[Drizzt]

The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

March 22, 2003 Saturday Final Edition

SECTION: METRO; Pg. B2

LENGTH: 346 words

HEADLINE: 'DONE WITH GUNS' IS AMONG APRIL 5 THEMES

BYLINE: Maria Bibbs bibbs@gomemphis.com

BODY:
City Councilman Myron Lowery, announcing a two-part community project to address gun violence, said Friday he wants to help young people feel safe in their neighborhoods.

"Tickets for Guns" and "Done With Guns: A Seminar To End Gun Violence" are scheduled for April 5 at the National Civil Rights Museum. There is no "magic solution" to eradicating violence, Lowery said, but he hopes the community effort will get at least some illegal guns off the streets.

Local business and public leaders are sponsoring the events in cooperation with the National Coalition to End Gun Violence.

The program was planned for April 5, the day after the anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis in 1968.

"This is a time when people focus on King's death," Lowery said. "Thirty-five years later, it's appropriate for citizens to make a statement again for nonviolence."

"Tickets for Guns" will be held outside the museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Anyone who turns in a gun will be able to select a pair of tickets from five of the seven sponsors: Libertyland, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Malco Theatres, National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis Redbirds, Memphis Zoo and Memphis Grizzlies.

Up to 10 tickets per person will be available on a first-come-first-served basis.

"While we are relatively new to the community, we are pleased to play any role we can in worthwhile projects especially those benefiting children," said Mike Golub of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The seminar will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the museum. Representatives from the Juvenile Violence Abatement Program, Memphis and Shelby Crime Commission, Neighborhood Watch and Crime Stoppers will conduct the meeting.

The event is free and open to the public and will last until noon. Participants will learn strategies for limiting gun violence in their neighborhoods.

The Memphis Police Department will destroy the guns after checking to see if any were used in any crimes.

To register for the seminar, call Lowery's City Council offices at 576-6787.

[cheygriz]

Sounds like Memphis needs some new political leadership!

[tobeat1]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! #@$$@!! I happen to live here, in this wonderful place called Memphis. The communist appeal, (er, Commercial Appeal) and the Memphis City council can go straight to heck. Just goes to show you that it only takes a few bad apples to ruin the bunch. What a waste of money.

[Drjones]

Boy, between this and the rabid anti-war commies in TX, I guess NO PLACE is safe from those scum....

Well, at least now I don't feel so bad living in CA!!!

You guys share my pain!!!!!

:neener: :neener:

[MitchSchaft]

I guarantee you they didn't get a lot of folks to turn their guns in. This may be West TN, but it's still TN.

[joebogey]

Dude!
Go to the bank or empty your savings account and be there to meet those folks when they show up. Aint no tellin what kind of bargain you can pick when you tell those folks how little they're gettin for their weapons.

[BamBam]

The gang-bangers are already lining up, Mac-10s in hand, for free tickets to the zoo!

[Zander]

Sounds like Memphis needs some new political leadership!Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. The city is in solid control of liberal Democrats and is more similar to nation-cities such as LA, Chicago and NYC than other large population centers in our fair state. The "leaders" aren't intelligent or honest enough to formulate their own plan...they have for decades blindly followed the lead of the race-baiters and will continue to do so until voters are educated enough and willful enough to elect real leaders.

This "gun turn-in" nonsense resonates with the sheeple in Shelby Co. who are more inclined to govt. handouts than fiscal responsibility. They tend to elect "representatives" who promise the blatant redistribution of income from those who actually do productive work for a living. As long as the state and fed.gov pour our tax dollars into "solutions" without threatening handouts, they are happy campers.

In the meantime, Memphis is demonstrably the most dangerous area of the state [it's violent crime rate is off the scale compared to other Tennessee cities]; their simplistic reaction to crime is that "taking guns off the street" will make it "safer". :rolleyes:

[MeekandMild]

I've been through Memphis a few times. Its problem is that it is home to some of the biggest public housing developments in the world. "Come to Memphis and get a check," should be its motto. :scrutiny:

[Hard Charger]

The Memphis Metro area is the most dangerous in the nation. That included West Memphis, and North Mississippi (which probably brings the average down).

Memphis is the most dangerous city in it's population group.


http://www.morganquitno.com/cit03pop.htm#25

[MitchSchaft]

You beat me to it. We have the most instances of violent crime in metropolitan cities with a population over 500,000. I haven't been a victim yet:neener:.
You could compare us to L.A. or NY when it comes to politics, but we're still allowed to carry guns(don't have to worry about concealability, btw) and law enforcement encourages it and thanks us for carrying! The gun laws are not going to get worse, they're getting better thanks to the TFA and others. We'll be able to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol this year if things go our way. That's just 1 example.

[MitchSchaft]

Hard Charger, you should check out our TFA meeting next month if you're interested. Contact me for info.

[JohnBT]

Richmond's #13, Richmond's #13...oops, that's the bad list...

John

[Dave P]

I say this every time a buy a new rifle! " I am DONE WITH GUNS, nothing left on my wish list, don't need no mo'!"

Then in a few weeks ...

[foghornl]

Work in Cleveland, OH now, but grew up just across the "Mighty Mississippi" in West Memphis...60's & 70's. Knew even then there were places NOT to go, ANYTIME. No knock on Memphis, just the way it is. There are places here in Cleveland where I don't go ANYTIME.

BTW, for those of you still in Memphis, whatever happened to the "Indoor Shooting Center" I think it was called, just off Brooks Rd near the Airport?

[MitchSchaft]

I never heard of that place, so it probably doesn't exhist anymore.

[MeekandMild]

Hard Charger, your lists bring to mind many visits to many cities: Chattanooga, Nashville, Birmingham, Detroit, Atlanta, New Orleans, Dayton, Miami, et cetera. When I was a child I recall walking past public housing and asking my father about all the "rich people who live in those big brick houses", then listening to his reply that they were bad people and to stay away from them. I can almost hear his words, "some people will work harder to keep from working than anybody ever works at work".

The one thing which stands out in my memory for all of these cities is they all have square miles of public housing so that there is concentrated ignorance, sloth and corruption in their hearts.

[cuchulainn]

"Tickets for Guns" and "Done With Guns: A Seminar To End Gun Violence" are scheduled for April 5 at the National Civil Rights Museum. Does anyone else find it ironic that an anti-gun (aka anti civil rights) seminar is being held in a civil rights museum?