Will it be Asheville, NC, Belleville, IL, Charlottesville, VA, Greenville, SC, Huntsville, AL, Jacksonville, FL, or Somerville, MA; or one of the more than 80 other “-villes” in the USA? Maybe it will be a -burg, or a -ham, or -land, or -ton. Perhaps, none of the above, but surely more mass shootings will continue to happen in American cities, towns and villages.
Will the next mass murder location be a school, a church, a theater, a supermarket, a mall, or a workplace? Or will our next mass murderer choose a new venue?
Will the weapon of choice of the next mass murderer be a baseball bat, a knife, a chainsaw, a six shooter, or a semi-automatic, military-style rifle with multiple 30-round magazines? Take a guess.
Will red flag laws enable courts to disarm a citizen bent on committing mass murder but who currently has no prior history of violence, mental illness, or recognizable aberrant behavior? Our Louisville Slaughterer was an athletic, well-educated banker. Certainly not him.
Will states realistically increase spending on mental health to a point that has any measurable, positive impact? How much spending will that require? Will taxpayers go along with whatever it takes if it means doubling or tripling the mental health budget? Get real.
Will any of the following laws have a real chance at significantly reducing gun violence in America: (1) red flag laws, (2) increased budgets for mental health services, or (3) gun safety laws? Need a hint?
Will our sons, daughters, grandsons, or granddaughters be the next victims of mass murder? Will our mothers, fathers, grandmothers or grandfathers be next? Or will it be our fellow church parishioners? What about our co-workers and colleagues? Is our best friend next?
Am I next?
Thank you for this excellent piece, Jim, we cannot turn away, we must continue to fight for sane laws!
Turns out the next “Ville” was Dadeville, Alabama. A sweet 16 party turned into an AR-15 gathering. The GOP governor, senators and congressmen sent the usual thoughts and prayers.
But they always seem to misspell “prey,” don’t they?
It turns out that the next “Ville” was Dadeville, Alabama. Specifically, a sweet 16 party that turned into an AR-15 party. Four murders and 28 more casualties.
Reminds me of a line uttered by Matthew Shepard (Michael Douglas) in “The American President”: “For reasons which escape understanding, people do not relate to guns to gun related crime.”
My starting point on negotiations for the ever elusive “sensible gun legislation” begins with repeal of the Second Amendment.
I agree about repeal, and I believe it, or legislation and court decisions equivalent to repeal will occur, but I wonder how many more generations it will take before that happens. Always good to hear from you, Steve. I enjoy your postings on Facebook. Keep ’em coming.
Hi Jim: I will post a comment in response to your most recent post re: The death penalty and Judicial Ethics, for I spent much of my career dealing with both, as you may recall, but it will take me some time to put my thoughts together.
I subscribe to a few Substack columnists, most recently adding Joyce Vance, who I’ve always found to be very thoughtful and worthy of attention. I will repost her most recent on Facebook; take a look to see if she’s your cup of tea as well.