Manhattan Shooting Spree Proves What We Already Know: Gun Laws Don’t Stop Criminals
COMMENTARY by Susan Katz Keating
Another day, another tragedy involving a firearm — this time in New York, where a shooter opened fire in a state that boasts some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Once again, the laws that are couched as meaning to “protect” innocent people did nothing of the sort. And once again, the only person with a gun in that moment was the criminal.
I have seen this as a journalist who has covered more than 60 big murders involving firearms. Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Fort Hood, San Bernardino, Pulse Nightclub, Las Vegas, Aurora, El Paso – the list goes on. Through all of these, one thing is consistent. Killers do not care about your gun laws. They do not fill out background checks. They don’t wait the legal cooling-off period. They don’t carry their firearms in state-approved locked containers. They don’t even pretend to follow the rules. In each of these cases and more, no one was armed to fight back.
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The only people impacted by strict gun laws are law-abiding citizens — the kind of Americans who would use a firearm to protect themselves and their families. In New York, where carrying a concealed weapon legally is next to impossible for the average citizen, victims are unarmed prey.
In an afternoon press conference on July 28, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared that gun violence was down in the Big Apple, thanks to a record number of guns being taken off the streets.
A few hours later, 27-year-old Shane Tamura walked into the lobby of 345 Park Avenue, and opened fire. He continued from there, killing four people and himself.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams at a press conference a few hours before the shooter opened fire.
A good guy with a gun could have stopped the shooter at the start of his rampage. That’s not a slogan. It’s a fact backed by real-world examples. In malls, churches, schools, and in private homes around the country, armed citizens have intervened and saved lives. But in places like New York, where the government has disarmed its people in the name of “safety,” there is no one standing between the shooter and the innocent.
This is not the time to tighten already suffocating gun restrictions. It’s time to remember — and fully restore — the Constitutional guarantee that gives every American the right to defend themselves. Not just those who live in a handful of states. Everyone. The Second Amendment is not a suggestion. It’s not a relic. It’s not up for reinterpretation by politicians in Albany or bureaucrats in D.C. It is a right, enshrined for moments like this.
Until we face the reality that laws do not stop evil, and until we empower all Americans to defend themselves, these tragedies will continue. Gun control isn’t the solution. Armed, trained, responsible citizens are.
Enough is enough. Let the people fight back.
Susan Katz Keating is the publisher and editor in chief at Soldier of Fortune.