Letters
The Wisconsin Lawyer welcomes letters to the editor on any
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Bar should not advocate gun control, or other political stance
You may add my name to the list of opponents of the State Bar's
embrace of a political position; advocacy of gun control (August Wisconsin
Lawyer). With all due respect to Past President Saichek, this
is unquestionably a political issue, as it directly impacts
constitutionally protected freedoms. In addition, even if this were not
clearly a political issue, it has nothing whatsoever to do with
advancement of the legal profession or provision of legal services to
those in need.
Mr. Saichek also indicates his belief that "Proliferation of cheap
and unduly dangerous handguns has definitely affected our courts and the
investment of judicial resources." Ignoring for the moment the glaring
failure to define the terms "cheap" and "unduly dangerous" (as if any
firearm is not dangerous), Mr. Saichek misses the point. That being,
every single act the State Bar Commission on Violence and the Justice
System is worried about is already against existing law. Rather
than a hysterical and elitist rush to judgment, couched in terms of
protecting our courts, the Commission would do the public a greater
service by emphasizing protection for individual liberties while
focusing on the root causes of violence in our society.
Again, guns, even the "cheap and unduly dangerous handguns," are not
the problem. Every time a firearm has caused an injury or fatality there
has been a human hand involved. Rather than employ sophistic arguments
to finesse the membership of the Bar and the public at large into giving
up their hard-won rights, the Commission could support existing efforts
to identify and ameliorate the root causes of unrest and violence in our
society. Regrettably, these efforts usually lack the glamour and appeal
of parroting Handgun Control Inc.'s party line.
If the State Bar is to retain and enhance its position as a beacon of
dispassionate reason in our modern legal climate, we must studiously
avoid taking political positions as an organization. All the members of
the Commission, indeed, all the members of the Bar, are free to vote for
political candidates and espouse their individual political beliefs as
they so choose. However, it is an affront to the individuality of each
of the Bar's members and to the dignity of the Bar itself to engage in a
political assault, especially where the freedoms to be affected are so
dear as to be protected by the Bill of Rights.
Gerald R. Fox
Black River Falls
I object to the State Bar's use of membership dues to fund "junk
findings" on the subject of gun control. The Commission on Violence and
the Justice System's recommendations regarding handguns are nothing more
than a slick back-door attempt to ban handguns. The Commission's
recommendations will be received with glee at the headquarters of
Handgun Control Inc. I am shocked, however, to learn that Wisconsin
lawyers are willing to play the same kind of shell game with the facts
that we have come to expect from the national media.
The Commission's recommendations on gun control will cause people to
be skeptical of other portions of the Commission's work. It also tends
to reinforce, if not confirm, the popular belief that the State Bar is
run by a handful of big-city lawyers who have no idea what is going on
in the rural parts of this state, and who don't care. Civil libertarians
interested in actively defending the Bill of Rights are urged to contact
me at P.O. Box B, Juneau, WI 53039; fax (920) 386-0251.
Joe Sciascia
Juneau
Wisconsin Lawyer
