Our gun culture drives youth violence
I have been visiting Myrtle Beach for 21 years and have seen the vast changes that have taken place, some good some bad. There has always been sporadic outbreaks of shootings and violence. But this year it has increased, and finally local politicians have taken notice. I find their solutions laughable.
All the barricades and police in South Carolina will not stop the onslaught. Until the gun culture and the idea that the disenfranchised and fatherless young think that every disagreement must be settled by violence, the melees will continue.
When a multitude of ads tout the excitement of shooting machine guns in nearby Conway, and our nation’s politicians display violence in their campaigns, the culture of guns and violent confrontations will not change!
When every mention of realistic gun control is viewed as an assault on the Second Amendment, and almost every program to assist at-risk youth is being defunded, things won’t change.
When more money is spent building prisons and putting more police on the payroll than building schools and paying teachers and social workers a descent wage, things won’t change.
Good luck on your efforts to once again make it Myrtle Beach a family-friendly place. But don’t hold your breath.
Jim Youngman, Selinsgrove Pennsylvania, retired from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons
This story was originally published June 28, 2017 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Our gun culture drives youth violence."