Today's
Washington Post editorial is about an issue that hits home with me:
364 robberies and 24 homicides in the preceding 32 days. With the District on pace to match or exceed last year's 198 homicides, the only official to give voice to and act on that dangerous development is the city's top cop. What, indeed, has the city come to?
Not just Washington DC to break homicide records from previous years, also Boston, Richmond . . .
To start, full disclosure: On Friday, Nov. 4th I was mugged at gunpoint then cracked in the jaw from behind, fracturing my jaw, on my way back from phonebanking for the upcoming VA gubenatorial election. It was a young black man with a hundgun and an accomplice I never saw. To say the least, having a broken jaw has impacted my work as a campaign organizer.
But my story is just an example of a larger trend that we are seeing throughout the country. More young people are turning to violence to settle disputes, or "get ahead" as it was in my case. And the violence incurred is occurring more and more with handguns (from Boston Globe, Nov. 25 pg A1, normally restricted - thanks Lexix-nexis!)
Boston police officials have said that there are more guns on city streets now than at any time in at least six years and that many of them are being brought in illegally from out of state. The number of seized firearms was up 34 percent through Nov. 12 compared with the same period last year, and the number of firearm-related arrests rose by 39 percent through Nov. 16.
The only thing that handguns are good for is shooting people. This is a well known fact inside the gun community, gun manufacturer, and law enforcement. The scary thing is that gun experts know not only are handguns for shooting people but that they don't benefit much of anyone except manufacturers and criminals.
[There] are few situations where you will be on even an equal footing with an armed intruder....In almost any intrusion situation, be it in the depths of night or during waking hours, the intruder will have surprise in his favor, and this is an almost insurmountable advantage to him....
You, the head of the family, are awakened out of a sound slumber. It will be at least a few minutes, if you're the average man, before your reflexes and the acuteness of your sensory perception reach full capacity....
Altogether, you are not in ideal shape to be fighting for your or your family's lives....
He is better prepared than you are.78
This is an issue for everyone. First, as a truly caring party, Democrats should be working for the disadvantaged in the inner cities where this problem is most marked and finding ways to defray the need for violence in daily life. Of course, this is also an issue for the wealthy sub-urban campaign contributers who want assurance that their night to the theatre three blocks from an armed robbery will not include gun violence.
Most importantly, it is another visionary opportunity for the Democratic party to show they have an understanding of how we can better society, despite misconceptions and moneyed lobby factions. I don't see it happening on a federal level, but I know these mayors will be looking for action at the city, municipal, and state level at the least.