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MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY – A DAY FOR REFLECTION
"You know a gun never killed nobody. You can ask anyone. People get shot by people. People with guns!" - Brian May, from "Put Out The Fire"
Unfortunately, his life was abruptly and sadly terminated over thirty years ago in Memphis,TN (the "cradle of rock and roll") by an assassin's bullet , under circumstances that have yet to be appropriately explained. Over a month ago, we were also reminded of another public figure – another pacifist - who fell victim of a gun. On December 8, 1980, former Beatle John Lennon was killed by a "deranged fan" at the doorsteps of his home on W72nd Street. Even though, little has been done to toughen gun control laws in this country. For a reason that is still beyond this writer's understanding, many in the United States have fought a tireless and pathetical battle to enforce their aging, extremely outdated constitutional right to carry a firearm - a right which is unfortunately advocated by the party which will be, as this article is published,taking over the helm of this Nation for the next four years. Please do not get me wrong – I am not at all for a total ban on personal guns – a law the Brazilian government has painstakingly been debating in their congress in recent years. After all, such a law would never stop criminals from getting them in the black market. I am, however, in favor of much tougher gun control regulations as a means of protecting the common citizen from shy, unconfident wimps who, due to their lack of personal skills, see guns as a powerful (but deadly) extension of their personalities. "That is not the American way", would a more conservative reader I know say of my opinion(in fact, that was George Bush's motto in a Texas rally during the 1988 Presidential campaign). But the fact is, Charlton Heston might argue, that not many people have what it takes to own a gun. In other countries, one can only get a permit to carry a gun if he or she agrees to go through – and pass – extensive psychological testing, which will assess if the subject will not be considered dangerous with a firearm. In case the person does not pass, the permit will simply not be issued. I am acquainted with a number of people who own handguns, and I do not feel that the neighborhood is endangered by their presences. Most are stable, serene people who would never use their weapons simply to win over an argument – in fact, I know one who got into an argument after a traffic accident, but never attempted to pull his revolver, which was safely in his car's glove compartment. Unfortunately, this is not the case with most people who own guns. Most of these make it pretty clear that they have the "power", and are more than happy to intimidate those who choose to be unarmed. The reader might think that I am gun shy. I am not. In fact, my father taught me how to shoot when I was twelve years old, just as my grandfather, a WWII veteran,must have taught him back in Lawrence,KS. I chose, however, not to possess a gun. The reason for that is that I feel I am not psychologically fit to have one. How do I know that? I just have that feeling. In the meantime, the New York Post reported last Monday that Joseph Coll, a 36-year-old divorced father of two was shot and killed in Brooklyn, New York, after an argument with a motorist who blocked his girlfriend's driveway . According to witnesses, Mr. Coll asked a stranger to move his car from the driveway. The stranger,who had bumped into Mr. Coll's automobile, later came back with a gun and shot him. He died moments later at the Hospital. I can't help but wonder. Maybe if the U.S. Government had created stricter gun control laws in the last, say, thirty years, Joseph Coll would most likely be alive today. Ernest Barteldes A writer needs feedback in order to write properly.
Please send feedback to: ebarteldes@nycny.net
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richard e. schiff,
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ast Monday,
America observed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday – the day the famed
activist would have celebrated his 72nd birthday. 
