New York Times Front Page Editorial: Pro-Gun Politicians Are Helping 'Would-Be Killers' Commit Mass Shootings
As the number of mass shootings in 2015 continues to climb and, by some counts even outpaces the number of days so far in the year, The New York Times issued a desperate plea for an end to the violence brought on by too-lax gun control laws in the U.S.
On Saturday, the Times’ editorial board published a compelling front-page op-ed titled, “End the Gun Epidemic in America”—the first time the paper has done so since 1920. The piece argues that in the wakes of the tragedies, weapons like modified combat rifles (the ones used by the shooters in San Bernardino last week) should be outlawed for civilian ownership. It also points a finger directly at politicians who support lax gun control:
Worse, politicians abet would-be killers by creating gun markets for them, and voters allow those politicians to keep their jobs. It is past time to stop talking about halting the spread of firearms, and instead to reduce their number drastically — eliminating some large categories of weapons and ammunition.
The timing, in the lead-up to a major election, is right to pressure political action on gun control, write the editors. Read the entire piece here.
