A Lesson For Menino From Virginia Tech

Often times, in order to get politicians/councils/agencies to act on a particular problem, a tragedy must occur first. It takes a high-profile child rape/murder case to bring about the AMBER Alert or Jessica’s law. It usually takes a fatal fire to bring about a change in building and fire codes. It takes a Columbine to justify metal detectors at high schools.

Unfortunately, here in Boston, Mayor Menino has chosen to take incorrect courses of action to combat the rising gun violence that continues to plague the city. His gun buyback program last year has demonstrated itself to be a complete failure, with gun related violence and death up significantly this year compared to last year.

The shooting at Virginia Tech (which has resulted 32 deaths, including a student from Saugus) should be a lesson for Mayor Menino, who has been fighting a war on guns rather than a war on crime.

What the Mayor needs to be aware of is that Virginia Tech is a so-called “gun free zone.” And whether he likes it not, he cannot blame the NRA or Mitt Romney’s hunting pride for what happened at Virginia Tech or what is happening in Boston. For two hours, the students, faculty, and staff at Virginia Tech were vulnerable because no one could stop a lone gunman. Students were given a false sense of safety by their so-called “gun free zone,” and 32 people died. Here in Boston, Menino wanted to create another false sense of safety with his ridiculous gun buyback program.

How many more have to die because initiatives that claim to protect us actually make us more vulnerable?

Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.