BELLEVUE, WA—A proposal by anti-gun Cleveland, OH Mayor Frank Jackson to make firearm possession illegal by anyone under age 21 is a non-solution to a genuine problem of violent crime, and like all gun control laws, it targets the wrong people, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
Mayor Jackson”s suggestion came after the killing of a 12-year-old girl caught in a crossfire near her home Sept. 1. However, one of the suspects in that gun battle, Eric Romel Wilson, would not have been affected by such a law because he is 35 years old, and due to his criminal history, he cannot legally own a gun.
“Mayor Jackson’s call for more gun restrictions was nearly as predictable as the sunrise,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “What happened to the proposition that individuals be held accountable for their misconduct? Instead, politicians like Jackson want to blame the firearm, and punish everyone who owns one, or may want to own one.
“Jackson seems to conveniently overlook the fact that tens of thousands of Ohio youngsters who have been properly trained in the safe use of firearms so they can hunt would also be affected by this one-size-fits-all scheme,” he added. “And besides, the armed thugs on Cleveland”s streets aren’t going to pay attention to some new gun law, and Jackson knows it.”
“Perhaps Mayor Jackson should instead demand legislation cleaning up the court system,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Mark A. Taff. “At the time of the shooting, one of the suspects ” Mr. Wilson, whose street name is “Big Willie” and who has a criminal record — was out of jail on bond that had been reduced from $10,000 to $1,500 by a judge, apparently because he is a police informant. Once he was out on the streets, he never returned to court, according to a local newspaper account. He was just arrested in Kalispell, Montana after fleeing Ohio. He should never have been let out of jail in the first place.”
“Too many politicians like Mayor Jackson will exploit every tragedy to push their personal agenda against gun owners and their rights,” Gottlieb noted. “He would strip rural and suburban Ohio youth of their firearms for hunting and target shooting because a 20-year-old punk and 35-year-old veteran street thug engaged in a gunfight when, under existing law, neither should have had a gun in the first place. Mayor Jackson, what’s wrong with that picture?”