The poll about stronger gun laws has closed. The question was “Do you think stronger gun laws will reduce gun violence in Philadelphia?” This is how it ended:
- 13 out of 30 people said it would reduce gun violence.
- 8 out of 30 said it would not reduce gun violence.
- One thought it would make no difference one way or the other.
- 8 out of 30 said it might help but it would not be significant.
So roughly 43% think that it will definitely help and the rest say no or not much. Clearly we are divided on this issue.
So where does that leave us? Fumbling around as usual. Here are some of my incoherent thoughts:
- People who are straw buyers of weapons that are later used in a crime should be prosecuted as accessories to that crime. I don’t know why it is not done now but those folks are far worse than drug dealers and should be treated the same as the criminals who later commit the crime.
- The mostly young people who are the perpetrators of violent crime are on a one way track to nowhere and I wonder why we have let them come to this. It’s really easy to say it’s not our problem but we are certainly going to pay now or later when we have to support them for the rest of their lives in prison. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the word can’t educate its children and put them on track to a positive life? Might it be that we just don’t care enough?
- Have you met a criminal lately? If you think you have not, I would hold on to that thought. The prisons in this country run people though at an astounding rate. They bring them in, hold em and then send them out. Whatever problem they had before they went in are untreated and here they go on the cycle again. They are all over Frankford because it’s a great inexpensive place to live. Hooray for us. If any area should support an effective criminal reentry program, it’s us. Just don’t ask us to do it for the entire city.
I would appreciate your comments and I’ll publish them in a future post.
