To The Editor
It is reported that every two weeks since 2006 there has been a mass murder. There are more mass murders than have been reported and it has affected people all across America. Based upon these frequent mass murders the need for stringent gun control is evident.
New York City has very strict gun control laws; however, most of the southern states have very lax gun control laws. As a result many people are able to purchase and transport guns to the north. It is documented that many of the guns that were used in crimes in New York City were purchased outside of New York. The biggest gun seizure in New York City history yielded 250 firearms. Of those 12 were purchased in North Carolina, five in South Carolina, two in Georgia, one in Ohio and one in Arizona. These were seized from two southern weapons runners. It is left to the imagination how many made it to our streets before that seizure.
Let’s take a look at the most recent mass killing of 12 people, which took place on Sept. 16, 2013 in DC. Although it was done in Washington DC, who would have thought it would directly affect anyone in New York. It hit close to home because the killer’s immediate family lives in New York. The suspect purchased his guns in Virginia and Georgia, which are in the south. The issue with gun control is the lack of extensive background checks which makes it possible for mentally ill and criminals to obtain guns. Now had there been a thorough background check it would have been found out that this individual had multiple occasions of incidents that were related to guns.
It is our business as citizens to lobby for stricter gun control laws because it affects us in one way or another. Unless the authorities or the powers that be chose to change or amend the current laws, mass murders will continue and many innocent people will die needlessly.
Yours truly,
Eustecia Herman
