James E. Causey is an editorial writer, columnist and blogger for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. And he is a man who, as I (and I hope you) do, anguishes over the senseless violence committed by thugs with guns – almost always illegally obtained guns.
I don\’t usually post entire columns here, but this one is worth putting up. So, with apologies to Mr. Causey and the Journal-Sentinel (who can post anything of mine any time they care to), here it is:
Aflurry of gunfire, and a little girl lies near death
Whenthe weather hits 80 degrees in Milwaukee, you would think it would because for celebration.
Notin some neighborhoods. Not when you bump into somebody you have a”beef” with.
Toooften, here\’s what happens:
SuspectA sees a person who wronged him in a drug deal or disrespected him insome way, and he pulls out his pistol. Suspect B, who is alsocarrying a pistol, knows that Suspect A is in the hood so he is onhigh alert.
Thetwo men spot each other. Dozens of gunshots are exchanged with noregard for human life. If the suspects don\’t hit each other, they hitinnocent people.
I\’mnot sure this is what happened when SierraGuyton was shotona Milwaukee playground Wednesday evening, but I wouldn\’t besurprised.
Sierra,a precious 10-year-old little girl, was caught in the crossfire of ashootout at the Clarke Street Elementary School about 7 p.m. Sierra\’sfather said his daughter, who is a third-grader at the school, wasbrain dead but continued to receive medical treatment. No arrests hadbeen reported Thursday.
MilwaukeePolice Chief Edward Flynn expressed outrage. Mayor Tom Barrettexpressed outrage. A family suffers and wonders why this happened totheir child. And so on….
Myquestion is:
Howdo we stop this from happening again and again?
Here\’sone idea. Milwaukee needs to follow New York City\’s lead, whichbasically says: GUNS=PRISON.
Thelaw that increasedthe mandatory minimumsentencefor illegal possession of a loaded handgun was passed in 2006. Thelaw says that if you are convicted of carrying an illegal loadedhandgun, you will serve at least 31/2 years behind bars – noexceptions.
Lawmakersin New York passed the law because almost 70% of murders werecommitted with firearms, and the vast majority of the weapons used inthese crimes were illegal.
Therewas an ad campaign behind the law targeting neighborhoods with themost shootings so that the bad guys got the message.
Milwaukeeneeds a similar law. Right now in this city, criminals feel saferwith guns than without them, and that makes everyone unsafe – evenbeautiful little girls who only want to play at a playground at theirschool.
Lastyear when nonfatal shootingsin the city were up19%in June and July compared with 2012, Flynn and Barrett called onstate legislators to pass laws boosting penalties for criminals whopossess firearms. Legislators balked.
Hereare two questions those lawmakers need to answer:
Whyis it that some career criminals in Wisconsin can qualify for aconcealed-carry permit?
Andwhy is it that no matter how many times a person is caught illegallycarrying a firearm, in Wisconsin it\’s a misdemeanor?
Wisconsinlegislators should follow New York\’s lead to save lives.
Butthat\’s not the only thing that needs to change. Flynn, who was lividafter Sierra was shot, suggested that something else is broken in ourcity – a sense of the criminal as the common enemy.
“Sooneror later people, enough\’s got to be enough,” the chief said.”It\’s not enough to complain about our tactics. It\’s not enoughto tell us we\’re putting too many people in jail. We need you, thecommunity, to help us solve this crime and to tell your young men toput the guns down.”
He\’sright. It\’s a clear message to black men to rise up and be leaders intheir communities and neighborhoods. It\’s not enough to sit back andsay, “I feel sorry for what happened to that family.”
“Thatfamily” could be your family next week or next month. Or,perhaps, even this weekend.
Police,the mayor and the churches cannot do this alone. It will take blackmen talking to their brothers, uncles, cousins, friends and sons toget them to change their ways. If good people don\’t take action, ifthey refuse to help the police, count on it – it will be anotherbloody summer.
Well said. Bravely said.
Regular readers of this blog have seen my position on guns here and there, but let me take this opportunity to restate it:
I believe in:
-Registration of all handguns;
-ID tagging of all ammunition;
-Significant vetting for the sale of any firearm of any kind, whether in a gun store, at a gun show or between private parties;
-Mandatory jail time (5 years sounds like a good minimum to me) for anyone possessing an illegally obtained/owned weapon during the commission of a crime, regardless of whether the weapon was used for that crime.
Will these steps prevent gun crime? No, of course not. Laws in and of themselves cannot do that. But will they make it harder for the wrong people to get guns, easier to find them if it happens, and will a mandatory sentence give at least some criminals a damn good reason not to carry guns into the street? I think, or at least hope, so.
I applaud Mr. Causey for his column….and sympathize with the attacks that he will sustain for writing it. I know; I\’ve been there too.
