EDITORIAL – When wearing guns around town is everyday ‘normal’

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

THE FATAL SHOOTING of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis is an outrage that will resonate throughout the U.S. and the world for a very long time. Outrageous because an American citizen was, in effect, executed by law enforcement officers.

Outrageous because the Trump administration has done its very best to demonize the victim and create a different reality. Anyone watching the videos of the shooting surely can’t believe the official version of events.

But an outrageous reminder, as well, that the U.S. exists in a universe that is entirely foreign to the values we enjoy in our own country. One could say, values enjoyed in any democratic, civilized country. But down there, they’re killing their own people.

It has been noted in news coverage that Pretti was carrying a firearm, which was removed before he was shot.

But that coverage has also taken pains to explain that Pretti had a legal right to carry that firearm, that it was “normal.” In some places, including Minnesota, you can even legally carry a gun at a peace protest. How on earth is it normal for people to carry around guns in everyday life in a community?

It is, of course, part of the American gun culture to do so. Imagine if people walked down Victoria Street in the Tournament Capital openly carrying sidearms?

Unbelievable.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.