By The TimesLedger
A high school baseball game in Ridgewood was interrupted last Thursday when gang members ran on the field, firing shots at Grover Cleveland players, police said. By the time it was over, eight teenagers were arrested and four of them allegedly were carrying guns, the authorities said. Fortunately, only one kid was injured but this could easily have turned into a tragedy.
Once again we are reminded of the urgent need to get illegal weapons off the street and out of the hands of hot-headed teenage gang members. Earlier this year two hero cops died trying to do just that. Bills pending in both the City Council and the state Legislature take on the gun problem from a different angle. The new legislation would require customers to show proof that they have a gun permit before they are allowed to purchase ammo.
This should be a no-brainer. People who don’t have a right to possess a weapon have no need to purchase ammo. The bill, introduced by City Councilman James Sanders Jr. (D-Laurelton), is the handiwork of Cambria Heights’ Liz Bishop Goldsmith, the president of Mothers Against Guns. Goldsmith’s godson was shot and killed in 1994. Unlike the right wingers who oppose every effort to limit the distribution of handguns, for Goldsmith this fight is not theoretical. It is born out of the depths of human suffering and senseless tragedy.
These bills will not keep gang members from getting their hands on illegal guns. But it will make it difficult for them to buy their bullets and that alone makes this legislation worth passing.
