I am committed to reducing violence in our world.
For Christians this is Holy Week, the week we honor the events that surround the death of Christ on Good Friday. Whatever spiritual significance is attached to that day, the physical act of crucifixion, itself, in the case of Good Friday is the result of violence perpetrated against an innocent man. And I as a Christian stand today with “Mayors against Illegal Guns,” in wanting to reduce the amount of fatalities by violent gun death of innocent people by regulating the sale and availability of guns for those who would do horrific acts like what happened recently in Aurora, CO and Newtown, CN.
April 3, 2009 for us in Binghamton was our own Good Friday. On that day a gunman shot off 99 rounds of ammunition in a little over a minute killing 13 people. We must make sure that these events do not repeat themselves.
Further we know from statistics that every day many people are killed by weapons because certain dealers do not require background checks and, consequently, the sale and use of these guns is not able to be monitored by police.We must give law enforcement officials the tools that are necessary to enforce existing gun laws and ensure that guns are used legally. For these reasons I fully support “Mayors Against Illegal Gun Use.” Furthermore, I would like for the level of discourse in our country to reflect the necessity to reduce violence in our communities. I hope that one day we will enter a time when no one will ever experience another Good Friday.
Thank you, Joe, for your thoughtful statement. It will be difficult, even with rigorous background checks, to determine which people might be dangerous to themselves and others. We know that the world is not divisible into "good people and bad people." Monitoring when people are becoming troubled, secluded, and angry is a task for all of us. Easy access to guns makes an emotional meltdown massively dangerous. I hope the day will come soon when guns cannot be hoarded, and when they must be under lock and key in community storehouses except when being used for hunting or target practice.
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