Columbine legacy still unfolding

It's been almost a year since two teenagers shocked the nation when they went on a rampage at a suburban Colorado high school. <br><br>And for now, the legacy of that tragedy is still a work in progress.<br><br>When

Wednesday, April 12th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

It's been almost a year since two teenagers shocked the nation when they went on a rampage at a suburban Colorado high school.

And for now, the legacy of that tragedy is still a work in progress.

When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched their assault on Columbine High School - gunning down students and setting off explosive devices - they demonstrated that suburbia was not immune to mass violence. A dozen students and a teacher died before the two teenagers, part of a campus outcast clique known as the "Trench Coat Mafia," killed themselves.

The April 20 massacre immediately prompted questions, accusations and recriminations. But in Colorado and throughout the nation, the weapons used at Columbine became the primary focus.

Columbine is a rallying point for gun-control groups that have seen their memberships swell. Pro-gun groups, fearing more regulation and restrictions in the aftermath, also have stepped up their efforts.

President Clinton traveled Tuesday to Maryland, where Gov. Parris N. Glendening signed off on the toughest gun-lock law in the nation. The law makes Maryland the first state to require that all guns sold be equipped with external trigger locks and requires that all new guns have built-in locks starting in 2003.

The president is scheduled to visit Colorado on Wednesday to support a ballot initiative that would require background checks for everyone who purchases weapons at gun shows, a measure that failed to get through the Colorado Legislature.

"We need to . . . take reasonable steps to get guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them," said John Head, co-founder of SAFE Colorado, a gun-control group that is seeking passage of the initiative.

Across the ideological divide, pro-gun groups also have massed to resist post-Columbine assaults on what they see as fundamental - and constitutional - rights.

The National Rifle Association has reported a surge in membership, as has the Colorado State Shooting Association.

"All the anti-gun people jumped on this as a chance to demonize the whole industry, to demonize the whole idea of self-defense," said Bill Dietrick, legislative director for the pro-gun Colorado group. "They just tried to cram it down our throats in the national legislature, in our local legislature and . . . a lot of legislatures around the country."

Gun legislation

Mr. Clinton recently issued a challenge to Congress "to enact gun legislation before the one-year anniversary of the Columbine tragedy."

Congress is still grappling over several gun-control measures in a bill that has been stalled for several months. However, the House did pass legislation on Tuesday that encourages states to impose stiff mandatory prison sentences for criminals who use guns.

Legislation proposed in Colorado since Columbine has fallen on both sides of the issue.

Immediately afterward, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens encouraged lawmakers to back off on all gun-related bills. He later supported five recommendations aimed at improving gun safety.

To date, he has been able to sign one into law, opening juvenile records to gun purchase background checks. And a ban of "straw purchases" - buying a gun for someone else who legally cannot - appears likely to pass.

Background checks

Efforts to require background checks at gun shows, raise the legal age to purchase a handgun from 18 to 21 and require "safe storage" of weapons have failed.

Last month, Mr. Owens signed a law authorizing a strict background check by state authorities for individuals purchasing firearms from dealers, a system that uses a database that includes detailed information on restraining orders and domestic violence.

The Colorado Legislature also approved a measure that would essentially limit gun manufacturers' liability for design or manufacturing defects, a pre-emptive strike against lawsuits seeking compensation for expenses incurred by government entities or individuals because of gun violence.

Mr. Owens told The Dallas Morning News that he would like to see some changes in the measure and that he hasn't decided whether he'll sign it. In principal, he favors "providing immunity for gun manufacturers from the crimes of people who use those guns."

Lawsuits

Several lawsuits filed by cities against gun manufacturers, both before and after Columbine, are viewed with alarm by pro-gun groups that have pushed for similar manufacturer immunity legislation in several states.

Confronted with such litigation, firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson agreed to several restrictions on how its products will be sold in a settlement with the White House. The federal government agreed not to sue the Massachusetts firm, and some state and local governments are dropping their lawsuits.

"You can either padlock the doors, put 800 people out of work, or you can try to find some way to stay in business," said Smith & Wesson spokesman Ken Jorgensen.

Pro-gun groups and other manufacturers have harshly criticized the settlement.

"The coercion used by the White House, together with state and local officials under the threat of continued massive lawsuits, is reprehensible," asserts a written statement from Colt's Manufacturing Co. Last fall, the Connecticut-based company decided to stop producing most of its civilian handguns, largely because of lawsuits.

Not sole catalyst

Experts say that Columbine has helped bolster gun-control efforts nationwide but is by no means the sole catalyst. Even in Colorado, restrictive gun ordinances were approved by the city of Denver several years ago in response to a gang problem. Maryland, which passed the gun-lock law Tuesday, has a long history of restrictive gun laws.

Sometimes overlooked in the debate are the demographics of violence. Teen homicides appear to be following a downward trend after a dramatic rise in the 1980s and early 1990s. Inner-city minorities are still most likely to be the victims.

Marshall Kaplan, who heads the University of Colorado at Denver's Institute for Public Policy, said that public interest often fades after tragic events. But Columbine's impact may be more significant because so many died, because of the media attention and because it affected suburbia - which is more empowered politically.

But he added that had there not been shootings elsewhere, public interest might have waned.

Bill Powers, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, suggests that Mr. Clinton wants to keep gun control alive as a political issue, even going so far as to spurn compromise legislation last summer.

Much of the current political debate, he said, is misguided.

"I think people understand that in Columbine there were some 22 federal and state gun laws violated," Mr. Powers said. "What's one or two more? How's that going to make a difference?"

Political tiger

Mr. Owens has steered a difficult and perhaps politically perilous course on the gun issue.

He supports the initiative on background checks at gun shows but won't be appearing with Mr. Clinton, asserting that it's inappropriate for the president to "inject national political issues into Colorado just eight days before the first anniversary of Columbine."

At times, his views on gun legislation place him at odds with other Republican politicians in the state, though not necessarily with the general public.

A recent survey by the public policy institute at the University of Colorado found significant support for what Dr. Kaplan describes as "reasonable gun legislation," including background checks at gun shows.

While he has supported tougher gun laws, Mr. Owens, a Fort Worth native, also believes that Columbine illustrates other important issues.
"It's a problem of culture. It's a problem of children not growing up with a sense of what's right and wrong, of alienation," he said.

A "Safe Communities-Safe Schools" initiative, managed by the Center for the Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado at Denver, is aimed at identifying such problems and providing solutions.

"It doesn't matter if we've got locks on our guns or checks at the shows," said Jane Grady, assistant director of the center. "If the problems are still there, these people are still going to be able to get hold of things."