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Guns in Boston: Easy
By civilrectitude on Sun, 08/08/2010 - 10:27am
Five sporadic sounds explode off in the distance(crack-- crack..) disrupting the silence of an otherwise perfect rest; like sheets of ice tearing themselves apart from ice caps in Greenland, or the undulating crack of thunder in a severe storm- startling, disturbing.
It's 1:39 a.m. according the time on the smart phone next to me. Someone must have called 911 (I think to myself. I should call, where’s my phone). Undoubtedly several other gun shot conscious residents are contemplating the same.
Did the combination of Summer, access to firearms and ignorance claim another life? It was not the heat - not this time, too cool out. Anxiety fills what was a calm wind that probably helped lull some people to sleep. Too early to mentally assess if there are any victims.
Stories have not hit the headline yet, but they will; and they'll read..."Another man shot In Roxbury. Images of a man gasping for air as the last signs of life escape from his body; was it just one person tonight; too late for children to be out- fortunate for them. Could have been a young lady involved; its getting harder to tell.
It was not the usual sequence; five rounds-- two more; and then silence. No another two rounds- that was unexpected. Perhaps there were screams in the distance but they were barely detectable. Moments later sirens commandeer the silence of the night; one...two-three patrol cars; just before the last two rounds got off.
Perhaps there were no victims this time. But the sounds of rapidly pulsating police sirens were followed by slower drawn out ambulance sirens- assuring there was a victim of some sort- damn.
Patrols thin later in the evening, and coverage per capita is lighter than wealthier sections of the City. But that's changing as downtown density grows; though there are not likely to be any shootings in The Mandarin Oriental.
Guns in Boston are too easy to get, but the outcomes are never easy. By now radio monitors have already picked up reports of shots fired and the news paper are making column space for the story. It may not get headlined; as of August 1 2010 Boston was at 36 homicides a 20 percent increase over this time last year.
Gun violence in Boston is becoming too easy- to accept. Paradoxically more victims are on the horizon combined with few more days of good weather, followed by a discomforting storm from a of flurry of shots fired, another victim- try to go back to sleep...tired, late. Hopefully no condolences.
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Comments
a job for government
I'd like to see our city council and our mayor research the sources of guns used in gun violence, and in consultation with legislative experts in second amendment law, craft legislation that would help diminish the occurrence of gun violence in Boston.
What better task for city government than saving lives of residents, those embroiled in gun violence, and those who simply live in the wrong place and happen to be there at the wrong time.
kind of hard
When the serial numbers are removed.
Guns and ammo are already
Guns and ammo are already illegal in all of MA without an extensive background check and firearms training. I can't think of a large city that is free of violence in all areas. It's very easy to buy a gun at a gun show outside of MA without any background check, in state it is required on all purchases regardless of private party or at a gun store.
As bad as this sounds, people die in car crashes and pedestrian accidents every day even though we have a multitude of laws and systems in place to try to prevent those deaths. Owning a gun, as per a recent Supreme Court ruling, is as fundamental is voting in a free society. MA already has the toughest gun laws in the nation, so I can't think of anything else that would work. Gun bans will be overturned in court and it doesn't stop criminals from breaking the law in the first place.
How about research the
How about research the worthless pieces of crap who are pulling the triggers?
Want to cut way back on violent
crime, including firearm offenses and homicides?
1) Get rid of the housing projects. Housing projects are the root of all evil in any neighborhood.
2) Decriminalize/legalize currently illegal street drugs. Treat drug addiction as a public health problem, and take away the $ profit $ motive that drives drug trafficking and in turn gangs.
3) Once again, fix our system of welfare and social services. STOP awarding government handouts for every child a usually unmarried mommy has. It encourages generations of poverty,ignorance, and high maintenance dysfunctional people, who contribute very disproportionately to our violent street crime problem.
*****************************************
We already have rigid firearm control laws. All they do is penalize those who legally and responsibly desire to own firearms, including those who want them to protect themselves. Big shots have armed security to protect them, and/or they also have firearm licenses; yet the average person is penalized and often not afforded the same rights and level of protection.
Hoods and thugs DO NOT obey laws, including firearms laws.
Translation of above
Crack down on the darkies and give me a gun to keep them at bay.
NOTHING that I said above...
...is untrue. Not one bit of it.
And what do my comments regarding reforming drug laws, and shutting down housing projects, have specifically to do with 'Darkies'?
Furthermore, WHY should criminals be armed (and big shots have armed guards/police details, and/or easy access to firearm licences) while the average sucker is left swinging in the breeze? We've had very strict firearm restrictions for a long,long time and the hoods still have NO PROBLEM getting them, and using them, while Joe Q. Public is denied equal access. WHAT does this have to do with 'Darkies'?
But of course you know that minority males, especially black males, commit a hugely disproportionate amount of violent, gun related crime. There's a reason why Jesse Jackson said when he's on a street at night and he hears a group of young guys near him, he's relieved when they're white. It's a pathetic situation, but seriously reforming our welfare/social services regulations and laws would go along way in preventing multi-generational, dysfunctional, high maintenance, gangsta breeding 'Families'. As of today, we subsidize the creation of our criminal element, and that's ridiculous.
Translation
My No. 1 reason was crap, but I'll provide this angry response to sound like a tough guy. I've never been through or seen the Mission Park or South Street homes and don't know that they're quiet, peaceful, functional parts of the neighborhoods they abutt, but why not make a blanket statement anyway? Hey, my family fled THE BRONX! They must know something about public housing!
My No. 2 reason is SO true! Decriminalizing crack cocaine, heroin, meth and their pharmaceutical equivalents would go a long way toward curing all ills. After all, gangs are just formed to make drugs and not as a means of social acceptance or protection. We should just turn this over to the public health system, because there's plenty of funding there.
Oh, wait, my No. 3 point kind of cuts away at that position by paring down social programs and offering no assistance to the crackheads, junkies and meth addicts I'm creating. Oh, and only wealthy mamas with 316 kids get welfare, unemployment, health care, etc. It's NEVER been used in the last two years by perfectly melanin-deprived middle-class families hit by the recession -- though that usage would be perfectly acceptable.
Oh, and give me guns. The Constitution says I can have guns -- lots of 'em -- to fight off the British, Injuns and whoever else attempts to annex my land and steal my slaves. In fact, give me automatic weapons so these thugs, homeboys, bad hombres, potential illegals and ni... nice boys from parts of town I don't dare tread will get the message that I don't want them within 80 blocks of me... though I chose to live in a city instead of a gated, "restricted" community for reasons still unknown.
Welfare reform
It's definitely needed, but the solution isn't just ending it. The big thing getting in the way with most everyone I know on welfare is child care. Child care costs as much (or sometimes more) as the average person makes working, and the child cares around here mostly suck, so why would you pay your entire salary to send your kid somewhere crappy instead of staying home and collecting? Plus, to get a child care voucher, you need to be on welfare. You can work, but you can't make too much, or you lose the voucher and have to pay your whole salary for child care, plus you don't get to keep the slot where your child is already familiar and adjusted. Why not have what most civilized countries have and have free or sliding-scale child care for all children, with credentialed staff who are paid a living wage? Head Start is supposed to be such a thing, but it's really not, with a lot of the teachers really underqualified, a lot of the settings dysfunctional and not run in any sort of professional manner, and the whole system tied into the welfare voucher system. We need something that's like public school, only it starts at 6 weeks old. Sure, public school has its problems too, but it's light years better than Head Start or most child cares in that all the staff have at least a bachelor's degree, are paid a living wage, and are in a school community that isn't exclusively for poor kids. All children deserve a child care setting that's at least on par with public school. So much development of character and skills takes place long before kids get to public school.
Translation 1A
Big shots: Aka Fat Cats, Big Money Men, Captains of Industry. People who can demand a large ransom when they are kidnapped, thus requiring enhanced security measures. i.e. Guys who make more than me and have lots of security around their homes while I won't even spring for ADT before buying a Tec-9 -- because "fat cats" have gun licenses too and that's my right as an American.
This is clearly the wrong
This is clearly the wrong venue to ask, but Ill try anyway.
Laws banning guns are unconstitutional.
Laws limiting gun use are constitutional, but theres a very fine line with what can and cannot be restricted.
What about laws requiring guns to be....shall we say....inconvenient?
You know how all toy guns require an orange tip?
What about a gun law that requires all guns sold in the state to be x inches wide (or have a cone on top, or something aesthetic), essentially making it impossible to conceal?
It wouldnt have any affect on a legal gun owner protecting his home, but it would make it harder for thugs to buy guns made for sale in massachusetts, or for thugs to use a stolen massachusetts gun. Im not saying make the gun heavier, just make the gun bulkier, so it is harder to conceal in a persons pants.
Obviously, the major flaw is "a thug could easily purchase an out of state gun". Sure, but isnt it making it a little harder for someone to own a gun illegally a good thing?
Is it poetry slam night at
Is it poetry slam night at the Hub?
WIN
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