North Coast Online

The Urban Gun Culture

The Buffalo News is quite sensible about illegal gun crime in Buffalo.  Gun buybacks don't cut it.

More effective is tough enforcement of laws against illegal gun possession, and aggressive searching for such weapons. Buffalo was one of 15 cities nationwide to launch a program last spring to get illegal guns off the streets. Buffalo police have confiscated 998 guns so far this year. That effort is much better targeted on the kinds of guns that need to be taken off the streets. Mayor Byron W. Brown and District Attorney Frank J. Clark now have added a no-plea-bargain policy, which will have even more impact because of a new mandatory minimum sentence for illegal gun possession.

The house next door is one of those "neighborhood problems."  It's been owned over the years by a succession of slumlords who only rent to responsible tenants as often as I win the Lottery.  I  particularly remember an incident with one of them on a hot summer evening a few years ago.  I was on the front porch when the 14 or 15 year old son of my latest in a never-ending series of neighbors struck up a conversation from the sidewalk with me.

It was clear that he was high on something and, during our rather innocuous and uncomfortable chat, casually pulled a handgun out of his pocket and displayed it in his palm.  Now, I only knew the kid in passing and why he was showing it to me I have no idea.  Was he showing off, perhaps trying to impress me by showing how "grown-up" he was  or was he trying to intimidate me? 

I kept calm, for all I knew he was going to shoot me (blood pressure went way up,) and decided quickly that this was probably not the time for a lecture.  I acknowledged that I'd seen it, he put it back in his pocket and eventually ambled away when a buddy showed up.  I staggered inside for a gin and tonic. 

Now, I'm sort of ashamed that I didn't alert the police (I did later tell his mother for what that was worth) but I'm still not sure what the cops would have or could have done. In Buffalo, they're so overworked what with breaking up domestic disputes, street-corner fights, burglaries and outright murders, that a call to 911 that a kid has a gun would probably fall far down the priority list on a hot Saturday night.  And I didn't even know his name. 

Nonetheless, that incident's always stuck with me; and it chills me to this day to know that children are wandering around the streets of Buffalo with handguns in their pockets.  And that reality won't be fixed by gun buybacks or by passing more gun-control laws.  It can only be changed by ensuring that children like my former neighbor are raised in responsible households -- and we're not ready yet as a society to make sure that happens.

Why Not A Baggy-Pants Buyback

I'm disappointed by Mayor Brown's decision to offer a gun buyback program; they simply have not been shown to reduce crime.  As the Buffalo News points out, Varner Harris had bought his illegal gun only two days prior to shooting two police officers.  What would prevent another thug from selling his to the city and going out to buy a new one the same day?

We can't keep guns out of the hands of people who want them any more than we can prevent them from buying illegal drugs.  Would anyone seriously propose a drug buyback program?  Gun buybacks are a "look, we're doing something" reaction to a deep cultural problem. 

I hope the Mayor will be rigorous in using Citi-Stat to track gun crimes afterwards.  If he can prove me wrong and it's shown to have helped, I'll be thrilled.

No Tourist Left Behind

Florida's made it legal to defend yourself with a gun.  Some aren't happy.

Washington DC – The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is beginning a public education effort to educate Florida tourists and potential Florida tourists that effective October 1, they face a greater risk of bodily harm within the state of Florida.

That is the date that the state’s new “Shoot First” law also known as the “Stand Your Ground” law, goes into effect.

Individuals who are unfamiliar with Florida’s roads, traffic regulations and customs, or who speak foreign languages, or look different than Florida residents, may face a higher risk of danger – because they may be more likely to be perceived as threatening by Floridians, and because they are unaware of Florida’s new law that says individual who feel their safety is threatened or their possessions are at risk are legally authorized to use deadly force.

“We think people visiting Florida should be aware of this law, and act accordingly,” said Sarah Brady, Chair of the Brady Campaign. “Visitors should be very careful about getting into an aggressive argument with anyone during their stay.”

Others aren't so worried.

CHICAGO, Oct. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

The ISRA is encouraging Illinois citizens to acquire Florida Concealed Weapons Licenses before visiting the Sunshine State. This bit of advice comes only days after Florida reformed the state's deadly force laws to eliminate "retreat" provisions found under the former statute.

[. . .]

"Florida is a wonderful vacation destination for the entire family," said ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "The Florida vacation experience is made even better when the law- abiding tourist knows that he or she can carry a defensive firearm as a means of protecting the family against robbers, rapists and murderers. Florida's progressive views on the right of self defense are reflected in the state law that allows qualified persons from outside the state to obtain a Concealed Weapons License."

I used to tease my British co-workers just before they'd leave for vacation in the States (usually at Disneyworld.)   "Get off the plane as quick as you can," I'd tell them.  "Because if you're at the end of the line they may have run out of the guns that they distribute and all you'll get is crummy old rusty knife."  Wide British gun-fearing-eyes eventually gave way to laughs (for the more lucid of them.)  After all, a week at Walmart is worth our reputed crime rate (which is actually lower than theirs.)

That said, hurrah for Florida.  Watch the violent crime rates there.  They'll almost certainly decline.