Karen Greenberg was interviewed for a Newsweek article about the Orlando nightclub shooting.
Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University, says stricter gun laws and new civil society programs could help prevent these types of mass killings.
“Profiling is probably not the way that’s going to help prevent or solve these types of crimes. There should be an assault weapons ban sooner rather than later,” Greenberg says.
An interview with Greenberg follows.
Were there missed opportunities to foil this attack?
Not that we know of right now. We need to wait and see what the FBI investigation uncovers. But this issue is also about guns, particularly access to assault weapons, and about a rise in the number of youth that are willing and able to commit acts of mass violence.It’s really hard, with an unbalanced individual like Mateen, to know what’s going to incite them to violence. And while authorities say this was planned because he had the weapons, who knows the degree of planning?
With a lone wolf, whether it’s ISIS or somebody who wants to attack a church or a school, there’s often just a level of emotional chaos that overwhelms the individual. And if they don’t have access to assault weapons, then the damage they do is going to be exponentially less because there’s time and space to disarm and disrupt.
So stricter gun laws are what’s needed?
This is about guns and hate crimes, and the ability to weaponize hate, which we have made way too easy. This guy killed many more with a gun than the Boston bombers did with a bomb. He killed more in this attack than in all terrorism attacks since 9/11 in this country.Is there any way to stop lone-wolf shooters, especially when their guns are legally obtained?
Although we’ve gone the preventive route in terms of profiling for 15 years—since 9/11—we’ve learned that assault weapons are everything in terms of this. Profiling is probably not going to help prevent or solve these types of crimes. There should be an assault weapons ban sooner rather than later.