From: [c d t] at [sw.stratus.com] (C. D. Tavares)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns
Subject: Re: CCW -- I tried to get one. Here's what happened.
Date: 12 May 1994 18:29:11 GMT
OPPOSITION FORMS TO COALITION WANTING TO ARM THE HOMELESS
Columbus Dispatch (CD) - FRIDAY, December 3, 1993
By: Felix Hoover Dispatch Human Services Reporter
TEXT:
A group that wants to put guns in the hands of homeless people is way off
target, the city says.
The local organization, calling itself the Arm the Homeless Coalition,
can't solicit money in local malls without a permit, officials said.
Agencies representing homeless people in the Columbus area also oppose
the stated purposes for fund raising by the group.
A statement from the arms advocates says, ''The Arm the Homeless
Coalition will be collecting donations to provide firearms for the homeless
of Columbus. Santas will be at area malls collecting money for this vital
and charitable cause.''
Donations are to be sought beginning at noon Saturday at Columbus City
Center and Sunday at Graceland Shopping Center, the statement says.
When informed of the group's intentions, the city Charitable
Solicitations Board sent a letter to Jack Kilmer, director of the arms
advocacy group, at the group's post office box. The letter says failure to
register with the board to conduct charitable solicitation ''could result
in legal action.''
''Please cease and desist any fund-raising activity immediately,'' the
letter says.
A release from the arms advocates says, ''Funds are to be used to
provide arms, ammunition and firearm safety training for homeless
individuals who pass the coalition's rigorous screening. Homeless are
selected for the program on the basis of need, mental and emotional
stability, and potential value to society at large.''
''We're surely not going to hand out firearms on the streets,'' Kilmer
said yesterday.
His organization, which is ''a group of concerned citizens of like
mind,'' has a small staff, he said.
There are homeless organizations that deal with shelter, food and jobs,
but none that train homeless people to use firearms, Kilmer said.
''We feel it is a basic life skill and confidence-builder,'' he said.
Kilmer would not identify the group's size or headquarters and would not
give background information on himself, saying, ''We would like to take
precautions as far as the maximum safety for all members of our
organization.
''We have had some hostile reaction in the past,'' Kilmer said, but he
would not say what issues generated the hostility.
The statement included a photograph of a bell-ringing Santa Claus next
to a sign that says, ''100 percent of contributions will be used to provide
desperately needed protection for our country's homeless.''
''Contributions . . . are not currently tax-deductible.''
''We're very serious about this project,'' Kilmer said. ''We're looking
for support from every quarter. At this point, we're not at liberty to talk
about our means of support.
''We anticipate strong reactions from the public.''
The Columbus Coalition for the Homeless, composed of agencies serving
homeless people, ''recognizes the vulnerability of persons living 'on the
streets,' '' it said in a statement issued yesterday.
''We greatly appreciate and respect the generosity of central Ohioans in
helping us address these real vulnerability issues - shelter, food, health
care, etc.
''We ask that persons concerned about the plight of their homeless
neighbors make sure their contributions go to legitimate and responsible
service providers.''
City Attorney Ron O'Brien said permits issued by the state attorney
general's office often are required before solicitations can be made. He
also said that most shopping centers and malls have their own policies
against solicitations, making violators subject to trespassing charges.
ARM THE HOMELESS' WAS HOAX, OSU STUDENTS ADMIT
Columbus Dispatch (CD) - TUESDAY, December 7, 1993
By: Mark D. Somerson Dispatch Staff Reporter
TEXT:
Three Ohio State College graduate students admitted yesterday they created
a phony organization that said its aim was to provide guns for homeless
people in Columbus.
After meeting with officials from the Columbus Coalition for the
Homeless yesterday morning, OSU art students Paul Badger, Douglas Lloyd and
Eric Zimmerman issued a statement admitting the hoax.
''The project was conceived to draw attention to the issues of guns and
violence, homelessness and media manipulation in our society,'' the
statement says. ''From all signs, homeless individuals have sensibly
rejected guns as a solution to personal safety.''
Last week, the students sent out a news release under the name Jack
Kilmer, director of Arm the Homeless Coalition. It said the group was
established to ''provide desperately needed protection for America's
disadvantaged'' and to ''legitimately arm Columbus' abused and victimized
homeless population.''
When a Dispatch reporter tracked down Badger last week through the post
office box number listed on the news release, the student said the
organization was legitimate and that Kilmer was real.
Within a day of the news release, the city's homeless advocates
denounced the coalition, and the city Charitable Solicitations Board
informed the group that it could not raise money as a charitable
organization.
A man dressed as Santa Claus who said he was representing the coalition
was at Columbus City Center on Saturday but did not solicit donations.
Kent Beittel, executive director of the Open Shelter and a
representative of the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless, met with the
students and wrote a message for them to put on their answering machine
admitting the hoax.
Beittel said the prank was hurtful to the homeless and to the efforts of
organizations that raise money and provide shelter to the homeless.
''It was a dangerous notion,'' he said. ''And it happened at the time
that we are the most needy of the public's good will.''
Lloyd, of 580 E. Town St., Apt. 211, said yesterday that he didn't want
to talk about the hoax.
Badger, of 2626 Deming Ave., refused comment. Zimmerman, 58 W. 3rd. Ave.
Apt. A, could not be reached.
OSU MAY DISCIPLINE 3 STUDENTS FOR HOAX
Columbus Dispatch (CD) - WEDNESDAY, December 8, 1993
By: Alan D. Miller Dispatch Higher Education Reporter
TEXT:
Three Ohio State University graduate students could face disciplinary
action over a phony campaign to give guns to the homeless.
University officials are notifying Paul A. Badger, Douglas Lloyd and
Eric Zimmerman to report within five days for questioning by the office of
Community Development and Judicial Affairs, said Lenora Barnes-Wright,
director of the office.
If the interviews show a possibility that the three broke OSU student
conduct codes by staging the campaign, a judicial panel of faculty members
and students will hear the matter in January, Barnes-Wright said. The panel
then could impose sanctions ranging from a letter of reprimand to
dismissal.
University judicial review is limited mostly to actions that take place
on campus, she said, so officials will have to determine whether any
activities related to the campaign occurred on campus.
A photograph delivered with a news release about the phony Arm the
Homeless effort shows a man in a Santa suit taking up collections in front
of what appears to be a university building.
All three, in addition to being students, are employees of the
university. Graduate assistants work about 20 hours a week and are paid an
average of about $1,000 a month.
According to university records:
Badger, of 2626 Deming Ave., is a graduate administrative assistant in
the College of Arts.
Lloyd, of 580 E. Town St., Apt. 211, is a graduate teaching assistant in
the College of Arts.
Eric Zimmerman, whose home is in Bloomington, Ind., and who now lives at
58 W. 3rd Ave., Apt. A, is a graduate research assistant in the Office of
Academic Affairs.
Badger and Lloyd could not be reached for comment. Zimmerman said he had
not received official word about possible judicial action by the
university.
''This is the first I've heard about it,'' he said when a reporter
called.
The students admitted in an affidavit Monday that the scheme was their
effort to ''draw attention to the issues of guns and violence, homelessness
and media manipulation in our society.''
Yesterday Zimmerman refused to say whether the hoax was part of a class
project, or something the students did on their own.
Although last week they sought media attention, Zimmerman said the three
now have decided to ''minimize contact with the media.''
The students concocted a phony nonprofit company and a fictitious
director, set up a post office box and telephone number, printed brochures
and signs, and last week sent out news releases seeking donations.
Advocates for the homeless said it was a cruel hoax that set back
legitimate efforts to help people in great need.
Barnes-Wright isn't sure yet what the university will say.
Even if it was a well-intentioned effort to educate people about social
concerns, she said, ''All of us make decisions about our behavior, and
sometimes there are consequences.''
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