Target Practice

Guns are an affront to a civil societyAs members of a civilized society approaching the 21st century, we have the right to ask our fellow citizens who want guns to demonstrate an overriding need before allowing them to acquire weapons that daily terrorize, maim and kill. Each year tens of thousands of Americans are killed by handguns, many of them our children. According to the Department of Justice, handguns are used in the commission of more than 600,000 crimes annually. Medical care for the wounded alone costs our society more than $1 billion a year.

News item, from an Environmental Protection Agency report on Brooklyn Park's Snow Hill Lane Dump, Anne Arundel County's most recent addition to the EPA's "Superfund" cleanup list:"Past site investigations (1982-1989) revealed the presence of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), lead, and cyanide at levels in the soil that were above expectedbackgrounds for the area."Also scattered across the site are abandoned drums and tires. The drums are in various stages of disintegration and have apparently been used for target practice.

At this time of year, Grace and Tony Mazzuca usually are traveling up and down the East Coast on the dog show circuit with their two Siberian huskies, Gus and Kristal.But this spring, the Hampstead couple is at home, wondering who could have shot and killed their cherished show dogs.The bodies of the two dogs were found April 3 on the lawn of a home near Sullivan Road -- Gus shot twice in the head at close range, and Kristal with one gunshot in the back of the neck."Between my husband and me, I don't know who's in worse shape," Mrs. Mazzuca said.

Officer Christopher Smith confronted a man breaking into a car in a downtown parking lot. The suspect bent down as if he had dropped a gun when a second man popped up from behind the car and opened fire.Smith quickly shot back and killed both men with four shots.But he missed -- six times."Just remember, we are accountable for every bullet we fire," said Officer Bush Hopkins, a firearms training instructor. "It could have been a perfectly good shooting, like this was, but if one bullet hits a bystander, you are up a creek."

Teresa and Joseph Streb moved from Rosedale to rural White Marsh a little more than a year ago in search of relative quiet. They found the sound of gunfire."

My dad spoke Kid — even Adult Kid. He knew that in challenging times, an "I'll be OK" from my brother or me really meant, "Stick with me. " Even when unsure of exactly what to do, he would just show up. I do not mean he would move in or plant on our couch — I mean that he would help us come up with a game plan, and then call every three hours even if just to say, "I love you. " In Kid, these calls translated into: "You are not alone. " He practiced the gospel of the "FUNdamentals," as he wrote the term he preached from our first lacrosse toss in the backyard and through his team dad years.

Next on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's to-do list: banks' overdraft practices. Overdrafts occur when you spend more than you have in your bank account. The bank will cover those overdrafts for a fee that can run from $30 to $35. The CFPB says it sent a data request to banks today on their overdraft policies. The agency is looking into four areas: The re-ordering of transactions Consumers have complained, and filed lawsuits, over the practice by some banks to change the order of the checks and ATM transactions in a way that triggers more overdrafts.

The football sliced through the air, remaining in a tight spiral until the ball struck its intended target - the crossbar. The resounding clang would have drawn groans from Ravens kicker Matt Stover, but it was a beautiful sound to cornerback Chris McAlister, who had launched the football. The cornerback's throwing a football at the goal posts on a practice field at the team's training facility in Owings Mills is part of a pre-practice contest during which several Ravens test their quarterback skills.

LANDFILL. Recycling Center. Firearms Facility?That's the curious choice facing visitors driving into Carroll County's Northern Landill, off Route 140 near Reese. The new sign at the entrance to the dirt road of the fenced complex signals the opening of the new county firing range on the edge of the property.It is expected to be a popular recreation attraction, in a county that has a large number of hunters and marksmen in need of a regulated practice facility. The Carroll County Sportsmen's Association, the state Department of Natural Resources, the National Rifle Association and the county combined resources to build the $60,000 range.

IT'S EARLY, of course, but not too early for an election year tale of cheap shots, "hypocrisy," respect and mailing lists.As they strive for traction on the slippery spring footing, candidates will be looking for opportunities to create some advantage for their campaigns.Take, for example, this exchange between the GOP's gubernatorial primary candidates, 1994 nominee Ellen R. Sauerbrey and Howard County Executive Charles I. Ecker.Sauerbrey invited Oliver L. North, the conservative Iran-contra figure, to help her raise money.