After the horrific events in Dallas transpired, leaving 12 police officers shot along with 2 bystanders, President Obama’s first remarks were to call for more gun control. Per Politico, Obama spoke to how, “when people are armed with powerful weapons, unfortunately it makes [shootings] more deadly and more tragic, and in the days ahead we are going to have to consider those realities as well.”
Republicans tore into how these brutal murders were being capitalized on to pedal more gun control. Former GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson was one of the first to respond, saying, “Now is not the time to get political…The Constitution is not about deer hunting. It’s about people being able to defend themselves from an overly aggressive government or an external invasion.”
Before the shooting had occurred, NRA News released a video with commentator Colion Noir berating anti-Second Amendment politicians for pushing gun control when the real felons continue to roam unhindered. “Political opportunists [who posture] for TV cameras refuse to prosecute the gun laws already on the books against the violent felons doing the killing.” Noir asserted that police know the gang members and felons committing acts of violence, but anti-gun politicians refuse to prosecute them and simply turn to more gun control. You can watch Noir’s remarks below:
President Obama has led a divisive presidency, and it should come as no surprise that people are more on edge than we’ve seen in a long time. While systematic issues have consistently been ignored, calls for gun control always seems to in vogue.
Noir addresses this in his video, noting that in inner-cities, “Democrats have failed to improve an education system that functions more like a half-way house than a learning institution…they’ve failed to provide economic stability for their inner-city constituency who live so far below the poverty line, the only option they see is a life of crime or abusing drugs to escape their reality.”
Failing to accommodate the needs of those who are worst off among us can drive them into underground markets, where they’re more likely to have ugly encounters with the police. By failing to address the systematic issues that create crime, and the overreaction by the police to that crime, we will see more of these tragic events taking place.
Gun control is not going to heal the wounds of this country during such a tragedy. By politicizing these killings, people will be incentivized to double down on their beliefs at the expense of a much needed conversation on ending this country’s divisiveness. American citizens need an honest debate, not another round of the blame game. As long as politicians continue to light these divisive fires, the country will never be able to find any constructive solutions.