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	Vol.7, No 5, September 7, 1999
	Parents not laws must secure guns The outbreak of gun violence in schools around the country has prompted a Southland Assemblyman to write a bill that would hold gun owners criminally liable for students caught with guns on campus. The bill, written by Assemblyman Neil Soto, D-Pomona, wants to make adults take all necessary precautions to keep guns away from children. We think Soto has taken a step in the right direction. Maybe, by forcing parents to be responsible for their children's actions, the parents wonít let them be such punks at school. We are totally in favor of parents' policing their children and raising them to be socially responsible members of society. But making parents take the punishment when the children screw up is counterproductive. Unfortunately, we now live in a society in which children have to fear for their lives while in transit to and from school and while in the classroom. Because of this, no law in the world will prevent students from carrying weapons to school. Even if we eliminated guns completely, the little pukes that are going to hurt another student or a teacher are going to find a way to do it any way. We do think gun owners should be smart enough to lock up their guns.  A variety of trigger locks and gun safes are on the market.  Owners could also take additional safety measures such as storing the weapon unloaded and keeping the ammunition in a separate location. The sad thing is it takes one of our state's lawmakers to write a law to curb the gun violence. People should have the common sense to lock up their guns without having to enact legislation telling them to do it. Gun owners with children should be the most careful. They should take the forethought and their childrenís safety into account before they bring guns into their home.  We cannot applaud the gun-owning parents who do lock up their guns, however. We cannot cheer people for doing the very least they can to take care of their children. But we can ostracize the parents not doing the very minimum to protect their children.		Student voice grows All-nighters endanger some Students need MMR shots to enroll Honor society opens doors to new members Maxson to appoint investigator to board University Police, athletic department available online Parents not laws must secure guns Bookstore policy bites students in wallet Limp Bizkit's sound critiqued Singin the Blues Volleyball team remains undefeated Coach looks for results from men's team Cross country teams come up short on 1st test Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.