Anti-Crime Package

After reading the Aug. 14 editorial on President Clinton’s crime package, I am forced to wonder how many members of Congress are interested in tackling the real issues of crime rather than voting for a politically expedient bill which gives the illusion of accomplishing something. Crime will continue unabated until its root causes, namely hopeless poverty, lack of opportunities for economic advancement and crumbling family infrastructures are addressed.

If you care not to address the root causes behind crime, then we can continue to treat the symptoms by more aggressive policing and gun control. However, throwing more police officers into a system which practices “catch and release” incarceration techniques will not havethe intended effect unless funds are allocated for additional prison space. While we all know how easy it is to agree that we need more prison space, the NIMBY (not in my back yard) mentality that permeates our system prevents any from being built.

Similarly, while any reasonable person would support legislation to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, we cannot allow such legislation to infringe the rights of law-abiding individuals to keep and bear arms for their own defense. The simple fact that criminals fear an armed populace more than they fear being caught and prosecuted may be the ultimate solution for crime.

CHRIS TISONE

Orange

* I know that guns don’t kill people; people kill people. But I can’t remember the last time I saw one of these headlines: “Gangbanger Killed in Drive-By Stabbing” or “Bystander Slain in Cross-Fire of Baseball Bats.”

BILL BENNETT

Newport Beach