Coos Co. man wants a gun in every house
Former sheriff Mike Cook proposes an ordinance that he
says would not be enforced but might well deter crime
Sunday, July 1, 2001
By Wendy Owen, Correspondent, The Oregonian
COQUILLE -- A former Coos County sheriff is hoping the pen
is mightier than the . . . rifle.
Mike Cook wants Coos County Commissioners to pass an
ordinance requiring every household to have a firearm, but he
said it doesn't have to be enforced. It's the written law he
hopes will scare away criminals, much like a "beware of dog"
sign on a gate.
Cook, who works part-time at a North Bend gun shop, said the
death of a 15-year-old Coquille girl last summer had sparked
his plan.
"A lot of people in the community, especially a lot of ladies,
were nervous about their safety," Cook said. "I thought this has
really got the community upset."
So, Cook hopped on the Internet and came across an article
about a gun ordinance in Kennesaw, Ga. that was credited for
helping reduce crime in the town by requiring a gun in every
household.
The effect of the ordinance was unforeseen, said Cpl. Craig
Graydon of the Kennesaw Police Department. The city council
had passed the law in 1982 as a political statement,
supporting the right to bear arms after a town in Illinois had
banned handguns. But a year after its highly publicized
passage, crimes fell by 27 percent, according to police
records. The number of crimes has remained at 1982 levels
despite a jump in Kennesaw's population from 5,000 to
19,000 during the past 19 years.
Graydon said word of the ordinance must have spread in
criminal circles as a result of the widespread media coverage.
While the nation concentrated on Kennesaw, the city council in
Chiloquin, north of Klamath Falls, passed a similar ordinance,
which stands today.
Neither of the towns enforces the laws and both documents
contain loopholes for citizens who can't have firearms
because of their religion, a disability, criminal record or
because they are philosophically opposed to the idea. The
Coos County ordinance would hold the same provisions.
The law didn't change anything in Chiloquin, said Joyce Smith,
the mayor and city recorder. The town of 716 has always had
very little crime.
News accounts in 1982 quote Chiloquin city council members
as supporting the ordinance out of worry that Californians
moving to the area would bring their anti-gun ideas with them
and restrict firearms in town.
In the early 1990s, a new city council reviewed the ordinance
as it cleaned its books of useless laws -- such as making it a
crime to kick off the head of a snake sticking through the
boardwalk -- but the unenforceable gun ordinance remained,
Smith said -- "I think because it puts us on the map and it's a
good conversation starter."
A citizen's group in Jackson County tried to pass a similar
ordinance in 1993 but failed. Neighboring Josephine County
passed a charter amendment in 1994 forbidding any new law
that would infringe upon rights of citizens to bear arms.
A statewide attempt in 1993 by then-Rep. Liz VanLeeuwen,
R-Halsey, would have required gun ownership and training as
a deterrent to crime. It didn't even make it to the House
Judiciary Committee.
VanLeeuwen, who served in the House between 1980 and
1999, said she still believes every household should have a
gun, especially in rural areas.
"I think what sparked it for me is people who live where I do
would never get a law officer (in time). You'd be gone. That's
pretty slow help," she said.
"If you're prepared and strong, someone is not so apt to
attack."
When Virgin, Utah, passed a similar ordinance last year, the
town of 400 people made international news. According to
reports, three U.S. cities have repealed similar laws they
passed.
Coos County Commissioners agreed to meet with Cook to
discuss the proposed ordinance, but they're going in with
eyebrows raised.
Commissioner Nikki Whitty said she wants to get local law
enforcement's thoughts about the ordinance, including how to
implement the law when it has no enforcement mechanism.
Coos County Sheriff Andy Jackson said he doesn't believe the
unenforced law would cause additional problems from more
guns in the hands of more people. But he does sees it as a
hypocrisy.
"From what I hear, nobody wants to be forced into a demand
to have a gun, just like people don't want guns taken away," he
said.
Cook guessed that almost every household in Coos County
already has a gun in it, as was the case in Virgin, Kennesaw
and Chiloquin.
"It's not going to change things that much," Cook said of the
law. "But it will tell the world, 'Don't mess with us.' "
worldnetdaily.com
* * * |
