The Real Culprits at Columbine

[George Hill]

http://www.newcity.com/newcity/
The Real Culprits at Columbine
By Jake Tapper

Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris knew exactly what they were doing.

They knew exactly what they needed to enact their evil plan. And we as a society stepped back and
let them have it. They wanted to kill a lot of kids in as short a time as possible.

"I hope we kill 250 of you," Klebold says on the infamous Columbine videotapes. So in addition to
the propane-tank bombs they fashioned, and the two 30-year-old shotguns they sawed off, Klebold
and Harris also went after some better firepower.

They knew they wanted the kind of light, easily concealed, rapid-fire semi-automatic weapons that
they saw in their favorite video games and movies.Say, a TEC-DC 9 semiautomatic pistol. And a
Hi-Point carbine rifle.

And they knew that gun shows were the best place to seek such weapons out. They knew which
loopholes to exploit.

The propane bombs they made didn't go off. If the bombs had exploded, hundreds would have been
killed. But they didn't work. The TEC-DC 9, the Hi-Point carbine rifle and the two sawed-off
shotguns did.

The National Rifle Association and its powerful allies argue that Klebold and Harris broke a dozen
or so gun laws that day they jumped into the headlines and sadly, became the story of 1999. More
laws aren't the answer, the NRA says. Enforce the ones that exist. (For some reason, the NRA
often forgets to tell us how hard it's worked to prevent those very laws from passing.)

Clearly, more went wrong at Columbine High School than just a lack of gun laws. There were police
screw ups, inattentive parents, nefarious entertainment influences.But none of that means that
tougher gun laws couldn't have prevented the tragedy. Or at least set up a few roadblocks.

When listening to the arguments of the NRA and the politicians in its pocket, it's probably helpful to
remember that the NRA opposes any and every gun law. In the 1980s, it fought the banning of
armor-piercing "cop-killer" bullets for handguns. It opposes waiting periods for gun purchases. The
NRA also opposes trigger locks.

When police organizations support common-sense gun control, the NRA casts doubt on the
credibility of these brave men and women in blue. When a conservative, reliable pro-NRA voter like
Arizona Sen. John McCain expresses a willingness to listen to a common-sense gun law, the NRA
floods primary states like New Hampshire with anti-McCain leaflets, even if he votes its way 90
percent of the time.

And yet, the gun lobby is on the defensive. It knows that, if further examined, Klebold and Harris'
rampage provides the worst kind of illustration of why the loopholes the lobby has pushed for should
not exist.

Until now, however, out of respect for the mourners, there has been no comprehensive examination
of how the enactment of common-sense gun laws could have maybe changed things. But there is a
vague political sense out there that something's got to give.

"Columbine has made a lasting impact on swing voters," says Kristen Rand of the Violence Policy
Center. Political trendsters point to key pro-gun-control voting blocks like soccer moms, and now,
what the Pew Research Center has identified as "New Prosperity Independents" -- young,
independent, better-educated, less religious, Internet- and stock-market-lovers who make up a ninth
of the electorate.

Even Republican governors -- the grass-roots leaders of the GOP -- are getting into the act.
"Columbine opened a new era in the gun debate," Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt told The New York
Times. "We're starting to get a sense of proportion. There is a capacity to protect Second
Amendment rights, but that does not mean we can't limit the way guns are used. That dialogue is
starting to go on."

Like in Colorado, where GOP Gov. Bill Owens -- once strongly endorsed by the NRA -- has started
talking about common-sense gun measures: Requiring gun-show dealers to conduct background
checks.

Raising the minimum age of legally purchasing firearms at gun shows from 18 to 21. Typically, the
Colorado gun lobby has begun smearing Owens, calling him "Governor Gun Control," and promising
to defeat his bills.

But the gun lobby in Colorado and D.C. is extremist on this issue. They're out of touch. And they're
wrong in saying that nothing could have prevented the tragedy at Columbine. Dead wrong.

First let's address the fundamental question: Where could two disturbed teenagers with a criminal
record (Klebold and Harris had been caught breaking into a van) get guns?

Turns out the answer is: almost anywhere. And you needn't drive down a dark alley in the worst
part of town to make such a purchase.

"Guns are everywhere," Littleton's district attorney, David J. Thomas, told the Dallas Morning
News. "You can buy them on the street. You get them anywhere you want. You can steal them.
They are readily available. You can go to gun shows. You can have your friends go to gun shows if
you're underage. They're very easy to acquire."

Especially if you make use of friends who are familiar with the hassle-free shopping for firearms
present at gun shows. "I'd like to make a thank you to Mark and Phil," Klebold, 17, says on the
videotape.

"Mark" is Mark Manes, 22, whom Harris and Klebold were introduced to by "Phil," Philip Duran, 22,
a fellow co-worker at Blackjack Pizza Parlor. Duran introduced them to Manes at the Jan. 23
Tanner Gun Show in Denver, the conduit of the Columbine shooting.

Make no mistake: At the heart of the Columbine shootings were two sick boys, and many things
played a part in bringing their madness to life.

But the Tanner Gun Show is how the twisted nightmares of Klebold and Harris went from the dark
recesses of their warped minds into the horror that appeared on our televisions on April 20. And
without the National Rifle Association and its allies in government protecting the right of the Tanner
Gun Show to be an anarchic flea-market for weapons of murder, it's quite possible that neither
Klebold or Harris would be names we know.

There are about 5,000 gun shows a year, in which anyone claiming to be a hobbyist or collector can
sell a gun to anyone else. No background check, no questions asked.

"If they [Mark and Phil] wouldn't have ****ing helped us out, then we would have found someone
else," Harris says on the videotape. "We would have gone on and on. We would have found some
way around it, 'cause that's what we do."

In the fall of 1998, Manes bought a TEC-DC 9 at a gun show, where almost anyone can buy a gun
from almost anyone else. Licensed gun dealers have rules they must abide, but unlicensed dealers
can pretty much do whatever the hell they want to do -- a provision fought for by the NRA and its
allies in the House and Senate.

It certainly can be argued that Manes shouldn't be able to buy a gun. Since he was 13, he had been
arrested and charged with crimes nine times, for offenses ranging from threatening a classmate to
owning brass knuckles to dealing pot, coke, LSD and amphetamines. In 1991 and 1995, the courts
labeled him a juvenile delinquent.

But a guy like Manes is as welcome at a gun show as is Norm at "Cheers."

The NRA has worked to make sure that "private" gun show dealers don't have to conduct
background checks. The NRA has worked to maintain the ability of people who committed violent
crimes as minors to buy firearms as adults. Thus, as the NRA points out as if it ain't no thang,
Manes had every legal right to buy a gun that day.

He bought a TEC-DC 9.

On Jan. 23, Manes sold his TEC-DC 9 to Klebold and Harris for $500. He threw in two clips of
ammo.

Klebold and Harris were both 17. This act was illegal, and Manes was sentenced to six years in jail
as a result. But effective gun laws would focus on keeping firearms out of the hands of a guy like
Manes to begin with.

A few months later, Klebold's girlfriend, Robyn Anderson, went to the Tanner Gun Show to buy a
bunch of guns for her beau and his friend. It was smart thinking by Anderson, an honors student at
Columbine High. After all, gun shows are one of the easiest places in the world to get guns.

As long as you claim that you're selling guns from your "private collection," you don't have to get a
federal license to sell a gun -- even if you sell as many guns as many licensed dealers. And as long
as you're not a licensed dealer, you don't have to conduct background checks, keep records, or abide
by any of the other requirements imposed upon dealers.

It was at the Tanner Gun Show a year before that Denver Rep. Dianne DeGette, a pro-gun control
Democrat, had sent a staffer to see how easy it was to get a gun. The staffer was able to buy an
SKS assault rifle, no questions asked. The SKS is a military rifle imported from China that came into
the U.S., was sold dirt cheap, and shot to the top of the crime charts before its importation was
stopped.

The SKS is light and easily concealed.

And it was at the Tanner Gun Show that, in 1995, Albert Petrosky bought an assault rifle he used to
kill three people -- his wife, a supermarket manager and a deputy sheriff.

You don't have to be Sarah Brady to think gun shows need to be better regulated. According to Bob
Glass, owner of Paladin Arms in Longmont, Colo., as paraphrased in the Rocky Mountain News,
"Colorado gun shows are rife with unscrupulous dealers who make it easy for felons, teen-agers and
others prohibited from buying firearms to snap them up if they have the cash."

Anderson bought Klebold and Harris two old shotguns -- a Savage Arms Model 67 pump shotgun
and a Model 31D double-barrel shotgun -- as well as a 9 mm Hi-Point carbine rifle.

This was perfectly legal. Any 18-year-old can buy shotguns and rifles, as long as she doesn't have a
felony record. And it's perfectly legal for that 18-year-old to give those guns to others, including
minors -- in what is known as a "straw purchase" -- as long as she purchased the gun from a private
citizen and not a licensed gun dealer.

And since Anderson was buying from an unlicensed dealer, she didn't have to fill out any forms and
no records were kept. These are all legal loopholes that the NRA has fought hard to maintain.

''The classic M.O. is a young woman and four or five gangbangers [at a gun show] pointing out the
gun they want her to buy," gun dealer Glass said. "It's classic, classic. I see it all the time."

So, using the chasm of the gun show loophole -- which the NRA has fought and continues to fight
for, tooth and nail -- Klebold and Harris were able to get the guns no problem.

They sawed off the shotguns, making them more lethal. Harris called his "Arlene."

"I don't support the notion that criminals are getting guns at shows," said Wayne LaPierre, the
NRA's executive vice president, in the fall of 1998. "I don't believe more regulation is the answer."

Manes and Anderson are in good company -- noted gun show frequenters include David Koresh,
Timothy McVeigh and serial killer Sam Dillon.

Now for the ammo. They still had the two clips for the TEC-DC 9. But they needed more for the
other guns. So they put in an order at Green Mountain Guns for 13 10-round clips for the Hi-Point
carbine rifle.

The jig was almost up when a clerk called Harris' dad, Wayne, and told him his order was in.

Wayne Harris told the clerk that he'd never ordered any clips. But apparently he never asked his
son any questions about the call. If the clerk or Wayne Harris had even been remotely curious about
the misunderstanding, according to Klebold on the videotape, ''We wouldn't be able to do what we're
going to do."

They were also helped by their friendship with Manes. Three times, Manes would go shooting in the
woods with Harris and Klebold. Manes told investigators that Harris fired one of the sawed-off
shotguns into a tree and said, "Imagine that in someone's ****ing brain."

There are a couple things you should know about the TEC-DC 9 and the Hi-Point carbine rifle, facts
that might help explain why Klebold and Harris wanted them.

The TEC-DC 9 is a spinoff of the TEC 9. The TEC 9 is more likely to be used in violent crimes than
any other handgun. A study of crime statistics between 1991 and 1994 by James Alan Fox, dean of
the College of Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, indicated that the more violent the crime,
the greater the chance a TEC-9 is used.

Criminals like the TEC 9 because it's relatively cheap, small (about a foot long) and therefore easily
concealed, and can carry 36-bullet clips. Its manufacturer, the Miami-based Navegar, has advertised
the gun's "excellent resistance to fingerprints," and lauded the weapon as "high-spirited" and "as
tough as your toughest customer."

The difference between the TEC 9 and the TEC-DC 9 is one of marginal construction and
maximum obnoxiousness. The city of Washington banned the TEC 9 by name in 1991, so Navegar
made a slight modification -- removing threads on its barrel where a silencer fit -- and re-released
the gun as the TEC DC-9.

It's said that the "DC" was thrown in as a middle finger aimed at Washington, D.C.

The TEC-DC 9's lethality proved no different from its forebear, of course. In July 1993, Gian Luigi
Ferri snuck a TEC-DC 9 into a San Francisco law firm, using it to kill eight people, wound six others,
and then shoot himself. One year later, gunman Benny Lee Lawson snuck a TEC 9 into D.C. police
headquarters and used it to kill two FBI agents and a police detective.

The manufacture of the TEC 9 was banned in the 1994 assault weapons ban, but existing TEC 9s
were grandfathered in. The manufacture of clips of greater than a 10-bullet capacity was also
banned, but pre-existing clips of greater than 10 rounds were grandfathered in as well. The NRA
pushed hard for these weapons and clips to be grandfathered in.

Klebold fired his TEC-DC 9 55 times. It killed four people and wounded two others.

The Hi-Point carbine rifle is a favorite of kids -- one of the top 10 guns confiscated from children in
Atlanta, Cleveland and Detroit, according to a study by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms.

It's light (just 5 and a half pounds), small (16 and a half inches long) and cheap (about $170). Unlike
other rifles, it has a pistol grip so you can shoot from the hip rather than the shoulder.

Ads call it "the hottest gun since the SKS."

Both the TEC-DC 9 and the Hi-Point Carbine rifle are "much easier to use than bolt-action rifles,
which you have to work to use," says Kristen Rand of the Violence Policy Center.

A bolt-action rifle killed JFK; Charles Whitman used one to mow down kids from the University of
Texas tower. They're certainly lethal. But "every time you want to fire the gun you have to work the
bolt and pull the trigger," Rand says. "Many semiautomatics have 32 rounds in the clip and they're
much easier to reload."

Indeed. Klebold and Harris' rampage through the Columbine library, where they murdered 10 kids --
including Cassie Bernall and Isaiah Shoels -- lasted just 7 and a half minutes. The high-tech nature
of their guns allowed them to work fast; according to an investigation by the Rocky Mountain News,
the "terror was relatively short-lived -- roughly 16 minutes from the first gunshot outside the school
about 11:20 a.m. to the last one in the library."

If you want to kill a lot of people in a short amount of time, the two higher-tech guns Klebold and
Harris got are good buys. They're not hunting rifles. They're not the kind of guns real sportsmen use
for target shooting.

These guns, according to Rand, are "military weapons. They're made for mowing people down."

Mowing down people like sophomore Lance Kirklin, who snuck out of Columbine High School with
two friends that morning for a smoke.

A single shotgun blast certainly could have wounded or killed any of the three. As would have a
hammer. Or a knife. Or a rock.

But only a gun with real firepower could mangle three young bodies from head to toe in a matter of
just seconds -- killing one of them, injuring another, and piercing Lance Kirklin with bullets in his
face, chest, groin, leg and foot.

The other guns played a major role too, of course. With the Savage Arms Model 67 pump shotgun,
Harris killed four people and wounded seven.

But it's the more high-tech guns that wreaked the most havoc in the shortest amount of time. And
those are the ones that held the cops at bay.

Sheriff's Deputy Neil Gardner was assigned to the school. He exchanged fire with the boys. Not
long afterward, the dispatcher broadcast, "shots fired, large caliber."

It's pretty typical -- the lawmen are outgunned. Ask a cop. They can't do their jobs. It's why police
agencies overwhelmingly supported common-sense gun control measures like the Brady Bill, or the
assault weapon ban, measures that the NRA fought tooth and nail.

The NRA is correct in its assertion that Klebold and Harris broke gun laws. Sawing off the shotguns
was illegal. Possessing the TEC-DC 9 was illegal. And then, of course, they used them to kill 12
kids and a teacher -- committing not just a crime, but a heinous sin.

The NRA, however, emphasizes prosecuting criminals after they've committed the crimes already.
"But that type of logic has absolutely no application to the type of suicidal attack that happened at
Columbine," says Bob Walker, president of Handgun Control Inc. The NRA also likes to change the
subject to the question of why the federal government doesn't prosecute felons who illegally attempt
to buy guns.

(The answer, according to the Justice Department, is that there has been increased cooperation
among the federal government and states and localities, and that "the gun lobby's attack on federal
law enforcement efforts are meant to take attention away from the real issue -- namely, reducing
gun violence and stopping children and criminals from getting guns.")

The following were and are perfectly legal, thanks in no small part to the NRA:

--The continued possession and circulation of high-capacity ammunition that enable
gunmen to shoot a lot of people in a short amount of time.
--The continued possession and circulation of military-style guns like the TEC-DC 9
that serve no hunting or sporting purpose.
--Former juvenile delinquent Mark Manes' purchase of the TEC-DC 9.
--The ease with which anyone -- even very young children -- can get an assault-style
rifle at a gun show.
--Robyn Anderson's sale of the two shotguns and the rifle to Klebold and Harris.
--Klebold and Harris' possession of the two shotguns and the rifle.

The American people have never wanted to outlaw guns, or prohibit law-abiding American adults
from owning a firearm. But the American people are a sensible lot, and they know no freedom is
absolute.

Freedom of speech is fundamental, but slander or incitement to riot is not. Freedom of the press is
vital, but libel and kiddie porn are not.

No less obscene is the argument that any law that would make us all a little safer -- say, banning
cop-killer bullets -- is the first step in a totalitarian government taking control of us all and turning our
nation into a Socialist republic. Such an argument is just plain insane.

According to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, 63 percent of the American people favor
stricter gun control laws. Ninety percent favor background checks on people who buy guns at gun
shows.

Seventy-nine percent want trigger locks on all stored guns. Seventy-seven percent want a
nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons. Seventy-five percent want all handgun owners to
register their firearms with the government. Sixty-six percent want to ban gun sales by mail order.

Republican governors, too -- with the notable exception of George W. Bush -- are getting the
picture. Colorado Gov. Bill Owens and Ohio Gov. Bob Taft were both endorsed by the NRA, and
yet both have pushed for common sense gun control, like trigger locks. Republicans like Utah Gov.
Mike Leavitt, Kansas Gov. Bill Graves, Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci, New Jersey Gov.
Christine Todd Whitman, Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, and Illinois Gov. George Ryan, too,
have looked for a middle ground.

Often this "middle ground" is just a refusal to allow the ridiculous -- like Montana Gov. Marc
Racicot's veto of a bill that would have allowed citizens carrying loaded, concealed weapons into
bars and saloons. Or Connecticut Gov. John Rowland's support for a law allowing law enforcement
to remove guns belonging to individuals believed to be a threat to the community.

Some of this, of course, is political pragmatism more than a change of heart.

"You can't be pro-gun and run statewide in any state that has a significant urban population," Rand
says.

She looks at McCain and Bush as both staking out a moderate position on the issue -- "they're
reading the polls," she says. Neither candidate showed up for the Gun Owners of New Hampshire
annual dinner on Dec. 5, for instance. "In past years, all candidates campaigning for the Republican
nomination -- and a few campaigning for the Democratic one -- wouldn't dream of missing this
important night," wrote the conservative Manchester Union Leader.

Neither McCain nor Bush is eager to discuss the issue, however; that might showcase their
moderation as they compete for conservative primary votes. And the middle-ground approach of the
Republican governors has yet to find a home in the GOP House or Senate.

"We'll see whether [Columbine] has a lasting impact on policy when we see what happens in the
next elections," says Rand. "Despite all of these shootings, you have the status quo in this Congress.
Until we change the people making the laws, we're unlikely to change the gun laws."

Rand acknowledges that the Columbine massacre wasn't only an issue of gun control. "You can't
ignore the fact that something has gone horribly wrong with kids who would be capable of such
acts," she says.

"But the reality of it is, you have disturbed kids everywhere," Rand continues. "And you can never
hope to predict which one's going to go off. The issue of dealing with disturbed kids is very
long-term -- and it obviously can't be ignored.

“But it's much easier to get guns out of kids' hands than images out of their minds. The bottom line is
if we don't start restricting access to guns in America, Columbine and office shootings are our
future. And we should just get used to it."

Jake Tapper is Washington correspondent for Salon News and a former employee of Handgun
Control, Inc. This story first appeared in Salon.com. Reprinted with permissio


Let me just say this - Jake Tapper is an idiot and I think i'll have to go kicks his butt...

------------------
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

[Slowpoke_Rodrigo]

I note that the VPC's Rand was quoted more than five times, and HCI's Walker was quoted once. The article contains no quotes from any spokesperson of any RKBA organization, which begs the question of whether Tapper even asked an RKBA organization for a quote.

------------------
Slowpoke Rodrigo...he pack a gon...

Vote for the Neal Knox 13

[Dennis Olson]

Definitely an HCI/VPC "advertisement". You know, those orgs are going to be REAL surprised when the conservatives win in a major way in November. I can almost hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth.

"What is WRONG with everyone?" they'll wail. Well, it's like this, see. You can only bury people in bull[color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color][color=#FF0000]█[/color] for SO LONG, and they get wise. By making gun control THE issue in the 2000 elections, it has forced people to at least TRY to look beyond the edges of the issue.

And when that happens, that "soft gooey center" which appears is pretty much unpalatable for most Americans. So, like many other "political issues", forcing gun control onto the masses (70+ MILLION gun owners) will probably NOT be a good thing for them...

Snicker....

[BTR]

I had no idea that cheap crappy semi-auto pistols and plastic 9mm rifles were "military." Would you rather someone shoot at you with a sawed-off 12 gauge, or a tec-9?

And the NRA wrote the so-called "cop killer" bullet ban for crying out loud.

[sundog]

George, what is this "new prosperity independent" you're talkin' about? If they are who I think they are, they got money. The ones I know are also buying guns! Seems like so many of them are interested in self defense. And they carry, too! So much for the illogical arguments against guns. They've seen through the smoke screen. sundog

[jcoyoung]

BARF!

[dZ]

Jake is very busy trying to pull our liberty teeth:

The NRA's big guns
Meet the 10 biggest obstacles to gun reform legislation.
By Jake Tapper http://www.salon.com/news/feature/19...nra/index.html

Guns and money http://www.salon.com/news/feature/19...gun/index.html
The owner of the firm that made an assault rifle found in the van of accused killer
Buford Furrow was, until recently, a key George W. Bush fund-raiser.
Editor's Note:This article has been corrected since its initial publication.
By Jake Tapper

John McCain plays Dumbo http://www.salon.com/news/feature/19...ain/index.html
Guns and elephants are not the same, the presidential hopeful says. You got that
right, Senator.
By Jake Tapper

[Greg G]

I didn't know my SKS was light and easily concealed. Maybe Mr. Tapper could show me how to conceal it.

[dZ]

Tapper's weasel writings piss off the antis: http://www.salon.com/letters/1999/05...rs/index1.html
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Coming out shooting
BY JAKE TAPPER
(05/03/99)

I found Jake Tapper's article regarding the NRA meeting and
accompanying anti-NRA rally in Denver over the weekend to be
unbalanced. Tapper made every effort to give the gun-control side the
opportunity to respond to every argument made by NRA advocates,
while not offering the same chance to those from the NRA. Tapper
even descended to the use of personal attacks on NRA president
Charlton Heston, leaving me to wonder whether Tapper is actually a
"news correspondent," as his byline indicates, when his own slant on
the subject is so much in evidence.

This lack of balance troubles me not because I am an NRA supporter,
but precisely because I am an NRA opponent. My wife and several
friends of mine marched in the anti-NRA protest yesterday, and if not
for other commitments I would have joined them. Articles like
Tapper's, in my view, do a disservice to the cause of gun control
because they make it appear we cannot win the Second Amendment
argument fairly, but only by stacking the deck, silencing or ridiculing
those whom we oppose. Whether Tapper's intent was to write a
balanced piece about the events in Denver, or whether his intent was,
as I believe, to advocate on behalf of gun control, in my view he failed
on both counts.

-- Robert Anderson
Denver[/quote]

Here are some rebuttals to the Columbine article:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The real culprits at Columbine
BY JAKE TAPPER
(12/30/99)

What a wonderful anti-NRA hatchet job by Jake Tapper. This is the quality of
journalistic integrity I've come to expect from Salon -- skip the facts and go
straight for sensationalism.

For example, the sentence "The SKS is light and easily concealed" is about as
devoid of fact as you can get. The SKS is a rifle weighing eight pounds (unloaded)
and is over 40 inches long. This is "light and easily concealed"?

Pistols don't use clips, they use magazines.

Yes, the Tec-9 has "excellent resistance to fingerprints." No, this doesn't mean
that the police won't be able to lift prints from the gun; it means that unlike most
guns, the oils from your fingers won't cause the surface of the gun to be ruined by
rust.

But of course spreading misinformation isn't enough, we also need some
sensationalism, with sentences like: "But only a gun with real firepower could
mangle three young bodies from head to toe in a matter of just seconds."

But then, I guess the sentence [at the end] of the article says it best: "Jake Tapper
is the Washington correspondent for Salon News and a former employee of
Handgun Control Inc."

-- David Richards

Tapper blames the NRA for the lax gun control laws. But what if something else
had been used in place of guns? The fact is, nearly any human machine or device
can be used as a deadly weapon -- cars, kitchen knives, baseball bats, machetes --
the list is endless. What if they had used poison? I believe that to rely on the
government to protect you is ludicrous. All great countries' governments have
failed eventually; it is an historical fact. So, if you rely on the government for
protection and let them take our guns, who protects us from our government? A
glaring example is the German people in 1932 who lost their guns to Hitler
through registration. Hitler declared Germany to be a model to the world for gun
control. The trusting citizenry believed in it. In hindsight, how much different
would WWII would have been if the Jews could have fought Hitler from within?

-- Dana A. Hines

The use of guns is not a matter of constitutional freedoms but whether we are
capable of conducting ourselves in public as respectable citizens while pursuing
our daily affairs. That "gun control" is touted as the major player in this tragedy is
a shame; the real major factor was the improper parenting of these young men and
a lack of controls on children. If you want a waiting period on something perhaps
there should be a waiting period on procreation as well as an evaluation of future
parents to ensure their progeny will be properly developed and nurtured to be the
"good citizens" of tomorrow.

-- John Paul Tyner

As usual for the members of our media, Tapper fails to correctly understand the
essential point of the murders at Columbine. Evil exists, and only when good is
strongly armed can it defeat evil. The two murderers were stopped by armed
police, not by soft words. The media is complicit in their acts by glorifying their
murderous rampage. The liberal media is attempting to divert the real issue -- it is
easier to blame gun owners' strong commitment to maintaining Second
Amendment rights, than it is to admit that the media itself contributes to the
violence and decay in our society.

-- Robert Vance

I hope Salon will now balance the scales by printing the truth about the
Columbine killers. They were criminals and no amount of laws are going to stop
criminals from plying their trade.

As a proud NRA member, please keep putting up articles like this. The
unintended effect is to cause our membership roles to swell, because the people --
yes, the very same people who have a constitutional "right to keep and bear arms
that shall not be infringed", a right that our fathers and grandfathers gave their
lives to defend -- aren't fooled by the Nazi wannabes at Handgun Control.

Whose side should any American be on? People like this: "Germans who wish to
use firearms should join the SS or the SA. Ordinary citizens don't need guns, as
their having guns doesn't serve the State." -- Heinrich Himmler

Or people like this: "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect
everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but
downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined." -- Patrick
Henry

-- Bill Zimmerly

This article makes some great points, but it curiously shies away from others.
Making dealers at gun shows perform background checks is not the answer; all
that'll do is make the actual exchanges take place off-site. What is needed is
national gun licensing and mandatory background checks as a part of gun transfer.
I can't buy or sell a car without telling the government; why on earth should I be
able to buy or sell a gun?

-- Matt Brown[/quote]

[Oatka]

Letter to Salon:

"Just ran across this article.

4th rate agitprop by an ex-HCI hack.

This article is as useful as an essay on the First Amendment by Josef Goebbels.

An F-

When, if ever, will you folks print a gun article that is positive?"

------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.

[Sgt.K]

quote:
"If they [Mark and Phil] wouldn't
have ****ing helped us out, then we
would have found someone
else," Harris says on the videotape. "We would have gone on and on. We
would have found some
way around it, 'cause that's what we do."
end quote.

The NRA did it, cop-killer bullets and blah, blah, blah!!!

Sgt.K