A shooting this weekend at Brown University in Rhode Island left two dead and many more wounded. But it also stirred up talk of "commonsense" gun laws from all the usual suspects on the left. The next day, however, another mass shooting halfway around the world in Australia showed just how effective strict gun control isn’t.
Twin Terrors
Just after 4 p.m. local time on Saturday, December 13, a single armed man entered Brown University’s Barus and Holley engineering building in Providence, Rhode Island, and began shooting. Two people were killed and another nine were injured. Sunday afternoon, authorities announced a person of interest – later identified as 24-year-old Benjamin Erickson of Wisconsin – was in custody. Police also told the press that they recovered a revolver and a small Glock handgun from his hotel room.
Just hours later, though, Providence officials revealed that Erickson was about to be released and, as of the morning of Monday, Dec. 15, the hunt for the shooter is ongoing.
The next day, at about 6:47 p.m. local time, two gunmen began shooting into the crowds at a Jewish Hanukkah event at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Naveed Akram, 24, and his 50-year-old father – who had held a gun license for a decade and legally owned half a dozen firearms – allegedly killed 15 people and wounded around 40 more. The father was killed at the scene, bringing the death toll to 16, and the son was stopped by an unarmed man who is currently laid up in the hospital with two gunshot wounds.
The event was an “all ages” family festival, and the victims range in age from ten years old to 87. Officials are calling it an antisemitic terror attack, and blame is flying across the political spectrum in the aftermath, sparking fears of a potential violent backlash. “This is a time for calm,” New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said at a news conference, urging Australians to resist any urge to retaliate. “Retribution or acts against any parts of any community will not be accepted.”
The Gun Control Conundrum
Every mass shooting is used by the anti-Second Amendment lobby as an excuse to repeat its favorite anti-gun platitudes. Senator Angus King (I-ME) posted on Facebook:
“Last night, we witnessed yet another school shooting at Brown University. Enough.
“I have introduced or support several pieces of legislation to protect our communities, provide safe firearm storage and to limit rounds to prevent mass shootings. Let’s work together and get it done.”
“I’m terrified by last night’s mass shooting at Brown University – yet another community scarred by gun violence. May the memories of those lost be for a blessing,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) remarked, before continuing on with her own call for more gun control: “Over and over, firearms threaten the safety of Americans. Commonsense gun reforms cannot wait.”
Former President Joe Biden released a statement on Sunday, calling the Brown shooting “senseless.” He added that Americans “can and must do more to prevent gun violence and save lives.”
Undoubtedly, this latest incident will result in some progressive lawmaker introducing a bill – either in Rhode Island or at the national level – to crack down even more on the right to keep and bear arms. But to what practical end? Brown University is already a gun-free zone, and Rhode Island already has strict firearm laws and the lowest rates of gun ownership in the country. What would the commonsense law ban? Assault rifles weren’t used – nor were “high-capacity” firearms – unless there was something other than the revolver and “small Glock handgun” the police recovered.
The shooting in Sydney – which has also spurred calls for increased gun control – really demonstrates the problem: Australia already has incredibly strict gun laws, but two shooters still managed to kill more than a dozen people and wound about 40 others using legally owned firearms. During a press conference Sunday, NSW Police Commissioner Lanyon explained that the older shooter held a license to own long guns for hunting and was a member of a hunting club. Police said the father-son pair brought six legally owned weapons to the event, and videos showed them using what seemed to be a bolt-action rifle and a shotgun.
Without handguns or semi-automatic weapons of any kind, the duo managed to shoot over 50 people. Naturally, NSW Premier Chris Minns is calling for even stricter gun control. “If you’re not a farmer, you’re not involved in agriculture, why do you need these massive weapons to put the public in danger,” he demanded. “It’s time for a change to the state’s gun laws,” he said, later adding, “It does require legislation. It means introducing a bill to Parliament to – to be really blunt, making it more difficult to get these horrifying weapons that have no practical use in our community.”
Such is the nature of progressive gun control – it comes bit by bit. Yet no matter how strict the law becomes, criminals continue to ignore it. That’s the very nature of criminal thinking: The laws don’t matter. If the law-abiding folks are disarmed, they’re just that much easier to victimize.
Sadly, progressive politicians the world over simply don’t seem capable of learning that lesson. So legislative creep continues to erode the rights of people everywhere to defend themselves.
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