Birmingham Using Funds For ‘Gun Violence Initiative’ That Doesn’t Look to Suck

I’m kind of sick of people thinking the only way to approach violent crime, particularly those involving a firearm, is to restrict law-abiding citizens. We know that most criminals aren’t walking into gun stores to get guns and most aren’t even buying through otherwise lawful face-to-face transfers. They get them from either theft or from people who know they’re breaking the law.

Yet gun control is still what’s pushed.

In fact, that’s what most leaders in large cities want. They want gun control. However, many states have preemption, which means they can’t pass them. It doesn’t stop some from trying, of course.

In Birmingham, Alabama, we know leaders there want gun control. They’ve said as much.

But since they can’t, it seems they’re kicking off an initiative that might not completely suck.

The City of Birmingham wants to help protect you and your family by making gun safety a priority.

On Tuesday, the city council approved an agreement with the Central Alabama Redevelopment Alliance to implement the ‘Gun Safety Initiative.’ It’s all about enhancing community safety.

The city is spending upwards of $100,000 to provide education and resources for the safe storage of firearms.

After the meeting, Mayor Randall Woodfin said our children’s safety should be top priority. He says when he saw the recent report of an accidental shooting in West Birmingham, he felt disheartened.

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The money will be used to purchase and distribute wire locks, gun safes, and storage boxes to the public.

This isn’t a terrible start, and the unfortunate truth is that this was sparked by the unintentional shooting death of a three-year-old child. That’s beyond awful.

However, I think that Woodfin is looking at this a little wrong.

The focus here is preventing these unintentional shootings, which I totally respect, but gun storage does more than that. Well-secured guns are a lot harder to steal.

Of course, gun locks and lightweight storage boxes aren’t really going to deter theft all that much, but bear with me for a moment.

Woodfin wants gun control. People like, well, most of Alabama don’t. The one thing we’ve seen genuine bipartisan consensus on is tax credits for gun storage devices. 

What Birmingham is doing right now is a valid starting point and, frankly, within their budget. The inclusion of gun safes is a good thing, though I suspect those will be rather minimal.

Yet if enough people can properly secure their guns not just from curious little hands but also predatory criminal hands, then you’ll make a real impact in violent crime. Criminals get their guns through theft or from someone else who stole it. If you cut down on theft, you cut down on the supply.

Mandating storage isn’t a viable alternative, in part because it punishes the wrong behavior. It punishes the victims of the theft versus the perpetrator. 

What Birmingham is doing is a better approach, especially as it may well save a young life.

Like I said, this one doesn’t suck. I guess there are ways to completely screw it up, of course, which I have no problem believing the leadership of Birmingham can find a way of achieving, but it’s a promising start on doing something decent for a change.