Monday, July 20, 2015

MoCo Council's silence is deafening on Wheaton shooting - again

The latest shooting in Wheaton is again getting the silent treatment from the Montgomery County Council. I haven't heard a single word of concern or inquiry by any councilmember, even though one of their constituents is dead as a result.

And we're having a repeat pattern by county politicians who ordinarily can't shut up about guns during sensational national mass shootings, but suddenly go silent when gun violence directly affects their own constituents.

An active shooter. In a public garage during rush hour. Discharging multiple rounds. Can you imagine what the council would be saying if this happened somewhere else in America?

A 20 year old Silver Spring man is dead, and the council is silent. And, just as in the last Wheaton shooting a year ago, the media has gone silent on the case, as well.

We know that "a firearm" was recovered by police, and the alleged perpetrators were arrested.

But how was this firearm obtained? Specifically, was it illegally obtained, or did Maryland's recent, "common sense" gun laws fail and allow a fatal shooting to occur?

Remember, these laws have been touted and praised by the local media, as well as by the council and former Gov. Martin O'Malley during their respective campaigns. But did they work? Or are they allowing criminals to obtain firearms while stifling legitimate exercise of 2nd Amendment rights by law-abiding citizens?

Consider that a year after the 2014 shooting of a woman on a Wheaton residential street, we STILL have not been told where that gun came from. We don't even know what sentence the shooter received, or where he is now? Still on the street? Still able to obtain illegal guns at will to carry out violent crimes?

We have a right to know. If we can be told our politicians' "common sense" laws are fabulous, we should also be notified when they fail, and one of their constituents dies in the process.

2 comments:

  1. You seem to not understand the role of politicians. It's not to provide details of an active police investigation.

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    1. 5:59: No one expects politicians to be the source of details in a police investigation. But just ignoring the incident altogether is inexcusable. The 2014 shooting investigation has been over for some time, and they haven't talked about that either. Conversely, the public knew within 24 hours of the Louisiana theater shooting that the gun was legally purchased. Many politicians have weighed in on that incident, just as the MoCo Council grandstanded about other shootings around the country. We can't have a double standard for shootings in Montgomery County.

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