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Show I suppose that next to the "Poor Peoples" uprising, the most acute problem facing folks in the U.S.A. today is the registration, control of sale and the mdescriminate use of firearms by all and sundry, who have strength enough to tote a shoo tin' iron. Personally, I don't see why there is such a hue and cry against restricitive laws relative rela-tive to the purchase and use of rifles, shotguns and pistols. Certainly, firearms, like automobiles, auto-mobiles, are lethal machinations, machin-ations, when operated by the ignorant, mentally unbalanced and those addicted to the use of drugs or alcohol. A few recently rec-ently compiled statistics will bear out this fact. Since midnight, Saturday, June 16 until Saturday night, June 22, firearms took the lives of 149 persons in the United States. The total included 80 murders, 58 suicides and 11 accidental shootings, according to the Associated Press report. Also, figures released by the FBI reveal that during all of 1966, 6,500 persons were murdered mur-dered with firearms in the United Uni-ted States. This was an average aver-age of 125 per week, which was about equal to the number of American servicemen killed each week in Vietnam, that year. And again, the Cook County Chicago coroner said that during dur-ing 1967 more people died in Cook County from gun wounds than from auto accidents. The comparison was 607 from firearms and 591 from automobiles. auto-mobiles. If owners and operators of automobiles must have their machines legally registered and numbered and then pass an operator's test, why not apply the same regulations to the owners and operators of firearms. As conditions have been up to date, juveniles, the mentally unfit, the emotionally disturbed, disturb-ed, the what have yous, all could purchase guns and ammunition am-munition from mailorder houses hous-es and receive the same, with few questions asked. Whatever gun control law is passed by Congress and signed by the President will not be perfect. Very few new laws are; but they can be improved and amended. At any rate, the controversy has alerted the public to the need of some type of control. In the past, gangsters gang-sters could go to the army surplus sur-plus stores and buy tommy guns with governmental blessing. bless-ing. Of this we may be sure: many a murder victim would be alive today and the killer out of jail, if guns were not handy when the quarrel erupted. erupt-ed. Too many family fueds, that were formerly settled with bare fists, are now settled with gun play. And in case folks don't know how, the movies and television are giving daily lessons. So long 'til Thursday. |