Page 29 - Flathead Beacon // 1.13.16

CLOSING RANGE DAVE SKINNER PICKING THE RIGHT TARGET
GUEST COLUMN TOM BERRY
MARSY’S LAW FOR MONTANA WILL OEMPOWER CRIME VICTIMS
N DECEMBER 30, 2000, MY SON status of victims so that courts consider was murdered by a drug dealer. both the victim and the defendant when The pain of that tragedy has makingdecisions.
CALL ME A BIG SUPPORTER OF gun control ... I love hitting my target. I’m also up on gun safety – when not shooting, action open, maga- zine out! So, you can imagine how much I was looking forward to hearing what President Barack Obama had to say about “gun safety” last week.
He said plenty, about very little. As Bowdoin College professor Andrew Rudalevige opined in the Washington Post, Obama’s “moves are made up of about half departmental action and half exhortations to enforce existing law.”
Obama’s most signi cant e ort seems to be a change in the Health Insur- ance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) “Privacy Rule” regulations. The new rule reads that those “deter- mined by a court, board, commission, or other lawful authority to be a danger to themselves or others or to lack the mental capacity to contract or manage their own a airs, as a result of marked subnormal intelligence or mental illness, incompe- tency, condition, or disease” can now be reported to the gun background check system as subject to a “federal mental health prohibitor.”
Nobody wants dangerous nuts to have guns, of course, but what about senior cit- izens under scal guardianship, and what exactly is “other lawful authority?”
President Obama also declared “any- body in the business of selling rearms must get a license and conduct back- ground checks or be subject to criminal prosecutions.” The White House also sent out a tweet claiming a “violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the Internet with no background check, no questions asked.” Sure kids, just try it.
As for being “in the business,” the ATF issued a “guidance document” on Dec. 18 that says a Federal Firearms License (FFL) is required of persons who “repeti- tively buy and sell rearms with the prin- cipal motive of making a pro t.” And by the way, the guidance speci es it “has no regulatory e ect.”
Have you been to a gun show and seen the prices asked by our repetitive “private sellers?” If you want a pro t, it really helps to sell something once in a blue moon.
President Obama also promised
the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security would “boost gun safety technology,” pandering to a long-standing obsession of anti-gun- ners, “smart guns.” While great in the- ory, a “smart enough” gun doesn’t yet exist. The only smart gun available for market today is the Armatix, a 22 rim- re German pipsqueak that requires the user to wear a tacky digital “watch.” Um, no thanks.
There’s lots more, but frankly, the president’s actions didn’t match his teary histrionics. Even the usually-gun-phobic Associated Press had to report Obama’s initiatives “would have had no impact in keeping weapons from the hands of sus- pects in several of the deadliest recent mass shootings that have spurred calls for tighter gun control.”
In other words, President Obama picked the wrong target – and it seems that no matter the script, Americans are guring it out. In mid-December, ABC News/Washington Post polls taken after the San Bernardino terrorist slaughter revealed a long-term, steady decline in public support for another pet cause of gun-haters, banning “assault weapons” – or as they are properly known, Modern Sporting Ri es.
In 1994, the year the “assault weapons ban” and Brady Bill passed, ABC’s polling respondents supported a ban, 80 percent to 18 percent. After the next election, of course, Republicans controlled both houses of Congress for the rst time since 1952.
Today, the same polling rm nds a majority of poll respondents oppose a black-ri e ban, 53 over 45 percent. Even worse for the gun grabbers, pollsters found that 47 percent over 42 favored “encouraging more people to carry guns” over “stricter gun control” as a “better response to terrorism.”
ABC noted the poll trends leave only seven demographics still in favor of a ban: “[W]omen, Northeasterners, seniors, post-graduates, liberals, Democrats and blacks.” What about young adults – future voters that many experts expect to trend toward the Democratic side? “[N] early six in 10 young adults oppose it.”
President Obama needs to understand this.
diminished little for my family even 15 years later. I’ve learned that when you’re victimized by a crime like this, you’re a victim for life.
The criminal who murdered my son was sentenced to over 100 years in prison. And even though we know he will be there for a long time, we also know that this case will likely never end.
For years, we’ve watched and partici- pated in the court process, and will con- tinue to be involved as the years move forward. He will eventually be up for parole, and we know that those parole hearings will dredge up all the pain of that loss all over again.
No family should have to go through what mine went through. But crime is a di cult fact of life, even as our law enforcement has become better and better at preventing crime. When it does happen, we need to make sure that the victims receive the help and respect that they deserve.
This is why I’m a supporter of Marsy’s Law for Montana, a proposed Constitu- tional Amendment that would ensure that victims of crime are treated as well as individuals accused or convicted of crime.
Marsy’s Law would give victims of crime in Montana the right to be noti- ed of proceedings occurring in their case and the right to be heard at those proceedings. It would also provide the right to protection from harassment and the right to be noti ed of changes in an o ender’s custodial status, among others.
The rights a orded by Marsy’s Law are simple and straightforward. It doesn’t diminish the rights of defen- dants in any way—rather it elevates the
I’m forever grateful to the prosecutor who handled my son’s murder case. He acted with professionalism and showed real compassion to my family. He did an excellent job, but even with his atten- tiveness to detail my family was still left out of a few critical developments in the case. For instance, we were never noti- ed of an important hearing regarding victim restitution, and subsequently not given an opportunity to be heard by the court.
I bring this up because I believe these are the types of oversights that Marsy’s Law will help to address. With Marsy’s Law, we would have been a orded a rem- edy for that hearing that we were left out of.
Law enforcement and prosecutors in Montana do an incredible job. I’ve seen them comfort and console families who’ve been victimized, and take the time to help crime victims through the di cult criminal justice process. But Marsy’s Law will ensure victims’ rights are respected every time, consistently.
As a Constitutional Amendment, Marsy’s Law needs to be passed by the voters in next year’s General Election. To qualify for the ballot, we need to collect about 50,000 signatures from Montana voters. Marsy’s Law for Mon- tana signature gatherers are in the eld in cities across Montana right now – if you encounter one in your community, please take a moment to add your name to help us get on the ballot.
Victims of crime su er enough – we can do more to ensure that they don’t endure further pain and frustration in the criminal justice system. Join me in supporting Marsy’s Law for Montana.
“I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING WHAT PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA HAD TO SAY ABOUT ‘GUN SAFETY’ LAST WEEK.”
Mike (Uncommon Ground) Jopek and Dave (Closing Range) Skinner often fall on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to political and outdoor issues. Their columns alternate each week in the Flathead Beacon.
THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD AT THOSE PROCEEDINGS.”
“MARSY’S LAW WOULD GIVE VICTIMS OF CRIME IN MONTANA THE RIGHT TO BE NOTIFIED OF PROCEEDINGS OCCURRING IN THEIR CASE AND
Rep. Tom Berry represents House District 40, which includes parts of Yellowstone and Musselshell counties.
JANUARY 13, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
29