Gun violence symposium draws 300 to Duquesne University

[Johannes_Paulsen]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08101/872081-85.stm

Gun violence symposium draws 300 to Duquesne University
Thursday, April 10, 2008
By Karamagi Rujumba, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steve Mellon/Post-Gazette

While addressing the National Symposium on Handgun Violence at Duquesne University, Tom Mauser displays the shoes of his son, Daniel, who was killed at Columbine High School. Mr. Hauser wears the shoes on special occasions.




Two weeks before he was killed in the Columbine High School shootings, Daniel Mauser asked his father a question that Tom Mauser now considers fundamental to the debate on guns and handgun violence in America:
"Dad, did you know there are loopholes in the Brady [Handgun Violence Prevention] Act?"


Mr. Mauser repeated that question yesterday at the National Symposium on Handgun Violence at Duquesne University's Power Center.


At the time, Mr. Mauser said, he didn't know much about handgun access laws, much less the Brady Bill, which was enacted in 1993 to create a background check system on gun purchases.


But since the April 1999 shootings that claimed the lives of 13 people at the Colorado high school, Mr. Mauser has become an advocate of stronger gun access laws and was one of the leaders of a ballot initiative to close the "gun show loophole" in Colorado.


That loophole allowed private individuals at gun shows to buy and sell firearms without going through background checks.


Speaking to about 300 people at the symposium on guns, gun violence and the right to bear arms, Mr. Mauser said he became an outspoken advocate of gun control "because I never imagined I would have my child murdered by another student at school."


A lack of proper mental health intervention contributed to tragedies like the shootings at Columbine, Virginia Tech University and Northern Illinois University, said Marisa Randazzo, a former Secret Service agent.


"These school shootings are preventable, at least some of them are," Dr. Randazzo said, citing evidence from her research of school shooting incidents from 1971 to 2001.


"The vast majority of students who carry out these shootings are suicidal and they hope to be killed during their attacks," said Dr. Randazzo, who formerly served as the chief psychologist for the Secret Service.


The attacks tend to be planned at least two years in advance, and the attackers often leave a trail of noticeable signs, she said.


"There is no useful profile of a school shooter because they vary in their motives, but they are rarely impulsive," she added.


For David Hemenway, director of the Injury Control Research and Youth Violence Prevention centers at Harvard University's School of Public Health, it's a question of access to guns.


Suicide, school shootings and homicide rates in the United States are exacerbated by a culture of "the most permissive gun laws," he said. By comparison, the United States far outpaces all the top 25 industrialized democracies in the world in the number of deaths by guns.


In the United States, children between 5 and 14 are six times more likely to be killed by a gun than in any other industrialized country and 10 times more likely to commit suicide by a gun, said Dr Hemenway, author of "Private Guns, Public Health."


"From a public health standpoint," he added, "we should be asking the question: 'Where did the gun come from?' "


But Alan Korwin, a Second Amendment advocate and author of "Gun Laws of America: Every Federal Gun Law on the Books," said the notion that guns are readily accessible in the United States is a fallacy.


"Guns are not as freely available in America as they used to be," he said. And what is more, gun crime in America is a social phenomenon, he added. Most crimes involving guns occur in inner cities and poor neighborhoods and are often related to drugs and gangs, he said.


"That is a component we don't want to address. The media does not want to talk about it, but we all know that gun crime mostly happens in certain parts of cities," he said. "We don't talk about it because it is a difficult subject."


Mr. Korwin, who also operates the Web site gunlaws.com, said he wanted to frame the debate in terms of crime control versus gun control.
He claimed that more than 700,000 people, including police officers, use a gun every day for defensive purposes, "and 98 percent of the time a gun is used defensively, the gun is not even fired."


But that was little consolation for Mr. Mauser and Dr. Diane Strollo, whose daughter was shot three times during last year's shootings at Virginia Tech University that claimed 33 lives.


Holding up a blue pair of Converse shoes, Mr. Mauser said: "These are my son's shoes. He was wearing them on April 20 [1999]. I wear them often when I talk about gun violence. I wear them so that none of you wear them. No parent should ever walk in the shoes of their murdered child."
Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl yesterday presented Mr. Mauser and Dr. Strollo with a lifetime public service award, which they received on behalf of former White House press secretary Jim Brady.


Mr. Brady, who was shot during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and for whom the Brady Act was named, was slated to be the keynote speaker at the symposium but could not make it because his wife was ill.


Karamagi Rujumba can be reached at krujumba@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1719.
First published on April 10, 2008 at 12:54 am

[eXceLon]

I attended the symposium on Wednesday.

I wasn't particularly impressed. It was mostly the standard poorly supported anti-gun political talking points and clichés.

Alan Korwin was the token gun-rights supporter, in some attempt to make the event appear 'balanced'. While I agreed with much of what Mr. Korwin said, it was quite clear that he didn't know how to address his audience. He basically met the anti-gun talking points and clichés with... pro-gun rights talking points and clichés.

Not that I didn't agree with most of what Korwin was trying to say, but like much of what passes as politics in this country, the two sides were talking right past one another and everybody left more convinced of whatever it was they happened to believe when they originally stepped foot in the room.

Perhaps the worst part of his presentation was when he went on about 'hoplophobia'. While I'll be the first to recognize that many people possess an irrational fear and hatred of firearms and others weapons, and I've used the term before myself, telling people who aren't inclined to agree with you that they are medically ill and should seek psychological counseling isn't going to win you any arguments.

I don't want to make it seem like I'm unfairly focusing on Mr. Korwin and the pro-gun side of the argument, but you're all well aware of the fallacies (and sometimes outright lies) of the anti side and there isn't much point in picking over them as I'd simply be preaching to the choir. Where I think the real opportunity lies is in figuring out how to craft our message so that those who are on the fence will become more sympathetic to our side, and unfortunately I don't think Mr. Korwin was really able to do that.

[Ten*K]

again, another episode of the extreme. Those idiots at Columbine could've used pitchforks and crowbars. the fact is they were nuttier than squirrel shit.


and
"From a public health standpoint," he added, "we should be asking the question: 'Where did the gun come from?' "

No sir, you should be asking "Why the hell are so many kids fucked up these days?" Why are we tolerating Emo's and Goths, and wanna-be gangstas?

I got caught with the cheapo 1911 K-Mart dart/BB pistol when I was 13. I was shooting it in the back yard. My Father took it from me, told why he was about to kick my ass, and then proceeded to kick me in the ass. He then took me to the basement, told me to set up the target down there, and never EVER let him catch me outside with it again.

from a common sense standpoint, it is lack of parenting, lack of respect for life, and the interference by "child protective services" when a punk in desperate need of an ass-kicking to return him/her to normal is viewed as "abuse", while the same agency ignores the children of parents/guardians who are really abusing their kids.

sorry for his loss and all, but guns are not the problem. poorly parented psychopathic underage lawbreakers are.

[XD45]

what if a teacher had been carrying that day? or a janitor ect ect



xdandthatsalli'vegottosayaboutthat45

[mpi]

gun control advocates fall into 2 categories; liars and fools, and you can't discuss anything with either one.

[eXceLon]

gun control advocates fall into 2 categories; liars and fools, and you can't discuss anything with either one.

I disagree. While this may be true for the hardcore believers, there are plenty of people in the middle who can be convinced using the facts and logical arguments.

As an example, besides here I post on a forum that is primarily dedicated to computers and technology. The average poster there is a college educated tech savvy 20-something. The sentiment there is pretty strongly liberal. In a recent poll in the political sub-forum, something like 80% favor Barack Obama. The Bush administration is almost universally loathed. And there is a pretty strong skepticism towards religion.

Despite all of that, the general sentiment there is pretty gun friendly. A number of people who would otherwise be considered hardcore Democrats have been converted to a more gun-friendly perspective. A good number have even become gun owners. There have even been a good number of group shoots organized amongst the membership there.

It is possible, but it doesn't help if you start turning people off to your message right out of the gate. Part of that is understanding your target audience, and speaking towards them.

[LittleRedToyota]

It is possible, but it doesn't help if you start turning people off to your message right out of the gate. Part of that is understanding your target audience, and speaking towards them.

very, very true.

i have converted a number of previously anti-gun "liberals" to pro-2nd amendment views.

many of them are just horribly misinformed about guns. once presented with the real evidence, they change their tune.

the misinformation comes in large part from the brady bunch. they quote statistics saying that america has more "gun violence" than other countries...while england has much less.

many of them take this to mean that the overall violent crime rate in the US is higher than other countries...and england's is lower. of course, this is exactly what the brady bunch wants them to thing.

however, when these "liberals" learn the truth...that england and austrailia have higher crime rates than any other developed countires...and that the US is actually pretty far down that list, many of them "see the light".

garbage in...garbage out, as they say. but, if you stop the garbage and put the truth in, then garbage does sometimes stop coming out.

another tact i have had success with is playing on their fear of neo-con fascism and bush & co's disregard of the constitution (and particularly the fact that they actually explored the possibility of canceling the last presidential election "in the event of a terror attack"). get them fired up about that and then explain how the 2nd amendment...particularly as it applies to "assault weapons"...is there precisely so the people can keep thie goverment in check.

it really does work with many people.

[pex]

While addressing the National Symposium on Handgun Violence at Duquesne University, Tom Mauser displays the shoes of the constitution, United States Constitution, who was killed at the Federal Convention of 1787. Mr. Hauser wears the shoes on special occasions.