Youth Gun Violence is the Immediate Problem: Gun Lobbyist Doesn't Get It

In the aftermath of the shooting death of teenager Elvin Cruz, near Genesee Park, we heard sadness, anger, and cries for help raising children from concerned, community minded families.

The meeting also gave renewed attention to the city wide curfew proposed in May by the Dorchester Avenue Neighborhood Watch group. While there was not consensus that a curfew would solve the youth violence problem, the Mayor agreed to immediately name a committee to pick up where the discussion left off in the Spring. So far, Committee members have not been announced.

In the end, people want something done. They rightly expect government to do something that has a chance of doing some good. A unity event was held which brought folks together in grief and optimism. This went a long way towards highlighting the power of neighbors working together to build community.

There is still another pressing and obvious problem to be addressed right away: gun crimes. Apparently, some of our kids have guns, or access to guns. We’re not talking about grandpa’s hunting rifle or mom’s antiques, but, possibly even high powered, semi-automatic, illegal weapons. Capraro and Councilor Greco have encouraged the City administration to start a gun amnesty program and we believe it can’t happen soon enough.

We’ve all heard from the gun lobby that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” but Elvin Cruz was killed by a person with a gun. Access to guns by people with bad intentions isn’t something we should just sit back and accept. And what if family or friends know there’s a gun in the house that should not be there?

Rochester has run a successful gun amnesty program. Folks wanting to get rid of an unwanted gun can turn it in at one of 10 churches participating in the program: “no questions asked”. As an additional incentive, they receive a $50 Wegmans gift card. Over 100 guns were turned in just on one day this month (you can read about it here).

The program has three important components:

1. It works out of churches, traditionally regarded as safe havens, rather police stations, which makes it less intimidating for anyone wanting to get rid of a gun.
2. It provides safety from prosecution for possession of a firearm, especially an illegal one, but still allows law enforcement access to weapons that might be traced back to a crime, or might get into the hands of the wrong people.
3. It provides an incentive for participation, and demonstrates good faith from the community to reach a creative solution to the gun problem.

The Finger Lakes Times recently printed a letter to the editor written by a non-resident, downstate NRA-affiliated gun lobbyist who must troll the internet for gun stories to respond to. The writer argued that no criminal would come down and turn in his/her weapon in exchange for a bag of groceries. Well, no kidding. He obviously does not appreciate the Geneva community context. Imagine, instead, that you’re a single mother of a teenage boy. One day, you overhear his friends talking about having guns, or you find one in your home, stashed at the bottom of his closet.

Maybe you would you take the gun, march right down to the police department, and turn your son in for unlicensed possession, but that’s not everyone’s reality. A program like this is aimed at helping that mother, or father, or sister, or friend, or anyone who wants to do the right thing, turn in a gun without risk to themselves or their loved one. The gift card can provide an extra incentive, or simply a way of acknowledging the good that is done when a gun is taken out of the wrong hands.

We sincerely hope that a program like this will happen in Geneva sooner rather than later. If kids feel that guns are the answer, a good ‘talking to’ isn’t going to cut it, a curfew isn’t going to stop them, hope won’t keep people alive. Let’s try it, and see what happens. We need to find a way to get the guns off the street. Period.