New York Gun Control Has Failed State's Capital City

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

The state of New York tends to like its gun control.  They’ve passed a number of measures over the years and are poised to pass even more in the future. State officials have seemingly declared jihad against the National Rifle Association, in part because they oppose New York’s draconian gun control laws.

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It’s safe to say they’re fans of gun control.

However, it seems that all that gun control has failed the state capital completely.

State police and other outside law enforcement agencies will be patrolling in the city following Albany’s third shooting homicide in five days, with the latest victim being a 15-year-old girl killed Monday night. She was the youngest victim to die in the recent spate of violence.

Police believe all three homicide victims have been unintended victims of indiscriminate shooting.

Police Chief Eric Hawkins said at a press conference Tuesday that he has spoken to both Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple and State Police Troop G Commander Major Christopher West, and those agencies will be deploying in the city, either on independent patrols or riding along with city police officers. The Albany office of the FBIl also will be involved.

There was a similar police surge in the city in response to gun violence in the summer of 2020 that seemed to have some impact. “There will be a significantly increased police presence,” Hawkins said.

Shortly after Hawkins’ announcement, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made his own announcement about plans for state police to deploy a new community policing unit in the city. Cuomo said he was acting at the request  of Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. The location of the latest fatal shooting is just over a block from the Governor’s Mansion.

But how could Albany, NY be seeing all this violence? Anti-gunners argued that with every bit of New Yorkers’ gun rights crushed, there would be new peace and tranquility.

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Clearly, “peace and tranquility” is a lot more violent than I would have expected.

It seems to me that all that gun control, sold as a way to reduce crime, is an abysmal failure. It didn’t accomplish much of anything, but that’s not surprising.

For one thing, violence isn’t a simple problem. The reason we see violence is complex and, at best, barely understood. Yet you can’t prevent a complex problem with a simplistic solution. That’s just not how things work.in the real world.

Yet gun control is a simplistic solution.

To be fair, though, the current effort looks like a better step than I expected from New York. More police are going to be a lot more beneficial, especially if people are just shooting all over the place. A greater police presence may deter people from acting like idiots, at least in that way.

So much for defunding the police, it seems.

In fact, if this effort works, it will go a long way to undermining the entire Defund the Police effort. While there may be times a social worker is the best option, there are a lot more times when you need a person with a gun, a badge, and arrest authority.

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