Foster Care, Guns, and Ten MORE Seats; I.I. Newsletter, December 3,

Independence Institute ^ | 12-03-02 | Frank Zaveral, II staff

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Subject: Foster Care, Guns, and Ten MORE Seats; I.I. Newsletter, December 3,

2002
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Our Founders' Night Dinner this Thursday is going to be packed!  We could
have up to 400 people jamming into the ballroom of the Brown Palace Hotel,
where we packed 350 last year, to enjoy Linda Chavez and Dinesh D'Souza.
After bribing the Fire Marshal, we were able to squeeze one more table in,
so we have only ten more seats available for those quick, lucky few who call
Anne at 303-279-6536.

Read all about it!  Our symposium on Educational Choice made the cover of
School Reform News!  If you don't get this publication, you should.
http://heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=10752

I argue government shouldn't keep the stupid alive against their will.  Read
my latest for the Boulder Daily Camera on seat belt laws:
http://www.i2i.org/Caldara/camera/12-1-02.htm

You know him.  You love him.  He's cuddly and cute.  He founded the
Independence Institute 18 years ago.  Now he's the President of the Colorado
State Senate.  John Andrews joins me this Friday night on Independent
Thinking.  That's Friday at 8:30, repeated Sunday morning at 11:30, on KBDI
Channel 12.

David Kopel argues that if gun show gun registration is the answer, somebody
's asking the wrong questions.  Read an excerpt from National Public Radio's
"Justice Talking:"
http://www.davekopel.org/2A/OpEds/Gun-show-Gun-registration.htm

And yes, that was David you saw on last night's Channel 4 News talking about
the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post's new policy refusing to run
classified ads for firearms.

Our friends at the Progress and Freedom Foundation are hosting an event on
"Breaking Barriers to E-Government" here in Denver this coming Monday.
http://www.pff.org/

This week we give you a double header op-ed.  The first is by Frank Zaveral
on foster care in Colorado. The second is on the personal responsibility
involved with owning a gun by Reid Lusk.

Gotta run and spike the punch for Thursday's Founders' Night Dinner!  See
you there!

Jon Caldara
President
Independence Institute

=====================================================

For Immediate Release December 3, 2002

Romania in Colorado -- What would St. Nicholas Say?

By Frank M. Zaveral

December 6th  is the feast day of St. Nicholas, patron saint of children.
Nicholas was the bishop of Myra in Licia, Asia Minor early in the 4th
century.   He secretly delivered food, clothing, and gold to the poor, and
presents to children who had been good during the year.  The memory of St.
Nicholas has evolved into the modern day St. Nick or Santa Claus.

Destitute, suffering children, held captive in the most abhorrent places,
cold, hungry, dirty, shackled, and without hope.  Romania of the Ceausescu
era.  What would St. Nicholas say?

The ghosts of Nicolai and Elena Ceausescu are alive and well and operating
some parts of Colorado's foster care industry.  Romania in Colorado.
Colorado, a prosperous state in the world's richest country.  The phantoms
laugh as they hauntingly care for innocent children.   What would St.
Nicholas say?

You say that I exaggerate, dear reader, by suggesting that some aspects of
the foster care industry in Colorado have something in common with the
notorious Ceausescu duo?   I assure you that I do not.

Let me tell you about Job.  Job, an adolescent with developmental
disabilities, lived in a foster care group home in Colorado.  And in that
foster home, he lived in a wooden box mounted on a wall.  This
five-foot-by-18-inch-box had no light in it when closed.  Job had to lie
flat on a vinyl mat in the box.  Here's how he was found:  "His hands were
strapped to his waist in leather wrist-to-waist restraints which were
secured around the hips and with a strap between his legs.  He was clad in a
white long john set that was stitched together to allow no openings.  His
hands were wrapped in gauze and one hand was further strapped to a flat
board that resembled a table tennis paddle."  Romania in Colorado.  The
Ceausescu specters in charge.

Job was given five psychotropic medications.  He had esophageal ulcers,
osteoporosis, arthritis, and hydrocephalus -- all untreated.  His seizures
were out of control.  The group home director talked about how Job would
tear off his penis if allowed to touch it -- she focused not only on Job's
penis, but also on the necessity to "digitally stimulate" Job daily -- a
daily rape in the name of therapy.  Romania in Colorado.

Sadly for Job, that's not all.  Because he was considered "dangerous" to
himself and others, Job had all his teeth pulled.  No teeth for the rest of
his life.  What would St. Nicholas say?

Job is out of that terrible place, in a new home, where affection and
kindness have enabled him to do well.  And while the story of Job is an
extreme case of Ceausescu-like brutality in a Colorado foster care
institution, there are other foster care foibles in Colorado.

Like the financial shenanigans by profiteers which the Colorado State
Auditor reported in June, 2002.  Shockingly, the State Auditor observed that
"... public funds intended to be used for vulnerable children have instead
been used for the profit and pleasure of the child placement agency
management."  Romania in Colorado.  The State Auditor made a number of
recommendations, including major restructuring and the possibility of
stopping the use of private child placement agencies.

The State Auditor also reported that abuse and neglect incidents in foster
care are increasing and that there are unreported and uninvestigated
incidents of abuse in foster care homes.

The full audit report is available at www.state.co.us/auditor under reports
issued f/y 2003 "Foster Care Program Department of Human Services June 2002"
or it can be ordered by calling 303-869-2800 and asking for report control
number 1420.

The State Auditor is not the only source of reports about troubling
incidents of abuse of children who are supposed to be safe in foster care.
Several articles in local newspapers have detailed foster care abuses that
include bizarre forms of discipline, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and even
pandering.

One of Colorado's foremost advocates for children in foster care recently
wrote "the rate at which Colorado foster children are maltreated while in
foster care has soared over the past few years."   She also reported that
while there are many wonderful, caring, selfless people -- people I call
good Samaritans -- providing foster care in Colorado, "unsavory, marginal
homes, applicants with serious criminal records, and even known child
abusers" provide foster care in Colorado.  What would St. Nicholas say?

But what can any of us do?  Lots.

            - Consider becoming a foster parent.  Colorado counties are
actively looking for volunteer foster parents.  No easy task.  Go in with
open eyes.
            - Become a mentor.   A lot of youths could use a kind mentor.
            - Get your church or other place of worship to become active
with FosterCross, a program to provide support to foster children, acting as
an extended family, and providing help for foster families and foster
children.  Check www.fostercross.org.
            - Contact your legislators and other political leaders and
encourage them to clean up the foster care mess.  They know what needs to be
done.  They just need the will.  Citizens can provide that.
            - Support rights for foster children.   Things like uncensored
communication, adequate housing, food and clothing, religious services and
activities of the child's choice, school, sports, and community activities,
mentors and friends, input into decisions that affect their lives, freedom
from unreasonable searches, and the right to organize as a group.
            - Contribute to reputable organizations that provide services to
children.
            - Remember St. Nicholas and the goodness of his life on December
6; pray for children, with special emphasis on foster children, that they
may enjoy good health, decent care free from all kinds of abuse, and happy
futures.

No more Romania in Colorado.

###

Copyright ©2002, Independence Institute

INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE is a non-profit, non-partisan Colorado think tank. It
is governed by a statewide board of trustees and holds a 501(c)(3) tax
exemption from the IRS. Its public policy research focuses on economic
growth, education reform, local government effectiveness, and Constitutional
rights.

JON CALDARA is President of the Institute.

FRANK ZAVERAL is a SENIOR FELLOW with the Independence Institute .

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES on this subject can be found at:  www.i2i.org

NOTHING WRITTEN here is to be construed as necessarily representing the
views of the Independence Institute or as an attempt to influence any
election or legislative action.

PERMISSION TO REPRINT this paper in whole or in part is hereby granted
provided full credit is given to the Independence Institute.

=====================================================

For Immediate Release: December 3, 2002

Negligent dad puts legitimate gun owners in bad light

By Reid Lusk

The filthy Arvada home of Shawn and Barbara Lennie contained more than just
a fowl odor, rodents, rotting food on the kitchen counters, and dirty
laundry strewn about. Inside the dwelling were also two small children and a
chamber-loaded .25 caliber handgun in an easily accessible, unlocked
nightstand drawer.

The Lennies' 4-year-old son Tyler is lucky to be alive after being
accidentally shot through the head with his father's gun as his 7-year-old
brother Andrew tried to take it from him to put away. The result of Shawn
Lennie's carelessness is a shattered family, two deeply traumatized sons,
nearly a million dollars in uninsured medical bills, and a felony negligence
trial. As Mr. Lennie's trial concluded last week, the jury deliberated and
on Thursday delivered the appropriate verdict: Guilty of felony criminally
negligent child abuse resulting in bodily injury.

When Lennie is sentenced Jan. 14, I hope the judge throws the book at him
and levies the maximum prison term of nine years.  Not just because he
deserves it, but to set an example. Shawn Lennie is not at all
representative of the gun owning community at large, which includes roughly
half of all American households. The overwhelming majority of gun owners in
Colorado and elsewhere are upstanding, responsible people who store and
operate their weapons safely. That's in large part why firearms accidents
are hovering at an all time low, more rare among children than serious
bicycle injuries and private swimming pool drownings.

Yet Lennie's actions inevitably tar all gun owners with a negative image
that some unarmed society advocates are all too eager to perpetuate. It's an
image that the anti-gun biased media are happy to use to broadcast their
not-so-subtle insinuations that guns don't belong in any household with
children, or any household at all for that matter. Responsible gun owners in
some states have found themselves effectively disarmed by harsh,
one-size-fits-all storage mandates, among other restrictions, all inspired
by the recklessness of people like Shawn Lennie.

Too often the result is punishment of the innocent masses for the misdeeds
of a few. Common sense dictates that not all guns need trigger locks, and
not all homes with children should automatically be designated as gun-free
zones. Properly used, privately owned firearms have proven to be valuable
defensive tools.

There are many options available to families with children who wish to have
a firearm available for protection. For example, families with small
children can buy a keyless lock box, which is quickly accessible to adults
in an emergency, but not to children. Or, simply store the gun and
ammunition separately in inconspicuous places. Families with older children
can teach them safe and responsible handling of firearms.

None of these methods would necessarily prevent quick access to a firearm
for home defense. But Lennie didn't bother to take even the most basic
precautions. He nonchalantly left a deadly weapon lying around - loaded,
chambered, cocked and ready to fire - within easy reach of his kids. He
apparently didn't even put the safety on. The thrust of his defense rested
on his claim that he "didn't know the gun was loaded." Poor excuse.  While
owning a gun and keeping it in one's home is an individual right, it's also
a personal responsibility. Of course Lennie feels terrible about what
happened - who wouldn't?

Unfortunately he refuses to accept full blame for something he alone could
have prevented. He has blamed everything from sleep deprivation to gender
bias, but not himself. Shortly after the shooting, Lennie promised to
TV-News crews that he would never, ever keep a gun in his home again, as if
the gun itself was to blame for the incident. I hope he does us all that
favor. He and others like him have jeopardized that freedom for everyone
else, and they've caused enough damage already.

###

Copyright ©2002, Independence Institute

INDEPENDENCE INSTITUTE is a non-profit, non-partisan Colorado think tank. It
is governed by a statewide board of trustees and holds a 501(c)(3) tax
exemption from the IRS. Its public policy research focuses on economic
growth, education reform, local government effectiveness, and Constitutional
rights.

JON CALDARA is President of the Institute.

REID LUSK is a RESEARCH ASSOCIATE with the Independence Institute .

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES on this subject can be found at:  www.i2i.org

NOTHING WRITTEN here is to be construed as necessarily representing the
views of the Independence Institute or as an attempt to influence any
election or legislative action.

PERMISSION TO REPRINT this paper in whole or in part is hereby granted
provided full credit is given to the Independence Institute.

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