Roy Exum
As knowledgeable people scramble for solutions after two mass shootings in Chattanooga in an eight-day period, a curfew for unaccompanied minors is a must. Right now, there is a 10 p.m. curfew for those 16 and younger, and an 11 p.m. for those 18 and under, but the curfews are worthless unless they are enforced. By “enforced,” I mean a parent or guardian has to come pick up a child from police custody.
That sounds mean, cruel and racist but the sounds of six black children being shot sounds worse.
That’s what happened Saturday before last. This weekend there were three killed and 14 wounded and – yes – there were minors involved in the 2:40 a.m. gunfire. So, this is hardly the time to bemoan the fact the parents of these miscreants should not be held responsible for their whereabouts.
Catch the same child numerous times and a judge should seek out a bench warrant for wanton child neglect. For curfews to be effective, they must have the teeth to deter repeat offenders. And if officers come across a gaggle of 15-year-olds, these children should be searched for guns and then punished accordingly. No child should handle a pistol. Ever.
“We have a terrible situation,” Mayor Tim Kelly said on Monday when he was being interviewed by various national news outlets, “We’ve had three killed and something like 23 injured in the last 10 days,” he told CNN. “We hope to have some suspects in custody soon,” adding some federal agencies are assisting Chattanooga’s new police chief Celeste Murphy. “We are treating this like the crisis that it is.”
"It is a law enforcement problem, it's also a problem with access to guns," Kelly told CNN. "This is not a place for partisanship. This is something where we need to come together and look at all the ways we can help solve the problem."
"It's been said that there are really three parties in the United States: Republicans, Democrats and mayors," he said. "So, we will do as mayors what we have to do to keep our people safe. But we could sure use some help at the federal level."
Kelly is amicable towards banning high-capacity magazines, and demanding mandatory background checks, but emphasizes he isn’t after anyone’s Second Amendment rights. “I am a gun owner, a hunter and a marksman. But I think we can agree there are a lot of common-sense approaches for Congress to consider.”
Through Monday there have been 246 mass shootings in the United States in 2022, which is more than there have been days in this year. According to Fox News Digital, it has reviewed data from the Gun Violence Archive detailing there were 13 mass shootings last weekend from Friday evening through Sunday. The Gun Violence Archive (GVA) defines mass shootings as ones where "4 or more (people are) shot or killed, not including the shooter."
“The database shows at least 69 people were injured and 17 killed last weekend. The GVA data show there have been 246 mass shootings so far this year, which matches the same amount of mass shootings for the same time frame last year.
“Data previously reviewed by Fox News Digital shows violent crimes spiked in 2020, compared to previous years. Mass shootings for the entirety of 2020 increased by more than 46 percent compared to 2019, according to the GVA data, with 417 mass shooting events in 2019 to 611 in 2020.
“While FBI data on murders in 2020 show a nearly 30 percent spike in murders compared to 2019. Among Black Americans, the number of murders spiked disproportionally at a 32 percent increase in 2020 compared to 2019. There was a 43 percent increase in Black murders in 2020 compared to the 10-year prior average, data show.”
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DEADLIEST WEEKEND FOR MASS SHOOTINGS THIS YEAR
(From USA TODAY): At least 17 people were killed Friday to Sunday, the deadliest weekend of mass shooting gun violence this year, according to a new USA TODAY analysis.
In Philadelphia; Chattanooga, Saginaw, Michigan; Omaha, Nebraska; and other towns and cities, there were at least a dozen shootings that killed or injured four or more people, according to data compiled by the Gun Violence Archive and analyzed by USA TODAY. At least 82 people were wounded or killed.
"America’s gun violence crisis was on full display this weekend, an emergency crying out for a solution that we know exists," said Kris Brown, president of Brady, a gun violence prevention group.
The next worst weekend for mass shooting deaths this year was May 13 to 15 – when 14 people were killed in mass shootings, including 10 at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store, according to the analysis of Gun Violence Archive data. Fourteen people were also killed in mass shootings during the weekend of Dec. 31, 2021, to Jan. 2.
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MAYOR TIM KELLY ON SUNDAY
“There are families whose lives have been shattered forever because once again, we have people deciding to resolve their issues with firearms,” the Mayor said. “I’m tired of standing in front of you talking about guns and bodies. Chattanooga will not tolerate this in our community.”
royexum@aol.com