Editorial | New Yorkers must demand action to end violence following Trump assassination

Every New Yorker, regardless of their background, should feel outrage and shame at the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

There is no justification for political violence in this country. Despite the passions a man like Trump inspires, we in America should be able to judge him and other politicians who seek our support through ballots, not bullets.

Unfortunately, we know that Trump is not the first politician to be the victim of violent attacks in recent years. Political violence is bipartisan and is usually carried out by mentally ill people who hear the passionate rhetoric of one side or the other and then lash out.

New York is Trump’s birthplace and a strongly Democratic state. Despite many political differences with Trump, our elected officials spoke out unanimously after the failed assassination attempt, condemning it in the strongest possible terms and praying for Trump and his family. That was the right thing to do – and an example we should all follow.

Why have we survived for 248 years as a democratic republic? Because we refused to let the violent acts of lunatics dominate our society and our debate. We have encountered such dangers before over the years and averted them by refusing to use violence as a means to achieve political ends. Let us resolve our differences through peaceful campaigns and debates, not through the darkness of demonization and violence.

Saturday’s shooting marks a disturbing confluence of political violence and gun violence in America.

The neutralized assassin, a 20-year-old man, apparently aimed an AR weapon at the former president. Other killers have used such assault weapons to slaughter innocent people at concerts, movie theaters and schools over the past two decades.

Despite the carnage, Congress has consistently refused to ban the sale of AR-style weapons, largely due to opposition from Republicans and lobbying from gun owners groups like the National Rifle Association. New York’s assault weapons law is one of the strictest in America, but the continued lack of a national assault weapons ban puts us all at risk.

On Saturday, a former president and Republican presidential candidate was nearly killed by a 20-year-old assassin who wasn’t old enough to buy a beer but still managed to get his hands on an AR-style weapon. Enough is enough, it’s time for bipartisan action.

We call on New York’s Democratic and Republican members of Congress to join forces and pass a ban on assault rifles through Congress this year. The ready availability of these weapons on the open market poses a threat to national and presidential security. It is critical that they do this now.