12 MARCH 8, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Whose side are they really on?
This Wednesday, March 14,
marks the one-month anniversary
of the Parkland, Florida,
school shooting — and despite the
horrors infl icted there, our elected
offi cials have done next to nothing to
keep our kids safe in school.
The ineptitude is not just limited
to Washington, D.C. — where the National
Rifl e Association’s cash-fueled
infl uence over Republicans seems
impenetrable — or in Florida, where
the state Legislature rejected an assault
weapons ban as the students of
Parkland watched from the gallery.
Here in New York, the bastion
of progressive politics on the East
Coast, our state Senate defeated
attempts at meaningful gun regulation.
State Senate Republicans on
Feb. 28 blocked votes on several new
gun control bills, including one by
Queens state Senator Michael Gianaris
that would boost background
checks for gun buyers.
It begs the question: Whose side
are these Republicans really on?
In a statement following last week’s
vote, state Senate Majority Leader
John Flanagan said he wants safer
schools for everyone. He rattled off
a list of ideas: money for security
cameras, hardening school doors,
assigning an armed offi cer at every
school, panic buttons in the classrooms,
better response plans and
increased mental health services.
“Every responsible option is on the
table,” Flanagan said. It’s remarkable,
however, that he mentioned “every
responsible option” but one: better
gun laws that would keep fi rearms
out of the wrong hands.
Those ideas are also oddly similar
to what the NRA has been saying
since Parkland — the old “guns don’t
kill people…” argument, reinforced
with a half-hearted appeal for more
armed patrols in schools. More guns,
as always, is the solution to our gun
problem — even though it’s quite
clearly the cause of it.
Newsday reported that the NRA
has poured $175,000 over the last
decade toward the state Republican
and Conservative parties, as well
as their candidates. Flanagan and
party spokespeople responded that
such contributions had nothing to
do with decisions made in Albany.
We’ll leave it to the readers to decide
on giving them the benefit of
the doubt.
But it’s becoming increasingly
clearer by the day that if we want
to effect real change in this country,
we the people will need to step up
and make the change ourselves. We
see a great example of this in the 18
Catholic high school principals in
Brooklyn and Queens who signed
a joint letter demanding that lawmakers
take definitive action to
keep our schools safe.
Likewise, we must all demand
that our elected officials fight for
tougher gun laws and safer schools.
If they won’t make that happen, then
in November, we have a responsibility
to vote them out.
EDITORIAL
ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporter
RYAN KELLEY
© 2018 SCHNEPS NY MEDIA, LLC.
General Publication Offi ce: 38-15 Bell Blvd.,
Bayside, NY 11361
TELEPHONE: 1-718-821-7500/7501/7502/7503
FAX: 1-718-224-5441
E-MAIL: editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com
WEB SITE: www.qns.com
ON TWITTER @ridgewoodtimes
PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY
FOR 109 YEARS
COMPOSITION RESPONSIBILITY: Accuracy in receiving
ads over the telephone cannot be guaranteed. This newspaper
is responsible for only one incorrect insertion and
only for that portion of the ad in which the error appears.
It is the responsibility of the advertiser to make sure copy
does not contravene the Consumer Protection Law or any
other requirement.TIMES NEWSWEEKLY Is Listed With
The Standard Rate & Data And Is A Member Of The New
York Press Association
THE HOT TOPIC
STORY:
Woman tried to kill her Forest
Hills friend with poisoned cheesecake
in identity theft plot: DA
SUMMARY:
A Brooklyn woman with a notorious
past faces attempted murder
charges for allegedly trying to kill
a Forest Hills woman with a piece of
tainted cheesecake nearly two years
ago in order to steal her identity,
prosecutors announced on Feb. 28.
REACH:
15,085 people (as of 3/5/18)
COMMENTS:
SNAPS
WINTER VIEWS
OF KISSENA PARK
PHOTO VIA INSTAGRAM @cellenium
Send us your photos of Queens
and you could see them online or in our paper!
Submit them to us tag @queenscourier
on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting
@QNS or by emailing editorial@qns.com
(subject: Queens Snaps).
