(excerpted from)

=======================================
NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY
2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20037
World Wide Web: http://www.lp.org/
=======================================
For release: August 12, 1999
=======================================
For additional information:
George Getz, Press Secretary
Phone: (202) 333-0008 Ext. 222
E-Mail: 76214.3676@Compuserve.com
=======================================

Will Los Angeles shooting be used
to restrict the irresponsible media?

        WASHINGTON, DC -- The tragic shooting at a Jewish community
center in Los Angeles this week should not be used as an excuse to
restrict the First Amendment, the Libertarian Party said today.

        Wait a second: The First Amendment?

        That's right, said the party's national director, Steve
Dasbach: After guns, freedom of speech could come under attack because
of the latest, highly publicized shooting spree.

        On Tuesday, a man described as a neo-Nazi walked into a Jewish
community center and started shooting. Police say the suspect, Buford
Oneal Furrow -- a convicted felon who had tried to commit himself to a
psychiatric hospital last year -- wounded five people, including three
children, before fleeing.

        "The people who want to diminish our freedom will use the
senseless shooting at the North Valley Jewish Community Center as an
excuse to try to further restrict the Second Amendment; that goes
without saying," said Dasbach. "But they won't stop there. The First
Amendment could be next."

        Why? Because there is solid evidence that the recent wave of
shootings around the USA is being fueled by the sensationalist media
coverage.

        As evidence, Leonard Berkowitz, a University of Wisconsin
psychologist, said such public rampages seem to be prompted -- in part,
at least -- by the excessive media coverage that surrounds them.

        "The press are by no means innocent bystanders," said
Berkowitz. "They don't only report the news; they make the news."

        And the Washington Post reported that following the
wall-to-wall media coverage of the shootings in Littleton, Colorado in
April, "mimicking behavior" was reported in every state except Vermont.

        "In other words, a case can be made that 'irresponsible' use of
the First Amendment is killing people," said Dasbach. "Apparently,
every time television networks, radio stations, and newspapers report
on these tragedies, more people die."

        So does the Libertarian Party support curbs on freedom of the
press?

        Of course not, said Dasbach. "Our point is that the urge to
trade some liberty for supposed security won't stop with guns. And the
media figures who so loudly demand restrictions on the Second Amendment
may find their favorite amendment -- the First Amendment -- is next."

        And, after journalists, the anti-freedom lobby could seek
restrictions on cars next -- since the Jewish community center shooting
bore an odd resemblance to another murderous rampage that took place in
early May 1999.

        In that incident, a deranged man drove his Cadillac into a
preschool playground in Costa Mesa, California in an effort to
"execute" children. Tragically, two children were killed.

        "We have two cases where madmen deliberately targeted
children," said Dasbach. "The only difference: One used a gun, and one
used an automobile. And the car turned out to be the more lethal
weapon.

        "If one tragedy can be used to argue for anti-self-defense laws, what's
to stop the politicians from using the other tragedy to demand more
anti-car laws? It sounds ridiculous -- but so does the theory that
restricting the right of lawful Americans to bear arms is the best
way to protect them against dangerous criminals."

        Before passing any new laws -- whether outlawing guns, the
press, or cars -- politicians should remember that the Constitution
describes individual rights as unalienable, meaning they can't be taken
away, said Dasbach.

        "The Bill of Rights isn't conditional on the behavior of crazy
people, and millions of law-abiding Americans should not lose their
rights because a maniac commits a terrible crime," he said. "Our civil
liberties should not be held hostage by criminals like Buford Oneal
Furrow."


The Libertarian Party                                      http://www.lp.org/
2600 Virginia Ave. NW, Suite 100                          voice: 202-333-0008
Washington DC 20037                                         fax: 202-333-0072

For subscription changes, please mail to "announce-request@lp.org" with the
word "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" in the subject line -- or use the WWW form.