Do stuff with and for your neighbors
Where do the guns come from?
Three more Boston men met a tragic, violent death Sunday night in Jamaica Plain. While I can’t speak to the myriad human impulses and environment conditions that make an argument in a pizzeria turn ferocious, I can comment on one contributing factor that makes these kinds of arguments more lethal—an illegally trafficked gun.
The fact is that the majority of shootings on our streets are committed by convicted felons and youth who are legally barred from owning guns. In reality, most shootings involve two crimes: the shooting itself, and the earlier criminal transaction that put the gun in the wrong hands. Too often, we only focus on arresting the shooter and neglect to hold accountable those who profited by putting a gun in his hands.
Take the other case making headlines in Boston right now—the horrific shootings of a mother, her baby and three more in Mattapan. We know two suspects have been charged with, among other counts, unlawful possession of a firearm. Suppose the suspects are indeed found guilty and locked away. What happens to the people who sold them the gun illegally? Are we safe as long as they continue to supply guns to gang members, teens and felons?
What can we do?
Always ask, “Where did the gun come from?” after every shooting to shift the focus beyond an individual shooter to the system of gun trafficking that armed him
Invite us to hold a “Traffick Jam Community Workshop” for your organization to expose the common sources of guns used in crime, loopholes in the law that protect crooked gun dealers and traffickers, and community-level actions we can all take to get the guns off the street
Nancy Robinson
Executive Director
Citizens for Safety
Our efforts are supported by the generosity of people like you
who share our commitment to safe streets.
www.wheredidtheguncomefrom.com
The fact is that the majority of shootings on our streets are committed by convicted felons and youth who are legally barred from owning guns. In reality, most shootings involve two crimes: the shooting itself, and the earlier criminal transaction that put the gun in the wrong hands. Too often, we only focus on arresting the shooter and neglect to hold accountable those who profited by putting a gun in his hands.
Take the other case making headlines in Boston right now—the horrific shootings of a mother, her baby and three more in Mattapan. We know two suspects have been charged with, among other counts, unlawful possession of a firearm. Suppose the suspects are indeed found guilty and locked away. What happens to the people who sold them the gun illegally? Are we safe as long as they continue to supply guns to gang members, teens and felons?
What can we do?
Always ask, “Where did the gun come from?” after every shooting to shift the focus beyond an individual shooter to the system of gun trafficking that armed him
Invite us to hold a “Traffick Jam Community Workshop” for your organization to expose the common sources of guns used in crime, loopholes in the law that protect crooked gun dealers and traffickers, and community-level actions we can all take to get the guns off the street
Nancy Robinson
Executive Director
Citizens for Safety
Citizens for Safety is a 501c3 nonprofit mobilizing the power of grassroots action
to stop the flow of guns to criminals and create safe communitieswhere every child can grow up without the fear of being shot.
Our efforts are supported by the generosity of people like you
who share our commitment to safe streets.
www.wheredidtheguncomefrom.com
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