Normally, we at Bearing Arms are forced to look at the nation as a whole. We need to see stories that have more amplification than others. As a result, when we report on violent crime, we end up focusing on places like New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, etc.

Yet it’s important to remember that violent crime is bad everywhere.

Hell, one of these happened a few minutes away from my house.

An Albany residence was riddled with bullets in a Monday night shooting that left two victims, one a 14-year-old boy, fatally shot inside, while a second shooting incident left three wounded.

Both of the victims in the fatal shooting were struck by multiple bullets, Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler said. They were pronounced dead at the 1112-B Wingate Ave. residence at about 11:25 p.m.

The Albany Police Department identified the adult victims as Wontania Jermaine Hall Jr., 26, and the teenager as D’Varri Canady.

…

At about 12:35 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a 1421 Edgerly Ave. residence where three people had been shot at a funeral gathering.

Ronald Jones, 52, told police that several people were on the back porch when they heard a car drive by and gunshots. Jones was unable to give a description of the car because a privacy fence obstructed the view.

Phyllis Williams, 46, who also was injured, was inside the residence at the time the shots were fired. Police have not identified the third victim.

Honestly, we all know the second shooting will be considered a mass shooting by some.

Now, to answer the obvious questions, yes, there’s a fair bit of gang activity here. Most of the time, they just fight, but shootings have been happening. I’ve spoken with officers here and they confess that much of the city’s violence is actually gang-related.

That doesn’t mean that both of these cases are, mind you, but drive-by shootings aren’t exactly a known tactic for Mormon missionaries, now is it?

Look, we talk about Chicago and New York, but it’s not just in major cities. It’s happening damn near everywhere, and unless we figure something out, we’re going to see a whole lot more of it. Again, not just in major cities, but even in the small and mid-size cities as well.

Yet the answer isn’t gun control. I know that seems counterintuitive to some people, but it’s true.

The right to keep and bear arms is a right, one guaranteed by the Constitution. Removing rights in the name of safety just isn’t the way to address violence. All it will do is empower criminals and make us less safe in the long run.

Instead, we need to try something else. At this point, anything would work.

Personally, I’d rather my wife not have stories like these to read. I’d rather not have to worry if one of these dipsticks is going to get lost and shoot up my house. The only way to really accomplish that, though, is to address the root causes of crime and stamp it out at the source.

If only politicians would see it that way.