
GLC1173
Kaiser quoted a JTS ad:
>New York, NY — September 11, 1998 — >Preventing a sin is the shared burden
>of individuals, families and fellow citizens. >Citing the Talmud, the Jewish
>Theological Seminary draws from Judaism's >rich heritage in its call for gun
>control and communal responsibility.
It is not my "communal responsibility" as a driver who has never even been
drunk, much less driven drunk, to give up my car in order to prevent habitual
drunk drivers from killing - and it is not my "communal responsibility" as a
gun owner who has never been arrested, even as a juvenile, to give up my guns
in order to keep some kid on probation after being convicted of child
molestation from killing people, either.
The facts are plain; the older punk in Jonesboro - like Kip Kinkel in Oregon
- was indeed an example of failed "communal responsibility"; however, the
failure of "communal responsibility" was by a court system that let Kip Kinkel
roam free despite dropping out of a pretrial-diversion program following
throwing rocks at motorists from bridges and that let the older Jonesboro punk
roam free despite confessing the summer before to molesting a four-year-old
neighbor.
>In a year when the national crime rate >plummeted to an unprecedented low,
>Americans were stunned by a seemingly >endless series of incidents of youthful
>violence in small towns across America. But >the murders that took the lives
>of
>young students and teachers in places like >Springfield, Oregon; Moses Lake,
>Washington; and Paducah, Kentucky not >only raise questions as to why these
>youngsters were so filled with rage, but also >asks how they were able to
>carry
>out such crimes. In each case, they had easy >access to hand guns, rifles and
>semiautomatics found at home, in a >neighbor's house, or given to them by
>their
>parents as gifts.
>JTS issues a plea for gun control in a full >page ad in the New York Times
>that will appear on September 24.
If any similar sermon is made in my synagogue, I will walk out of the
service.
Where were the creeps who write this ad copy when me and my elderly mother
were stalked last summer by a convicted felon who the courts let roam the
streets despite dozens of local B&Es and mental commitments over 45 years,
starting at age 13?
When we went through this, the local police did a marvelous job - but the
courts failed us totally, three times. First, they let this guy roam the
streets, despite his incredible local rap sheet. Second, the courts gave him
very low bond - which he promptly skipped and continued harassing us. Third,
they gave him 28 days time served. Talk about "communal responsibility."
Knowing as a lawyer that he faced no more than a month more in jail when he
finally was sentenced, I bought a shotgun. The local
police are superb - but if this creep breaks in to get even for my pressing
charges, they will not be there in the crucial first seconds, and our lives
will depend solely on my large "unfriendly" dog, me, and that shotgun.
>Underlying its call is the philosophical
>idea that not attempting to prevent a violent >act places the burden of
>responsibility on us all.
>The ad suggests that the burden of >responsibility lies not only with the
>offender, not only with the gun owners who >do not protest the excesses of
>the gun lobby, not only with the families that >provide the weapons, not
>only with the adults who ignore the warning >signs, but with us all.
Bullshit.
If JTS wants to find a failure of "communal responsibility," it can read the
5/20 Washington Post; the cause of public school violence is the courts using
public schools as halfway houses by not jailing kids until they kill - but
instead putting them on probation as Kip Kinkle was, conditioned on attending
school.
According to the Washington Post article,
1 in every 83 students in Maryland schools is *currently* on probation for
serious crimes ranging from car theft to sex offenses.
===================================
The State of Maryland has decided to place probation officers where
many
of their clients are: in the public schools.
Under an unusual program announced yesterday, the state government
will
place 35 probation officers in 80 schools across the state in an
effort
to reduce violence and disciplinary problems. Almost one-third of
the
participating schools are in the Washington region.
Officials hope the probation officers will spot potential problems
associated with the student delinquents, who account for much of
the
disruption in many public schools, and steer troublemakers away
from new
difficulties. Unlike school principals, the officers have the power
to
return a student to a detention center for violating probation.
A year-long pilot program in a group of schools in Prince George's
County helped reduce suspensions by 36 percent, and none of the 30
students on probation was arrested for new offenses. A similar
program
in Fresno, Calif., helped reduce by 76 percent the number of
weapons
found in schools, and by 58 percent the number of batteries
involving
teachers.
Maryland officials now hope to replicate such results across the
state,
while also improving safety for other children in the public
schools.
"A child cannot live in fear," said Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy
Townsend
(D), who helps oversee the state's criminal justice programs.
"Education
is about possibilities. But students cannot see the possibilities
if
they are surrounded by violence and despair. . . . Our goal is to
provide students with a safe place to learn."
Maryland officials estimate that roughly 10,000 of the state's
830,000
schoolchildren are on probation for offenses that include auto
theft,
drug offenses, weapons charges and various types of assaults
including
sex offense. Five out of every six juveniles on probation are in
the
public schools.
As part of their probation, most are required to attend school.
School
and juvenile justice officials said having the daily presence of
their
probation officer will make it easier for students to stay out of
trouble.
A few municipal jurisdictions in the country also assign probation
officers to schools, but Maryland officials said no program is as
extensive -- involving school systems in urban and rural areas --
as the
one they are launching. The legislature already has approved
$750,000 in
next year's budget for the program. D.C. school officials are
considering a similar program.
But some skeptics say that officials have to be careful not to
ostracize
students on probation or inadvertently give them "star" status at
school.
"It has to be done very carefully," said Rex Smith, former
secretary of
Maryland's Department of Juvenile Justice. "It may have some
deterrent
value . . . but they may get labeled as the really bad kids in the
school. With that kind of label, there is either a tendency to shy
away,
or they may gain respect from other students. We don't want it to
become
a badge of honor."
Officials involved in the Prince George's pilot program, in the
Oxon
Hill area, say they are pleased with the results so far. Two
officers
were assigned to manage the caseload of students on probation and
reach
out to students who demonstrate that they are "at risk" for
absenteeism
or other problems.
During the year, officials showed 6 percent and 8 percent
reductions,
respectively, in absenteeism and disciplinary referral rates. And
the
suspension rate for the 30 students on probation declined nearly 20
percent. While the numbers were small, and the project has been
active
for only a year, officials said the initial results are promising.
One key factor, officials said, is that separate arms of government
--
police, schools and probation -- now communicate more often and
share
information.
Prince George's School Superintendent Jerome Clark said the new
state
program is "long overdue."
Under the program, each of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions will receive
at
least one probation officer who will be assigned to schools that
have a
large number of students on probation in an attempt to decrease
absenteeism and suspensions. Baltimore will now have nine probation
officers, including one who was assigned in February to Northern
High
School, where a series of incidents resulted in the suspension of
1,200
students.
Officials said having a probation officer on-site helps ease peer
pressure on students who might be coaxed into breaking rules,
giving
them an opportunity to turn their lives around.
"Second chances is what this program is about, and many of us will
need,
or have needed, second chances," said Kevin Maxwell, principal of
Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, where yesterday's
announcement
was made.
Maryland Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D) noted that 77 students were
involved in weapons offenses in the 1996-97 school year, most
involving
guns. Few of the cases involved shootings.
"When I was in school, we were concerned about being square or a
geek,"
Glendening said. "Some of our children must worry about a gun going
off
as opposed to a pop quiz."
=====================================================
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Deardream
>JTS Calls for Gun Control in Annual High Holy Day Message
Gun Control!!!... you Liberal Dummies... Don't you know that, if we take away
the guns from the law abiding citizens, the only ones that will have guns are
the criminals. So take your Socialist anti-Constitutional philosophy and shove
it! I'll keep my freedoms, thank you very much!!!
GLC1173
Robert wrote:
> Hey, you're right. Less gun control is >needed. That way we can
>have even more murdered people, and >more schoolyard shootings.
> Randy, it is the weekend before Rosh >HaShanah, and you're spouting
>the kind of nonsense that always leads to >death and destruction!? This
>by you is the will of God? It is very sad that >you would throw away
>all Jewish ethics when it comes up right-wing >politics.
Jews like you remind me of what Dennis Prager said when speaking at my
synagogue; he said that the REAL religion of most American Jews is not Judaism
- but liberalism.
You confuse Judaism with having life membership in the ACLU and being active
in the Democratic Party. If gun control was a mitzvah, why did it take until
this year for the idiots who wrote this ad copy to discover that?
> Children are dying, and this is the best >you can come up with?
>Perhaps you should spend some time with >the families of those who were
>murdered, and you might learn to have a bit >of compassion for human beings.
Children are also being murdered by drunk drivers - do you think it is a
mitzvah to ban wine for the same reason?
>Or, you can just attend another NRA >pro-gun ralley. You decide: What
>is the Jewish thing to do?
"If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first."
That's a verbatim quote from the Talmud.
Deardream
>> Hey, you're right. Less gun control is >needed.
> Jews like you remind me of what Dennis Prager said when speaking at my
>synagogue; he said that the REAL religion of most American Jews is not
>Judaism
>- but liberalism.
> You confuse Judaism with having life membership in the ACLU and being
>active
>in the Democratic Party. If gun control was a mitzvah, why did it take until
>this year for the idiots who wrote this ad copy to discover that?
Right on, brother! Judaism is a religion, not a political party!!!
David Golden
at JTS. Jewish law prohibits the sacrifice of community members to bandits
of thieves, with the very narrow exception of a most learned member of the
community or a specific individual that the thieves are pursuing. Better
the entire community be put to the knife than a single innocent among many
be handed over to the thieves. Most gun prohibition measures serve to
disarm not the criminals or the destructive, but the decent folk, the
sheep, that most need protection.
It is an embarrasment that these JTS activists are tethering their social
activism to the most holy days of Judaism. In an attempt to raise the
visibility of their political desires, they are demeaning Judaism.
kai...@biosys.net wrote:
: JTS Calls for Gun Control in Annual High Holy Day Message
: New York, NY — September 11, 1998 — Preventing a sin is the shared burden
Joseph Hertzlinger
writes:
> Children are dying, and this is the best you can come up with?
Is this going to be a thread about abortion?
Joseph Hertzlinger
Joseph Hertzlinger
>Who is Responsible? was drafted by a committee of learned and
>concerned individuals that includes Rabbi Schorsch; vice chancellors
>Anne Lapidus Lerner and Roy Rosenbaum; Rabbis Gordon Tucker of Temple
>Israel Center in White Plains, NY and Gerald Skolnik of the Forest
>Hills Jewish Center; JTS faculty members Neil Gillman, Burt Visotzky
>and David Kraemer; author Rita Kashner; businessman David Oestreich;
>and graduate student Golan Ben-Chorin. The committee was chaired by
>businessman and philanthropist Lee Javitch, a member of the JTS board
>of directors. The High Holy Day ad was also signed by JTS chairman,
>Gershon Kekst.
Were any of them criminologists or authorities on civil liberties?
Herman Rubin
Jewish sources, including the Talmud, do not discourage the use
of even lethal force to protect oneself. It is a sin not to
resist aggressors.
Do any of them consider civil liberties to be important?
Do any of them have the mistrust of secular authorities which can
be found in the Tanakh? A particularly good one is
Put not your trust in princes, in the son of man.
While we must have governments for SOME reasons, we must not
trust them not to become oppressive. Democratic governments
have been some of the most oppressive; Rhode Island was founded
because the Massachusetts POPULAR government was religiously
intolerant. Much of present intolerance has been shifted from
religion to "political correctness"; this is much harder to
take action against, as it is presented as "obviously right".
--
This address is for information only. I do not claim that these views
are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University.
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
hru...@stat.purdue.edu Phone: (765)494-6054 FAX: (765)494-0558
Randy B
Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
>
> Hey, you're right. Less gun control is needed. That way we can
>have even more murdered people, and more schoolyard shootings.
===> Schoolyard shootings are dramatic and sad, but are not something
that happen on a regular basis, nor is gun control legislation
something that would have prevented such actions.
> Randy, it is the weekend before Rosh HaShanah, and you're spouting
>the kind of nonsense that always leads to death and destruction!? This
>by you is the will of God? It is very sad that you would throw away
>all Jewish ethics when it comes up right-wing politics.
===> Everythime I think you are capable of having a reasonable
argument Robert, you have to go on like this. Try less sensational
emotionalism, and more reason. Show me scientific studies that back up
how your proposed gun control will do anything. Also, I await your
comments on the thousands of crimes prevented by gun owners.
> Children are dying, and this is the best you can come up with?
===> People die every day. It's tragic. That doesn't mean we have to
get hysterical and start passing laws that may have no effect, or
worse, a negative one. Reason Robert, not hysteria. Do not fall pray
to the emotional images on your TV. Use your mind instead.
>Perhaps you should spend some time with the families of those who were
>murdered, and you might learn to have a bit of compassion for human beings.
===> My level of compassion is not based on my willingness to see a
law thrown at every sad image on my tv set. You Robert have never met
me, and really have no way of making an accurate assesment of my
*compassion for human beings*. This is the kind of thing that makes
people think you are wacky, Robert. Stop with the personal insults,
and let the merits of your ideas, or lack thereof, speak for
themselves.
>Or, you can just attend another NRA pro-gun ralley.
===> I have never been to ebven one. How can you say *another*. Stop
with the personal insults, Robert.
You decide: What
>is the Jewish thing to do?
===> I see nothing in the Jewish tradition that says throwing a law at
a problem is the only way to show care or compassion.
Sometimes_legislation_doesn't_work.
Shana Tova,
Randy
Zev Sero
wrote:
>Show me scientific studies that back up
>how your proposed gun control will do anything. Also, I await your
>comments on the thousands of crimes prevented by gun owners.
Good point. Each year about 1500-2800 criminals are lawfully killed by
gun-wielding American civilians in justifiable or excusable homicides,
far more than are killed by police officers. There are perhaps 600,000-
1 million defensive uses of guns each year, about the same as the number
of crimes committed with guns.
Source: http://sagan.earthspace.net/~esr/guns/point-blank-summary.html
--
Zev Sero Ketiva Vachatima Tova
zs...@bigfoot.com
GLC1173
Zev quoted Randall:
>>Show me scientific studies that back up
>>how your proposed gun control will do >>anything. Also, I await your
>>comments on the thousands of crimes >>prevented by gun owners.
and replied:
>Good point. Each year about 1500-2800 >criminals are lawfully killed by
>gun-wielding American civilians in justifiable >or excusable homicides
That doesn't even count the larger - but uncountable - number who are
deterred from felonies by knowing that the victim is armed or likely is armed.
It's like the police chief who responded to the argument that those on Death
Row showed the death penalty "didn't" deter criminals - the chief responded
that those who were deterred were not conveniently available for counting.
I know what I'm talking about. Last summer, my elderly mother and I were
stalked by a convicted felon with dozens of arrests - many for B&Es - and
mental commitments over the past 45 years, starting at age 13. I am absolutely
convinced that the reason this man, termed by local police to be the "town
nut," never broke in here despite his notorious local record for B&Es was his
(well-founded) fear that I am armed.
>There are perhaps 600,000-
>1 million defensive uses of guns each year, >about the same as the number
>of crimes committed with guns.
Again, that doesn't count the unknown number of crimes deterred without
anyone showing a criminal a weapon - or even loudly saying that he is armed.
In any case, the halakhic stand on gun control is clear from the Talmud's
saying "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first."
Jonathan J. Baker
>In article <>, rand...@NOSPAM.loop.com (Randy B) says:
>>Robert Kaiser wrote:`
>>>JTS issues a plea for gun control in a full page ad in the New York Times
>>>that will appear on September 24. Underlying its call is the philosophical
>>>idea that not attempting to prevent a violent act places the burden of
>>>responsibility on us all.
>>===> Who says *gun control* prevents more violent acts? Schoolyard
>>shootings are dramatic and get fromt page press, but the thousands of
>>violent acts prevented by people defending themselves w/ firearms go
>>unreported. Knee jerk legislation will not fix the problem. The idea
> Randy, it is the weekend before Rosh HaShanah, and you're spouting
>the kind of nonsense that always leads to death and destruction!? This
>by you is the will of God? It is very sad that you would throw away
>all Jewish ethics when it comes up right-wing politics.
The Orthodox won't listen to your ravings and insults, so now you're
going after the gun nuts? Got any more way to spread good feeling
among Jews this teshuvah season? Maybe you'll take on the Humanistic
Jews next.
--
Have a good ceiling.
Jonathan Baker
jjb...@panix.com
kai...@biosys.net
dgo...@netcom.com (David Golden) wrote:
> Ignorance of Jewish law has no bounds, even extending to social activists
> at JTS. Jewish law prohibits the sacrifice of community members to bandits
> of thieves, with the very narrow exception of a most learned member of the
> community or a specific individual that the thieves are pursuing. Better
> the entire community be put to the knife than a single innocent among many
> be handed over to the thieves.
David, this is one of the most disgusting posts that you have written yet.
As you well know, the letter from JTS was about protecting people from
being murdered. it specifically brought up the fact that many children
are themselves becoming murderers, which is easier than ever - Today many
parents actually give their children these weapons! Others simply take
their parent's weapons without permission. It is easy for them to do,
since many gun owners are totally irresponsible, and keep weapons in the
same house that children live in.
All the JTS post did was to ask each individual to take responsibility
for their own actions; One of its main points was for us to work to make
sure that no child ever gets hold of a murder weapon again.
And you come out with hate-mail against this? What kind of monster are
you? Even on the Yamim Noraim, your right-wing, pro-NRA fanatacism seeps
out. Evidently you believe that it is better for children to be murdered
than for American citiznes to excersize some relatively basic responsibility.
> It is an embarrasment that these JTS activists are tethering their social
> activism to the most holy days of Judaism. In an attempt to raise the
> visibility of their political desires, they are demeaning Judaism.
It is embarassing that you think murdering children is Ok by Orthodox
Judaism, and that a call to protect children is somehow bad. And yes,
the current scheme that you are standing up for _does_ cause the murder
of many chidlren. So instead of looking for a solution, you demonize
those people who are trying to help. Sick.
Every day I am more and more amazed by this positively evil posts that
a few people spew here in the name of Orthodox Judaism. Are there any
Orthodox Jews on this newgroup, any at all, who are willing to disagree
with David Goldman's fanatcisim? Are there any who are willing to publicly
say that America needs to work much harderd to protect our children? So
far, I have seen none. That is shocking.
Robert
GLC1173
Robert quoted David:
>> Ignorance of Jewish law has no bounds, >>even extending to social activists
>> at JTS. Jewish law prohibits the sacrifice of >>community members to bandits
>> of thieves, with the very narrow exception >>of a most learned member of the
>> community or a specific individual that the >>thieves are pursuing.
and replied:
>As you well know, the letter from JTS was >about protecting people from
>being murdered. it specifically brought up >the fact that many children
>are themselves becoming murderers, which >is easier than ever - Today many
>parents actually give their children these >weapons!
JTS isn't talking Judaism in this garbage; it's just wearing kneepads for
the liberal agenda. Halakha doesn't support gun control; not only is it strange
that if it did JTS took until now to discover that interpretation - but the
Talmud explicitly says that "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him
first." That means that you must have the means to defend yourself.
"Today" many parents actually give their children firearms? Where have you
lived? Outside of New York City and a few other big cities, it has been the
rule not the exception for many decades that kids have been expected to learn
very young to shoot a rifle and shotgun. When I was living in Shaker Heights,
Ohio, my father insisted that I, at age 13, join the many kids that agefrom
that Jewish suburb that were in a city recreation-department shooting course
learning to shoot .22 rifles; many of us brought our own to the supervised
range. (This was 25 years ago.)
>Others simply take
>their parent's weapons without permission. >It is easy for them to do,
>since many gun owners are totally >irresponsible, and keep weapons in the
>same house that children live in.
Halakha ordains people defend themselves; it does not exempt those with
children from that requirement.
>Are there any who are willing to publicly
>say that America needs to work much >harderd to protect our children? So
>far, I have seen none.
You'd get a lot further if you'd meet us halfway. Why the hell do you not
join us in speaking out against a system in which juvenile - and adult - courts
use public schools as halfway houses for dangerous kids convicted of felonies
by putting them on probation conditioned on school attendance?
It is a FACT that school disorder - from gang activity to the Jonesboro
incident - is largely caused by the many probationees that are attending
regular schools. The Washington Post 5/20 stated that 1 in 83 students in
Maryland schools are *now* on probation for serious crimes ranging from car
theft to sex offenses; the older kid in the Jonesboro incident was on probation
for sex offenses at the time he shot up the schoolyard.
The response of the liberals that JTS wears the kneepads for? Maryland
politicians decided not to get these kids into reform schools or even
alternative schools - but to instead put probation officers in the schools.
Deardream
>As you well know, the letter from JTS was about protecting people from
>being murdered. it specifically brought up the fact that many children
>are themselves becoming murderers, which is easier than ever - Today many
>their parent's weapons without permission. It is easy for them to do,
>since many gun owners are totally irresponsible, and keep weapons in the
>same house that children live in.
Personally, I would not have a gun in the house, because I would be afraid that
the wrong person would get his/her hands on it. But I'll be damned if I try to
take away the choice for someone else to own a gun. Being a United States
citizen, we have a Constitutional right to bear arms. Many liberal
organizations, such as the JTS, say the hell with the Constitution. Well, I
don't want to tell you what I say to them.
The simple fact is this... when you take away the right of law abiding citizens
to own guns, the only ones who will have the guns are the criminals. This is
common sense,... but liberals think with their hearts and not with their minds,
so common sense to them is inconsequential.