Mayor Ben Walsh’s priorities are in the wrong places, gun violence needs precedence
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On Jan. 16, 11 year old Brexailee Torres-Ortiz was killed in a drive-by shooting in Syracuse. Three days later, in Baldwinsville, a teen girl and father were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Another seven days later, a 17 year old boy was shot in both arms but luckily survived.
Following the murder of Torres-Ortiz, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said in a speech that he has “renewed inspiration” to address the gun problem in Syracuse. But why do elected officials need a tragic incentive to address such an urgent problem?
Gun violence is one of the main issues that Mayor Walsh vowed to tackle during his campaign. With children dying on Syracuse’s streets more and more every year, Walsh cannot wait for the next death to prioritize stopping gun violence.
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We have seen this trend of responsiveness on the national level too. Mass shootings and the number of Americans dying from gun violence have increased every year. Yet, it seems that leaders consistently have more questions than answers.
That is not to say real change hasn’t occurred. This summer, President Biden signed a bipartisan gun bill into law, producing the most impactful gun legislation in three decades. The bill sought to prevent dangerous people from having access to guns, expanded background checks, introduced tighter domestic violence bans and gave states money for mental health resources, drug courts and red flag laws. While this legislation is a massive step for gun safety in the United States, it was passed just a month after the Uvalde and Buffalo mass shootings. Elected officials all over the country wait for another tragedy to hit before addressing this issue.
Syracuse is taking some slow steps to reduce violent and gun related crimes. The city established the Office to Reduce Gun Violence in January 2022 with Lateef Johnson-Kinsey appointed as its director. Syracuse also received $1.48 million from the U.S. Department of Justice to reduce community based violence in October 2022, as the city consistently had the worst years of gun violence in the last decade.
While these steps reflect progress, it’s still not enough. Deaths, the amount of those injured and shots fired increase almost yearly in Syracuse. Syracuse has the highest juvenile homicide arrest rate in the country. The community is traumatized constantly. Protests, vigils and calls for action can only do so much before people fall silent in hopelessness.
As a result, Blodgett Middle School was forced to hold gym class, recess and graduation inside because of these gun related incidents. The community is demanding more but not seeing the changes they were promised. Mayor Walsh should have taken more action, especially when the Supreme Court struck down the New York law that required people to have a “proper cause” when carrying firearms in public. There were obvious signs that gun violence would continue to be a problem but little was done to combat the threat. Solving gun violence is an incredibly complicated process that does not have an easy or simple fix.
The solution does not lie simply in restricting gun access. This is also a societal problem. Syracuse’s concentrated poverty is among the worst in the country. The majority of perpetrators and victims of gun violence are from the poorest Syracuse neighborhoods. These conditions foster an environment where teenagers who do not have their basic needs met become the main driver of violence.
Hasan Stephens, who runs the Good Life Youth Foundation, states that “these kids literally are responding to having an environment that’s saying you’re not loved, you’re not wanted, there’s nothing for you. And if you’re gonna get some clout, you’re gonna get clout in the streets. If you’re gonna get any type of love, you’re gonna get love from the block.”
This means budgeting tax dollars and federal funding correctly. In Walsh’s 2023 fiscal year proposed city budget to the Syracuse Common Council, he said public safety, including an increased police presence across the city, would get an 18 percent increase in funding. This money is not being allocated to where the community needs it most.
Compared to other cities in New York state, Syracuse is in the one of the lowest percentiles for police presence and over policing as well as having more unarmed people killed per arrest than 55 percent of departments. This is an epidemic that adds to the gun violence in the city, as it is proven that a lack of trust between communities and law enforcement is a major driver of gun violence in cities.
There must be systemic changes and support given to the community to address the larger issues that contribute to Syracuse’s gun violence.
With children at the forefront of this issue, addressing gun violence and its causes must be Walsh’s top priority. The people of Syracuse deserve better and should not have to wait for another child to die for change to come.
Hannah Starorypinski is a junior political science major with a minor in public communication. Her column appears bi-weekly, and she can be reached at hkstaror@syr.edu.
