By Andrew Gounardes and Kristen Pettit | 7/13/22
The gun epidemic is a distinctively American crisis. Scenes of gun violence are deeply shocking, yet heartbreakingly familiar— shoppers running errands in grocery stores, worshippers gathered in prayer, American families running from gunshots at a 4th of July parade, straphangers riding the subway. Even everyday interactions like traffic incidents and noise complaints are now made deadly by the availability of a gun. And the toll this easy access takes on marginalized communities and victims of abuse is devastating. Our children are now able to coach their parents through active shooter protocols that they’ve learned in school. They are as prepared for carnage as they are for their next quiz. This is a dystopian scenario that has become all too real.
In a sign of how out of touch they are, the Supreme Court of the United States gutted our state’s centuries-old regulations on concealed carry permits when it declared in NYSRPA v Bruen that access to guns, wherever and whoever you are, is a fundamental right—one without limitation. This is judicial activism at its worst, and what’s more, it flagrantly disregards the wishes of the vast majority of Americans—citizens of all political affiliations— who favor stronger, not weaker, gun laws.