Liberal media outlets like MSNBC have been pushing for gun bans, but it is important to recognize that laws restricting access to firearms don’t always work. This was evidenced recently when a gunman killed four people and wounded nine others at Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, despite the state having some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country.
The shooting came two weeks after Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old female shooter who identified as transgender, killed three children and three adults at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, before being engaged and fatally wounded by law enforcement. This prompted MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell to bring on Clint Watts, a former FBI agent, to discuss the issue.
Watts questioned why Americans felt it was necessary for police to actively engage gunmen and advocated instead for measures to tamp down on the “proliferation of weapons.” He noted that Louisville police confirmed a rifle was used during the shooting at Old National Bank, and questioned “how many people are being killed with these weapons every day in the streets of our country?”
The truth is that gun control laws that restrict access to firearms do not always work, and often are ineffective in addressing the underlying causes of gun violence. In fact, a recent report by the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that more than 57 percent of all homicides are committed with firearms, and that most of these are done with handguns, rather than rifles like the one used in the Louisville shooting. The report also showed that most homicides are done in urban areas.
The solution to gun violence is not to enact more restrictive laws, which are often ignored by criminals, but to focus on the underlying causes of gun violence. This includes addressing poverty and mental health issues, as well as improving access to education and job opportunities in urban areas. It is also important to recognize that guns are not the only way to commit violence, and that it is possible for people to commit heinous acts without the use of a weapon.
Ultimately, the solution to gun violence should not be to restrict access to firearms, but to address the underlying causes of violence and ensure that people have access to the resources they need to live a safe and prosperous life. This is the only way to truly address the problem of gun violence and create a safer society for all.