28 The Queens Courier • AUGUST 8, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com
28 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 8, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
editorial
The responsibility to do something
With apologies to Albert Einstein,
there’s a new defi nition of insanity in
America: Sending thoughts and prayers
over and over again, and expecting the
mass shootings to stop.
Th is weekend’s bloodshed in El Paso,
Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, reminded us
once again of how broken things are in
America when it comes to gun violence
— and how our government has utterly
failed to stop the carnage.
One popular tweet spread on social
media following the latest massacres to
occur in America this past weekend noted
that there have been more than 250 mass
shootings in the United States so far this
year. No other nation in the world had a
number of mass shootings exceeding single
digits.
What are we going to do to stop this?
Th e obvious answer is greater gun control
— reviving the assault weapons ban,
expanding background checks, preventing
convicted felons from owning guns,
among other ideas.
No American should own an AR-15, an
AK-47 or any other high-capacity assault
rifl e built specifi cally for the military to
wage war. Th ese weapons aren’t made
for sport; they’re made for death, in high
volumes, in short periods of time. No
American should need one; no American
should want one.
New York State, under the leadership
of Governor Andrew Cuomo, has made
incredible strides in bringing about gun
control here. Th ese include a “red fl ag
bill” that prevents potentially threatening
individuals from acquiring guns, a
ban on bump stocks and undetectable,
3D-printed guns, and extended background
But state governments can only do so
THE QUEENS
sun
WWW.COURIERSUN.COM
PUBLISHER & EDITOR
CO-PUBLISHER
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
ART DIRECTOR
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
STAFF REPORTERS
CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS
PRODUCTION MANAGER
INSIDE SALES MANAGER
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
PRESIDENT & CEO
VICE PRESIDENT
checks for gun buyers.
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
BOB BRENNAN
ROBERT POZARYCKI
NIRMAL SINGH
EMILY DAVENPORT
JENNA BAGCAL, MARK HALLUM, KATRINA MEDOFF,
CARLOTTA MOHAMED, MAX PARROTT, BILL PARRY
CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI
DEBORAH CUSICK
CELESTE ALAMIN
MARIA VALENCIA
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS
Schneps Media, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Queens Courier
All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating
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Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed
unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any
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and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed
by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
much; more action on a federal level is
desperately needed.
Calls for gun control have been made
over and over and over again, following
one mass shooting aft er another, in this
country over the last decade. It should be
a bipartisan eff ort, but it is not, because
one party utterly refuses to do anything
about it other than off er “thoughts and
prayers” aft er each tragedy.
Members of the Republican Party off er
every other excuse in the world for the
bloodshed, and for making no concerted
eff ort to increase public safety.
It’s violent video games, they say. It’s
mental health, they say. It’s broken homes,
they say. It’s the lack of prayer in public
schools, some ignorantly claim.
Other nations have violent video games,
mental health issues, dysfunctional families
and public prayer bans — yet they
do not have the level of gun violence we
experience in our country. What they do
have are strict gun laws that preserve public
safety without infringing upon one’s
right to defend themselves.
Shouldn’t we, as Americans, deserve
and demand the same? Seems like an
obvious yes to us.
Th e Republican Party has run out of
excuses and time — and so has President
Trump, whose own hostile words toward
immigrants were echoed in a manifesto
left by the gunman responsible for the El
Paso massacre.
Since he began his presidential campaign
in 2015, Trump has used his bully
pulpit to say horrifi c, blatantly bigoted
things about people he doesn’t like or
whom he doesn’t agree with politically.
One study aft er another has found that
the number of hate crimes in America
has soared since Trump took offi ce. Th at’s
because white nationalists feel empowered
by the president’s own rhetoric; they
feel it justifi es their own hatred, and spurs
them to lash out on their own.
Radicalized white nationalist terrorists
are getting their hands on weapons of
war and turning them against ordinary
people just living their lives. Th e president,
of course, didn’t pause to contemplate
his contribution to this. He blamed
everything and everyone else except himself,
and guns.
Even in our backyard, Republicans are
hesitant to suggest that Trump’s rhetoric
is fueling a white nationalist fi re in this
country. One prominent Republican in
Queens, Councilman Eric Ulrich, shamefully
dismissed that notion and played the
“both sides” card by wondering why the
press didn’t blame, in his eyes, Presidents
Clinton and Obama for mass shootings
during their administrations.
We don’t recall President Clinton calling
Mexicans “rapists and drug addicts,”
the way Trump did back in 2015 at his
campaign announcement; nor do we
recall President Obama describing the
arrival of migrants on the southern border
as an “invasion” of America, as Trump
has repeatedly said this year.
Republicans may try to wash the president’s
hands of responsibility here, but the
majority of us know better. Sure, Trump
didn’t pull the trigger, but his past words
undoubtedly inspired the gunman to do
so. Th at Trump doesn’t show an ounce
of remorse is appalling; that Republicans
refuse to condemn the president for his
stubbornness is disturbing.
Th e Republican Party must get their
heads out of the sand and face reality. Th is
country has a gun problem and a white
nationalist problem — and Republicans
must start working with Democrats to
strengthen our gun laws and reject white
nationalism.
Every politician of every party has a
responsibility to solve these problems.
It’s time that they fi nally do something
to protect us all, rather than just talking
about it or ignoring it altogether.
Call President Trump, call Senate
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and
call the New York State Republican Party
and demand that they support gun control
and the fi ght against white nationalism.
• President Donald Trump 202-456-
1414
• Senator Mitch McConnell 2 0 2 - 2 2 4 -
2541
• NYS Republican Party 5 1 8 - 4 6 2 -
2601
Publisher & E ditor Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Co-Publisher Joshua A. Schneps
Chief Operating Officer Bob Brennan
E ditor-In-Chief Robert Pozarycki
Art Director Nirmal Singh
S ocial Media Manager Emily Davenport
S taff Reporters Jenna Bagcal, Mark Hallum, Katrina Medoff
Carlotta Mohamed, Bill Parry
Contributing Reporters Cliff Kasden, Samantha Sohmer, Elizabeth Aloni
Production Manager Deborah Cusick
I nside Sales Manager Celeste Alamin
Chief Financial Officer Maria Valencia
President & CEO Victoria Schneps-Yunis
Vice President Joshua A. Schneps
Schneps Media, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361
718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441
www.qns.com
editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com
for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com
Entire Contents Copyright 2017 by The Courier Sun
All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should
include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation,
indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request.
No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The
publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by
the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within five days of publication. Ad position
cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication.
VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes
all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold The Courier SUN and its
employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the
publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.
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