In a press conference this morning White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced that “Today is not the day” to discuss or debate gun control. Buzzfeed.com further reports that Carney avoided questions asking him when might be a better time to discuss the controversial issue.
The press conference was in response to the devastating school shooting that occurred at a Newtown, Connecticut elementary school. Latest reports numbered the deaths at 27, including the gunman.
The shooting came just days after a state of Illinois appeals court overturned a long-standing ban on concealed weapons in the state. This only furthered the debate among those who opposed the court’s decision.
David Frum of T he Daily Beast counters Carney’s proclamation by asserting that “every day is the day to talk about gun control.” Frum further explains his opinion in his commentary:
“But we can say that if the United States worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be many, many fewer atrocities like the one in Connecticut. And I’ll say: I’ll accept no lectures about “sensitivity” on days of tragedy like today from people who work the other 364 days of the year against any attempt to prevent such tragedies.”
According to an FBI Universal Crime Report for 2011, posted on www.fbi.gov :
“Information collected regarding type of weapon showed that firearms were used in 67.7 percent of the nation’s murders, 41.3 percent of robberies, and 21.2 percent of aggravated assaults.”
However another part of the report has some encouraging news:
“When considering 5- and 10-year trends, the 2011 estimated violent crime total was 15.4 percent below the 2007 level and 15.5 percent below the 2002 level.”
There may never be a “good” time to discuss the issue, but immediately following such a tragedy, the issue is going to be prevalent on everyone’s mind.
The video featuring this morning’s press conference appears below:
