‘What more do we require?’ to stop violence, Rev. Jackson asks
BY JAMES SCALZITTI Staff Reporter/jscalzitti@suntimes.com December 15, 2012 11:50AM
Whether it be a mass casualty shooting at a school or other public space in the United States or the regularly occurring gun violence on the streets of Chicago, “the people who are civilized must care enough to stop it now,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson said on Saturday.
While speaking to the audience at the Rainbow-PUSH headquarters on the South Side, Jackson reflected on Friday’s shooting in Connecticut, as well as the ongoing violence on the streets of Chicago.
Noting that, “It’s easier (in the United States) to buy a gun than a cup of coffee,” Jackson said, “None of us are safe until all of us are safe. These military assault weapons have no place in society.”
“You don’t hunt with semi-automatic weapons,” Jackson said. “These are designed to kill people.”
Jackson wondered aloud how many more senseless acts of gun violence “do we require?” before something is done to stop such events from occurring again.“We are the most violent nation on earth,” he said. “We make the most guns and we shoot them, we make the most bullets and we fire them.”
Tying together the deaths of the children in Connecticut and all the young people who have died from gun violence in Chicago, Jackson said, “the people who are civilized must care enough to stop it now.”
He also mentioned the bill that passed the Michigan legislature on Thursday that would allow those with concealed carry permits to bring guns into schools, churches, and daycare centers. “We’re going to fight that,” Jackson said.
