Word: littleton
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...that it sometimes takes tragedy to draw our attention to widespread problems in America, but that has been the case in the aftermath of the Littleton, Colo., massacre last month. In the wake of the shooting, Congress has responded with long overdue gun control measures designed to keep guns out of the hands of juveniles...
...bill would close a major loophole which had allowed juveniles to buy the weapons used in the Littleton shooting. Unfortunately, the G.O.P. measure was not as stringent as the one proposed a day earlier by the Democrats. But it was better than nothing coming from a party which had previously done little more than pay lip service to gun control. The measure is now tied up in the House, where Speaker Dennis J. Hastert (R-III.) has delayed a vote. Hopefully, House Republican efforts to water-down the bill will fail when Hastert allows it to come to a vote...
These measures are the wrong way to approach preventing another tragedy like the one in Littleton. Juveniles are uniquely receptive to rehabilitation and should not be imprisoned with hardened criminals. Kids who commit heinous crimes must be punished, but they must also be allowed to have a future. The harsher sentencing of juveniles as adults is not a proven deterrent and puts impressionable youngsters in contact with those least likely to help them re-integrate into society...
...Republicans must demand, as they did on last week, that their leadership present them with stricter gun control legislation and make stronger efforts to get out from under the nefarious influence of the NRA. Democrats must work actively to pass legislation improving guidance and mental health counseling for juveniles. Littleton's lesson is not one of retribution--it should be one of prevention and education...
...there was ever any doubt that Littleton and Conyers have changed the dynamics of the national debate over guns, two developments on Tuesday underscored the point. First, the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives came out publicly in support of the recent gun control measures passed by the Senate last week; and, second, a group of California cities, led by Los Angeles and San Francisco, filed a major set of lawsuits against gun manufacturers, charging that sloppy business practices have irresponsibly given criminals easy access to guns...