Just hours after the unthinkable in Newtown, Conn., an obviously shaken Ed Davis, the thoughtful commissioner of the Boston Police Department, mentioned another crime from nearly a year-and-a-half ago that bothers him to this day.
Police were called to a public housing facility in Brighton, where they found an elderly man in a wheelchair bleeding from a gunshot wound to his chest. “I can’t believe the boy killed me; I can’t believe he killed me,” the victim kept telling emergency workers. He died shortly afterward.
Comments
How many more innocent souls have to be sacrificed on the alter of the 2nd Ammendment before we do everything we can to slow down and stop this insanity. If not now, when.
repeal the second amendment!
@sueed.... ya, right. That's the type of post that blocks civil discourse. If you can come back with something a little less crazy then I'm all eyes. Have at it....
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It's not my analogy but it is so right that I will repeat it nonetheless: years ago one, count him ONE, shoe bomber ALMOST brings down a plane and we are ALL still taking off our shoes at airports. Was it because he was a "terrorist" or because most of the would-be victims were businessmen? Now Newtown and we won't even hint at solving this problem. Honestly, there is a lot I'd give up NOT to have this ever happen again, and not getting an automatic weapon in my hand is certainly one of them. We all know this problem is sovable, and philosophically obvious. So sad.
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Don't believe for a second that the NRA will offer any constructive discussion this Friday. their members are brainwashed by their rote slogans ("only outlaws will have guns if guns are otlawed"). They wait a week to make a public comment, and you can bet they're going to take the line that everyone should have more guns. Thank you Brian for pointing out that emasculation is the name of their game: if you don't own a gun you're not a man or a patriot and its your own fault if you die needlessly by bullets, because you're not armed to the teeth to "protect" yourself. This country is sick in the head when it comes to this.
I appreciate your anger but try to not pre-judge what they might say. We're all angry and looking for someone living or some entity to blame. That's human nature. The NRA isn't to blame for this atrocity. When the dust settles and all of the evidence is in I think we're going to find quite a bit more info about the son and perhaps even the mother. The investigators have a long way to go but to pre-judge or blame anyone prior to having all of the available facts in an unadulterated form makes us no better than those in history who tried to change thier own culture based on the beleifs of what a person or group might be without actually knowing the truth.
Yes, the NRA are to blame. The gun he used was banned under the 1994 act. They fought tooth and nail to stop it from being renewed.
The NRA needs to be part of the solution. Once again, they are NOT all gun nuts. It's the crazies who think they will have to fight the government one day that need to be marginalized, but most gun owners are just as sad about Sandy Hook as other people.
Why is crazy to think we may have to fight the government someday? Guess you've never studied history. No government has ever preferred its citizens unarmed, the abused its power? Why would you divide gun-owners into those who understand the point of the 2nd Amendment, and those who are sad? I'd expect we are ALL sad.
This one post makes more sense than the entire column that Brian wrote. I'm am just one voice of the NRA and GOAL and I'm not a gun nut. I've spent more at Brooks Brothers than I've spent at any firearms dealer. When the NRA speaks, I'll consider what they say and make my next decision. If they have a targeted fund whereby at least 90% goes to the healing process of this horrific event, I'll log on and donate.
I guess feeding juveniles war dvds is perfectly acceptable. I guess parents that don't secure their weapons are perfectly acceptable. I guess the presence of a strong male role model, some people call them dads, is not necessary. Sure let's get rid of the the 2nd amendment and then maybe the next knee jerk reaction will be sterilization.
(Almost) Nobody is talking about getting rid of the second amendment. They're talking about basic background checks and regulations. It's easier to buy a gun than a car or a beer. Why is that?
Newtown has been a tipping point for me personally. Growing up in a gun culture of rural Virginia, I was respectful of the rights and arguments of shooters. But we have crossed a line now and I don't think there is any going back. Enough is enough. I think we need to change perspective 90 degrees and stop looking for ways to accomodate and minimally inconvenence "responsible gun owners," and instead ask what steps are needed (as you outlined) to remove these weapons from our streets.
Dave, Kudos, that was a gutsy post. I too am now finding it hard to rationalize certain hardware that I have. Perhaps it's a visceral reaction to the many events leading up to this last one, but I am now reconsidering my desire to have some of the same weapons in my own collection.
Shamefully, disgracefully, the bodies aren't buried before gun-control zealots get on the citizen-control bandwagon again. And while you are there, people who had no particular interest in owning an AR-15 are grabbing them off the shelves in fear that this will be their last chance to own one: law of unintended results, more of them in homes than before you-all threatened those of us who understand the reason for the Second Amendment. One Globe columnist needs to read more history, starting the book that's been on the Globe best-seller list for months: Erik Larson's "In the garden of evil".
Sorry, Barbara, enough is enough. The real question people should be asking is why so called conservatives aren't speaking out. And why is Grover Norquist on the Board of the NRA?
Any SHAME or DISGRACE here is squarely on the shoulders of I-GOTTA-HAVE-A-GUN paranoid cowards, the ones who brought these problems upon us in the first place. The last chance to own an ar-15, what baloney- get out in the world and you'll find plenty of weaponry available.
Lets start using the phrase "Gun Safety Legislation" instead of "Gun Control". It's really more accurate, more positive, and more people can get behind it. It will also take away the NRA's talking point against Government "control" over perceived rights.
Brian, you dont understand. The Government is coming after us, we need to bear arms. Oh wait....they're not? Nevermind.
NRA=Gutless cowards.
But I NEED a drone!!! What if my neighbors decide to attack?
I'm not a member of the NRA and I've never owned a gun, but I don't think banning the AR15, or any other legal weapon, would have the slightest effect on gun violence. We need to make it much more difficult to buy a gun. No part of a a prospective buyer's personal history should be exempt from a background check, including their mental health. Mass murderers names and pictures should never be revealed.
I like this post. I like it because incredible1 has both perspectives and is rational. Buying any gun in MA is far more difficult than it is in most other states. I don't know how you go about defining mental health and what the cutoff is for disqualification but the point is a good one. It, along with Bendoggers post (above) is a rational view.
Hear, hear!
PLEASE show this article to your colleague Jacoby.
I usually agree with you and enjoy your columns but I think you're a bit off the mark on today. While it's tough to argue against increased gun control, particularly when it comes to automatic weapons, how many gun owners are going to go into a school and kill innocent children? To me this is more an issue of mental health and how to prevent those capable of commiting these atrocities from acting on their emotions. You hear stories like this and about pedophiles preying on children (another mental illness) and wonder how it is that we can't seem to protect our children. There's no easy fix but, currently, we do a poor job of dealing with those with mental health problems. That has to change.
Great post Bedogger. Just to clarify a point you made which I'm sure you know but the readers may not. No automatic weapon was used. They are nearly impossible to possess and with good reason. The number of people who have the base license (called an FFL) required to own true automatic weapons is very small. They are highly regulated and subjected to random inspection and regular scrutiny WRT transactions. That said, your point is excellent.
Any gun is deadly regardless of whether it's automatic or manual. Ban them all!
Japan (very stringent control) had 11 gun deaths. England had 35. The US had 12000. No argument can be made by anyone with reasoning ability.
Thank you!
The solution is more guns. If everyone has a gun then there will be less road rage. There are 280 million guns in the USA . Let's add another 400 million. I also believe it is our second ammendment right to own tanks and missles as well. Think of it if you had atank in your yard ready to go who is going to break in?" A missle can be very handy if your having a land dispute with a neighbor. Fire a missle and that will be a good enough deterent
Ahhh, good 'ol fashion humor! Seriously, a tank in the front yard for a day would be a howl. There must be someone who rents them.
There's a Family Guy episode about that...
Guns are now banned in the UK. Let's study their expeience and adopt their model on banning guns.
The UK didn't have 300,000 guns in the country.
What do you do about the shooter who had no prior red flags? In Newtown, the mother had these guns. DO you research the whole family? And why are we such a culture of vilonece - what are the catalysts there (hollywood, video games, sports heros who carry guns, etc..) I agree about gun legislation but there are so many factors - how do we address them all? Or can we?
End home-schooling for one. Maybe if this kid had been in the system someone might've noticed that he needed real help. At the very least there should have been some kind of social-services checks of the home and the situation. In this case, the way she was raising the kid borders on child abuse.
End home-schooling? THAT'S YOUR version of a simple solution?
OK, I'll play. The killers at Columbine were public school students. End public schooling.
I would encourage readers to also see James Alan Fox's article on Boston.com today, "Top 10 myths about mass shootings," for some reasonable analysis. Although he challenges some of my own views, he is someone whose opinion I respect. http://boston.com/community/blogs/crime_punishment/2012/12/top_10_myths_about_mass_shooti.html
Thanks! I was looking for pieces from J.A. Fox over the last couple of days. I too am sometimes at odds with him but I like his depth of thought and I really enjoy the fact that he engages the commentors.
"Happiness is a Warm Gun" (Of course he was shot by a carrying mentally ill individual who is still in jail seeking parole).
Twenty precious, innocent babies's lives ended last Friday. Six caring, loving adults who were frighteningly aware of what was happening also lost their lives. Lets not lose that fact as we discuss solutions to prevent this horror from happening again. Honor them by being civil in any discussion from all perspectives. The name calling and crude comments in no reasonable way honors these victims. Lest we forget:: Charlotte Bacon, 6 Daniel Barden, 7 Rachel Davino, 29 Olivia Engel, 6 Josephine Gay, 7 Ana Marquez-Greene, 6 Dylan Hockley, 6 Dawn Hochsprung, 47 Madeleine Hsu, 6 Catherine Hubbard, 6 Chase Kowalski, 7 Jesse Lewis, 6 James Mattioli, 6 Grace McDonnell, 7 Anne Marie Murphy, 52 Emilie Parker, 6 Jack Pinto, 6 Noah Pozner, 6 Caroline Previdi, 6 Jessica Rekos, 6 Avielle Richman, 6 Lauren Rousseau, 30 Mary Sherlach, 56 Victoria Soto,27
Due to having an incomplete list I left out two names. My sincere apologies. Benjamin Wheeler, 6 Allison N. Wyatt, 6
I can't agree more with Brian. Guns are not the issue, the gun proponents always say; people are. Correction: Deranged people are. Would you issue a gun permit to the likes of that 20 year pld that murdered all those children? That is why, without infringing on the constitutional right for ordinary citizens to own guns, we need to conduct thorough checks on those who buy guns. I see no other way unless we ban guns altogether and that would bring us back to prohibition days for the gangsters to make huge profits on gun smuggling. Guns unchecked would then get into the hands of both the sane and the insane. So a total gun ban is not a viable alternative.
Meanwhile, as the nation struggles over all this, we need to look to safeguarding the schools. The Newton murderer bypassed the locked door and entered through an unlocked window. All first floor windonw should be permanently locked down with alarm systems installed to signal any forced entry to all school rooms and the main office. Teachers and proncipals, should be given gun permits. Because the first floor windows would be locked down, then air conditioners would also have to be installed. Playtime for elementary schools should be, if possible, held indoors. If outdoors, an admittedly bizarre solution for their safety would be a brick wall surrounding the play area. Security cameras as well should surround the school, being channeled to both the principal's office and the local police. And would it be overrkill to have an armed security person roaming the premises?