2008 Woodie Awards
Panelists debate gun control
Stewart Salwin
Issue date: 4/2/03 Section: News
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by Stewart Salwin
“How many of you would feel safe if there was a semi-automatic pistol in this room?” This was one of the rhetorical questions posed to an attentive audience of Georgetown students at a gun control panel held on Wednesday, March 26, which was sponsored jointly by the College Republicans, the College Democrats and the Campus Greens.
The panel featured Glen Caroline, Director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action Grassroots Division, and David Haffty, Program Coordinator of Handgun-Free America. Both panelists began with a 15- minute address, and then the debate moved on to a question and answer session, finally ending with the panelist’s closing remarks.
In his opening address, Haffty, who focused on statistical analysis for much of the debate, stated that 300,000 people are killed by gun-related violence each year. He said, “The main purpose of a hand gun, according to anyone, is to kill human beings.” Haffty then attacked the integrity of the NRA itself. In one provocative statement Haffty claimed, “The NRA has an interest in arming children, terrorists and criminals.” Furthermore, he attempted to prove that the NRA was directly linked to the gun industry. “Glen [Caroline] was unwilling to admit that the NRA and its policies are driven by the gun industry,” reflected Haffty after the debate was over.
Caroline attempted to refute what he saw to be the more serious errors that Haffty had presented during the debate. At the beginning of his remarks, Caroline said, “I cannot let lies and falsehoods about my association go unaddressed.” He pointed out that, while the interests of the NRA and the gun industry sometimes coincide, the gun industry has its own lobbying organization distinct from the NRA. Furthermore, Caroline presented some statistics to refute those of the gun control lobby. “There are already close to 20,000 gun laws on the books today if you count all of those at the federal, state, and local levels.” Caroline maintained that what is need is not “the 20,001st law,” but enforcement of the laws already in place. “We do not suffer from a lack of gun control in this country,” Caroline said. Moreover, he pointed out that Haffty advocates a complete ban on handguns. Caroline claimed that a complete ban would only keep hand guns away from law-abiding citizens. “Criminals, by definition, are law-breakers, and thus do not obey gun control laws.”
“How many of you would feel safe if there was a semi-automatic pistol in this room?” This was one of the rhetorical questions posed to an attentive audience of Georgetown students at a gun control panel held on Wednesday, March 26, which was sponsored jointly by the College Republicans, the College Democrats and the Campus Greens.
The panel featured Glen Caroline, Director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action Grassroots Division, and David Haffty, Program Coordinator of Handgun-Free America. Both panelists began with a 15- minute address, and then the debate moved on to a question and answer session, finally ending with the panelist’s closing remarks.
In his opening address, Haffty, who focused on statistical analysis for much of the debate, stated that 300,000 people are killed by gun-related violence each year. He said, “The main purpose of a hand gun, according to anyone, is to kill human beings.” Haffty then attacked the integrity of the NRA itself. In one provocative statement Haffty claimed, “The NRA has an interest in arming children, terrorists and criminals.” Furthermore, he attempted to prove that the NRA was directly linked to the gun industry. “Glen [Caroline] was unwilling to admit that the NRA and its policies are driven by the gun industry,” reflected Haffty after the debate was over.
Caroline attempted to refute what he saw to be the more serious errors that Haffty had presented during the debate. At the beginning of his remarks, Caroline said, “I cannot let lies and falsehoods about my association go unaddressed.” He pointed out that, while the interests of the NRA and the gun industry sometimes coincide, the gun industry has its own lobbying organization distinct from the NRA. Furthermore, Caroline presented some statistics to refute those of the gun control lobby. “There are already close to 20,000 gun laws on the books today if you count all of those at the federal, state, and local levels.” Caroline maintained that what is need is not “the 20,001st law,” but enforcement of the laws already in place. “We do not suffer from a lack of gun control in this country,” Caroline said. Moreover, he pointed out that Haffty advocates a complete ban on handguns. Caroline claimed that a complete ban would only keep hand guns away from law-abiding citizens. “Criminals, by definition, are law-breakers, and thus do not obey gun control laws.”