Detroit was recently awarded the "Most Dangerous City" Award by Congressional Quarterly from data obtained through FBI records. Last year and the year before, the award went to St. Louis MO. This year St Louis dropped to 2nd. Recently, in Detroit, 4 people were shot and killed in a "known drug house", 2 of whom were small children. Also in Detroit, an owner of one gas station was shot to death by the owner of an across the street gas station over a $0.03 per gallon price decrease.
The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguements in the case of a Washington DC ordinance banning hand guns. The issue of course is the legislative attempt to deal with violence by banning hand guns in the City, and the specific rights guarenteed by the Constitution.
A little context is needed I believe, to understand those 27 words in the Constitution. Our Founding Fathers feared a standing army which could be used to control the populace. They were well versed in Classical literature and the power of a small group of well armed and trained soldiers, like Spartans. Their solution to threats by other countries, would to raise a citizen militia, farmers, merchants, artisans and such, who would have their own weapons. Not everybody would be in the militia, only, landed men and their male children; hence, the provision of hanging 13 year olds for treason. It was envisioned that someone who was landless who would fight in a militia would be paid in land the Government controled; hence, they would become land holders. Things certainly didn't go as our Founding Father's envisioned, did they. We have two standing armies (Army and Marines), an Air Force and Navy. What keeps our military from taking over the country has been the indoctrination at the Service Academies of the officers, that military takeover of the government is just not the way to do things.
Fast forward to the mid-twentieth Century and the emergence of the "Saturday night Special" in the urban slaughter scene; a snub nosed 38 calibre handgun that would fit into a pant's pocket or a women's purse. Prohibitions on its manufacture, licensing, distribution, sale, carrying were codified into laws, without, I might say, without a Supreme Court hearing. In its place, has come a cornicopia of handgun weapons, most of which are semi automatic, have 9+ round magazines, and are carried by many people who are specifically prohibited from carrying any weapons, namely criminals, crazy or otherwise. The currrently popular "Glock" carried by police forces throughout the country is manufactured in Switzerland a nation with the highest per person gun ownership.
What has been the track record of handgun bans? Well, the hand gun ban in Washington DC has been in place for 31 years. Last year there were 137 gun related homicides. Has this number of gun related homicides substantively changed from before the hand gun ban? No. Are comparisons of before and after handgun bans were instituted valid? No. So much has changed regarding our nation's cities, the disappearance of ethnic districts (formally called ghettos) which had been the predominant social organization has morphed into a massive flight of people, money, and social controls, with, in many instances, people of color filling in the void. Drugs, violence, joblessness, ignorance have become the new urban reality.
From my perspective, address the issues of violence, poor health, joblessness, ignorance by spending the limited resources of cities on increasing an educated police presence on the street (more boots on the ground), getting the best people into leadership position in the city's bueacracy (changing hiring and firing policies and proceedures), shun gimics and politically correct solutions, build the infrastructure for job development (ie, shed work rule restrictions, put the grant monies already going into cities in the hands of accountable bueacrats, etc), provide basic health care including have a health education nurse go into every home to assess the vaccination status, nutritional status, mental health status and basic health information awareness of each person in the household; an educational system that rates its teachers by personal inclass assessments, performance ratings, expects continuous teacher learning and its validation; assesses the children in an ongoing basis; enact a two way communication system with parents that weekly informs them how their child is or is not progressing. Provide a set of expectations that the school has for the parent's involvement in their child's learning.
Hand guns perse do not appear to be the problem, they are a symbole of a society believing that violence is an acceptable solution to the discontent one feels. Unfortunately, violence seems to be hooked to "justice", respect, entitlement. Disconnecting justice and respect and entitlement from violence requires a willing media for this educational campaign.
Have I said enough for now?
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