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Guns
By Ken Jackson
Posted on 01/25/13

When school children were killed in a horrific shooting spree by a lone gunman the nation was stunned, a visceral shudder went through our collective consciousness.  How could someone target school children? The debate began instantly about gun control, reducing the availability of high capacity ammunition clips and re-instating the Federal Assault Weapons Ban.  Those on the other side are advocating arming teachers as a way of providing some on-site protection for our nation’s schools.

For residents of inner cities the proliferation of guns in neighborhoods has created an environment where we’ve grown accustomed to gun violence. Memorials in urban neighborhoods are reminders of the extent of the problem.  Some urban homeowners are surrounded by memorials which scare away potential buyers. The fact is weapons are in our urban neighborhoods causing people to cower in fear of children with guns.

Mother’s Against Gun Violence and others have held vigils to bring attention to the gun issue and after the Newtown, Connecticut shootings there seems to be a rush to do something, just something.

There has to be a comprehensive approach to guns not just legislating high capacity weaponry in a response to Newtown. Hand guns have been responsible for thousands of deaths if it’s not a large number of fatalities it’s not media attention, headline grabbing news.

African-Americans and Hispanics living in an American city have been gunned down one by one if you look at Chicago there were 500 deaths caused by guns in 201. Most of the inner-city gun deaths are black-on-black crime a little discussed fact. All the talk aimed against guns is not going to stop this health crisis in the black community. Yes, health because these gun death numbers increases the death rate of the African-American male, therefore not healthy!

A comprehensive approach should include studying why people in urban areas are killing each other with hand guns and other weaponry? How can we stop the proliferation of guns in our community?  Have we created a generation that’s so hopeless that it’s become socially acceptable to get angry and shoot someone to death?

We have a lot of work to do and it doesn’t involve a single piece of Gun Legislation.