• Senator George Amedore, (R-R-I, Rotterdam) Co-Chair of the task force is surrounded by members of the Senate and of the NYS Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction during a press conference to announce the next steps being taken to help end the state's heroin, opioid and synthetic drug epidemic Tuesday June 13, 2017 at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN / 40040763A
Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN
Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1
Buy photo
Senator George Amedore, (R-R-I, Rotterdam) Co-Chair of the task force is surrounded by members of the Senate and of the NYS Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction during a press conference to announce the next steps being taken to help end the state's heroin, opioid and synthetic drug epidemic Tuesday June 13, 2017 at the State Capitol in Albany, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less
Senator George Amedore, (R-R-I, Rotterdam) Co-Chair of the task force is surrounded by members of the Senate and of the NYS Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction during a press conference to announce ... more
Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN
Buy this photo

The citizens of New York's 46th Senate District deserve better than knee-jerk deflection and rehashed National Rifle Association talking points from Sen. George Amedore, when it comes to discussing the problem of gun violence. According to Amedore, as quoted in the article "Safety for guns, schools debated," Feb. 28, the problem is not guns, but music that celebrates death, and that gun-free schools are soft targets, and that we lack a "moral structure" in society. Seriously? If the problem weren't so serious, such comments would be laughable.

Sen. Amedore's craven, intellectually bankrupt parroting of NRA nonsense is itself a big part of the problem. It is evidence of one big moral structure that is lacking in society: The courage among so many politicians to speak the truth about the dangers of military-style weapons in the hands of civilians.

Fortunately, we are seeing new evidence of moral courage on the part of students who are taking action to change gun policies and corporations that are cutting back on their support for the gun lobby, even Dick's Sporting Goods now refuses to sell assault-style weapons. These are grounds for optimism, but there's a long way to go to make our schools and homes safe from Rambo-wannabes with military-style weapons. Senators like Amedore make that path look much longer.

Anthony M. Cresswell

Altamont