Seven minutes. Three blocks. Three shot. Two dead.
These eight words describe two shootings that occurred in a Brooklyn neighborhood on Sunday night that served as yet another reminder that the city has a long way in getting gun violence under firm control.
Both shootings occurred seven minutes and three blocks apart from each other in Clinton Hill. One man was shot dead at a local playground during an argument; two other men were shot near a migrant shelter, one of whom died and the other was hospitalized in critical condition. The incidents, at this point, do not appear to be related.
For years now, the NYPD has done a yeoman’s job in fighting gun violence across the city, arresting thousands of individuals for gun crimes and taking thousands more firearms off the streets. Their efforts have led to a steady decrease in shootings and homicides month after month, something which both police and Mayor Eric Adams proudly tout.
As hard as the NYPD works to stop gun violence and shootings, the criminals seem to be working just as hard continuing to bring firearms into the city, taking lives and putting other souls in danger. Why?
It is not an indictment on the NYPD’s efforts, nor is it necessarily an indictment of our elected officials or even the criminal justice system. New York is fighting a losing battle, in many respects, as long as the national gun laws remain stubbornly weak, and the federal government does little to nothing to make them stronger.
New York has been caught in the “iron pipeline” that, for years, has seen smugglers illegally importing firearms into New York from across state lines, selling them on the black market to the highest bidder. The advent of ghost guns has made the situation even more dangerous; these 3D-printed devices, often sold as assembly kits online, are virtually untraceable and easy for anyone to obtain — including those who have been red-flagged and prohibited from owning a gun.
Yet Congress has done little to stop the flow of illegal guns into our cities, though politicians like to complain about how dangerous our cities allegedly are. President Biden’s 2022 executive order to better regulate ghost guns is facing a challenge in the arch-conservative Supreme Court. Less than 10 days after a former president was almost assassinated by a mad gunman with an AR-style rifle, Congress has not acted to ban the sale and distribution of such assault weapons to the public.
Federal inaction is costing lives in New York and straining the NYPD. Democratic lawmakers have pushed for stronger gun laws for years as their Republican counterparts have opposed it tooth and nail. Millions of New Yorkers registered to both parties deserve better than the inactive status quo, and they deserve equal protection under the law from gun criminals.
It’s time for Washington to step up and help New York stop the bloodshed.
