(RI) Congressman meets crime dog

[Drizzt]

Congressman meets crime dog




Donna Kenny Kirwan October 01, 2002

EAST PROVIDENCE -- Some national and state officials teamed up with a furry brown friend in a trench coat to drive home a point or two about crime prevention.

In recognition of October as National Crime Month, U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, McGruff the Crime Dog and others spoke to students at the Myron J. Francis Elementary School in Rumford about protecting themselves against danger.

"What does McGruff tell us to look out for?" Kennedy asked those assembled.The answers came back: "Criminals," "robbers" and "strangers."

Kennedy agreed that all of the above are well worth watching out for, but said he wanted to add a few more warnings concerning guns.

"How many of you have dogs in your house?"' asked the congressman. After approximately 80 percent of the young audience's hands were raised, he told the children, "You might be surprised to know that there are more guns in homes than dogs."

Kennedy then told the children that a household gun is 37 times more likely to be used against someone in the house, such as a family member or friend, than against someone who is breaking in.

He also spoke of the tragic injuries that have occurred from children playing with a gun that went off accidentally.

He told children that before they go over to a friend's house to play, they should ask their friend or their friend's parent if there is a gun in the house.

Kennedy used the topic of gun safety to point out that one of the first laws he authorized as a legislator involved requiring a seven-day waiting period to buy a firearm.

Drawing similarities between the angry feelings that can erupt immediately after a fight with a sibling, Kennedy told the youngsters that the waiting period allows someone who might be frustrated with someone else to "cool off" before they purchase a gun.

Kennedy added that there is a need for this and other laws that tighten regulations for the sale of firearms to be broadened to the federal level so they cover all 50 states.

Prior to Kennedy's appearance, Steven W. Edwards, vice president of the National Crime Prevention Council, spoke to the schoolchildren about safety topics such as "stranger danger," bullying, getting along with peers and talking to a parent whenever they are afraid.

Edwards presented the school with several posters featuring McGruff dealing with various dangerous situations, and told them, "We want you to think about being safe, not only here at school, but in your community and at home."

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?n...id=24491&rfi=6

[pax]

Kennedy then told the children that a household gun is 37 times more likely ...

Thirty-seven times? I thought it was 43 times?

Both bogus, of course, but can't these people even agree on their bogus figures? Just because it's made up from whole cloth doesn't mean it can't be consistent.

...Kennedy told the youngsters that the waiting period allows someone who might be frustrated with someone else to "cool off" before they purchase a gun.

So, lemme get this straight. If someone is homicidally angry, a "waiting period" assumes that they:

1) have access to no other deadly weapons either then or later,(kitchen knife, anyone?) and

2) would not decide to just buy a shotgun or rifle instead, and

3) would not improvise a weapon on the spot (screwdrivers are one of the most common weapon used in stabbing deaths), and

4) doesn't know anyone from whom he can borrow or steal a gun or any other weapon. Further, it assumes that said homicidally-enraged person

5) would progress from being ready to kill someone on day 1 to being unwilling to do so three (or 10, or 15) days later, and

6) would never, ever become homicidally enraged again.

Sure, that makes sense.

pax

Never forget, even for an instant, that the one and only reason anyone has for taking your gun away is to make you weaker than he is, so that he can do something to you that you wouldn’t let him do if you were equipped to prevent it. This goes for burglars, muggers, rapists, and even more so for policemen, bureaucrats, and politicians. -- From the novel "Hope" by L. Neil Smith and Aaron Zelman

[KSFreeman]

Let's see so it a guy has 3 safes full of guns, he's going to rush out to the gun store and buy a Davis .380 to commit some horrid crime?

What about the waiting period in Rhode Island to buy a book or attend a house of worship?

[Hkmp5sd]

I wonder how many of U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy's bodyguards carry dogs under their jackets instead of guns.

[QuadOughtBuck]

Man I hate this state. Almost as bad as MA. Too bad I live in both...shoulda moved to VT.