Today’s NY Times accurately captures the sense of frustration felt by mayors across the country, as we grapple with escalating gun violence in the absence of effective federal action. While Governor Hochul and the NYS Legislature are doing good work, many of the policy failures that put guns in the wrong hands are national in scope and require a national approach. Despite strong advocacy from the Biden Administration, the political impediments in Congress seem overwhelming, with only minimal measures under serious discussion. The United States is the only industrialized nation with an epidemic of mass shootings — guns are the reason. There is no issue which better illustrates the capacity of a motivated, well-organized minority to trample over the clear interests and preferences of the great majority of Americans.
