Date: Tue, 5 Sep 1995 22:56:47 -0400
From: [T S Ben c h] at [aol.com]
To: [l--oa--l] at [ns2.icsi.net], [n--b--n] at [Mainstream.com]
Subject: Just dying for a waiting period

I remember, during the hearings on the Brady Bill, a Department of Justice
staffer was asked if she could think of one instance where a waiting period
would have prevented a crime. She replied that she couldn't think of any.
 She was then asked if she knew of any instances where a waiting period would
have resulted in a righteous citizen being violently assaulted, injured, or
killed.  She replied that "it happens all the time". Everyone sort of laughed
off off her testimony. There are a few folks in Louisiana who aren't laughing
now. And one who will never laugh again.

Paul Harvey carried this story on his nationwide midday newscast last week.
Here is the newspaper report.

>From the Thursday, August 17th edition of the Shreveport Times (Shreveport,
LA)
Reprinted without permission.

MURDERED CLERK HAD SOUGHT HANDGUN FOR PROTECTION

By DUNSTAN PRIAL
The Times

      Philip Russell Coleman felt he needed a handgun to protect himself.
 His application for the purchase of a chrome-plated, .380 caliber Lorcin
pistol was approved Tuesday three days after Coleman was shot to death in a
liquor store holdup.  Coleman intended to purchase the gun Friday, said Jim
Roberts, owner of USA Pawn Shop in Shreveport.  But his application was
initially rejected by the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office.  Roberts said
Coleman, a regular customer at the pawn shop, put a down payment on the gun
on Aug. 3 and filled out the Brady law application, which requires a
background check on potential handgun owners.

      "He said he needed the gun for his own protection because he worked
late hours at a liquor store and he felt it was dangerous," Roberts said.
 The application shows Coleman answered "no" to each of the questions,
including whether he'd ever been convicted of a felony, or had a past history
of drug abuse or mental illness.  Coleman's application came back a day later
stating that he had been rejected.

      Roberts said Coleman returned to the store on Friday hoping to pay the
balance of money he owed on the gun. He said Coleman insisted the rejected
application must have been a mistake on the part of the Sheriff's Office.  "I
told him to go down and straighten it out with the Sheriff's Office," Roberts
said, "and I guess he did."  Coleman didn't return to the pawn shop that day.
He went to work instead, and was shot to death just as his shift ended around
1 a.m. Saturday.  He was 42.

      The Sheriff's Office notified Roberts by fax on Tuesday that Coleman's
application had been reconsidered and approved.  "This is one case where the
Brady Bill cost someone their life," Roberts said.  "It took away his
opportunity to protect himself."  Roland Toups, operator of area Thrifty
Liquor stores, did not return phone calls.

      Sheriff Don Hathaway said he was unaware of the details of the case.
 He said there was apparently justification for initially denying Coleman's
application, and that the law allows for rejected applicants to ask for a
second review.  "They have an opportunity to come in and maybe (Coleman) was
able to clear this up," Hathaway said.  "Once he did that, my office followed
through and approved the application."

      Gregg Trusty, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said he didn't know
why Coleman's application was initially rejected.  He added: "There is no
indication that any thing was done other than in direct accordance with the
law."  Ed Tuggle, a local life member of the National Rifle Association, said
Coleman's death reveals the flaws in the Brady Bill and federally mandated
waiting periods.  The NRA fought hard on the national level to block passage
of the bill.  "It denies law abiding people the right to purchase a handgun,
especially when there is a specific need for one," Tuggle said.  "I'm not
surprised that this happened.  It was just a matter of time before something
like this occurred, and of course it will repeat itself."  Hathaway
countered: "I think it's premature to make any judgments.  I think we should
wait until we know all the facts before we come to any conclusions."

[my note: I think from this story we CAN come to the conclusion that someone
is dead for absolutely no reason]

Regards,
TSBench