Linky...
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=118486&format=&page=1
Excerpt...
Proposed article targets firearms
By Casey Lyons/ Daily News Staff
Thursday, January 5, 2006 - Updated: 12:54 AM EST
BOXBOROUGH -- The National Rifle Association has long championed phrases like, "Guns don’t kill people, people kill people."
For a group of concerned residents in Boxborough, however, that same idea is focused more on prevention: before people with guns kill people, people should ban guns.
Suzanne Schmitt, a 17-year Boxborough resident, has drafted and gathered names on a petition to prohibit the discharge of firearms outright. By pounding the pavement and enlisting help, Schmitt convinced 109 Boxborough residents to sign on the line -- 89 more than are needed for a resident-driven article at the annual Town Meeting in May.
"We felt it was sort of a publicity issue," Schmitt said of her and her husband Stephen’s efforts. "No one knew that we were doing this. Through the petition we spread the word that we thought this was important and should come up at Town Meeting."
Like previous gun-related issues, this one has origins in a December 2004 hiker and hunter confrontation on conservation land. When the hiker told the hunters about hunting prohibitions in the area, one hunter had reportedly said that bullets don’t know the difference.
The incident touched off a debate in town about the continued appropriateness of hunting in an increasingly rural town. After several months of investigation, the trail safety subcommittee of the Conservation Committee concluded that hunting served a necessary purpose.
Unlike the previous thrust to limit hunting, this one seeks to prohibit the discharge of firearms in town, though with several exceptions.
To Schmitt, firearm discharge presents a threat to all residents.
"We thought it was a public safety issue that needed to be addressed," she said. "It’s difficult to control situations where guns are involved."
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=118486&format=&page=1
Excerpt...
Proposed article targets firearms
By Casey Lyons/ Daily News Staff
Thursday, January 5, 2006 - Updated: 12:54 AM EST
BOXBOROUGH -- The National Rifle Association has long championed phrases like, "Guns don’t kill people, people kill people."
For a group of concerned residents in Boxborough, however, that same idea is focused more on prevention: before people with guns kill people, people should ban guns.
Suzanne Schmitt, a 17-year Boxborough resident, has drafted and gathered names on a petition to prohibit the discharge of firearms outright. By pounding the pavement and enlisting help, Schmitt convinced 109 Boxborough residents to sign on the line -- 89 more than are needed for a resident-driven article at the annual Town Meeting in May.
"We felt it was sort of a publicity issue," Schmitt said of her and her husband Stephen’s efforts. "No one knew that we were doing this. Through the petition we spread the word that we thought this was important and should come up at Town Meeting."
Like previous gun-related issues, this one has origins in a December 2004 hiker and hunter confrontation on conservation land. When the hiker told the hunters about hunting prohibitions in the area, one hunter had reportedly said that bullets don’t know the difference.
The incident touched off a debate in town about the continued appropriateness of hunting in an increasingly rural town. After several months of investigation, the trail safety subcommittee of the Conservation Committee concluded that hunting served a necessary purpose.
Unlike the previous thrust to limit hunting, this one seeks to prohibit the discharge of firearms in town, though with several exceptions.
To Schmitt, firearm discharge presents a threat to all residents.
"We thought it was a public safety issue that needed to be addressed," she said. "It’s difficult to control situations where guns are involved."