Op-Ed: Citizens Should ‘Fight Fiercely’ to End Gun Violence
Fort Lee High School graduate, formerly of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and now the president and founder of Safe School Technologies and, presents the first in a series of pieces on current gun laws and what citizens can do.
Editor's Note: The following article was submitted by Robert V. Tessaro, who recently moved back to Fort Lee after spending five years in Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. I think my interest in gun control advocacy started here in Fort Lee at an early age. Growing up I had heard the story about Fort Lee Police Officer William “Billy” Birch who was killed in the line of duty while responding to a hold up call at a motel on Route 4 west. He was shot by a repeat felon who had an illegal weapon. I remember trying to understand how such a “bad man” would be allowed to have a gun; a question I still try to answer today. Fast forward to when I was a senior at Fort Lee High School, one of my …
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Rob
12:39 pm on Thursday, January 10, 2013
John, you are right on about this. Every day 32 people are murdered with a gun, while 51 kill themselves with a gun. NJ has the lowest overall suicide rate in the country, and the second lowest legal gun ownership. There is absolutely a relationship between the two. The states with the 6 lowest gun ownership rates have the 6 lowest rates of suicide in the country. more ›