GUN BILL REVIEWS ARE MIXED

Local gun dealers say a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases as proposed in the Brady bill would have little impact on their sales and would not curb violence in America.

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. isn't opposed to such a waiting period, but also believes such a law won't halt the violence.

"I have absolutely no problem with the waiting period," Boyd said Tuesday. "That's not going to infringe on anybody's rights."

But lawmakers like U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson and Sen. Christopher Bond of Missouri would prefer creation of a national, computerized system that would allow for instant background checks of those seeking to buy handguns.

"Folks are rightly concerned about the level of crime in America today, but quite frankly the Brady bill won't really have an impact on crime," Emerson said Tuesday.

If we really want to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, we should implement an instant-check system," the congressman said. It would require implementation of a hotline dealer access system to identify and prevent illegal handgun purchases at point-of-sale, said Emerson.

Virginia, Delaware, Florida, Illinois and Wisconsin already have point-of-sale, computerized systems in place. "It relies on technology as the most effective means of thwarting crime without imposing unnecessary restrictions, such as the five-day waiting period, on law-abiding citizens," said Emerson.

While not opposed to a waiting period, Boyd said the measure would do little to prevent violence across the nation.

"I think they are trying to take cures for the inner-city problems in New York, Los Angeles and Miami and apply them to the Midwest," said Boyd.

In some states, a person can buy a handgun without any type of background check, said Boyd.

That's not the case in Missouri, he pointed out. "You just can't walk into a sporting goods store and buy a handgun and go out and rob a bank the same day."

The Brady bill passed the House early Tuesday by a vote of 238-187. But it bogged down in the Senate, where Republicans objected to changes made by the Democrats in the House-Senate conference committee.

The Senate had originally approved a measure calling for phasing out the waiting period after four years unless the attorney general extended it to five years. The House version and the one adopted in the conference committee includes a five-year sunset provision.

Bond and other Republican senators have threatened a filibuster to prevent passage of the current version of the Brady bill.

The Republican opposition could send senators back to the capitol after Thanksgiving for further deliberations on the gun-control bill.

"Hopefully, common sense will prevail in the Senate and this measure can be blocked," said Emerson. "In this case, gridlock would be good for the people -- especially those who believe in our Second Amendment rights to own and bear arms."

Cape Girardeau gun dealers said Tuesday they can live with the Brady bill.

"I'm not really against a waiting period," said Scott Dunning, manager of Phegley's Shooters Supply. "I don't think it will affect sales or anything like that.

"In our state, you have to get a pistol permit from the sheriff's department," he pointed out.

Under Missouri law, the sheriff of a county has up to seven days to issue a permit. But most are issued much more quickly. Some are issued instantly.

"The majority of the time they can get it right away because we know them or they can be checked out easy enough," said Leonard Hines, chief deputy of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department.

Dunning and other gun dealers said the Brady bill will have little impact on crime. Criminals, said Dunning, aren't going to purchase guns legally.

"All this is going to do is put a handicap on the honest person," said Don Beard, manager of Beard's Sports Shop. "Crooks aren't going to abide by the law."

Irene Spinner, manager of Plaza Pawn, wonders why there's so much controversy over the Brady bill.

"There's just too much paranoia on both sides," she said.

"Personally, I don't think it is going to make a hill of beans," said Spinner. "It's ridiculous to make such a big deal out of it."

But with all the violence in America, Spinner maintained that requiring a waiting period and a background check in regards to purchase of handguns is something worth trying.

"There is so much killing and so much craziness," she said. "If you can catch that one in 10,000 ... let's do it."