Bronx Borough President Calls for Stricter Gun Laws

In a nearly level headed editorial titled “Continuing Our Fight Against Illegal Guns” for The Huffington Post, Ruben Diaz Jr., Bronx Borough President in New York City, called for efforts to take illegal guns off the street and to reduce crime. He cited the problem of gangs violence, but then made one really bold statement that truly shows how naïve these calls from politicians really are.

Diaz must have missed the recent Supreme Court ruling when he offered this thought:

“We need to continue to put pressure on the federal government to pass stricter gun control laws.”

While we agree with when he says, “we must show zero tolerance for illegal guns on our streets,” we can’t agree at all with the notion of “stricter gun control laws.” The two do not, and will never go hand in hand. Stricter gun control laws will not get illegal guns off the streets; such laws will only increase the number of illegal guns.

New York City already has incredibly strict laws on gun ownership, and yet there is the very crime and gun violence that Diaz is rallying against. In other words, maybe the thought should be to go the other way. Let law-abiding citizens have the right to own guns to defend their homes and themselves. That could very much make criminals think twice before grabbing their illegal guns.