Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/139932
6A Daily News – Wednesday, June 26, 2013 Opinion Spying scandal reinforces fears of national gun registry DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes letters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submitted will be considered for publication. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 In the debate over legislation to require universal background checks for prospective gun purchasers, a central argument of guns rights groups was that it would lead inevitably to creation of a national registry to identify and track firearms owners. Supporters pointed out that the legislation contained specific language prohibiting a registry, but their point did little to mollify opponents or eliminate the paranoia felt by gun owners who continued to believe that the government could and would subvert the law, establish a registry, and take the first steps toward confiscation of their weapons. With the revelation that government agencies have for years been engaged in snooping on a breathtaking scale, suddenly the idea of a national gun registry doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore. Is it that much of a leap in logic to suspect that amassing billions of telephone records of private citizens, tracking emails and visits to internet sites, and reviewing credit card purchases is evidence that sooner or later gun ownership would come under the same scrutiny? Despite the protests of everyone from the President to the Attorney General to leading members of Congress that the government would not compile a registry of gun owners, the disclosure of the massive collection and retention of the person- al data of private citizens in the name of national security has undercut their argument. If anything, it has stoked the paranoia surrounding the gun control issue. The vast majority of gun owners are law-abiding individuals, but so are the hundreds of millions of people whose phone records have been seized. They've not been suspected of any crime, either. Defenders of the secret data mining argue it is an invaluable tool in the war on terrorism and, provided it is carried out with proper oversight, will guarantee a safer and more secure nation. They are hampered in offering evidence in support of their position because the highly classified nature of the material prevents any public discussion. Fair enough, but no one should be surprised at the level of skepticism which has been produced or the anger and outrage expressed across the political ideological spectrum over the intrusion into personal privacy. The President's political supporters pointed out that the data collection began under former President George W. Bush, a contention that seems to suggest that the current program can be justified because it's merely continues that of his Republican predecessor. As a Senator, however, Obama was critical of the Bush Administration's surveillance activities and pledged that transparency would be the order of the day in significance pretty much ended his White House. The Administration's credi- with the defeat of the universal background check bility is in tatters with proposal in April. the latest revelations Despite overwhelmcoming hard on the ing public support for heels of the courtextending the backapproved seizure of ground review, the telephone records of issue has faded from the Associated Press, the public consciousthe labeling of a Fox ness and support has News reporter as a ebbed steadily as the potential criminal coimages of death and conspirator for obtaingun violence carnage ing leaked classified have dimmed over information from a time. The National State Department Carl Rifle Association, by source, and the rallying its members actions of the Internal and associated gun Revenue Service in rights groups, can prolonged delays in granting applications for tax chalk up another victory and exempt status from conserva- came out of the fight in an even stronger position. tive organizations. Moreover, the Obama Nothing has emerged thus far to suggest the IRS targeting Administration, by its own scheme was directed by anyone actions, has handed the antiin the White House or the Pres- gun control forces a great gift ident's 2012 re-election cam- by reinforcing the suspicion paign. At most, it appears that that it believes expanding govpersonnel in the Service head- ernment control over private quarters in Washington were activity is its proper and legitiinvolved and aware of the mate role. Should there come a time agents' activities in the Cincinwhen an argument erupts again nati office. The secret surveillance pro- over a national registry of gun gram, however, is fully owned owners, this Administration by the Obama Administration, will be defenseless. just as it was by the Bush Carl Golden is a senior White House. The President has defended it as tightly-mon- contributing analyst with the itored and controlled and said William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at the Richard there are no plans to curtail it. In all likelihood, the hope Stockton College of New for Congressional action on Jersey. You can reach him at gun control legislation of any cgolden1937@gmail. Golden Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Dan Logue, 1550 Humboldt Road, Ste. 4, Chico, CA 95928, 530-895-4217 STATE SENATOR — Jim Nielsen, 2635 Forest Ave., Ste. 110, Chico, CA 95928, (530) 879-7424, senator.nielsen@senate.ca.gov GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 5583160; E-mail: governor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Doug LaMalfa 506 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515, 202-2253076. U.S. SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 3930710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224-0454. Commentary Catholic school incisive, not divisive I don't know what President Obama was thinking. Speaking in Northern Ireland last week, he said Catholic schools are divisive: "If towns remain divided — if Catholics have their schools and buildings and Protestants have theirs, if we can't see ourselves in one another and fear or resentment are allowed to harden —that too encourages division and discourages cooperation." Begorrah! What was he thinking? I was lucky to attend a Catholic elementary school through the eighth grade. I didn't know it at the time, but our church and our school reflected a religious tradition that was brought to America by millions of immigrants, many of whom arrived to work in Pittsburgh's mines and steel mills 100 years before I was born. The immigrants built magnificent Catholic churches that were the centerpieces of their communities — churches that advanced simple values that seeped into the local culture: Be charitable and kind, tell the truth, take care of those less fortunate, don't cheat on your taxes. And they built Catholic schools. My parents bought our house because it was within walking distance of St. Germaine Catholic School and Church. They wanted us to receive a solid education — something parochial schools still do way better than public schools — and be taught solid values. And boy, were the nuns determined to teach us both. The nuns were all business, you see. Their business was to work us hard in math, science, reading and writing. They had no interest in or patience for obsessing — as too many adults do now — over our precious little egos and self-esteem. When they weren't ramming home our lessons, they were teaching us to embrace the virtues: prudence, temperance and courage. They taught us about the competing ideas, too, the Seven Deadly Sins, and demanded we fend off every one of them: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. And when they weren't ramming home lessons or virtues, they made us sit up straight and keep our shirts tucked in. They made us say "please" and "thank you." They didn't suffer fools gladly — they didn't suffer fools at all. We envied the public-school my Catholic school experience was marked by clarity, kids. They got to wear order and a sense of blue jeans and tennis purpose — the serishoes to school — not ousness of our teachuniforms and hard ers made us feel that shoes. They didn't fear we really were on their teachers half as Earth for a special reamuch as we feared ours son and we'd better do — and nowadays, pubour best to accomplish lic-school teachers fear it. their students. That is why Obama Though the old has it wrong about Catholic school was Catholic schools: often unpleasant for a They teach tolerance, daydreamer like me, I Tom kindness, compassion have incredible, fond and understanding — memories of my time concepts central to there. Christianity — not My older sisters, both fine artists, helped me cre- division. And while many of us former ate a beautiful picture for art class, but Sister Mary Angela Catholic-school students frerefused to believe I created it quently fail to live up to these alone — it was hard to fool the high standards, we know when we have crossed the line. nuns. We know when Obama has, Tommy Guillen and I got into big trouble on the last day of too. classes one year for riding our Tom Purcell, a humor bikes to school and locking them columnist for the Pittsburgh out front. And my eighth-grade nun Tribune-Review, is nationally confronted me in front of the syndicated exclusively by class when I got a "B" on a test Cagle Cartoons newspaper that she knew — had I studied syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web for it — I should have gotten an at www.TomPurcell.com or email him at "A" on. Purcell@caglecartoons.com. Looking back, I realize that Purcell