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Thursday, April 6, 1989, p. 1

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Gun advocates turn out in force at religious meeting
Unitarians host gun control speaker

By ANDREA HENLEY-HEYN


MILANVILLE -- A local newspaper editor was besieged with questions and comments by 75 visitors to a Sunday morning religious service where he was speaking on gun control. The gun advocates joined about two dozen regular fellowship members, who had invited the speaker to address the subject of gun control.

Jim Kalbaugh, editor and general manager of The Wayne Independent, gave the presentation on April 2 before the Upper Delaware Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, which meets at the Innisfree Youth Hostel in Milanville.

He called for action from both sides of the gun control debate to resolve problems of criminal behavior involving guns. He said that people should exercise their political power if they think that current gun control laws are adequate but not enforced, and that convicted felons get guns too easily. He said they should work to remove local officials if they don't like sentences given by judges or plea bargains given by district attorneys.

Kalbaugh was criticized by the generally courteous crowd of non-members, for what was termed "irresponsible" and one-sided journalism, according to many signs carried by the crowd.

A series of editorial cartoons by Mike Peters of the Dayton Ohio Daily News has sparked the controversy locally after they appeared in The Wayne Independent. Gun dealers Mike and Penny Jones of Northeast Firearms in Honesdale, who attended the Sunday worship, have called for a boycott of the newspaper.

Kalbaugh replied that letters to the editor on the issue have been printed repeatedly, and that a 32-inch column by a National Rifle Association (NRA) representative opposing gun control appeared on the same page as the one of the cartoons in question.

Penny Jones said that a Wayne Independent article on the boycott "made a mockery of our opinion." She faulted the paper for including Kalbaugh's commentary on the boycott of the article.

Mike Jones said, "We don't need more laws" just a stronger enforcement of the ones currently on the books. He pointed out that there is a 48-hour waiting period to buy handguns in Pennsylvania. There are 12 questions potential purchasers must answer before buying a gun, he said, and that lying on any one of those 12 questions is a felony.

Jones said it was not the more resrictive Canadian gun laws that accounted for the low crime rate in Vancouver, compared to the high crime rate in the U.S. neighbor Seattle. He claimed strong drug laws with mandatory sentences for first offenders made the difference.

In the prolongued discussion following Kalbaugh's remarks, a fellowship member asked how the already overburdened criminal justice system would accommodate all the criminals that would be incarcerated. "Where's the money going to come from," he asked.

Another person raised the analogy between prohibition of alcohol and gun control, saying that people who wanted to drink got alcohol and it would be the same if guns were outlawed.

One member of the crowd used racial slurs in explaining why guns are necessary for protection in this rural area. He said he would shoot anyone coming through his door. Another agreed, saying "That's justice."

After the meeting, fellowship member Tom Rue, who had invited Kalbaugh, said it was the largest number of people ever to attend a Sunday service. Rue said members were surprised by the crowd, but few were offended. "They were invited guests. The meeting is open to the public. I don't think they knew quite what to expect."

However, one fellowship member left the meeting and another commented, "I wouldn't say how I feel about guns in there. I am afraid of those people."

Rue said the fellowship does not actively seek controversial subjects, but makes an effort not to shy away from them either. Unitarians have no specific creed, believing instead that individuals share a common search for religious meaning.