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© 2021 The Somerville Times. All rights reserved.
By Joseph A. Curtatone
(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)
If there’s one thing to be learned from the horrific mass murder at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, it’s how quickly gun violence can become a local issue. Unfortunately, it’s one we seemingly have to learn repeatedly, through Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Umpqua Community College, San Bernardino, the Washington Navy Yard and the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Kids went to school, people went to work (or out for the evening), and they didn’t come home. In each case we hear from loved ones whose lives have been shattered and from communities that have been left scarred. Any sensible person can recognize the only difference between us and them is that they were unlucky enough to have it happen there. I can tell you from firsthand experience it is a recognition that keeps community and school leaders up at night. No one wants to be next.
Sandy Hook was a call to action for all of us. No one could pretend they were uniquely immune to that sort of incident. In Somerville, we’ve developed lockdown procedures for all of our schools and run lockdown drills twice a year. That’s in addition to four evacuation drills a year. We have a single, locked point of entry at each of our schools and camera security at each entrance.
At Somerville High we have a resource officer on duty with additional SPD presence at the start and end of each school day. We also have door monitors and four security personnel on site. Three years ago SPD initiated our STEPS program, in which five officers adopt an entire sixth grade class and support/build a relationship with them for the next seven years. STEPS provides youth mentoring, support and the kinds of connections that can help our police spot risks early. It also increases the physical police presence in our schools in a non-threatening way, which enhances safety without creating anxiety. We also work with regional health and counseling providers to form a strong support system for children who are high needs or high risk.
We are bringing all possible diligence to bear to protect our students and school staff. Yet it does not change the fact that our children are now growing up in a country where lockdown drills are the norm. That is a direct result of many of our national leaders failing to match our local level of concern and effort. We’re doing what we can to protect the people in our community and they are not.
There is no getting around the fact that gun violence is out of hand in this country. I was reading up this past week about how an AR-15 shoots its rounds with such force that it can obliterate entire internal organs. No civilian should have that kind of killing power in their hands, just like they shouldn’t have grenades, tanks or flamethrowers.
Military weapons have no practical civilian use other than killing large numbers of people. We have to put a reasonable limit on firepower and ban bump stocks and high-capacity magazines. No one’s buying these things in order to be part of a well-regulated militia. Universal background checks and closing gun show loopholes also make all the sense in the world and enjoy popular support from both sides of the political aisle.
If you want to drive in this country, you need a license and insurance and you need to register your vehicle. How that doesn’t apply equally to gun ownership is baffling.
Well, it isn’t really baffling. The National Rifle Association fights sensible gun regulations and controls at every turn. It has changed from an organization focused on gun safety and the interests of law-abiding gun owners to a gun cult that can tolerate a seemingly unlimited amount of murder. Its response to Parkland is to advocate for turning our schools into armed camps, which means more money flowing into the coffers of the gun industry.
Yet there was an armed officer on the scene at Parkland and people with guns on the scene in Las Vegas and people with guns next to the church in Sutherland Springs. None of that prevented or even slowed down the slaughter. It’s preposterous to expect a teacher to switch instantly from a lesson on world history or continental drift to engaging in a firefight with an assailant who has superior firepower. That is not something that is going to happen in the real world, and those proposing it are responding to murder with empty fantasies.
The fury and activism we see coming out of the students in Florida should be matched in every city and town across this nation. It is horrific and unforgivable that nothing was done before this latest mass killing. We cannot accept the continued failure to respond to the gun violence that plagues our nation.
We need all of our national leaders to be as serious about our safety as we are at the local level. And we need our leaders and our media to keep the focus not on the lies and distractions, but on the facts and solutions. The NRA-funded disconnect must end. The flow of blood money to politicians must stop. Until we make deep, fundamental changes we are all in danger of being next.
Gun violence is not some theoretical discussion. It is a life and death local issue all across our nation.
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Well, in this state, you do need a license, and even after passing the required courses, submitting all your paperwork and references, having no criminal history, your local Chief of Police can still decide entirely at their own discretion that you do not get to exercise your rights.
On power, yes, pretty much any rifle does more damage than a pistol. That said, when the M16 was first introduced most soldiers did not want it because it was so much less powerful than the one the had already. There are a lot of stories of soldiers in Afghanistan switching to their pistols when entering a building not because they are more maneuverable indoors but because the rounds from their rifles did so little damage at close range they would rather use their pistols. The military just spent years and millions of dollars trying to make more efficient ammo. Most state that allow rifles for deer hunting do not allow the use of 5.56 because it is not powerful enough. Almost every other rifle round out there is more powerful than the most common AR rounds including pretty much everything used for hunting.
For sensible gun control, you mention universal background checks. With two exceptions in the last ten or so years, every mass shooter has passed a background check. Of the other two, one shot his mother and took her rifle and the other talked a friend into giving them the rifle, which is a straw purchase and already a felony. Most mass shooters plan for a long time and work to stay out of trouble and not raise any of the flags that would make them a prohibited person.
If you really want to have a discussion and come up with something that is actually sensable as far as gun control goes, calling the NRA, which is the same as calling its millions of members and all gun owners, murders, is really not the way to start. So I will assume you are not looking to discuss, but to dictate or at least pontificate.
The NRA spends less than pretty much any other large lobbying group out there. Do not take my word for it, look up NPR stories on NRA funding. Also unlike other lobbying groups it actually has millions of of individual citizens as dues paying members.
I have lost several close friends to firearms in Somerville. One when he was still very much a child when we were in elementary school. So I do not consider myself somehow above or think I am immune to the impact a firearm can have, but I do not see the firearm as the source of the problem.
The M16 has been available for civilian purchase since the early 60s. Until the late 80s you could walk into any gun store and for a little extra money, paperwork and time you could have a brand new fully automatic M16. You can still own one, but demand has driven prices up. And variations of the AR15 have been available the entire time as well including during the assault weapons ban. So what changed that it is now the weapon of choice for mass shootings? Fix that and you will have a bigger impact than any weapons regulation. Boston’s Operation Cease Fire, a report of which can be found on the DOJ web site, found that in the 90s in Boston focusing on drugs and guns made no difference to the level of violence on the street. Focusing on the violent individuals and taking them off the street made a huge difference. So what is making these people suddenly so much more violent and how do we either fix the source of the issue or at least identify these people faster.
On a final note, I found it informative that when you and Seth Moulton had your public meeting in Somerville, the two local residents who took time from work and family to be there were progun, while the two antigun people to show up were from out of town and paid to be there by a gun control organization.
This was a bit rambling, and I did not go back to reread or edit it, so apologies for run on sentences or dangling participles.
While I believe what you said about the process to gain access to a firearm in this state, the challenge is that within a 1 hour drive of Boston you can go to places with drastically different rules on buying a gun.
I would love to see a registry of guns by owner and a regular re-licensing process that includes mental and behavioral health screenings. If you loose a gun or its stolen, you should be criminally and financially liable for whatever occurs with that weapon in the future.
With this, we could at least understand if someone is unstable do they have one or many guns.
btw – its crazy that we are STILL pretending guns and specifically civilian ownership of guns is a net benefit to our society.
but is it. An MA resident can legal drive to NH and an MA compliant rifle from a store and have seven days to record the transaction after he returns home. It is illegal at the federal level to buy a pistol out of state. You can contract for one, but it must be transferred to you by a licensed FFL in your state of residence. Someone legally buying a firearm in NH to transfer it to a MA resident directly with out going through a FFL is a straw purchaser and is committing a felony. Every purchase in an FFL has a question asking if you are to be the final owner of the firearm. Lying on this form is a felony. Also every FFL has signs with the “Don’t lie for the other guy.” campaign.
Let me ask you a question. If someone stole your car and was then involved in a highway accident, do you believe you should be charged with vehicular manslaughter? Or if someone pulled a brick from your walkway and broke it over someone’s head? That other person made the decision to do these things, not you.
Arguing that guns are different does not make sense to me. I have had friends shot and stabbed to death and killed by drunk drivers. I do not blame the gun or the knife or alcohol, I blame the person who decided to head down what ever path lead them to killing my friends.
Before MA tightened its gun laws, about 60% of firearms used in crimes came from inside that state, after about 60% of them came from outside the state. And with a couple exceptions, I would have said the current MA laws were not too bad and were almost a reasonable compromise.
As a socially liberal gun-owner I believe owning the right to own is a constitutionally protected (2a) right in our country, but some things need to be tightened.
Bump stocks always were a sleazy way to get around the automatic weapons ban – talking automatic here (one trigger pull and multiple rounds are flying) – not semi-auto. Bump stocks need to be gone. Easy to fix. ** though there are ways for your average Joe to make devices that mimic bump stocks, but at least make it hard.
Transferring or selling a gun as a private sale: if you want to sell a gun to a relative or friend you still need to abide by the state and federal laws. You don’t need a licensed dealer (FFL), but most people I know who sell a gun in a private sale use one. It is a liability issue, so I’d be fine closing this loophole and forcing transaction thru a dealer (dealer would charge a flat fee – like $50 to handle the xaction). I get beat up on this one from friends who also own guns, but I see no issue with this. This is the “loophole” you hear about – private sales/gun shows. It’s not great that each transaction (even private) will cost a few bucks now, but better than no screening.
In MA we go overboard as the police chief’s discretion. I bet most police chief’s don’t want the hassle of licensing and the liability, but it is what it is here. That needs to be fixed. Anyone who doesn’t have issues (legal or mental) has the right and ought to be able to get a license if they so choose. It’s silly to have to go and pander to the police chief every 5 years as we do today. You need to be squeaky clean, take a gun class and then present your to the chief at the date they schedule you for (can wait weeks for that). This needs fixing and all states should reciprocate – if I am licensed in any state then I can legally own in every state.
Mental health – yeah, people with a history of mental health issues or behavioral issues need to be flagged. Right now we don’t do that because we don’t want to stigmatize people, but schools and work places need to raise red flags when people exhibit violent or crazy behavior. Enough about worrying about hurting a kid’s feelings or making the kid feel bad. If a kid threatens to shoot up a school or is doing drugs he needs to be prohibited from ever owning a sling shot.
To “but is it”: thanks for the laughs. Even in states like VT (no restrictions) you still have to follow federal laws and not be federally disqualified. Also, for liability – what about cars. If someone steals your car and plows into someone then do the same rules apply? The criminal is not liable — you are? You sure you’re good with that? ‘Tis a slipper slope there.