Friday, November 11, 2005
Only Dirty Harry Can Carry
San Fransisco voters just approved two hotly debated measures the banning of hand-guns within city limits, and the banning of military recruiters in city schools and high schools.
The gun ban requires all handguns to be turned it, and makes it illegal to possess a firearm within the city. Supervisor Chris Daly, who proposed the measure, said the victory showed that "San Francisco voters support sensible gun control." I suppose they do, if by ‘gun control’ you mean ‘no guns allowed’. Instead, San Franciscans have elected to rely on the police and the government for personal protection. If the San Fransisco police department responds in the same fashion as New Orlean’s department, then I wish them luck in the event of another devastating earthquake. Police can only be effective as a means of maintaining order in a society that still adheres to the rule of law and to a sense of community, two things that rapidly disintegrate in a disaster as panic set in. In taking away the population’s Constitutional right to defend itself with the very weapons it will undoubtedly face in a period of civil unrest, it is placing them in a potentially dangerous situation.
Sensible gun control is trigger locks. Better yet, guns keyed to a particular user’s DNA or fingerprints. Not banning.
San Fransisco’s second measure bans military recruiters from high schools. While I applaud the intent, I question its final results. Undoubtedly, recruiters can wheel and deal like the best car salesman. They have a quota, they need to reach that quota, and they’ll stretch, diminish, and omit what they can to sell recruitment to a possible candidate. We’ve seen it in many a special report on television. And, the military does wrk at introducing the idea of enlistment at ever earlier ages. Nevertheless, military service is a perfectly valid way to find a worthwhile job, earn valuable career skills, and earn money for college. To deny students the ability to hear the opportunities military service have to offer is to limit the options available for higher education. Rather than banning recruiters completely, why didn’t the City Council propose a set of guidelines for recruiters to be completely honest about what potential recruits can expect? The outright expulsion seems more tied to a political agenda than to protecting the interests of their constituents.
Schwarzenegger also got roundly beaten out yesterday in California, as none of his ballot measures passed. All in all, I think Arnie’s going to have a tough time of making it to a second term. He hasn’t been able to pass any reforms through the legislature, and now the people have rejected them.
Public employee unions defeated Proposition 76, which would have curtailed state spending and allowed for budget cuts. Proposition 77, which would have taken the power to create legislative and congressional districts away from the legislature (can you say Gerrymandering) and placed it in the hands of a judicial commission, was defeated as well. Proposition 75, which would have required public employee unions to get members' permission before dues could be used for political purposes, was vigorously opposed by the union leadership and also failed. All of the measures seemed to me to be geared to help reduce spending and to end cronyism in the state legislature. I can see why the state government opposed the measures, but am amazed that a state populace that rose up once to make these kind of sweeping changes failed to follow through. The only proposition I did agree voting against was Proposition 74, a plan to lengthen teachers' probationary period from two years to five. That hinders education, IMO, as it makes it less attractive to become a teacher. Granted, I only have a passing knowledge of the full details of these initiatives. Regardless of whether the initiatives were good or bad, their rejection does indicate one thing – no matter the fact that California got rid of Grey Davis because of the financial crisis California faced, no one seems particularly interested in changing the status quo, and California will continue to teeter on the edge. Hasta la vista, baby.
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