Page 9 - Sonoma County Gazette January 2016

By Tish Levee
Too Close to Home. In just a little over two months, two mass shootings have come close to home for me and my family. On October 1st, a shooter at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, shot and killed nine people and injured several others. One of those killed was Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, whose former husband, Eric Dietz, I have known since he was three. Then on December 2nd, two shooters seriously injured 22 people and killed 14 at a holiday party in San Bernardino. One of them, L. Daniel Kaufman, was a good friend of my granddaughter and her family.
Oregon.. The Oregon shooter was described by law enforcement sources as
a "hate-filled" man with antireligious and white supremacist leanings, and
with long-term mental health issues, whose mother had previously written anonymously online that both she and her son had Asperger syndrome. Reaction to this shooting focused on the shooter’s mental health.The family of surviving victim Cheyenne Fitzgerald said they wished President Obama would “look where the problem really lies and quit running the gun [control] agenda.” Her mother said “... we need to pack guns–if this is what it’s coming to... to protect ourselves,” and her brother said focusing on guns instead of mental illness is putting “so much money and...resources where they shouldn’t be.”
San Bernardino. The shooters in San Bernardino were two radicalized Muslims, an American-born citizen of Pakistani descent and his Pakistani-born wife. Thus the focus shifted from mental illness to terrorism, with all kinds of demagoguery ensuing, including the proposal that all Muslims be banned from the US. In just the next 11 days, at lest 20 attacks or threats were made to Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim. Meanwhile the Muslim community in America raised over $180,000 in the first week after the shooting, far surpassing a goal of $50,000—money to help the families of the shooting victims.
The Real Problem. What isn’t being talked about is the real problem. Yes, mental health is an issue; yes, terrorism is an issue. But the real issue is the
easy availability of guns, especially those designed for mass shootings, in this country. In Oregon, the shooter, who later committed suicide, had six guns with him and a total of 13, including those at his home. His father expressed concern about this. “If [he] had not been able to get hold of 13 guns, this wouldn’t have happened.” “How is it so easy to get all these guns?”“It has to change. It has to change,” he added when asked whether he wanted to see the country’s gun laws modified.The shooters in San Bernardino, who were killed by police, had two .223-caliber assault rifles, and nearly 1,400 rounds of ammunition. They also carried semiautomatic handguns. All of the guns used in both shootings were purchased legally. Thanks to the expiration of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban under Presidebt Bush, assault weapons can be sold, even to those on the FBI’s terror watch list. Just days later, Congress voted down a proposal to change that.
2015 Statistics. As of December 17th, there have been 317 mass shootings— that’s nearly one a day in the US. This doesn’t begin to look at the more than 50,000 shootings that have occurred this year.
But What About the 2nd Amendment?
Criminal Justice Master Plan
The first thing anyone says, when the subject of better gun control comes
up, is “What about the 2nd Amendment?). The problem is that we don’t really read the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, which clearly says, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of
the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It was only in 2008 that the Supreme Court definitively ruled that the 2nd Amendment protected an individual right. The second thing to be noted is that the framers of the Constitution were referring to the arms of their day—single shot musket, which took time to reload, NOT assault rifles.
By Rebecca Wachsberg
On December 8, 2015, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors adopted the
2015 Update to the Criminal Justice System Master Plan. The plan is a result of an 18 month long study that evaluated crime and demographic trends, as well as the impacts of programs designed to reduce the demand on the county jail.
The report found that Sonoma County is a safe place to live, and that the Criminal Justice System is
a “balanced, well managed, effective justice system that serves the community well.” The aging population of Sonoma County, as well as the County’s commitment
to upstream investments,
has resulted in crime rates
significantly lower than in
2004 as well as compared to
the rest of the State of California. In 2004, the crime rate was 3,556 per 100,000 residents in Sonoma County, compared to 3,974 statewide. By comparison, in 2013, the Sonoma County crime rate was 2,020 per 100,000 residents, while the statewide rate was 3,062.
Even more significant in this time frame was the decrease in juvenile arrests. There were 1,197 juvenile arrests in Sonoma County in 2013, down from 2,674 in 2004. The decrease should also impact future crime rates, as contact with the Juvenile Justice System is a strong predictor of subsequent adult criminality.
“The reduction of crime in our community is a true testament to the collaborative efforts of the justice partners in Sonoma County,” commented Board of Supervisors Chair Susan Gorin. “I want to praise work of our Sheriff, District Attorney, Public Defender, and Chief Probation Officer for their commitment to working together to prioritize the safety of our Sonoma County residents. Their success is evident when you look at this report.”
This is a complex subject, and I’ve barely touched it. Look for more next month about growing up with guns, responsible gun ownership, all the other shootings here and how that differs elsewhere, and the ways in which sensible gun control has been perverted. © Tish Levee, 2015.
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