is the number of homicides in this city this year, as of 12 am Wednesday. I know this because every day my newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, publishes the number. 251 is more than one person every single day. Most of these deaths are from gunshots. Some of the dead people are little children. The most recent dead person was a single mom whose spouse had also been murdered some years ago. I don't often have much good to say about the Inqy, given its fondness for reporting today's news tomorrow, but the Inqy has done a good job of staying on this.
And that's a very good thing, because I really have a hard time identifying exactly who else cares about this. Doesn't seem like I'm hearing jack from City Council (which is off having recess) or the mayor about solutions. But if these homicides occurred in places where the people had any money/power, much more of a big deal would be made over it. That is to say, if these homicides were happening in areas like Chestnut Hill or Mt. Airy or Roxborough or East Falls, you can be darn sure Council would come back early from the beach. It would be a crisis.
What I'd like to know is how come no NRA members ever pay condolence calls on any of the now-251 grieving families in my city? How big are the balls of these lifetime card-carrying members, the ones with a framed glossy of Charlton Heston in their dining rooms? Apparently not big enough to tell anyone, "Yes, your beloved mother/child/sibling died and while that's sad, it's way less important than being able to bear arms." I'd like to hear of even one NRA member who goes to grieve with a family that's been touched by homicide and still comes away sure that guns are vital for a peaceful society.
