Arushi Sharma | Getting to the root of violence

No registration. No permits, no prerequisites required. No waiting period. As many as you can manage. The College's General Requirements revamped? Nope. Pennsylvania gun laws.

On April 15, New York Times reporter John Hurdle wrote that Philadelphia has sunk deep into the throes of gun violence.

According to Hurdle, homicides have risen by 22 percent from 2004 to 2006, more than double that of the "aggregate increase recorded by 56 cities surveyed by the Police Executive Research Forum."

To curb gun violence, Gov. Ed Rendell is pushing the Pennsylvania state legislature to approve a one-gun-a-month bill, known as HB 871/SB 1002. The bill targets procurement of illegal guns via "straw purchases," where legal buyers purchase multiple guns with the intent to re-sell them to illegal buyers, particularly minors.

The bill is part of a package that includes a ban on assault weapons. It also permits Philadelphia to establish its own gun laws - an important step because, as an urban hub in a rural state, Philadelphia's security needs differ from those of surrounding counties.

Meanwhile, in Harrisburg, Rep. Angel Cruz (D-Phila.) recently introduced a gun registration bill which, if passed, would require most gun owners to register their firearms every year.

Despite the good intentions of these measures, critics are right to point out that restrictive legislation can only do so much to lower gun crime in Philadelphia, given that people who acquire guns illegally or use them for illegal purposes do not follow the rules to begin with.

Philadelphia should adopt an effective approach which addresses the social problems that underlie gun crime in the city.

Philadelphia's 2006 Year End Review and the online Philadelphia Notebook publication, among other documents, highlight the significance of the correlation between unemployment, poverty, education and gun violence for the city.

Aside from the fact that 22 percent of Philadelphia's population lives below the poverty line, a report by the Center for Community Partnerships at Penn found that in 2006, some neighborhoods had a poverty rate of 40-43 percent. This compared to a much lower 36 percent in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

The CCP report also found that in 2004 the citywide high school dropout rate was 26.2 percent and that only 55 percent of students completed high school on time, a major factor contributing to the rise in youth violence and the use of guns to resolve disputes.

Fortunately, policymakers are finally catching on to the importance of socioeconomic trends in reducing gun violence.

In a campaign pitch to students at Central Philadelphia High School in February, mayoral candidates showed their commitment to getting rid of the current crime culture.

Mayoral candidate Michael Nutter said that "areas hardest hit by crime should receive more police support and social aid," while Tom Knox said that "the long-term solution is all about education, education of our prisoners before they leave, education of our students, providing our students with options that keep them in school."

Further evidence that gun legislation in Philadelphia without significant societal changes will do little to address the crux of the problem can be found in cases of international gun control.

Just last week, Magnus Linklater of The London Times noted that gun crime has risen steadily since hand guns were banned in the United Kingdom in 1997, though the homicide rate is stable. At the other extreme, despite a strong shooting tradition and high per capita gun ownership in Switzerland, violent gun crimes are historically low.

Linklater concluded that the United States' crime problem is not due to lax gun laws or a lack thereof, but a deeper "social malaise" that leads to violence.

His observations are well taken with regard to gun violence in Philadelphia.

The aforementioned legislation, whether it passes or not, will be in vain unless resources are used to mitigate the social and economic tensions that have brought about a crime culture in Philadelphia.

Arushi Sharma is an College junior from Rockville, Md. Her e-mail address is sharma@dailypennsylvanian.com. A Case of the Mondays appears on Mondays.

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