This column, from the weekly opinion piece MATTER OF FACT, first appeared on BrooklynReporter.com, the Home Reporter and Spectator dated May 20, 2022
When a horrific attack on innocent people by a gunman with an assault rifle has shocked the conscience of the county, I have covered it in this column. It has generally been disconnected from New York, which has some of the strictest gun safety laws in the country and, consequently, the third lowest gun death rate in America.
On Saturday, May 14, an 18-year-old shooter murdered ten people at a Buffalo, NY supermarket. Buffalo may be 370 miles from New York City, but it is still subject to the same state-level laws that have mitigated gun deaths in our state. However, similar to most other recent mass shooters, this assault rifle was purchased legally.
New York laws limit high-capacity rifles and magazines, but this shooter modified his weapon to accommodate high-capacity magazines, which he bought from another state. Despite having made a violent threat against his school last year, which administrators took very seriously, leading them to push for a mental health assistance intervention, he passed a background check before the rifle was sold to him.
The gunman traveled hours to Buffalo, selecting a neighborhood where he could kill as many African Americans as possible. He researched and chose a supermarket in a predominantly black area, scoping out the store the day before to ensure he was prepared to inflict the most carnage possible.
“Those in positions of authority have a responsibility to not propagate the nonsense conspiracy theories that are the basis for this hate.”
Citation….
Law enforcement confirmed that the gunman was racially motivated. An online racist and anti-Semitic manifesto detailed bigoted beliefs that included a desire to eliminate people of color to prevent them from replacing white people. Racist slurs and symbols were etched into the assault rifle he used to slaughter African Americans who were simply doing weekend grocery shopping.
There is no one solution to this problem. Nine in ten Americans agree with implementing reasonable gun safety laws, yet a small percentage of lawmakers hold gun safety legislation hostage. There were clear signs this individual was dangerous, yet he was still permitted to purchase a weapon of war, which he modified so it could hold magazines that are illegal in New York that he easily purchased form a nearby state where it is legal. Americans agree that federal legislation is needed to ensure uniform baseline safety laws everywhere.
Not all mass shootings are motivated by racist or anti-Semitic ideology, but that has increasingly been behind many of the worst mass shootings in America. From churches and synagogues to superstores and supermarkets, African Americans and Jews have been targeted in ordinary locations. Each of these mass shootings serves to inspire and inform the next mass shooter who has become radicalized by hate. The Buffalo shooter researched other mass shootings and cited the Christchurch Mosque shootings in New Zealand as inspiration for his attack.
In a country where we value free speech, it is inevitable that people will be free to share some abhorrent thoughts. The vast majority of Americans may agree that these beliefs are deplorable, but in a country where it is so easy to obtain a military-grade weapon, it is too easy for one person who has gone down the rabbit hole of hate to be able to slaughter innocent people.
Those in positions of authority have a responsibility to not propagate the nonsense conspiracy theories that are the basis for this hate. It does not matter if they never encourage violence, they are fueling the fire that leads to these mass shootings. Nobody is conspiring to replace white people and any cable new personality or elected official advancing these dangerous conspiracy theories is acting recklessly.
New York City has been fortunate to avoid mass shootings, but the subway shooting last month proved that it can happen here and this deadly shooting in Buffalo shows that a racially-motivated shooter will drive hours across our state to a city to kill people they hate.
The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen case before the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging state law that has existed for over a hundred years requiring gun permits and a need to own a gun, may be decided next month. Conservative officials hope it is overturned, making it easier for anyone to own and carry any gun in New York.
