| OCR Text |
Show AA4 The Salt Lake Tribune OPINION Sunday, May 28, 2000 Columnist Kathleen Parker Just Does Not Get Million Mom March BYVICTORIA J. PURSELL playing with a loaded gun would still be dead even if handgun registration or trigger lock laws had been in As a mother whoparticipated in the Million Mom place. She offers no supporting evidence to back up March, I haveto say that columnist Kathleen Parker - this statement. Her implication, I suppose, is if the parents were ("Solution to Child Killings Is Not a March”) just irresponsible enough to leave a loaded gun lying doesn’t get it. For example, when she says that more people use guns for self-defense than to harm others, around they wouldn’t use a trigger lock even if they does she actually mean that more people have wielded had one. If that is what Parker means, then she’s jumping to an unjustifiable conclusion — she has no a firearm in the act of preventing a crime than in the way ofdetermining how people would have acted unact of committing one? I find that hard to believe, especially since she doesn’t identify the source of her der different circumstances. When Parker thenstates, “Ineffective laws are uninformation. necessary laws,” I assume she means nothing would be Parkertries to downplaythe impact ofdocumented able to ensure 100 percent compliance on the part of statistics from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). She claims that of the children under the age of 20 gun owners. However, legislation requiring drug makers to put child-resistant caps on medicine conkilled by guns in 1997, 70 percent were teen-agers betainers has saved lives even though itis impossible to tween ages 17-19 and were “mostly the victims of gang i Saar activities.” Did she get that information from the control whether thi andlocked andoutofthe reachof children. CDC, too? She doesn’t tell us. What’s her point anyway? Shouldn't we care about those victims, too? The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported in 1988 that deaths of children underthe age Shouldn't we try to prevent guns from reaching the of5 due to accidental drug ingestion decreased from 96 hands ofgang members? in 1972 to 27 in 1985 as the use of safety packaging Parker contends that a child shot by another increased. In March of this year, CPSC Chairman Ann Brown Ofcourse we moms realize common-sense gun laws are not the only way to reduce one of the leading causes of death in this country. We have to teach our special packaging has saved the lives of about 800 childrenconflict-resolution skills. We have to prevent children since the early 1970's” (when the Poison Prethem from watching violent TV shows and movies, vention Packaging Act was originally signed). and from playing with violent video games. We must Legal prescription and over-the-counter drugs are be responsible parents and enforce these rules. products that have beneficial intent, but we recognize Butwe do haveto eliminate one of our most traditional rules — the one that condemns tattling. We and attempt to mitigate their associated dangers. Guns are inherently dangerotus; their primary pur- ~ must encourage our childrento tell us or a teacher or pose is to wound or kill. Shouldn't we regulate them at their principal when theyfeel threatened or are hurt least as stringently as we do medicine? by another child or an adult. We must let them know Parker advises the Million Mom Movementto fol- that their safety is our primary concern. low the example of Mothers Against Drunk Driving The goal of the Million Moms is not to block gun (MADD). She claims MADD wentafter the drunken ownership from law-abiding citizens, as Parker implies, butto treat guns the same as any other consumer drivers, not theirs cars. : However, one ofthe main targets ofdrunken-driver product. Our objective is to protect the public, espeislation was the ion and r ion of li- cially our children, from the accidental and criminal misuse offirearms. censes,i.e. to take away drunken drivers’ cars. Also automobiles are not intended to be “instruments of destruction” as are guns; nevertheless westrictly regVictoria J. Pursell is a stay-at-home mom with two ulate their use and safety. Why are guns exempt from young sons and a part-time graduate student at West- this process? WhyEast Canyon Creek Is Worth Any Fight BY PAUL DREMANN Every time I make.a trip along the historic MormonPioneer-Pony Express Trails, parallel to East Canyon Creek, I recall the large numbers of Bonneville cutthroat trout and Kokanee Salmon that used to swim up this stream to spawn. These memories date back 20 years, when East Canyon Creek was a healthy and thriving fishery and East Canyon Reservoir was noted as one of the top Kokanee fisheries in the western United States. Together, the creek and reservoir served as a major angler and tourist attraction. But those days are long gone. WhenI drive along East Canyon Creekthese days, I see a degraded stream. Plagued by low waterlevels and rising temperatures, East Canyon Creek is polluted by sewage effluent and saturated with phosphorus that runs into the creek from road construction, neatly manicured lawns, golf courses. Where once East Canyon Creek was teeming with trout, the fish populations in the stream have fallen to near zero. Rarely along mydrive doI see fishermen. State officials knew more than 20 years ago that explosive developmentin the Park City area represented a threat to the health of this watershed, but no corrective measures were undertaken. As a result of the state’s neglect, the watershed has dramatically deteriorated. As a memberof Trout Unlimited, I am among 1,300 conservationminded Utah volunteers who believe that, “if we take care of the fish, the fishing will take care of itself.” Armed with that motto, Utah TU members havetried to work with local government agencies over the years in an attempt to rectify East Canyon Creek’s water quality problems, but with little landowners also fear that the only way to protect the East Canyon watershed from additional “unchecked” threats is to heed calls for stricter accountability and enforcementofstate andfederal laws designed to protect our streams. As a result, we have joined forces andfiled suit against the Utah Department of Environmental Quality and Utah Division of Water Quality for lack of proper implementation and enforcement ofthe Clean WaterAct. and individuals in the media pas- sionately call for allowing Elian Gonzalez to stay in America so that he can enjoy a betterlife, including freedom.But is America is an ideal place for Elian or other children from abroad? As Elian’s father pointed out during a recent interview on 60 Minutes: Children in Cuba don’t get killed by their peers and they haveaccessto free healthcare! In fact, soon after he was rescued at sea, Elian looked healthy and well adjusted. Isn’t Elian much more. fortunate than millions of American children without health care, and the many whoactually fear death from gunfire? In May: 1999, The Salt Lake Tri- bune reported the mourning of Khamphone Bouaphaphanh for his nephew.A Laotian immigrant, Bouaphaphanh is a_ spiritual leaderto 3,000 Laotians in the Salt Lake area. His nephew,a former gang member, took his own life after he realized that he had mistak- area isat risk oflosing its “alpine charm.” The state has an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. By requiring a comprehensive, scientific ‘based environmental analysis of the pipeline impact on the creek and reservoir, the state can notonly provethatit is living up toits responsibility to protect the health of the watershed, but also provide some sorely needed leadership in confronting the consequencesof unmanaged growth. Paul Dremannis the conservation officerfor the Utah Council of Trout Unlimited. Nowit appears that the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers haveplaced a proposed pipeline on ‘fast track’ while ignoring existing state andfederal laws. By pursuing a permitting approach that excludes proper environmental analysis, misinterprets federal guidelines for Section. 401 of the Clean Water Act, and ignores the concerns and inputfrom local res- idents, the state is poised, once again, to compromise East Canyon Creek. If the state will not heed thelessons taught by uncontrolled growth,then our community has a responsibility to take a stand. TroutUnlimited is not alonein our concerns for the health of East Canyon Creek and Reservoir. The Morgan County Council, East Canyon Resort, Utah Rivers Council and concerned local lf you’re giving your money a place to stay, it had better earn its keep. (10 For the Elians of the World BY YEH LING-LING The health ofAmerica’s riversand watersheds are solid indicators of water quality hazards to an entire ecosystem, and perhaps theeconomy. In February, The Salt Lake Tribune ran an article titled “Resort Area Growing Itself to Death,” which outlined a report commissioned by Summit County Planners that cautioned against continued, unchecked urbanization in the Snyderville basin. The report estimated that the basin’s population has tripled to 12,000 since 1990 and cautioned that unless the community reins in the unconstrained growth, the progress. United States Is No Ideal Place Manywell-meaning politicians Trout Unlimited and the members of the diverse and locally based legal petitioners believe that wewere forced to file this lawsuit in an effort to stop the state from making mistakethat willfurther devastate East Canyon Creek and Reservoir. : I suppose as an avid angler my sense of outrage for the East Canyon’s demise might seem bit self ish, but in reality the devastation of the creek poses consequences other than to just local anglers. minster College. “Asidefrom socialills, America’s lifestyles are Sarfrom exemplary. The per capita consumption of an average American is 25 times higher than thatin developing nations.” nations. Children are constantly bombarded by ads promoting consumption and by news reports on our economic boom and skyrocketing stock market, which have become our national obsession. Is it beneficial to the global community that large numbers offoreignborn children we absorb annually embrace those materialistic values? The United States is the most powerful nation on Earth. But for how long can this nation remain the world’s leader with high levels of violence and persistent mental and social problems beneath the veneer of prosperity? ‘In addition, we have an educational system which has beentrailing Japan and O O Percentage Yield APY* 24-MontH CD When you join Key Advantage® you get premium CDrates? And services that help you manage all that money you'll be making.Tojoin, visit any KeyCenter, call 1.800.KEY.2.YOU, or log onto Key.com™ dangerous gangs in that state. In his grief, Bouaphaphanh said: “In my country, we didn’t have any” gangsters. I don’t know whattodo Youth gangs are becoming an increasingly serious problem in immigrant communities throughoutthe United States. Such social breakdown is also crease by 2700 percent since 1991. Can America improve its education if we continue to add 200,000 On KeyBank Member FDIC *You must a be a Key Advantage member to get the A:,,ual Percentage Yield (APY). A minimum combined balance of $10,000 must be maintained in any combination of qualifying accounts. Key Advantage Money Market Checking Account required for membership in Key Advantage®Premium CD rates are fixed for length of term and are not available with other CD offers. The minimum deposit required to open the CD and obtain the APY is $500. The Annual Percentage Yield is accurate as of May 11, 2000 and is subject to change without notice. A penalty ‘May be Imposed for early withdrawal. Member FDIC, = |
