Information Alert for Utah Shooting Sports Council Members and Supporters July 30, 2004
For latest information always check the USSC website http://UtahShootingSports.com
--- Gun show this weekend
--- Join USSC
--- Ladies trap shooting event Aug 7th is full
--- Voter Registration
--- Letters to editor
--- 26 States now honor Utah CCW Permits, 3 more pending
--- Utah War- Cowboy shooting championships Aug 12-14
--- Warning to Air travelers
--- Highway frontage locations needed
--- NUDPA Match August 7
--- PBS report on Guns and churches in Utah
--- UtahConcealedCarry.com new chat website (correction)
--- USSC website
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GUN SHOW IN SANDY THIS WEEKEND-VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Crossroads of the West Gun Show is this weekend, July 31- August 1st at the South Towne Expo center (about 9400 South State Street). Print out a $1.00 off coupon for the show, from http://www.crossroadsgunshows.com/guncoupn.htm
USSC volunteers will be working to get every gun owner registered to vote and signed up for the USSC email alerts. We will also have copies of our new "Be Safe" story for youngsters (grades K-3).
We still have open slots on Sunday afternoon (11:30 to 4:00) if you can spare a few hours to help defend gun rights. Send an email to volunteer@UtahShootingSports.com if you would like to sign up for a slot, or just show up.
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JOIN USSC
If you find the USSC alerts useful, or you just want to help defend your gun rights, take a few minutes to join USSC. The cost is only $20 per year for individuals with other categories also available for families, etc. Sign up at the USSC table at the gun show. All funds are used to support gun rights, and promoting safe and legal ownership and used of guns. Everyone in USSC is a unpaid volunteer, except our professional lobbyist. In the last two years we have placed less emphasis on printed Newsletters and switched more to email alerts to share more information as fast as possible.
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LADIES ONLY TRAPSHOOTING CLINIC AUGUST 7TH IS FULL
More than 50 ladies of all ages have already signed up for this great event. However, there will probably be another one scheduled in the future, so your wife, daughter, girlfriend or mom will have another chance if they missed this one.
Congratulations and a big thank you to Wendy Mair who has been doing most of the work on the event. Contact Wendy Mair 435-671-2365 or wendymair@earthlink.net for more info or to volunteer to help her with future sessions.
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VOTER REGISTRATION
Utah Residents 18 or older (as of election day) should all be registered to vote if we want to keep our gun rights. Turnout this year will probably be very heavy, due to the devious efforts of numerous "527" groups organized to skirt campaign finance reforms, but to get Kerry supporters registered and herded off to the polls. In some states they have even been paying convicted felons to register voters! Although Kerry and Edwards are not talking about guns now they both have an undeniable history of voting against gun rights on every occasion. It is important that gun owners get to the polls and vote in favor of gun rights, not just at the Presidential level, but also for Utah's next governor, and for Congressmen. Your vote can make the difference in all these races. But, you cannot vote unless you are registered. Stop by the USSC table and pick up a voter registration form for anyone in your family who needs it (assuming they will vote for pro-gun candidates). You ca!
n also go to the state site and open a .pdf file and print out a form and mail it in. http://www.elections.utah.gov/Registration.PDF
Don't forget that you are free to vote for candidates of any party in November, but if you want to vote in future Republican Party primaries you should check the "Republican" party block. For more information on voter registration go to http://www.governor.state.ut.us/lt_gover/registration.htm
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
It is time to recognize and thank great pro-gun rights supporters and activists who have had letters to the editor published. Given the obvious media bias against guns, this is about the only way pro-gun information reaches the public. Keep up the good work, and don't be afraid to send your letter to the editors of every newspaper in the state. We have links to all of them on the USSC website http://UtahShootingSports.com so you don't even have to spend money on stamps. Keep them brief (150 words or less is best) and include your full name, address, and daytime phone number so the paper can call to confirm that you are really the person who sent the letter.
Congratulations and a big thanks to Dwain Bracken of Nephi; Jesse Black of Sandy; Donald Myrup of American Fork; and John Wangsgaard from Logan.
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26 STATES NOW HONOR UTAH CCW PERMITS- 3 MORE PENDING
Too big a list to print here, but we will get it up on the USSC website shortly. Final details are being worked out with Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Clark Aposhian has been working hard on this with both the Utah folks as BCI and also the various states.
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UTAH WAR- COWBOY SHOOTING STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS AUGUST 12-14
The fastest growing shooting sport today is "cowboy action shooting" and it is a great family sport. This year's state championship matches will be held near Wanship (near the I-80/I-84 split by the reservoir). For more info by email contact Marsahll Sackett sackett@utahwar.com or visit their website at http://utahwar.com for entry forms, etc. They also have a bunch of neat photos, and a full list of SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) clubs in Utah so you can find a local club to share your fun.
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WARNING TO AIR TRAVELERS
If you are taking a gun (especially a self defense weapon owned by a CCW permit holder) somewhere on a plane, be prepared to extra hassles and possible arrest. Reportedly airports in New York City are rewarding baggage screeners for turning in travelers who have guns in their checked luggage, properly identified and in full compliance with FAA and airline regulation. But, since the traveler does not have a New York City firearms license, they will arrest the traveler, confiscate the gun, and file charges. This is the case even if a traveler is not going to stay in NYC, but merely passing to/from locations where possession is legal. While the McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act protects against such harassment when traveling by automobile, it apparently does not protect air travelers.
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HIGHWAY FRONTAGE LOCATIONS NEEDED
Help USSC find privately owned highway frontage (approx 800 feet or more) along Interstates 15, 70, 80, 84 or 215 or US 6, 89 or 40 so we can put up pro-gun "Burma Shave" type signs. This is a simple, powerful way to educate and motivate pro-gun people. No cost to land owner. Signs are about 18" x 96". If you or a friend own land like this, please contact admin@UtahShootingSports.org We will also need some people with basic mechanical skills to assemble and install the signs.
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NUDPA Match August 7
The Northern Utah Defensive Pistol Association invites you to their next Hendricksen Range match on Saturday, August 7, 2004. New Shooter Orientation starts at 8:00am. Match starts at 9:00am. Check their website http://www.nudpa.org for more info.
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PBS REPORT ON GUNS & CHURCHES IN UTAH
Clearly edited to push their anti-gun agenda, this will air soon. You can read the transcript now at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week747/feature.html
and you won't need to waste time watching. Well done to Sen. Mike Waddoups, Clark Aposhian and "Super Dell" Schanze for their agreeing to interviews, knowing that they were likely to be vilified. The usual media tricks are taking quotes out of context and selective editing, such as showing someone posing a question and then showing an answer to a different question.
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UTAHCONCEALEDCARRY.COM SITE CORRECTION
We gave credit for this great new site to the wrong person in the last alert, and they graciously pointed out that the guy who did it is really Thomas Knight. Thank You THOMAS KNIGHT!
Now, everyone check out the site at http://www.utahconcealedcarry.com/forum
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USSC WEBSITE-
http://UtahShootingSports.com includes frequent updates of gun related news stories from Utah and around the nation. There are daily updates on gun related bills during the Legislative Session. You can sign up for our Alerts, or remove your name, or change your email address (add the new one and delete the old one).
Subject: Tobias/WAGC (sorta) annual Gun Rights BBQ
Date: 02 Aug 2004 16:07:49 GMT
After a hiatus last year, Janalee Tobias (and her family) are again hosting their annual Gun Rights BBQ at her beautiful South Jordan home (with a GREAT backyard), this Saturday, August 6th, from 7:00 pm until whenever.
This is an informal, pot-luck opportunity to visit with other pro-gun, pro-self-defense individuals. While it is NOT a political event, in years past at least a few pro-gun politicians/candidates have attended. Legally carried firearms (open or concealed) are welcome.
No RSVP required, simply show up. There will be a hot grill available. Please bring whatever meat/veggies you'd like to grill, your choice of beverages (water and punch will be provided) for yourself, plus a sidedish or desert to share.
The address is 1238 W. Jordan River Drive (11050 South). Take 1300 West to Jordan River Drive and then turn east. The Tobias home is on the north side of the street. Please be courteous to the other neighbors by parking legally, not blocking driveways, etc. And then just find your way to the Tobias back yard.
Again:
What: Gun Rights Potluck BBQ (Bring your own food/drinks and a side/desert to share.
Where: Tobias home, 1238 W. Jordan River Drive (11050 South).
Subject: Anti-self-defense MO Gov loses in Demo Primary
Date: 05 Aug 2004 23:05:20 GMT
In the 'Show Me' State, Voters Like Their Weapons Concealed
Missouri's Governor Bob Holden was unceremoniously given the boot in this week's Democratic primary. He had thought his Ozark twang and rural roots would help him in non-urban areas, but instead a rural revolt handed Democratic State Auditor Claire McCaskill a solid 52% to 45% victory.
Mr. Holden's collapse in rural support was caused in part by discontent over poor roads and his needlessly confrontational stance towards the GOP legislature. But a large part of the anger stemmed from his veto of a bill that would have allowed law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons. While the legislature eventually overrode his veto, gun owners didn't forget his politically correct stance
"Show Me State gun owners showed Bob Holden the door," says Alan Gottlieb of the Citizen's Committee to Keep and Bear Arms. "Although they tried to downplay it, both the St. Louis Post Dispatch and Kansas City Star acknowledged that Holden's veto of concealed carry legislation cost him critical votes, especially in rural Missouri."
Subject: Worse to carry a gun than commit terrorism?
Date: 05 Aug 2004 23:13:36 GMT
The following is from today's DesNews. While drug dealers are (rightfully) not popular and are the very kind of people who give law abiding gun owners a bad rap, notice how very skewed our sentencing guidelines have become.
Now, maybe a guy carrying a gun while he sells drugs deserves to spend 55 years in jail. But if so, a terrorist detonating a bomb in a public place deserves a LOT more than 19.5 years and murders and rapists deserve more than 14 years and 7 years, respectively.
I'm all in favor of getting tough on criminals, but in my book, rape and murder are a LOT more serious than selling recreational drugs to a willing buyer, even if the seller was in possession of a gun at the time. Frankly, I've never met anyone who was forced to buy illegal drugs against his or her will. As for meeting rape victims...
This is just one example of the anti-gun bigotries in our laws and culture. I wonder what the charge and sentencing guidelines would be had this drug dealer been in possession of a knive or other deadly weapons other than a gun.
Brief is filed on behalf of Utahn ù per judge's request
By Angie Welling
Deseret Morning News
At only 25 years old, Utahn Weldon Angelos faces at least 63 years in prison when he is sentenced next month on federal drug and firearms charges. The bulk of that time ù 55 years ù is required under mandatory-minimum sentences.
But at least 29 former legal officials from across the nation believe such a sentence is unconstitutional and are urging Utah U.S. District Judge Paul Cassell to again say so.
The group of former U.S. attorneys, federal district and appellate court judges, and even one former U.S. attorney general ù Nicholas Katzenbach ù have filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Angelos' behalf, arguing that such a sentence would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment.
The brief comes just one month after Cassell declared federal sentencing guidelines unconstitutional under a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. And now, like then, filings on both issues came at the judge's request.
The mandated sentence, the brief states, is "grossly disproportionate to the offenses that Angelos committed" and "is contrary to the evolving standards of decency which are the hallmark of our civilized society."
Defense attorney Jerome Mooney agrees.
"It's an eye for an eye. It's not two eyes, your arm, foot and a leg for an eye."
Angelos, the founder of the Utah-based rap-label Extravagant Records, is facing the 55-year sentence for carrying a gun in an ankle holster while conducting two separate sales of marijuana, and for keeping firearms at his house. He was convicted of the three counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and 13 additional drug, firearm and money laundering charges, at a December jury trial.
Cassell first raised the question of the constitutionality of mandatory-minimum sentences in the Angelos case in February. He directed Mooney and federal prosecutors to file briefs on the issue prior to sentencing in the case.
In doing so, Cassell noted the potential lopsided nature of congressionally mandated sentencing that requires him to impose a 660-month sentence on Angelos.
"A terrorist who detonates a bomb in a public place intending to kill a bystander will serve a prison sentence of no more than 235 months," the judge wrote. Likewise for murderers and rapists, Cassell said, who under federal sentencing rules will serve only 168 months and 87 months, respectively.
Recognizing the issue as a significant one, Mooney began contacting others for input and soon discovered a groundswell of support for his client.
"There was so much strong feeling about the issue out there that we started discussing the potential of having an amicus brief filed," he said. "There were just a lot of people who felt very, very strongly about the issue."
The import of the filing, Mooney said, is apparent by those whose names appear on it.
"The people who have signed on in the amicus are people who have had to suffer under the burden of a system that they believe is overly onerous and improper," Mooney said.
The brief also argues the proposed sentence violates Angelos' due-process rights and that federal sentencing rules, as enacted by Congress in 1984, violate the separation of powers doctrine. The system unconstitutionally transfers powers traditionally reserved for the judicial branch to the executive branch, the brief states.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment directly on the Angelos case, but spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said the office stands by the legality of sentences such as the one contemplated in this case.
"We believe that man- datory-minimum sentences are constitutional, and we will continue to ask the courts, in any cases involving mandatory-minimum sentences, to enforce the statutory language as enunciated by Congress," Rydalch said.
This marks the fourth time since Cassell took the bench two years ago that he has raised matters in notable cases. In addition to the sentencing guidelines issue, he has addressed the constitutional rights of undocumented immigrants and the awards of restitution in criminal cases.
His proactive approach has garnered both praise and criticism from those in the legal community. On Wednesday, Mooney was in the first category.
"I absolutely applaud his willingness to look at things and to not be bound by them just because they've always been done a certain way," Mooney said. "If that were the case, there would never be any progress in the world."
According to this article, workplace violence has declined in the last decade. Of course, with ever increased media coverage you average Joe would never know or believe that. Interestingly (and troubling), I found that among a group of about 25, 20 to 40-something men in my neighborhood (my LDS Elders' Quorum class), there are only two of us who regularly read a newspaper. I wonder how many others read only the front page and sports section. So most never even see these kinds of details.
Anyway, if workplace violence remains a problem as this article asserts, that is one more reason not to allow employers to disarm employees. ESPECIALLY if there is not REAL security in the workplace.
OREM ù An upset employee at an Orem telemarketing firm stormed out of work Wednesday and threatened to return with a gun.
Law enforcement personnel probe February shooting of Provo River Water Users Association supervisor.
Stuart Johnson, Deseret Morning News
Fortunately for workers at Convergys, 745 Technology Ave., the woman never made good on her threat.
Utah Valley has already had two workplace shootings this year. In January, a construction worker in Lehi is accused of shooting and killing his boss. One month later an employee at the Provo River Water Users Association allegedly shot and killed his boss in Pleasant Grove.
While workplace violence has actually declined over the past decade, it remains a serious problem, both locally and nationally.
In an average week, one employee is killed and 25 are seriously injured nationally in violent assaults by current or former co-workers, according to recent reports.
Homicide ranks as the second-leading cause of death at work, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Often, workplace violence can be prevented. According to a USA Today report that examined 224 instances of fatal workplace violence, nearly 80 percent of killers leave behind warning signs.
Those signs are usually ignored, however.
"It's hard to know what to do, because it's a life and death situation," said Bruce Blythe, CEO of Atlanta-based Crisis Management International. "If you don't call the police, you may be in danger, and if you do, you may provoke the situation. It's like playing with fire."
Blythe's firm works with some 100 companies a year who have become aware of a threat from an employee. He said workers can snap for any number of reasons, including stress, anger over wages, termination or mental health issues. Some disgruntled workers make specific threats, as the girl in Orem did, others issue vague warnings of pending violence.
Regardless of the threat, Blythe said employers should take it seriously.
He recommends three precautions for any business:
ò Establish a policy that any threat, whether from an employee or a customer, is responded to, and develop a way for employees to report it. Ensure employees that the information will be held confidential.
"I can't tell you the number of incidents where people say they just had a gut feeling this guy or that girl was going to snap," Blythe said. "They should know exactly who to call and who to contact."
ò Form a crisis response team to deal with threats. The team could consist of representatives from the human resources department, the legal department and the security department.
"How do you defuse a threatening environment? How do you follow up? Do you terminate or intervene first? These are questions that should be addressed," Blythe said.
ò Consult with an expert. Some consultants can work as counselors with employees who feel they were terminated unfairly. Others can help establish a crisis response plan.
Convergys declined comment about Wednesday's incident, to which police responded. The employee, who was found by police shortly after making the threat, said she reacted in anger and never intended to carry it out.
This letter to the editor in today's DesNews is BEGGING for a response. Heaven knows I WISH the gun lobby had even half the money some of the people think we have. But we don't. All we have is lots of politically active members.
Indeed, the only significant gun money in Utah politics of which I'm aware was an NRA contribution to Governor Mike Leavitt--the same guy who wanted to call a special session of the legislature to "deal with guns" in the emotional aftermath of the Columbine incident and was deterred only when the GOP State delegates made their feelings very vocally known at the convention. I'd expect that Hatch and other Congressional members from Utah also get token donations from the NRA, but as far as local politics go, there simply isn't much money from gun groups, just votes.
John Spangler, in his letter ("Gun debate one-sided," Readers' Forum, Aug. 1), conveniently left out a couple of key issues in his defense of the Legislature's record on gun control. He states that fortunately the Legislature in "ignoring public opinion, actually reads bills, listens to the issues on both sides and debates the issues."
He neglected to add that they also receive considerable sums of money from the NRA and other pro-gun lobbying groups. Also, with the Legislature so dominated by one party and a 60-day legislative period, no bills receive any real consideration or debate.
What the party leadership wants, the party leadership gets. Public opinion is not much of a consideration.
So now the DesNews supports the "rule of law?" Great. When can we expect to see them editoricalize in favor of the UoU obeying Utah's gun laws? (Even if the U wants to challange the law, it should obey it until it gets a favorable SC ruling OR can convince the legislature to ignore their constituents and change the law to favor the U's myopic, ivory-tower, elitist views.
Letters to the editor can be sent to <letters@desnews.com>.
This is a nation ruled by laws, not by dictators ù even in California.
Regardless of how angry gay couples, married there earlier this year, are at the state Supreme Court's decision last week to nullify those unions, any other ruling in the matter would have been unthinkable.
It would have legalized anarchy. It would have opened the door for every city, county and governmental agency in California to pick and choose which laws to obey and which to toss out as being personally offensive. It would have rendered the state legislature weak and useless and, by extension, weakened the franchise of every registered voter. In California, especially, where citizens often pass laws by referendum, it would have been an affront to democracy.
It would have been worse than judicial fiat by activist judges, which is bad enough.
Why San Francisco's mayor can't see that is anyone's guess. He is the one who tossed aside state law and issued nearly 4,000 marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples last February and March. Last week, he called a news conference and vowed to continue the fight, saying he was "proud of those 4,000 couples." That, of course, isn't the point.
California's gay marriage struggles will now proceed with lawsuits challenging a 27-year-old law defining marriage as what it always has been ù a union between a man and a woman. Similar legal battles are taking place in other states.
The outcomes of these battles remains in doubt, but the seemingly random decisions by various judges and the outrageous power plays by people such as San Francisco's mayor have no doubt left many law-abiding Americans feeling powerless. No wonder people in several states, including Utah, have demanded public votes on constitutional amendments this fall. The actions of a few pro-gay-marriage zealots have shown that an amendment to the U.S. Constitution may be the only way to guard against a culture-war coup.
In the United States, not even the president is supposed to have the power to impose his version of fairness and morality on the people without a public process that includes the consent of elected representatives. That sort of thing happens in tin-horn dictatorships. It happens in places where leaders rule by emotion and where the public is told to go along or shut up.
It does not happen in places that respect the rule of law. Thank goodness California's highest court reinforced that basic principle.
No doubt, to the antis this article will provide justification for more victim disarmament, aka "gun control." To me, it is one more evidence of why law abiding adults, including women, MUST have access to the tools of an effective self-defense.
Utah homicide rate for women is 21% higher than average
By Amy Joi Bryson
Deseret Morning News
Last week, as searchers continued to sift through the county landfill looking for Lori Hacking's body, authorities say a woman was mowed down by her boyfriend's car in Arches National Park, a Carbon County woman was shot four times by her husband and a Roy man held his estranged wife at gunpoint for two hours.
Deseret Morning News graphic
The violence that continues to claim and threaten women's lives in Utah is ever-present and on the increase, leaving the state with a homicide rate among women that is 21 percent higher than the national average.
"The majority of the domestic violence victims are white, predominantly female, and firearms are the weapon of choice," said Kristine Knowlton, an assistant attorney general. "The homicide rate keeps going up, it just keeps getting worse."
For 2002-2003, the two Salt Lake County crisis shelters for battered women and their children saw a 70 percent increase in the number of victims who could not be sheltered there due to crowding and instead had to be housed elsewhere in the state or in motels.
This latest fiscal year, the 50-bed YWCA shelter in Salt Lake City on its own experienced a 73 percent increase.
"It is important for people to understand that domestic violence continues to be a serious problem in Utah, that domestic violence is a crime, not a private family matter," said Anne Burkholder, the Y's chief executive officer.
"We are very concerned that thousands of women and children are being displaced from their homes because of domestic violence," she said.
Mark Hacking, 28, stands accused of murdering his wife, Lori Hacking, allegedly shooting her while she slept and then dumping her body in the trash. He is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail on $1 million bail.
Since the early 1990s, prosecutors across the state have teamed with police and lawmakers to strengthen Utah's community response to the problem of domestic violence.
Authorities have been trained, laws have been tightened or added to the books and there has been an overall increased emphasis on protecting victims from their abusers.
Still, the problem continues.
"One of the questions we are always being asked is if domestic violence is on the rise or is just being reported more," said Stewart Ralphs, chair of the Utah Domestic Violence Council.
"The answer is yes," to both.
Through community outreach services and victim advocate programs often housed in police departments, battered spouses are more likely to know of resources offering protection ù from court orders with criminal penalties to keep abusers away to counseling and information about transitional housing options.
While women today are more likely than their mothers 20 years ago to report an abusive situation, advocates believe there is still widespread community misunderstanding about the problem.
"I don't think we have labeled domestic violence very well for our citizens," said Ned Searle, the state's domestic violence coordinator.
While authorities don't have reason to suspect Lori Hacking suffered beatings at the hand of her husband, his pattern of deception is a trademark of an abuser.
Mark Hacking lied to his wife and others in his family about his being accepted to medical school, and prosecutors believe it was when Lori Hacking confronted her husband about the deception that he responded by taking her life.
"The alleged facts of this seem to corroborate with control of information, deception and a pattern of lying to the spouse," Searle said.
Domestic violence, officials say, often finds its roots in deceit ù from hiding a drinking problem revealed later in a violent confrontation to total control of the family finances and refusal to disclose how the money is spent.
Any challenge to the deceit or to the status quo can precipitate a breaking point for the abuser, who is threatened by the loss of control.
That challenge can be as simple as a demand to "fess up" to the deceit to a spouse who initiates a breakup.
"You are now confronting them with the reality. They've built this kind of porcelain facade around them, so everyone believes they are a certain thing," Knowlton said. "And when the other partner says 'that is not right' the cracks start and the facade starts breaking away. The abuser can't afford that."
The stress of pregnancy is also a factor in domestic violence, with pregnant women risking a much higher incidence of abuse, said Dr. Steven Kay, clinical director of Cornerstone Counseling, which has a domestic violence treatment program.
An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found pregnant women and recently pregnant women are more likely to die as a result of homicide than any other cause of death.
Kay said he is unsure of how much statistical analysis has been done to determine the reason for the link but did point out that experts believe pregnancy creates stress in a relationship and stress is often a trigger for violence.
"With offenders, a woman and their unborn child could be seen as the source of the stress, and they direct their anger there."
While medically unconfirmed by doctors, Lori Hacking had told friends she was five weeks pregnant.
Despite efforts in legal and victim advocate arenas to curtail domestic violence, the crimes continue to occur.
A California woman obtained a divorce, fled to Utah to start a new life and took a job as a school teacher in Roy.
Her ex-husband tracked her down, crashed through her window in the early morning of New Year's Day and shot her in the back and shot her boyfriend multiple times, including once in the throat. While she was crawling to safety, her attacker shot and killed himself.
Despite having a protective order against her estranged husband, a Layton woman was attacked in her home, which was then torched by her abuser. The boyfriend was stabbed multiple times, and his 6-year-old daughter perished in the blaze.
"This will continue until everyone is willing to accept what they are hearing at their neighbor's house is not just a family problem," Searle said. "It is violence, and people need to take the lead by getting victims help, by calling law enforcement."
Searle and others say the solution goes beyond the involvement of advocates and those in law enforcement.
To that end, the Utah Domestic Violence Council hopes to release a handbook this month aimed specifically at religious leaders, instructing them on how to spot and help domestic violence victims.
"Congregational leaders need to reach out to the women in their congregations in two ways: to let them know it is safe for them to talk to them and to let them know they have information on where these victims can go for help," Ralphs said.
Despite Lori Hacking's and her husband's membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, officials believe her fate will open the eyes of all people in all faiths that domestic violence doesn't discriminate.
"It happens everywhere ù to people of all religions, all socio-economic classes, to women regardless of their educational background," Searle said.
And while it's clear the laws are getting tougher and counselors are working to "re-train" domestic violence offenders, advocates believe there needs to be a greater cultural and social shift to end men's violence against women.
"Domestic violence is not a woman's issue, it is a man's problem," Searle said. "I think it is men who need to step up in the fight against this, by teaching their boys to respect women."
Otherwise, he said, abuse becomes another family's inheritance.
"To begin the extinction of violence, men must take responsibility for its existence," he said. "Passively accepting the problem of violence means, in effect, contributing to its maintenance."
Domestic violence facts
ò 922 families were turned away from domestic violence shelters in 2003 in Utah.
ò Nationally, 1 out of every 12 women has been stalked at some point in her life.
ò Seventy-six percent of women killed by intimate partners were stalked by these partners before they were killed.
ò Locally, in 2002, only 20 percent of criminal stalking cases resulted in a guilty conviction. That same year, 58 percent of the cases were dismissed.
ò In 2001, the national homicide rate among female victims murdered by a male in a single victim/single perpetrator incident was 1.4 per 100,000. Utah's rate was 21 percent higher than the national rate, putting Utah at 16th in the nation.
ò In 2003, 26 individuals in Utah lost their lives in domestic violence-related homicides.
ò On a national level, at least 6 percent of all pregnant women, about 240,000, are battered each year by the men in their lives.
ò Pregnant women and recently pregnant women are more likely to be victims of homicide than to die of any other cause, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The following is from Clark Aposhian of USDIN. It should be considered highly reliable (and good news for holders of Utah CCW permits who travel), but as always, be sure to double check with the appropriate authorities in other States to verify recognition and clarify any differences with restrictions (schools, bars, etc, etc).
Charles
Texas and Ohio are now recognizing Utah's CCW permit.
That makes a person with a Utah permit legal to carry concealed in 28 states.
Subject: OFF-TOPIC: Need advice on Palm Calendar software
Date: 30 Aug 2004 04:02:48 GMT
Friends,
OFF TOPIC. I'm looking for advice or pointers for some good Palm Calendar software. Specifically, I'm looking for a couple of things:
1-The ability to reasonably keep two seperate calendars, one for myself, one for another person.
2-Some reasonable way to have my calendar continue to syncronize with my Outlook 2k while the second calendar either does not syncronize or (even better) syncronizes but will automatically show as not busy. IOW, I need to keep track of scheduling for another person, but I will not actually be attending the events I schedule for him.
If anyone has any experience with this type of thing (I imagine that an executive assitant/secretary or campaign manager would need to do this very thing), or can otherwise offer any suggestions, I'd very much appreciate it.
However, since this is WAAAAAY off topic, PLEASE respond to me privately at <utbagpiper@juno.com>.
