Mira Marquez, of Midland, Texas, folds her hands in prayer during a prayer service, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, in Odessa, Texas, for the victims of a shooting spree the day before.
Sue Ogrocki / AP Photo
Stopping gun violence — it’s complicated
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Russ Walker
Sue Ogrocki / AP Photo
Mira Marquez, of Midland, Texas, folds her hands in prayer during a prayer service, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, in Odessa, Texas, for the victims of a shooting spree the day before.
“April is the cruelest month,” T.S. Eliot wrote. But for tens of millions of Americans and people living in the Caribbean nations, September is the cruelest month for tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes.
There have always been hurricanes, but the devastation is getting worse. There are plenty of reasons – rapid development of the coasts, most importantly. Yet there’s also this: Climate scientists warn that increasing sea surface temperatures could make tropical storms more frequent and more powerful in the coming decades. And rising sea levels – yes, they are rising – mean hurricane-driven storm surges will only get worse.
Pennsylvania, thankfully, doesn’t get hit by hurricanes so much as it gets inundated by the remnants. Those remnants can be devastating, too, as Hurricane Sandy proved in 2012.
As Dorian storms ashore in the coming days, here are ways to support relief efforts. If you’re interested in learning more about steps you can take to reduce carbon emissions – the driver of climate change – here’s a great resource.
–Russ Walker, PA Post editor
There have always been hurricanes, but the devastation is getting worse. There are plenty of reasons – rapid development of the coasts, most importantly. Yet there’s also this: Climate scientists warn that increasing sea surface temperatures could make tropical storms more frequent and more powerful in the coming decades. And rising sea levels – yes, they are rising – mean hurricane-driven storm surges will only get worse.
Pennsylvania, thankfully, doesn’t get hit by hurricanes so much as it gets inundated by the remnants. Those remnants can be devastating, too, as Hurricane Sandy proved in 2012.
As Dorian storms ashore in the coming days, here are ways to support relief efforts. If you’re interested in learning more about steps you can take to reduce carbon emissions – the driver of climate change – here’s a great resource.
–Russ Walker, PA Post editor
And it’s not just a law enforcement matter
Sue Ogrocki / AP Photo
Mira Marquez, of Midland, Texas, folds her hands in prayer during a prayer service, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019, in Odessa, Texas, for the victims of a shooting spree the day before.
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There were more mass shootings over the weekend. One occurred at a Friday night football game in Alabama. The one that got the most media attention, however, was in West Texas, where a man went on a shooting spree that killed 7 and wounded two dozen before he was killed by police.
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In the wake of the Texas shooting, President Trump insisted that he’s willing to work with Democrats and Republicans in Congress on legislation to address gun violence. He offered few specifics, but the narrow space for bipartisan agreement on guns looks to be focused on keeping guns out of the hands of people thought to be a threat, and doing more to bolster the mental health system.
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There are plenty of gun laws on the books. Wouldn’t an effort to better enforce them make a dent in gun violence? In a fascinating Twitter thread posted on Sunday, national security expert Asha Rangappa broke down the patchwork of laws governing firearms in our country. The bottom line, she writes, is that the federal government needs to be smarter about getting the 50 states to plug all the loopholes. But political courage is the most important missing piece.
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Most gun crimes don’t involve a crazed madman or terrorist. A Philadelphia Inquirer editorial published Sunday reminds readersthat gun violence is as much a public health problem as a criminal justice problem. The editors noted that Philadelphia Ceasefire – a program organized by Temple’s medical school in 2013 – proved effective, in conjunction with a police-led program called Focused Deterrence. It’s time to bring back that dual approach, the editors say.
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Busting the black market in firearms is another way to reduce gun violence. Pennsylvania’s attorney general wants the legislature to give his office the authority to investigate and prosecute gun trafficking crimes. But the legislature left for its summer break without taking action, the AP’s Marc Levy reports. That inaction was the result of opposition from gun rights groups and even local prosecutors who want to make sure they have the first option to prosecute gun trafficking crimes that happen in their jurisdictions.
Best of the rest
Pennsylvania AFL-CIO / Twitter
Members of Local 66 of the International Union of Operating Engineers march in Pittsburgh’s 2019 Labor Day parade.
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Labor Day parades were held across Pennsylvania on Monday. Plenty of photos from the parades in Philadelphia, Erie, Pittsburgh, the Lehigh Valley and Bethlehem, just to mention a few.
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Pennsylvania, of course, will be one of the handful of battleground states next year. The Wall Street Journal, reporting from Erie, looked at the fight to convince rank-and-file union members to back the Democratic nominee in 2020.
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Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? A plane? Nope, it’s just the 2020 presidential election flying over Erie, Pa. The Trump-Pence reelection campaign paid to have a banner flown over the city on Labor Day. The banner thanked American workers on behalf of the president and vice president, according to GoErie.com. Pa. GOP’s Peter Brath got a shot of the banner on Monday.
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Is there appetite among investors to expand mini-casinos in Pennsylvania? Ed Mahon reported Friday that the state will try for a second time to auction off a license to operate a mini-casino – ones with up to 750 slot machines and 40 table games – on Wednesday. Five licenses were successfully auctioned a year ago. PA Post’s Ed Mahon has more.
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How important is the 2020 census for Pennsylvania? Scott LaMar spoke last week with two officials from Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration about why counting everyone is key to landing federal money and maintaining the state’s power in Congress. Listen to the “Smart Talk” episode here.
