Wvw, Hoban To Decide Wvc Championship

Adele Jancik 
Feb. 11, 1994 
Adele Jancik, Of Third Avenue, Kingston, Died Friday In Summit Health Care 
Center, Wilkes-barre.

Sunday, February 13, 1994 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





No &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When the Constitution says a right ``shall not be infringed,'' it means &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ``shall not be infringed'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Ihave owned rifles and shotguns since I began hunting as a teenager growing
up on a farm, and I continue to enjoy hunting todayUntil recently, I have had
no desire to own a handgun. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I really have no use for one. I'm not big on target shooting. And when it
comes to self-defense, I figure I can load and fire any one of my shotguns as
fast and as effectively as a pistol. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the more our government moves to restrict the rights of law-abiding gun
owners, the more I am seriously considering protecting myself with a handgun
while it is still legal to do so. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Our Constitution says the government may not restrict our right to bear
arms. It was written by a people who took up arms to defeat an oppressive
government, and to win individual freedom as never before practiced on this
earth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Who is to say that it will not again be necessary to take up arms against
such a government? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I am not prepared to say so. Yes, I am serious. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I fear the stampede of politicians who feel a need to place restrictions on
gun ownership. They want us to think that this will reduce crime. Sadly, many
of us believe them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It is baloney. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Crime will be reduced only when criminals are put in jail and left there to
serve their terms. That is not happening now and has not been happening for
some time. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A 1988 government study of jail terms for violent criminals in 36 states
and the District of Columbia found these criminals on average served only 37
percent of their average 8-year sentences. Half got out of jail in two years
or less. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Bad people are not kept in jail because our society has become soft at the
top. Take Janet Reno, for example. She seems to be ready to abolish mandatory
minimum sentencing rules, against the advice of her career prosecutors,
prompting the Wall Street Journal recently to label her the "Attorney General
of Social Work." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Our elected officials and their appointees such as Reno want to excuse,
understand or rehabilitate violent criminals. Punishment seems to be a
forgotten word for them. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 These people have plenty of allies in the media and in academia, two groups
equally out-of-touch with how most people live. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Our political leaders only talk tough about crime. They do nothing
substantive to protect us. They lack the will to enforce punishment on those
who commit violent crime. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The people charged in the two most infamous murders of 1993, those of Polly
Klaas and James Jordan, are animals who were released early from prison. But
rather than concentrate on how to keep such animals locked away, our
politicians want to place restrictions on gun ownership. Why? Because it makes
them look tough on crime when the opposite is true. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If they were serious about reducing crime, they might argue we need more
guns in private hands, not less. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For example, why don't big city governments pass out handguns to passengers
on the subways so that they may protect themselves? After all, these
goverments pass out clean needles to drug addicts so they won't get killed by
the AIDS virus. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If this sounds extreme, it is because that is my intention. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Reasonable" people these days talk about "reasonable" restrictions on gun
ownership. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I most certainly do not want to be reasonable as my government once again
dramatically reduces my freedom. What freedom they take away in reasonable
increments today will be gone in total tomorrow. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I agree with Jeffrey Snyder, an attorney in Washington whose essay "A
Nation of Cowards" was published recently in the Public Interest quarterly. He
argues for more citizen gun ownership. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Snyder says: "Crime is rampant because the law-abiding, each of us, condone
it, excuse it, permit it, submit to it. We permit and encourage it because we
do not fight back immediately, then and there, where it happens...The defect
is there, in our character. We are a nation of cowards and shirkers." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It seems to me that our government has expanded over the years and, in many
cases, now does for us what we used to do for ourselves. Perhaps it is too
busy to perform one of its most primary jobs: the maintaining of internal
order. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If so, that is all the more reason for freedom-loving individuals to take
some responsibility for it themselves. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It is not the kind of society in which I relish living, but that is not my
fault. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dale Duncan is president and publisher of The Times Leader.

No 
When The Constitution Says A Right ``shall Not Be Infringed,'' It Means 
``shall Not Be Infringed'' 
Ihave Owned Rifles And Shotguns Since I Began Hunting As A Teenager Growing Up 
On A Farm, And I Continue To Enjoy Hunting Today.

No When The Constitution Says A Right ``shall Not Be Infringed,'' It Means ``shall Not Be Infringed'' Ihave Owned Rifles And Shotguns Since I Began Hunting As A Teenager Growing Up On A Farm, And I Continue To Enjoy Hunting Today.