Enough is Enough
Dear Friend,
It seems like almost every week we can open up the newspaper and read about another shooting that occurred in one of our city’s neighborhoods. A few weeks ago, several young boys were shot while playing outside of their home. Just this past weekend, three separate shootings left several teens injured and a 19-year old mother dead. These tragic events underscore the serious trend that has emerged: more than half of the victims killed by guns this year have been aged 25 or younger.
This sickening cycle of violence will continue unless our city’s elected leaders step up and create real and proactive solutions to getting dangerous and illegal guns out of our communities. I can’t say it too many times -- enough is enough. With 54 homicides and 283 shootings so far in 2008, we need to be doing more to end the gang and gun violence that is plaguing our streets and killing our youth.
That is why I am proposing two vital public safety measures for the City of Boston.
The first initiative is a petition to address a senseless loophole in our gun laws that lets people avoid a mandatory penalty for possessing an unlicensed weapon in their home. It has been said that the loophole was originally created to protect hunters who accidentally let their licenses expire, but the unfortunate truth is that it protects gang members who are hunting down their rivals. An unintended result of the loophole is that an individual would get a lighter sentence for stashing an unlicensed gun under a mattress than for carrying the same unlicensed gun on the streets.
We need to get illegal guns out of the wrong hands and out of our city’s homes. Liquarry Jefferson’s tragic death in 2007 is a reminder that illegal guns aren’t just a threat on the streets – they do just as much harm and are just as dangerous in a home. We need to close this unlicensed gun loophole so that homes and places of business are no longer considered safe havens for illegal guns. My proposed special law for Boston will close the unlicensed gun loophole by ensuring that people caught with an unlicensed gun in a home or business will receive the same 18-month mandatory minimum sentence that is currently enforced for possessing an illegal weapon on the streets of Boston. We will send the message that illegal guns – no matter where they are found – will not be tolerated. This initiative is fully supported by District Attorney Dan Conley, and its passage is a crucial aspect of making our neighborhoods safer.
The second proposal I have filed in the City Council is a petition to ban armor-piercing ammunition, a type of bullet than can pierce the bulletproof vests worn by our own Boston Police officers. This year alone, we have had a couple of incidents involving this type of ammunition. While it’s only a few incidents so far, it’s enough to tell us that this armor-piercing ammunition has made its way onto the streets of Boston and into our neighborhoods. That’s why we must be proactive about banning these bullets now. Our Boston Police officers risk their lives on a daily basis to keep us safe and we should take every measure necessary to ensure their health and safety on the job.
Tackling the senseless violence on our streets will require proactive policies that confront the issue from two angles: detering kids from possessing illegal guns and dangerous ammunition and also ensuring that offenders realize that there are consequences to their actions -- a lesson too valuable for the community to overlook.
This effort will also demand the participation and support from our communities. I urge you to come to a City Council hearing on Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. at City Hall to show your support for these two initiatives. Your voice is vital in curbing our gang and gun violence epidemic.
Best Always,
Michael F. Flaherty
Boston City Council, At-Large
P.S. As always, your feedback on this and any other public safety issue is welcomed at info@michaelflaherty.com.
