New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has issued an emergency public health order temporarily suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has issued an emergency public health order temporarily suspending the right to carry firearms in public across Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalillo County.
This is great if you assume all gun carriers are going to commit a crime with their gun.
The problem is this order can be used to attack people who are otherwise doing nothing wrong, who might be caring explicitly because they want to protect themselves from the crime wave this order is trying to address.
Maybe the answer isn’t more guns.
The answer to the drug abuse epidemic isn’t more drugs either. But banning drugs didn’t do anything to help communities nor will banning guns.
So what accounts for the difference between the US and the rest of the developed world when it comes to gun crimes?
Social safety nets.
Things like: Universal health care, stronger worker protections, better welfare support, better maternal/paternal assistance.
People making enough money to support themselves, aren’t in constant danger of layoffs just to boost profits, can access physical and mental healthcare cheaply, aren’t financially ruined because they have a baby and new a few months off work, and aren’t in danger of losing everything over an emergency room visit aren’t out committing violent crimes.
Focusing on “gun” violence ignores the root cause of violent crimes regardless of the weapon of choice.
Every other country has problems too.
That’s just pointing to another problem and hoping people get distracted by it and not pay attention to the guns.
I didn’t say those were problems to distract from gun violence. I said those things are a solution to violence more broadly. And as a bonus, those social nets help everyone while not violating this country’s fundamental rights.
But that fundamental right has already been violated, there’s plenty of places you can’t bring guns and plenty of people who can’t own them.
Every country has problems, the states are not unique that way. But they are unique among developed countries with their gun crimes.
And I’ve pointed to strong solutions to help being us in line with other nations. Adding more violations to our constitutional rights is not something I support.