Letter To The Editor

The recent Newtown tragedy has prompted many to consider the merits of gun ownership.  Some have determined they are dangerous and must go or be severely restricted.  New York has with great fanfare enacted the strictest gun laws in the nation.  Other states are looking to beef up their laws. President Obama has signed 23 Executive Orders dealing with the issue and directed Congress to enact more laws.  

Without question the death of anyone by any cause is a tragedy but why all of this frantic activity following Newtown aimed at removing guns from law abiding citizens, especially rifles.  Is it warranted?  Let's look at a few facts.  Department of Justice survey data show that in 2008 roughly 5,340,000 violent crimes were committed in the United States. These include simple/aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, rapes, and murders. Of these, about 436,000 or 8% were committed by offenders visibly armed with a gun.  According to the FBI, in 2011, 1,694 people were murdered with knives, 726 with hands or feet, 496 with clubs or hammers, 356 with shotguns and 323 with rifles.  Handguns were responsible for 6,222 murders.  

An article in the 16 Jan 2013 edition of frontpagemag.com reports that "Not only is gang violence dramatically higher in cities compared to surrounding areas, but 60 percent of U.S. firearm homicides happen in the 62 cities of the country's 50 largest metro areas."  The vast majority if not all of these weapons are either stolen or purchased on the black market. Does anyone think more laws impacting legal gun ownership will fix that problem?  Consider these facts from the same article, "...83% of those murdered in Chicago last year had criminal records. In Philly it's 75%. In Milwaukee it’s 77% percent. In New Orleans, it’s 64%. In Baltimore, it’s 91%. Many were felons who had served time. And as many as 80% of the homicides were gang related." 

From these data it is obvious that most murders and other violent crimes are perpetrated by criminals and gang members.  And, while frequent the majority of these murders have few victims at any one time so they are limited to local newscasts and do not garner the national coverage like the one at Newtown. This distorts reality and results in politicians crawling out of the woodwork with quick-fix and mostly misguided solutions.  The current situation is just such a case as politicians are, for all the wrong reasons, focused on infringing the Constitutional rights of the vast majority of law abiding gun owners based on infrequent events such as Newtown and not on the more frequent actions of criminals and gangs using their illegal weapons to which politicians pay little or no attention. 

With respect to mass murders like the one at Newtown, Northeastern University professors Jack Levin and James Allen Fox have "...studied dozens upon dozens of mass murderers over the past few decades, and...Although serious mental illness can be identified in some cases, most mass murderers are clear-headed and deliberate. Contrary to popular stereotype, they don’t just suddenly snap and go berserk, killing indiscriminately.  The road to mass murder typically involves years of disappointment and failure that produce a mix of profound hopelessness and deep-seated resentment. Socially or psychologically isolated, mass murderers lack emotional support and encouragement from confidants. Moreover, they have no one around to help provide a much needed reality check on their warped perception of constantly being the victim of injustice. Tending to externalizing blame, they seek to punish those whom they hold responsible for their miserable life.

Most often, the mass murderer’s rage is directed at specific targets, such as family members or co-workers. Sometimes their grudge implicates an entire class of people, such as feminists, minorities or immigrants who are believed to be stealing all the good job opportunities. Occasionally and when the perpetrator’s perceptions are twisted by mental illness, the entire society is held as blameworthy. In such cases, the mass killer may randomly target strangers in some public place."

Local, state and federal governments, instead of seeking to control guns owned by law abiding citizens, should focus on the societal problems that promote criminal/gang activities and on mental health programs aimed at helping those in distress before they commit acts of mass murder. 

George Burns