Dark Irony in the Sunshine State : Florida, struggling to curb murders, reflects nation’s failure to control guns

There is tragic irony in the words of Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles, who, following the murder of the ninth foreign tourist in his state in the last year, forcefully declared, “We have no tolerance for violence of this kind.” Irony because, as a nation, the United States has shown an unbelievable--many rightly would say sick--tolerance for gun violence. Eight of the nine Florida deaths were due to gunshots.

British tourists Gary Colley and Margaret Ann Jagger joined a growing list of shooting victims early Tuesday. The couple were shot at a highway rest stop near Tallahassee after being awakened by two armed men demanding money.

Colley, 34, died at the scene from a bullet wound in his neck. The killing, on the heels of the shooting death of German tourist Uwe-Wilhelm Rakebrand in Miami last week, has appropriately generated a huge outcry from Europeans, many of whom are asking whether they want to visit a country that has failed to do what is necessary to control firearm killings.

Indeed, more Americans should ask themselves whether they want to live in a country where 65 people die every day from gunshots, where a private arsenal of 200 million guns guarantee a virtually unlimited supply of weapons for criminals as well as law-abiding citizens and where Congress cannot muster the courage to pass a rudimentary five-day waiting period for handgun purchases despite overwhelming public support for such legislation.

In an effort to save Florida’s $31-billion tourist industry, Gov. Chiles announced after the Britons were shot that he will reassign up to 500 game wardens, agricultural inspectors and marine patrol officers to patrol highway rest areas. That may ease fears for the time being, but that won’t solve the problem.

In 1991, Florida reported 161,137 violent crimes, including 1,263 homicides, the majority of which involved handguns. Even though the state has made incremental progress by requiring background checks and a three-day waiting period, its action has not been enough to stop either the proliferation of firearms or handgun killings.

Congress must start taking gun violence as seriously as many other countries do.