Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, June 10, 1995                   TAG: 9506140004
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

STUDENT SPEAKS FOR HERSELF, AND OTHERS, ON GUN CONTROL

But voicing her opinion about gun control to a member of Congress never occurred to Katie Porterfield until her social studies class wrote to Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon.

For her efforts, the eighth-grader at Christiansburg Middle School was recognized nationally by a competition called "Speak for Yourself."

Lutheran Brotherhood created the competition seven years ago to encourage seventh- and eighth-graders to become involved with public policy.

Social studies teacher Kathryn Taylor, along with language arts teacher Ruth Ashworth, used the "Speak for Yourself" curriculum to cover several topics at once: Congress, persuasive writing, library research and business form letters.

More than 13,000 students wrote to their U.S. representative. Speak for Yourself chose a winning letter from each voting district, then picked a winner from each state. Those students will visit Washington later this month and meet their representatives.

Although Porterfield wasn't chosen for the congressional visit, she holds the honor of being the third district winner from Christiansburg Middle in the past four years. She also received a $50 savings bond from the competition.

Students could choose any topic they wanted. Nationally, crime and violence topped the list; gun control came in fourth.

That issue first sparked Porterfield's interest when Congress debated the Brady bill, which established a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases.

"They [opponents of gun control] were saying so much that I didn't agree with. It made me so mad," she said.

It's hard to imagine the soft-spoken eighth-grader getting furious about anything. But she's done enough homework to support her opinion.

Porterfield said she spent about eight class periods researching newspaper and magazine articles. Then came cutting down the letter from 400 words to the required 300.

"You should have seen her letter before we cut it," Taylor said. "She had done even more of a fabulous job."

Even in its bare bones, the letter is full of persuasive arguments.

"Every day, 100,000 students carry guns through hallways in schools across the U.S.," she begins. "... On Aug. 31, 1993, a student was killed and another wounded when a classmate opened fire in the cafeteria of Harper High School in Atlanta. ... This tells me that in our country it is much too easy for teen-agers to obtain guns."

Although she's never seen a gun at her school (``Some of my friends go home and shoot at birds," she said), Porterfield has heard plenty from other area high schools. Two Giles High School students were suspended and a Blacksburg High School student was expelled for bringing guns to school this year.

If she could tell Boucher how to vote, Porterfield suggested he vote for as many gun control limits as he could, especially for assault rifles.

"I can't see why anyone would need an assault rifle," she said. Groups like the Michigan militia "don't have a right to stockpile guns."

Boucher, who has been steadfast in his opposition to gun control legislation, did respond to Porterfield's letter.

"You and I agree that the recent rash of shootings in schools is appalling, and Congress and state legislatures must act to put an end to this violence," he wrote. "As a member of the House Judiciary Committee, I will keep your comments in mind ..."

Porterfield said she is pleased with what she's accomplished, and said she might consider a career in public policy.