Senate bill seeks firm handgun wait period
The Chicago Tribune
By Pamela Appea
Washington—Gun control advocates on Wednesday called for resuming a waiting period for handgun buyers, saying the new national system of instant background checks of firearm buyers is inadequate.
Six Democratic senators, including Dick Durbin of Illinois and Republican John Chafee of Rhode Island proposed legislation imposing a three- to five-day waiting period for handgun purchases.
"This is literally a matter of life and death," Durbin said.
Rep. John Peter (R-Ill.) plans to introduce a similar measure in the House to permanently restore the Brady law waiting period.
The original 1993 Brady Bill, which expired in November, imposed a five-day waiting period on handgun purchases.
In most states, a potential handgun owner now can buy a gun through the FBI's National Instant Check System, a method that allows guns to be purchased in minutes.
However, gun control advocates assert that the computer check system is incomplete and cannot thoroughly check a person's record in such a short time.
Durbin and other gun control advocates point to a shooting in Salt Lake City as evidence of problems with the new system.
Last month, AT & T employee Anne Sleater, 30, was killed in her office building by a woman who was angry with NBC affiliate KSL Televion.
The 24-year-old allegedly purchased the gun—allegedly without any extensive background check—the day before her alleged rampage of the office building that houses the television station and other tenants.
Sleater’s husband, Christian, said at a Capitol Hill press conference that a three-day waiting period is a “small thing to ask to avoid such tragedies.”
Gun control advocate James Brady said that while the FBI check system is better than no gun regulation at all, the system is flawed and incomplete. “We can do better,” Brady said. “For the last five years, the Brady law has worked.”
National Rifle Association spokesman Jim Manown said that waiting periods are unnecessary and antiquated.
“The instant check system is the standard for the nation,” he said.
While Illinois conducts its own background checks on potential gun owners, Durbin said he is concerned about the guns that are often trafficked into Illinois with less stringent gun laws.
Co-sponsors of the Brady extension act include Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Robert Toricelli (D-N.J.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)
Originally published Feb. 25, 1999
Originally published Feb. 25. 1999
Thursday, February 25, 1999
Friday, February 19, 1999
Chicago Tribune, Settlement Reached in Housing Bias Case
Settlement Reached in Housing Bias Case
Chicago Tribune, Metro Section
By Pamela Appea
Niles—Federal officials on Wednesday announced the settlement of a housing discrimination charge against the owners and manager of a Niles apartment complex who refused to rent to families with children.
Housing and Urban Secretary Andrew Cuomo said that Irwin and Muriel Lippman, who owned the apartment complex at 7920 Caldwell Ave., agreed to pay $26,500 in damages to Nicole Donaldson and the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern suburbs, which assists families with children to find suitable housing.
Donaldson, a single mother with a 3-year-old daughter, had sought to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the complex in October 1996 but was told that the unit was not available to families with children, according to Donaldson’s lawyer, Miriam N. Geraghty.
HUD said four tests at the apartment complex showed discrimination against families with children, which is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act.
Lippman and Siegel have sold the property and are no longer involved in the rental property business, according to the settlement.
Originally published in the Chicago Tribune on February 19, 1999.
Chicago Tribune, Metro Section
By Pamela Appea
Niles—Federal officials on Wednesday announced the settlement of a housing discrimination charge against the owners and manager of a Niles apartment complex who refused to rent to families with children.
Housing and Urban Secretary Andrew Cuomo said that Irwin and Muriel Lippman, who owned the apartment complex at 7920 Caldwell Ave., agreed to pay $26,500 in damages to Nicole Donaldson and the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern suburbs, which assists families with children to find suitable housing.
Donaldson, a single mother with a 3-year-old daughter, had sought to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the complex in October 1996 but was told that the unit was not available to families with children, according to Donaldson’s lawyer, Miriam N. Geraghty.
HUD said four tests at the apartment complex showed discrimination against families with children, which is prohibited by the Fair Housing Act.
Lippman and Siegel have sold the property and are no longer involved in the rental property business, according to the settlement.
Originally published in the Chicago Tribune on February 19, 1999.
Wednesday, February 10, 1999
Voting rate for youths declining, study finds
Voting rate for youths declining, study finds
Downward trend continued in 1998
The Chicago Tribune
By Pamela Appea
Washington—Even though he’s preoccupied with LSATs, job interviews and school work, Howard University junior and Chicago native Louis Sterling believes in taking time to vote in every election because it’s his “responsibility as a citizen.”
The Washington student’s perspective is unusual among 18 - to 24-year-olds, according to a study released Wednesday. When it comes to government and politics, a majority of American youths are disengaged, disinterested and distrustful, according to the study by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Across the nation, fewer than one in give 18 - to -24-year olds found their way to voting booths in the 1998 congressional elections, the study showed, and only 32 percent of youths voted in the 1996 presidential elections, continuing a downward trend since the voting age was lowed to 18 in 1971.
The research, conducted by the Tarrance Group and Lake, Snell, Perry & Associates, found “distrust, disinterest, and ignorance” among young people towards politics and government.
For instance, 58 percent of young people surveyed agreed with the statement, “You can’t trust politicians because most are dishonest.”
Being involved in a democracy and voting is “extremely important” to only 26 percent of young people.
William Gardner, president of the secretaries of state group, said the downward trend is “ a grave matter that will only get worse in time.”
The study conducted a national telephone survey of 1,005 people ages 18 to 24 in Iowa, Baltimore and Salt Lake City. In six focus group meetings, many participants said they felt too uninformed to vote, especially in congressional elections.
The difference in voting patterns between students and non-students was striking.
On college campuses, many student leaders said they felt frustrated with their peers’ lack of involvement.
Elizabeth Maki, president of the University of Chicago Republicans and a fourth-year English major, said, “I certainly believe that college students nowadays are becoming less politically involved than in previous years or decades.”
Maki noted that while involvement with the U of C Republicans has increased in recent years, only 30 to 40 students out of 3,5000 regularly attended political meetings and events.
More 18-to 24-year-olds are beginning to distance themselves from the Democratic and Republican parties, embracing independent status of the relatively new Reform party, the study showed.
For instance, almost half of voters under 30 in Minnesota voted for Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura for governor last fall.
Originally published Wednesday, February 10, 1999
Downward trend continued in 1998
The Chicago Tribune
By Pamela Appea
Washington—Even though he’s preoccupied with LSATs, job interviews and school work, Howard University junior and Chicago native Louis Sterling believes in taking time to vote in every election because it’s his “responsibility as a citizen.”
The Washington student’s perspective is unusual among 18 - to 24-year-olds, according to a study released Wednesday. When it comes to government and politics, a majority of American youths are disengaged, disinterested and distrustful, according to the study by the National Association of Secretaries of State.
Across the nation, fewer than one in give 18 - to -24-year olds found their way to voting booths in the 1998 congressional elections, the study showed, and only 32 percent of youths voted in the 1996 presidential elections, continuing a downward trend since the voting age was lowed to 18 in 1971.
The research, conducted by the Tarrance Group and Lake, Snell, Perry & Associates, found “distrust, disinterest, and ignorance” among young people towards politics and government.
For instance, 58 percent of young people surveyed agreed with the statement, “You can’t trust politicians because most are dishonest.”
Being involved in a democracy and voting is “extremely important” to only 26 percent of young people.
William Gardner, president of the secretaries of state group, said the downward trend is “ a grave matter that will only get worse in time.”
The study conducted a national telephone survey of 1,005 people ages 18 to 24 in Iowa, Baltimore and Salt Lake City. In six focus group meetings, many participants said they felt too uninformed to vote, especially in congressional elections.
The difference in voting patterns between students and non-students was striking.
On college campuses, many student leaders said they felt frustrated with their peers’ lack of involvement.
Elizabeth Maki, president of the University of Chicago Republicans and a fourth-year English major, said, “I certainly believe that college students nowadays are becoming less politically involved than in previous years or decades.”
Maki noted that while involvement with the U of C Republicans has increased in recent years, only 30 to 40 students out of 3,5000 regularly attended political meetings and events.
More 18-to 24-year-olds are beginning to distance themselves from the Democratic and Republican parties, embracing independent status of the relatively new Reform party, the study showed.
For instance, almost half of voters under 30 in Minnesota voted for Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura for governor last fall.
Originally published Wednesday, February 10, 1999
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