Fear & Loathing in a Neighborhood Near You?

By Tom Anselm

Is it just me, or does it seem like there is more and more violent crime and illegal activity lately? Or is it just that with today’s 24/7/365 social media, we never miss a thing? Regardless, we are hearing almost every week about a child getting shot or a car-jacking or a rolling gun battle on a major thoroughfare or a domestic disturbance turning into a gruesome murder or… well, I think you get my drift.
I have heard some reports where this uprising can be blamed in part on the pandemic. You know, people cooped up together, economic downturns at all corners, stress and illness and deaths and uncertainty. But, honestly, I’m not buying that one. I doubt that people who are committing these criminal acts care one wit about COVID, or wearing masks, or social distancing. And crime, sadly, does pay, sometimes even better than an unemployment check or stimulus money. It’s a lot more lucrative to participate in drug trafficking than work 40-50 hours a week. So, what else could there be for answers to this madness?
Maybe criminals are feeling emboldened. We are seeing national movements to take funding away from law enforcement agencies rather than move more resources to them. Could it be the growing trend towards light or suspended sentencing of repeat criminals? I’ve heard of burglars, who seldom get violent, doing 2 years of a 5-year sentence and then going right back into ‘business.’ Time off for good behavior? Seems almost too easy. No disincentive to do a crime and get convicted if the punishment is reasonably tolerable. “Do your Nickel, then back on the street.” So who loses more with this system? You, your parents, your children, and their children.
All law-abiding citizens. Our free society. That’s who.
Then we have access to weapons, almost always readily available on the black market. I recently spoke with a veteran police officer very well-informed about things such as this, who said that over 80% of guns confiscated from criminals are stolen, with the serial numbers filed off. Untraceable. Unregistered. Certainly obtained without the benefit of background checks. So kinda makes you wonder about the effectiveness of registration of firearms and the hundreds of other gun control laws already on the books as a way to curtail violent crime. At least when it comes to hand guns, which are used in the majority of shootings. As for assault rifles, or any firearm that allows for use of multiple-round clips, well, there may be a stronger case these days for steeper restrictions on those types of weapons.
Then you also have the argument that fewer guns legally purchased equals fewer opportunities of the thefts of these guns. However, I think that may be an oversimplification. According to a 2019 survey by the Department of Justice, that there is little doubt that hand guns of all types and caliber are easy enough to get, with 43% bought on the highly lucrative Black Market, 10% at a retail store, 6% from thefts, and less than 1% from gun shows. So it seems that very few guns used in crimes are legally obtained.
I offer no solutions here. My purpose is only to broach the subject. It is a very complicated issue, with vociferous advocates on each side, all ‘armed’ (so to speak) with their own sets of statistics and arguments. Personally, it seems that in our nation there are far too many guns capable of high-caliber multi-round destruction entering the hands of far too many people, whether legally or illegally. And that just creates us an environment for disaster. As we have seen, even in the last few weeks.
Just something to ponder as we continue to make our way along this pathway of life in the very volatile 21st Century.

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