The debate over guns continues to produce a lot of thunder but no rain when it comes to putting a better gun-buying system in place. The debate flounders in a sea of legal bilge water between each criminal gun incident. Plus, the NRA carries a big stick in Washington. That gun happy group is all about protecting the American right to bear arms. Opposition groups say the government needs to put some serious restrictions on that right to bear arms. The only people who will win that battle are the lawyers.
But not all groups want to tackle the gun lover’s head-to-head. New York lawmaker Kevin Parker wants to introduce a bill that requires police to check social media postings and tweets. Parker wants to balance online privacy with public safety. According to Parker, there are signs of violent behavior on social media sites before an actual shooting takes place. The case that Parker uses as an example is the recent Pittsburgh synagogue shootings. The shooter in that incident called Jews the “children of Satan” on his favorite social media site over and over again.
Senator Parker’s idea to mix new technology with crime prevention makes sense. But according to several legal experts, constitutional rights might make passing that law difficult. New York gun lovers think Parker’s bill is intrusive and unnecessary. Plus, the state police are not that excited about checking people’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat posts. And the police will also have to go back and check all the Google and Bing searches over the past year.
Obviously, Parker wants to protect New York communities, but his bill will sit in a pile of gun bills waiting for lawmakers when they return to the State Capitol. The Democrats control both houses in New York, but only a few of those gun-related bills will ever see the voting floor next year, according to lawmakers who know how the state government system works.
Parker and other lawmakers around the country want to put weapons in the hands of the right people. Sometimes the right people don’t turn out very right, according to people who lost loved ones from a police officer’s gun. Parker thinks the police can identify the right people no matter what profession they’re in by checking what they say and how they say it when they have a captive social audience.
Dil Bole Oberoi
