L.A. Times: We Need a Separate Memorial Day for Gun Violence

The Los Angeles Times has published an editorial calling for a separate Memorial Day for the victims of gun violence in the U.S.

The editorial, published online on Memorial Day but appearing in the print edition Tuesday, is a response to the mass school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, one week ago — but also to the soaring crime wave in Democrat-run cities nationwide.

The editorial reads, in part:

These days, we face another war, this one from within our borders. Our violent society, armed to the teeth with guns, has failed to protect children, young adults, employees, shoppers and the faithful attending religious services.

…

Along with our many memorials to our war dead and the victims of the foreign-based terrorism of 9/11, we need a national memorial to our victims of domestic, civilian gun violence. Their names should be before us, observed on a specified day each year, when we remember them and the need to address this enemy in our midst.

…

Guns became the leading cause of death for children 1 and older for the first time in 2020, according to the CDC. Nearly 80% of the intentional killings in this country are by firearm. And a 2014 study by UC San Francisco found that people with ready access to firearms were three times more likely to die by suicide.

Read the full editorial here.

Last year, the Los Angeles Times editorial board supported efforts by Democrats to “reimagine” police — which included massive budget cuts to the Los Angeles Police Department by Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) and the city council. The Times encouraged that city council to spend the money on “a down payment on a more humane and effective model of policing.”

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.