New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Senators’ gun proposal will not solve our many problems
Members of the U.S. Senate are playing a three-card monte confidence game on the American people. The confidence game is designed to convince us that we are getting a safer America through some sort of gun control measure, when in fact there are no real gun control measures passed. It is one big shell game, where only the persons running the game win.
They want us to believe that the enemy is some mentally handicapped, lonely, isolated young man who only needs a good counselor, and magically mass shootings will end. They are asking us to forget or ignore the real causes of mass murders like Buffalo, the hate that exists in the white supremacist movement and insurrectionists who are attacking democracy, those who used to live in the shadows but are now effectively taking over the Republican Party.
Sen. Chris Murphy said that “right now, people in this country want us to make progress, they just don’t want the status quo to continue for another 30 years.” The current proposal, which includes investing in mental health and accessing juvenile records for young men ages 18 to 21, is not progress; it is not even a Band-Aid. It is a political exercise that provides cover for a do-nothing Senate and will not lead to making our communities safer. It will lull us into some sort of sleep until the next massacre occurs.
They are extremely proud of their bipartisan deal, and it will not be long before they start touting this legislative success as some sort of “War on Guns.” They like giving their shell games catchy titles that symbolize grandeur and success. All the while, the real enemy of the people and democracy, the white supremacists and insurrectionists, get a pass and continue to grow and multiply. And the mass murders will continue. The senators’ responses will be the same, they will offer prayers, and bemoan the sad state of the “mentally unstable” individual.
History has shown time and time again that when these solutions are proposed, it is the Black and poor communities that suffer the consequences. There will not be equity in treatment, results or economic benefits. This new “War on Guns” will make some mental health professionals and school security providers — who are overwhelmingly white — much wealthier. It will also lead to the same outcomes as the now disparaged “War on Drugs,” a war on our young Black men being prosecuted and jailed while others, like the white supremacists and insurrectionists,
will walk away scot-free.
What’s missing from the current deal are real solutions long advocated by Murphy, which includes closing loopholes in our background check system; limiting access to high-capacity magazines and militarystyle assault weapons; encouraging licensing requirements for handgun purchases; and making it illegal for those on the FBI terror watch list to buy a gun.
Most importantly, there needs to be a real crack down on white supremacy and the insurrection movements, and a perfect place to start would be to have every participant in the Capitol insurrection forever banned from possessing a gun, any type of gun.
Murphy and other senators who desire real and significant reform should not provide cover for those who really do not want to see progress and change. They must stick to their guns and abandon this current con game that does not include real reform they have long advocated.
Like the former War on Drugs, this new legislative proposal is a losing proposition for halting mass shootings. It is a surrender to the white supremacists and insurrectionists who shill for Russia and violence. It is not progress, especially for my community. It will ultimately lead to more negative outcomes that will not be acknowledged for decades to come, and the loss of another generation of young Black youth in the name of progress.