“It’s the job of law enforcement to have guns and to decide when to shoot. You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.”
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg made that comment in December after an armed citizen may have averted a mass shooting by killing a gunman at a Texas church. The statement hasn’t aged well.
How convincing can Bloomberg’s “only cops should have guns” message be to Americans who have seen and shared fresh examples of unjustified and brutal police conduct? Or who have witnessed scenes of rioters and looters putting their lives and property at risk because law enforcement agencies failed to protect them?
This video essay is based on the column, “The Year Gun Control Died,” published on June 5, 2020.
Written by J.D. Tuccille. Voice over by Katherine Mangu-Ward. Graphics by Lex Villena.
Music Credits: “Bloodstain” by Royal Nature licensed through Artlist.
Photo credits: Seattle Riots, Bethanie Mitchell/SIPA; Native American defending neighborhood, Sait Serkan Gurbuz/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Roof Korean, Associated Press.
