Who could be against an ordinance targeting gangs? Well us actually. 

If an anti-gang ordinance is passed and is never enforced and never used to make an arrest, how can anyone possibly say it has played a part in reducing gang violence in Somerville?

The anti-gang ordinance signed into law in Foss Park by Kerry Healey in 2004 has done nothing to help police fight gangs. There is nothing wrong with recognizing a failed, if honest and sincere, technique for what it is. The anti-gang ordinance was not a success.

However, there have been many successes in the fight against gangs in Somerville. Reports of harassment and assault have decreased lately and fortunately there have been no incidents of the brutal violence that inspired aldermen to pass the ordinance in the first place.

The success has come because the Somerville Police Department and its gang unit isolated the problem and attacked it in an efficient, professional manner. They have done so without using the gang ordinance that divided the city in 2004 a single time.

So the next time a true outrage occurs and we are looking to city leaders for solutions, let‚Äôs not take the first one that comes along. We should wait for the one that is sensible and will work.