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So we once again have another mass shooting in America. On Saturday morning,
27 October 2018, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs and armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and at
least three handguns opened fire inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, killing at least 11
congregants and wounding four police officers and two
others.[1]
The Pittsburgh synagogue massacre occurred on a Saturday. The following
Monday evening, I attended a Hebrew language class that I have been taking for the past decade. The
class was held in a synagogue in Lexington, Massachusetts and let out at 9:00 p.m. As I left the
building, I noticed a Lexington police car at the synagogue entrance, obviously located there in
response to the Pittsburgh attack. It literally brought tears to my eyes. What has this country
become when we need police protection to visit a house of worship? What has happened here in the
U.S. when our politicians propose placing armed guards in our schools? What is it saying when our
citizens cannot attend an outdoor concert without the fear of being raked by automatic gunfire?
Why can’t we go to a nightclub without fearing that a shooter will come into the club and kill some
49 people and wound 53 others? What this all tells us is that we are rapidly losing the
battle against gun violence. The lunatics, the fanatics and the malcontents are winning and the
vast majority of honorable and law-abiding American citizens are losing. America is
rapidly marching toward a society in which all doors to public buildings will be locked with
armed guards stationed inside, one in which every citizen will go to a public venue, fearing
that he/she will become another victim of gun violence. That is not the America in which
I wish to live!
Once again, following the synagogue shooting, there has been an outpouring
of sympathy and platitudes from politicians, accompanied by phony tears and breast-beating.
But, as usual, no politician has the intestinal fortitude or the desire to identify the
only practical solution and to initiate the process of implementing that solution.
And what is that solution? THE ONLY REALISTIC WAY TO END GUN VIOLENCE IN AMERICA IS TO
GET RID OF THE GUNS! The solution consists of three steps: 1) Repeal the second
amendment to the Constitution, 2) Ban the possession of all guns except by law enforcement,
the military and those who need guns to protect the public, i.e., security guards and similar
individuals and, 3) Severely punish anyone who illegally possesses or traffics
guns. Increased background checks and refusing to issue gun permits to the mentally
unstable is nothing but a sick joke, designed to give politicians the appearance of taking
action while actually doing nothing!
“Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, spiritual leader of the Tree of Life Synagogue,
where the horrific shooting took place . . . {had months earlier} railed against political leaders
for not legislating stronger gun control laws.
In a blog on the synagogue’s website dated July 19, Rabbi Myers wrote,
‘Despite continuous calls for sensible gun control and mental health care, our elected
leaders in Washington knew that it [calls for gun control in the wake of the Parkland school
shooting] would fade away in time.’ [Emphasis mine]
(Ref. 2)
Unfortunately, the Rabbi’s prediction was 100% accurate!
“It’s tragic . . . but this is the clear pattern . . . A horrific tragedy
happens. There are calls for action. Maybe something gets introduced in Congress. The debate goes
back and forth for a bit. Then people move on — usually after a week or two. And so there’s
eventually another shooting.
“. . {Reporters} do the same thing every single time {they} get news
of a mass shooting: verify reports, write a ‘what we know’ article, and then begin to update
{their} old pieces on guns. {They} do this almost instinctively at this point — . . . No one
should get used to this.
- - -
“ ‘Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by
the NRA telling us nothing could have ever been done to prevent this, we call BS,’ . . . a
student survivor {of a mass school shooting} said in a speech at a gun control rally that went
viral.‘They say that tougher gun laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS. They say a good
guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun. We call BS. They say guns are just tools like knives
and are as dangerous as cars. We call BS. … They say that no laws could have been able to prevent
the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred. We call BS.’
- - -
“The US is unique in two key — and related — ways when it comes to
guns: It has way more gun deaths than other developed nations, and it has far more
guns than any other country in the world. [Emphasis mine]
- - -
“The US also has by far the highest number of privately owned guns
in the world. Estimated in 2007, the number of civilian-owned firearms in the US was 88.8 guns
per 100 people, meaning there was almost one privately owned gun per American and more than
one per American adult. The world’s second-ranked country was Yemen, a quasi-failed state torn
by civil war, where there were 54.8 guns per 100 people.
- - -
“The problem . . . is guns — and America’s abundance of
them. [Emphasis mine]
- - -
“{The major obstacle to solving the gun problem} is the
Second Amendment. . . [Emphasis mine]
“So the US, for political, cultural, and legal reasons, {has been}
unable to take the action that it really needs.” (Ref. 3)
“Where do we start to end gun violence and mass shootings in America?
We start by repealing the second amendment to the Constitution! Every time there
is an attempt to institute meaningful gun control legislation and to end or, at least, to reduce
the number of gun deaths, injuries and mass shootings, the gun owners, the gun lobby, and the
plain gun nuts invoke the 2nd amendment, as if it was some law engraved on tablets of stone
that was handed down from God and which is immutable, sacred and unchangeable. It’s time to
refute such argument! The 2nd amendment is no such thing! It is simply an amendment to the
Constitution of the United States of America. . . . Also, let’s not lose sight of the fact
that the Constitution was designed to be amended, i.e., changed, and that amendments to the
Constitution can and have been repealed. The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
is not sacred and it is not sacrosanct – it can be changed and it can be repealed! The time has
now arrived when it must be repealed!
“The number of shootings, gun deaths, and gun injuries in America has
reached epidemic proportions. All attempts to get this epidemic under control have been stymied
by the gun owners and their lobbies – primarily the National Rifle Association (NRA) – and the
politicians who pander to them and garner financial support from them or are gun advocates
themselves. These gun advocates trot out the now tiresome canard that the 2nd amendment gives
all Americans the God-given right to own and use guns, no matter the consequences.
Enough!” (Ref. 4)
Next, we get rid of the guns. We collect and destroy most of the guns out
there and we severely restrict the number of guns legally available to those needed to protect and
defend the citizenry, valuables and resources of our nation. There simply has to be an urgent need
to possess a gun. Target practice, hunting, and the thrill of owning a deadly weapon should no
longer justify the possession of this deadly weapon.
It’s now more than 17 years since the Columbine school shootings and
5-plus years since the Sandy Hook school shootings. The Florida school shooting this year was
America’s 18th school shooting in the 1st month-and-a-half of 2018. “By the reckoning of the
Gun Violence Archive, the killing in Florida was the country’s 1,607th mass shooting since
Sandy Hook. In other words, America has had more than one mass shooting every day since then,
costing 1,846 lives. On top of these school shootings, there have been numerous mass shootings
over the years - the Las Vegas shooting last year being the worst. Now, we have the Pittsburgh
synagogue massacre. And all the while, the politicians, the NRA and the gun nuts tell us not
to rush to judgement, to study the problem to death and to obediently follow the Divine Word
of the Second Amendment to U.S. Constitution![5]
It must be obvious to any thinking American that pinprick approaches to
solving America’s gun violence problem have not worked, are not working and will not work. All
the background checks in the world will not stop the gun massacres. Al the legislation supposedly
limiting the types of guns allowed is nothing but a farce and an attempt to distract us from
generating a realistic and meaningful solution. Our politicians have done absolutely nothing to
stop the rash of shootings in America!
It was reported at the end of 2015 that, “. . . Congress hasn’t passed a
single piece of gun control legislation, beyond voting in 2013 to renew an expiring ban on plastic
firearms, which could potentially bypass security checkpoints at airports and other locations.
Most recently, Senate lawmakers worked to block a package of gun violence legislation, including
a measure to bar individuals on terror watch lists from purchasing firearms.”
(Ref. 6)
Following the Las Vegas mas shooting, there was a frenzy to enact
legislation outlawing bump stocks on semi-automatic weapons. So, exactly how many school
shootings have involved guns with bump stocks? Answer: ZERO! How many mass
shootings have involved guns with bump stocks? Answer: ONE! The bump stock
controversy is simply another red herring being thrown out to confuse and distract from the
real issue – that of reducing the number of guns in the hands of would be mass killers! The
real questions needing answers are: how many school shootings have involved guns? Answer:
ALL OF THEM! And, how many mass shootings have involved guns? Answer:
ALL OF THEM!” (Ref. 6)
After this most recent mass shooting in the Pittsburgh synagogue, “Why,
then, are we once again sending our ‘thoughts and prayers’ after a mass killing involving an
assault weapon? . . .
“For evil to succeed, all it needs is our continued ‘thoughts and
prayers’ instead of meaningful action to let our local representatives know how we
feel.” (Ref. 7)
And the National Rifle Association(NRA) is unquestionably the biggest
roadblock to ending gun violence in America. “What is abundantly clear is that meaningful action
to end gun violence has been continually and effectively sidetracked by gun enthusiasts with
smokescreens, red herrings and the inevitable reliance on the claim that any-and-all steps
to control access to guns is prohibited by the Second Amendment to the Constitution. Instead,
potentially effective action is sidetracked with halting and ineffectual ‘baby steps’ and
groveling appeasement of the pro-gun lobby with more of the ‘same old, same old’. According
to the NRA, instead of dramatically reducing the number of guns in the United States, we need
to put more guns on the streets of America by arming teachers. Unbelievably, we have elected
officials who go along with the NRA proposal.” (Ref. 7)
After a mass shooting like the one at the Pittsburgh synagogue, politicians
who should be leading the fight against gun violence, instead, offer condolences and prayers,
observe moments of silence and order flags flown at half-staff. But afterward, legislative
efforts are deferred and ultimately derailed. Invariably, the refrain is: "not now, later; There
will be a time and place for a political debate, but not now. Now is the time for us to mourn and
unite as a country." But, the time for political debate and meaningful action
never comes. It’s always the same old story – "now is not the time, later." When it
comes to guns, it’s invariably business as usual![7]
True to form, President Donald Trump responded to the shooting in
Pittsburgh in the usual politician’s fashion by saying that, “an armed guard could have prevented
the tragedy . . .
“As Trump boarded Air Force 1 heading to Indianapolis, he told reporters
he was monitoring the events unfolding near the Tree of Life Synagogue and said ‘something has
to be done.’
“But, Trump rebuffed questions about whether now was the time
to examine gun laws.
" ‘This has little to do with it if you take a look,’
[Emphasis mine] Trump said on gun laws. He continued, explaining armed guard could have
prevented the tragedy.” (Ref. 8)
To those mealy-mouthed politicians who are beholden
to the NRA and the gun fanatics throughout
America, guns are never the problem, now is not the time to take really meaningful action,
and putting more guns on the street by enlisting a new army of armed guards everywhere
is the solution. To these gun advocates, their solution is a return to the
wild west of the 19th century, where every man totes a six-gun on his hip. To these
gun lovers, their solution is to lock up every venue in the United States where more
than a dozen people congregate and place an armed guard inside to ward off any potential
attackers. Better yet, these American patriots would have the rest of us cower in homes
to avoid being shot by some gun-wielding crazy, while they cavort around with their beloved
guns shouting that guns are not the problem. That is not the America in which I
want to live!
Repealing the Second Amendment and enacting laws to get rid of the
weapons on the streets of America are the first two necessary steps to ending the senseless
slaughtering of Americans with firearms. The remaining step is the passage of laws
to severely punish all illegal activity associated with the use, possession or trafficking
of guns.
The time has come for the introduction of cruel and unusual
punishment for those who chose to ignore the rules of human decency and right of all
Americans to live without the constant fear of becoming a victim to someone who has no regard
for human life or the rights of others. True, our Bill of Rights (and hence our Constitution)
prohibit the imposition of cruel and unusual punishments, but the Constitution can be
amended to reflect the necessities of the times. Such has been done in the past.
What are some of the cruel and unusual punishments that could be
considered to penalize those who have no respect for the lives and safety of others? The
number and range of severity of such punishments is quite large: hard labor, flogging,
hanging (and other forms of slow death), stoning, burning at the stake, being fed to wild
animals (as in ancient Rome), etc.
Many of these forms of punishment would clearly offend modern
sensibilities and the bleeding hearts among us. They would rather put up with the blizzard
of gun violence now occurring throughout our country. Still, those of us with less tolerant
attitudes towards criminals might want to look into some of the less controversial means of
getting the enormous number of death-dealing firearms off our streets and out of the hands
of those who have no regard of the law. Let’s start by imprisoning anyone caught in the
illegal possession of a gun for a mandatory very long period of time. And while imprisoned,
let’s make the offender perform hard labor that pays for most, if not all, of his/her
incarceration costs.
We need to tighten up our court system to prevent those illegally
possessing a gun, those illegally selling firearms and, most especially, those committing
a crime while in the possession of a gun, from getting off with slaps on the wrists. We
need to get these offenders into jail before they contribute to the killing and maiming of
innocent victims. Judges need more incentives and tools to imprison these contributors to
violent gun crimes.
It’s high time that those enablers of gun crimes pay for their
offenses, and pay dearly, in spite of the pleadings of the ACLU and the defense lawyers
who make their money by getting criminals off the hook for their misbehavior. Equal rights
under the law should apply to those who obey the law and not to those who violate it.
The pendulum must swing back to favor the law-abiding and not the law-breaker. Recent
history has shown that being kind to the lawless has not led to a reduction in criminal
violence.
Maybe the time has come to return to the days of old - the days
of chain gangs, floggings, public executions and so forth. Our recent experience with
societal tolerance of bad behavior, criminal coddling, an empathy with offenders rather
than with the victims, along with a focus on rehabilitation and an aversion to punishment,
has failed to show any significant positive results in reducing violent crime in America.
A change is called for if we are ever to see an end to the shooting carnage taking place
in America. Severe punishment for criminal activity – that of enabling the presence of
guns on the streets of America - is an important part of that change.
[9]
While the 11 deaths at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh
will grab all the headlines for the next few weeks or so, let’s not forget that in 2016,
the number of firearm-related deaths in the United States totaled more than
38,000, or nearly 105 gun-related deaths every single day!
[10]
Unless and until America decides that getting guns off its street and
out of the hands of those who would do us harm supersedes gunowners’ perceived “right to own a
gun” and unless and until America simply outlaws their possession, the spate of gun deaths in
America will continue to grow. Until the gun fanatics realize that sometimes citizens must give up
certain perceived rights in order to benefit society as a whole, the epidemic of mass shootings will
continue. Unless and until our politicians stop spouting their blather and rhetoric and get
serious about ending gun violence, the death toll from shootings will continue to spiral
upward. Unless and until America 1) repeals the second amendment to the Constitution,
2) bans the possession of all guns except by law enforcement, the military and
those who need guns to protect the public, and 3) enacts laws to severely punish anyone who
illegally possesses or traffics guns, the number of people shot to death in America will
continue to grow. America, we have a choice – get rid of guns, or live our lives
in constant fear of being gunned down by some criminal or madman. Gun owners, you have a
choice – give up your lethal toys and support the elimination of all unnecessary firearms,
or be a contributor to the continuing slaughter of your fellow Americans with these
increasingly deadly weapons.
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References:
- Shooting at Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Sarah Blake,
news.com.au, 29 October 2018.
- Synagogue rabbi slammed inaction on gun control months before, Michael Graham,
World Israel News,
28 October 2018.
- I’ve covered gun violence for years. The solutions aren’t a big mystery., German Lopez,
Vox,
21 February 2018.
- When it Comes to Mass Shootings, There are Doers and Then There are Politicians,
David Burton,
Son of Eliyahu; Article 318, 8 March 2018.
- America seems unable to solve a scourge that exists nowhere else,
The Economist, 17 February 2018.
- Here’s A List Of All The Gun Control Laws Congress Has Passed Since Newtown,
Nick Wing,
Huffingtonpost,14 December 2015.
- Letter: Meaningful action needed on gun control, Chris Howell, Shannon Walko,
David J Young, http://www.hollandsentinel.com, 23 February 2018.
- Trump says armed guard could have stopped Pittsburgh tragedy, will hold today's MAGA rally,
Christal Hayes, USA TODAY , 23 February 2018.
- When it Comes to Mass Shootings, There are Doers and Then There are Politicians,
David Burton,
Son of Eliyahu; Article 300, 3 August 2017.
- Gun-Related Deaths in America Keep Going Up, Maya Rhodan, Time,
6 November 2017.
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