The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 260, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 30, 1992 Page: 4 of 44
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Baytown Sun and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Sterling Municipal Library.
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THE BAYTOWN SUN
Sunday, August 30, 1992
OPINION
Sun editorial
Jobless rate
drops sharply
rip he significant drop in the city’s unemployment
- I rate is a most encouraging sign.
After months of increasing steadily, the
city’s unemployment rate decreased 1.3 percent be-
tween June and July, according to figures released by
the Texas Employment Commission last week.
The drop in the unemployment rate is not the only
encouraging local economic indicator.
The value of new construction for the first seven
months of 1992 was almost $24 million, nearly three
times greater than the corresponding figure for the
same period last year.
Through July, Baytown officials had issued per-
mits for 67 new homes — a significant increase from
the 40 that had been issued at this point in 1991.
And the city’s sales tax rebates for the first half of
1992 were 15 percent higher than they were for first
six months of the previous year.
In addition, several area plants have announced
expansion plans, meaning more jobs locally.
We hope these trends will continue, and that better
economic times are just around the comer.
Berry’s
world
© 1992 by NEA. Inc.
"I know what's buggin' you, Dad! You can’t
stand the idea that somebody MY AGE might
become PRESIDENT, can you?”
Achievements
acknowledged
H jT &ch week we recognize area groups, organiza-
tions and individuals for their
A-« accomplishments.
This week congratulations go to:
—The Rev. D.C. Mangum, associate pastor of
Second 3aptist Church in Baytown, who was named
Senior Adult of the Year recently at the Third An-
nual Senior Adult Conference at East Texas Baptist
University.
—Theresa Blanchard, administrative assistant to
the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Bay-
town, who received a certificate of appreciation for
“Devoted and Invaluable Service Rendered” from
the Texas Association of Mexican American" Cham-
bers of Commerce.
—Tom Holland, new freshman assistant principal
at Ross S. Sterling High School.
—Daniel Lesterjette, a student at RSS who will be
spending his junior year at the Garth Hill School in
Bracknell, England.
—David Minor, recipient of the Jaycee of the
Month Award.
—Newly re-elected Baytown Area Water Author-
ity board officers, Robert L. “Bob” Gillette, presi-
dent; Dan Mundinger, vice president; Peter R.
Buenz, secretary.
—Melissa Milligan and Andrea Dunlap, recipients
of Young Women Recognition Awards, the highest
award given to young women by the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. ^
—Charlie Spurlin, who is expected to be named
head basketball coach at RSS.
TWn VIFWQ-Should Congress pass the
r v/ y II- v v w ■ Brady Bill on gun control?
Yes
ft
Josh
Daniel
Left-wing, bleeding-heart
liberals aren’t the only ones
who support the Brady Bill’s
weeklong waiting period
before buying a gun.
Longtime gun-rights sup-
porter and NRA-endorsed
Ronald Reagan also supports
the waiting period. Maybe
that’s just because John Hinc-
kley bought his pistol less
than a week before his assas-
sination attempt put Reagan
in the hospital and crippled
for life the president’s friend
and press secretary, Jim
Brady.
Good enough reason for
me.
The Brady Bill wouldn’t
disarm law-abiding citizens,
as some argue. If folks want
to hunt deer, the Brady Bill
wouldn’t keep them from it.
Nor does it keep honest
people from protecting them-
selves. Police officials can
waive the waiting period for
anyone whose life is in dan-
ger.
Some will say it doesn’t go
far enough. But at least it
does something. And that
would be an accomplishment
in itself.
Another argument against
the bill contends that valuable
police resources would be
diverted into shuffling paper-
work for a process that
doesn’t even keep felons
from getting guns.
Two points about that
first, a study in Atlanta dur-
ing the 1970s suggested that
increased police patrols don’t
significantly affect crime
rates. That makes me ques-
tion whether we’d really les-
sen protection by shifting
police resources.
Second, the bill aims at
crimes of passion. Joe buys a
pistol at his local gun shop,
walks into the post office and
starts shooting because he
fv f
lost his job. The Brady Bill
would force Joe to think
about death — other peo-
ples’, and his own — for a
week before getting that pis-
tol in his hand.
It doesn’t aim at habitual
felons, people who get their
guns in back-alley deals. No
measure: short of imposing a
police state, could stem mat
tide. And back-alley gun
sales put guns in the hands of
habitual felons who will
break the law, waiting period
or no. ' . -
Saying the Brady Bill
wouldn’t keep habitual felons
from getting guns is like
saying brushing your teeth
won’t prevent a heart attack
— it’s not supposed to.
A word, too, about the
much-ballyhooed Second
Amendment and its “right to
bear arms” clause. The entire
amendment — start to finish
— reads, “A well regulated
Militia, being necessary to
the security of a free State,
the right of the people to keep
and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.”
The “right to bear arms”
clause is too frequently taken
out of context. The Second
Amendment explicitly pro-
tects the formation of a state
militia, and no one can con-
vince me that the guy who
wanders into a gun shop and
picks up a .38, then moseys
over to the post office to gun
down innocent people, has
any. interest in forming a
well-regulated state militia.
Period.
And, as I said, that’s
exactly the kind of incident
the Brady Bill is designed to
curtail. Trie bill wouldn’t, and
doesn’t try to, reduce felonies
committed by habitual bad
guys.
But a waiting period would
cut down on crimes of pas-
sion. Not all crime, but some.
And, if we can do that
without seriously infringing
on anyone’s right to start a
state militia, we’d be irres-
ponsible not to.
Josh Daniel is a Sun col-
umnist. —
No
v ■ iv 4K
Amit
¥
Baruch
It seems to me the Brady
Bill, which calls for a seven-
day waiting period on the
purchase of handguns —
ostensibly as a cooling-off
period — is terminally
flawed. It reflects the knee-
jerk near-sightedness com-
mon to many gun control
activists.
Now, before I start my
tirade, let me tell you I am an
avid gun enthusiast. I enjoy
hunting and target shooting. I
own four pistols and rifles. I
even own a dreaded assault
rifle.
However, I am not a mouth
piece for the NRA — I don’t
even belong to that organiza-
tion and have never contri-
buted to it. And the only
reason I don’t support the
Brady Bill, or any other
legislation that is written in
the aftermath of a tragic
shooting, is because the
restrictions are written by
people devoid of real vision.
TTie whole idea behind the
Brady Bill is to establish a
seven-day waiting period, so
the purchaser doesn’t use a
newly purchased pistol to kill
people in the heat of passion.
But, the waiting period only
applies to handguns, not shot-
guns and not rifles.
Under the Brady Bill,
someone who wanted to buy
a gun for sinister purposes
might walk into a gun shop
and ask, “How much for this
pistol?” He would be told he
couldn’t take possession of
the weapon for seven days.
He might then decide to
buy a shotgun, and could
walk out of that store imme-
diately with a weapon that is
more devastating than most
pistols — and cheaper, too.
Do you think it would make a
difference to someone with a
convoluted and deranged
mind what kind of weapon he
used to commit a crime?
To this, gun control advo-
cates would say, “Yea, but
you can’t conceal a shotgun
like you can a pistol. You
can’t sneak one into a cour-
troom.”
Friends, anyone who is
deranged and distraught
enough to take a gun into a
courtroom and commit a
crime would not think it
unreasonable to saw off the
stock and barrel of a shotgun
so that it would fit into a brief
case.
So when people start tell-
ing you a waiting period on
pistols would be a panacea,
you tell them to think again
— and think it all the way
through.
If I were to author a gun
control bill — and I wouldn’t
because I don’t believe in
such bills — I would make it
more thorough than the
Brady Bill.
First, the waiting period
would include all fire arms,
not just pistols. Secondly, I
would institute a complete
background check while the
buyer was waiting for the
seven days to elapse. Thirdly,
before the buyer could take
possession of the weapon I
would require him to show
proof of completion of a gun
safety course conducted by
certified professionals. No
one would be allowed to take
possession of a weapon until
he had been trained to use it.
This might cut down on the
number of senseless acci-
dents involving guns.
Even after all that, I don’t
think these measures would
reduce gun-related accidents
and crime, but it would shut
up the gun control activists.
And as much as I respect the
second amendment, it would
be a small price to pay.
If this country is going to
find a solution to its “gun
problem,” the narrow-min-
dedness reflected in the
Brady Bill must stop. People
must think the problem
through thoroughly and logi-
cally.
Amit Z. Baruch is a! Sun
columnist.
PRESS COMMENTARY
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on making Medicare model for
health care:
Concerns about the high cost of health care of millions of Ameri-
cans and the complete lack of medical care for millions of others
have made the Issue one of the hottest topics during this election
year.
Although both presidential candidates — and most Americans —
advocate changes in the current health-care policy, there is no con-
sensus between them about the best solution.
“Consumer Reports,” published by Consumers Union, has pub-
lished a three-part series on health-care crisis in America.
“Our analysis has revealed that a single-payer system is the best
alternative for controlling skyrocketing health-care costs and provid-
ing quality care, said Rhoda H. Karpatkin, Executive Director of
Consumers Union.
As an example of how a single-payer system would work in the
United States, “Consumer Reports” points to the Medicare program,
which has been in place since 1965. ? >
Medicare was attacked for years before its adoption, yet today it
enjoys strong support from the people it serves. Amazingly, it main-
tains extremely low administrative costs'—about 2.5 percent of its
total expenditures. Few if any, industries — end probably no other
government programs — can claim that kind of efficiency.
The Medicare system is norwithout its flaws. But if Congress can
use it as a model and shore up its weaknesses, a system could be
created to provide all Americans with quality health care.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times on world hunger:
Given the tragic events in Somalia and the Sudan, where starva-
tion is endemic, a report delivered at Brown University this month is
surprising. Robert W. Kates, a geography professor whp heads
Brown’s world hunger project, says die percentage of the world’s
population which is hungry is less than half that of the 1950s —
dropping from 23 to 9 percent Moreover, says Kates, outright fa-
mine has declined, thanks to the Green Revolution’s success in ex-
panding food production.
Where widespread starvation now exists, says Kates, is in those
lands like Somalia and Sudan where continuous warfare has
wrecked the food production and distribution systems.
But Kates warns there is another factor: population.
The United States, working through the United Nations and in
concert with other developed states, has a great humanitarian oppor-
tunity, a challenge to take the place of the Cold War. It should
support U.N. policies to deliver food supplies to the populations of
nations involved in conflicts, as is now being done in Bosnia and
Somalia. And it must participate in worldwide population control
efforts — as the administration has thus far refused to do, instead
.undercutting such programs in deference to domestic politics. That
policy must change. 7 ,7
— 7 : •. -m
Bible verse
The young lions do luck, and suffer hunger, but they who
seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.
—Psalm 34:10
Paptoton &un
Gary Dobbs.............................;..........................Editor and publisher
Wanda Orton.......................................................Managing editor
Bruce Guynn............................................Associate managing editor
LETTER ROUCY
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PHOTO :
OPINION
Carrie
Pryor
Question: Do you
think the U.S.
should intervene in
Sarajevo?
Wayne Z#agle: VI
think we should take
care of American’s
starving first.”
Dean Oehler: “I don’t
think they should get
involved with any
other nation.”
V
•to
Vincent Hollister: “I
think it would be the
right thing to do, as
long as we don’t get
involved in a full-
fledged war.”
James Winkler: ;“Yes.
We can’t let people
starve to death."
A
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Dobbs, Gary. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 70, No. 260, Ed. 1 Sunday, August 30, 1992, newspaper, August 30, 1992; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1020104/m1/4/?q=1966+yearbook+north+texas+state+university: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.