Gun Politics New York

Rather than punish violent, antisocial deviants, a bunch of State Senators championed Operation S.N.U.G., a touchy-feely anti-gun, anti-violence initiative that basically treats thugs as victims of our capitalist pig society.  Predictably, it has not gone so well as the TU reports, “Job lands parolee in jail“:

“The people who hired Jermal Greenwood as part of Operation SNUG, an experimental anti-violence initiative funded by a state grant, thought his background as an ex-offender made him a “credible messenger” and a “role model” to mediate disputes in the city’s roughest neighborhoods. But his parole officer, concerned that Greenwood was bending the rules, threw him in the Albany County jail Nov. 8 after charging him with failing to abide by his curfew and correctly charge his electronic monitoring bracelet 11 times in three weeks …”

Whose dumb idea was it to promote ex-cons as role models?

“… [S.N.U.G.] was championed by Democrats in the state Senate including Neil Breslin, a Bethlehem Democrat, and New York City Democrats Malcolm Smith, and Eric Schneiderman (the incoming attorney general) as a progressive alternative to break the ongoing of cycle of violence in urban neighborhoods …”

Of course.  So, what exactly is the goal of S.N.U.G.?

“… SNUG is based on Project Cease Fire in Chicago, which takes an epidemiological approach to urban violence. If the population is inoculated — children hearing stories of disputes settled by words rather than seeing street fights or shootings — and some of the worst carriers are isolated, eventually the problem goes away …”

We already have a proven solution to isolate “the worst carriers”.  It’s called prison.  What’s wrong with that?

“… “The evidence is absolutely conclusive that traditional law enforcement approaches have not succeeded in stopping gang violence,” Schneiderman, D-Manhattan, said. “This is an all-levers approach.”  …”

The evidence is absolutely conclusive that gun control != crime control, but that sure hasn’t stopped Schneiderman from promoting it.  And what exactly does an “all-levers approach” mean?

“… “The whole model is predicated on hiring credible messengers who will be able to circulate in the community among gang involved, violence involved, drug involved individuals,” [Trinity Alliance CEO Harris Oberlander] said.  “It’s important that we begin to create a body of work, a record in the community and a sense of evidence that we’ve begun to, as the model calls for, infiltrate the community with public health messages that counteract the fact that communal violence has been on the landscape for too long.” …”

Ex-cons are not credible messengers.  Parents are.  Teachers are.  Local businessmen are.  Local clergy are.  People who have not built their lives off the misery of others are.

“… “How are they supposed to help people if they themselves cannot uphold the rule of law?” said [Martin] Golden, a Brooklyn Republican and former New York City police officer …”

Exactly.