Page 4-Friday, June 30, 1978-The Michigan Daily emichigan DAILY Eighty-eight Years of Editorial Freedom 420 Maynard St.; Ann Arbor, MI. 48109 Vol. LXXXVIII, No. 36-S News Phone: 764-0552 Friday, June 30, 197 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Civ i its defeat, FTER THE Supreme Court announces its two split decisions - one affirming the con- stitutionality of affirmative action, the other denying the justification of quota systems like the one used at the University of California at Davis - Justice Thurgood Marshall explained the significance of the second 5-to-4 decision which essentially rejects minority quota systems. Marshall, the court's first and only black member, framed the question in historical ter- ms. For most of the history of this country, Mar- shall said, the laws have failed to protect its minority citizens from discrimination and con- stant violation of their rights. After a war was fought - at least ostensibly to determine whether or not blacks were to be considered members of society or not - there were the beginnings of progressive laws, then a reversal by the court which was followed by a century of inaction. Finally, a quarter century ago, the landmark school desegregation case, followed by the civil rights acts of Congress, provided the basis for growing, if unsteady affirmative action programs across the country. "Now, we have this court action stepping in," Marshall said, "this time to stop affirmative ac- tion of the type used by the University of Califor- nia.- The question has come down to quotas. Civil rights leaders have been quoted as saying that the court's decision represents a victory since af- firmative action has been given official con- stitutional sanction. But we see nothing inheren- tly wrong with the proper implementation of two tracks of admission, one favoring minority students to offset the injustice cited by Marshall. In addition to the dangers signalled by the alarmingly tight squeeze it took to support af- firmative action - only one vote stood between recognition of the most moderate goals and no way to set goals at all - it is clear that the negative quota decision has dealt a serious blow to affirmative action. We have repeatedly voiced our concern for the future of programs - both on this campus and around the country - intended to counter the historic pattern which has granted white, upper- middle class males every advantage society could offer in the way of education and the resulting jobs. Administrators at Davis may not have done their jobs well; we are not certain that that par- ticular program was the best example of a quota system in practice. But the refusal of the court to recognize the possibility that quotas may oc- casionally have to be set to assure that those who have had to overcome severe disadvantages can continue in school and to keep the country on the path to racial equality, marks a low point in the civil rights movement as Justice Marshall so clearly pointed out. Al (B th] for sa re lot se the Co ch mi USE pr 200 off the De rep gu ma ret Sys all tha fir hou Th ter cor T lob Mo Rif den an sys thr Gun laws under fire By Paul Stone constitutional power of Congress for individual weapons, coupled to legislate such requirements. with insufficient record-keeping When the federal Bureau of Over the next two months the by importers, manufacturers, cohol, Tobacco and Firearms NRA directed a flood of protests wholesalers, makes the tracing of ATF) announced a short, to the administration and guns used in crimes difficult and ree-point proposal this spring Congress in an attempt to under- time consuming. Current law r tighter regulation of gun cut the proposed regulations. The requires retail dealers to keep les, no one in the agency NRA accused the administration records of firearm sales to alized it would create one of the of using a sneaky, semi-hushed private citizens. These records idest firefights in the current manner in proposing the must be turned over to police on ssion of Congress. It is a debate regulations. It charged that the demand.BATF defended the at has spread dissension in the regulations constituted a first program, pointing to the alar- nservative ranks, elicited step towards seizure of privately mingly high rate of stolen guns in arges of deception, owned firearms. circulation - as high as 20 per srepresentation and improper Rep. John Ashbrook (R-Ohio) cent, according to one New York e of congressional franking the ranking minority member of City police report - guns that are ivileges and dumped over the House Judiciary Committee's most often used in crime. ),000 leters on the desks of BATF subcommittee on crime, called a Debate over the Treasury's icials. special session to investigate the proposals continues as the Senate The proposals announced by BATF's plans. After asking wit- Appropriations Committee con- BATF, a unit in the Treasury nesses Rex Davis, the BATF's siders a bill to block the new partment, included quarterly director, and Richard Davis, regulations. A fierce debate took porting of all movement of assistant secretary of Treasury, place earlier this month in the ns between importers, to give their testimony under House when a similar provision nufacturers, wholesale and oath, Ashbrook said, "I don't in the Treasury and Postal Ser- ail outlets; a uniform 14-digit believe these witnesses have vice appropriations bill forbade tem of gun identification for been honest. I believe they may committing any money to carry firearms and the requirement have been evasive. I believe they out the new regulations. The t the theft or loss of any have deceived this committee." House also cut the department's earm be reported within 24 requested appropriations by $4.1 urs after the loss is noticed. ASHBROOK WAS referring to million - the sum the BATF e information from these quar- questions as to whether the estimated it would take to ly reports was to be fed into a bureauy had, in early drafts of establish the new process - even mputer system. the regulations, considered though supplemental ap- requiring the reporting of retail propriation would be required to 'HE REACTION from the gun sales with other transactions. In implement the regulations. by was widespread and swift. its March 30 publication, the NRA st prominent was the National had incorrectly said that the Paul Stone, who has repor- le Association (NFA) which proposed regulations would ted for the Boston Phoenix, iounced the BATF proposal as require reporting sales to private New York Post, Los Angeles attempt to institute a central citizens. Treasury claimed that Times, and Congressional tem of gun registration the current system of serial Quarterly, wrote this for the ough regulaton, bypassing the numbers, which are not unique Pacific News Service (PNS). Controls won 't stop murders There are some 150 million than count dead housebreakers ses to certain individuals - privately owned firearms in versus dead homeowners, friends women, long-hairs, blacks or America (and nearly 40 million and relatives - both suicide and others whose lifestyles or per- handguns). However, a Univer- homocide victims. That study sonal philosophies tend to clash sity of Wisconsin study - the neither examined the value of with those of the issuing most serious, scholarly attempt property protected by armed authorities. to examine the relationship bet- homeowners, nor did it consider The most presuasive argument ween firearms and crime and the the burglars challenged and against national registration efficacy of firearms laws at ultimately frightened off or held comes not from NRA 'but from reducing crime - found only that for the authorities. Nowhere is it Chuck Morgan, former director accessibility to firearms (han- mentioned that in areas with a of the American Civil Liberties dguns in particular) has no effect high rate of ownership of firear- Union's Washington, D.C., office on violent crime or accidental ms burglary rates dip below and no friend of the nra. in 1975, death or wounding rates, that those of their neighbors who don't testifying before Congress, firearms laws "have no own guns. Morgan said, "You can pass all significant effect on rates of the laws you want to about violence" and that firearms laws A NATION-WIDE poll of registration. What you are going do not limit access to guns by the American opinion of firearms to come up with is that the violence prone. Only two of every ownership and gun control laws greatest lawbreaker the people 10,000 handguns are murder conducted in 1975 found that a have seen in the last three years tools. To claim similar potential majority of those keeping - the federal government - will for all other firearms leaves one firearms for self-protection were get new records over citizens and open to some rather bizzare inner-city minority members. To new controls over its citizens on analogies not the least humorous these people a firearm can and the computer." No more need be of which is that equating all does spell the difference between said. males with rapists because they economic freedom and despair. This is a condensed version sport similar equipment. More evidence shows that the of an article written for PNS The majority of privately only real use of licensing laws is by John Aquilino, editor of owned firearms in American the discretionary denial of licen- the NRA newspaper. homes (handguns included) are in collections or are used for hun- ting, competitive or recreational , i.. M.. NWN . w, -:. :-{ , shooting or self-defense, This last reason is perhaps the most Submissions of essay and opinion to the maligned. Those who don't own , guns see self-defense as little Daily's Editorial page should be typed and more than a self-delusion of the triple spaced. They will be returned to the hopelessly paranoid. They cite statistics that 4hose keeping author only if a request is made to do so. home-defense guns are six times Publication is based on conciseness, clarity of more likely to end up a shooting victim than to bag a burglar. thought and writing, and overall appeal. Their justification is a Cleveland, Ohio study that didlittle -e