I did not have thoughts and prayers for the victims of yesterday’s subway shooting in Brooklyn, New York. AS OF THIS WRITING, I am thankful that no one was killed. I must first say, I have not been a fan of New York’s Mayor Eric Adams. He won office with a lot of tough talk about crime and little substance, but tough talk is often enough in this time of political one-upmanship. Having said that, I give him full credit for talking candidly and rationally, placing blame where it belongs, the spate of guns making our streets into carnival shooting galleries. Yes, I know, guns don’t kill people; people kill people. Still, I have yet to see a man or woman with only their bare hands kill 17 kids in a high school or 59 people at a nightclub.
A degree in aerospace engineering is not required to make the connection between guns and violence in America. We have no problem associating drugs and gangs with violence. Tough on crime has been the mantra in this country since Richard Nixon. We took the simple steps of making seat belts mandatory, so little Johnny would no longer be flung through a windshield. We made restaurant patrons stop smoking, so others were no longer served cancer with their foie gras. In 1850 Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis recognized the elemental idea that doctors washing their hands before examining a patient or performing surgery could stop infections.
Despite the obvious, Occam’s Razor—the simplest explanation, is likely the correct one; America ignores the world’s statistical data that fewer guns equal fewer gun deaths. Vladimir Putin has probably poisoned more people in Russia than have died of gunshots. Gun enthusiasts have formulated a strategy after every mass shooting that has been stifling and effective. First are thoughts and prayers. Then condemn those who want to politicize the deaths. Implore the public to wait until the proper time to discuss it, and by then, the news cycle has moved on—until the next time. Hopefully, Mayor Adams has ushered in a new era.
“We need Washington to join us and act now to stop the flow of guns in New York City and cities like New York,” Adams said in January. He angrily and defiantly brought up restricting guns again yesterday—his call for restricting easy access date back to the shootings of officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora. When I was a child, TV moved to curb the weekly images of gun violence. I refused to buy my children cap guns. Shows like Gunsmoke, where Sheriff Matt Dillon averaged about two killings a week, were scrutinized for content.
Liberals used to command the stage fearlessly and loudly sing the virtues of not letting us devolve into a society with enough guns for every man, woman, and child in America. Liberal Democrats changed; they started adopting the lines, keeping guns out of criminals’ hands and not law-abiding citizens. They began every gun debate with ‘I believe in the 2nd amendment.’ I am one of those liberals not afraid to say no guns in my life, and I still am. Stay on the right track; Mayor Adams, people, would not kill a lot of people without a lot of guns.
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