Lots of guns and few gun restrictions make securing open-air events near impossible

Three people were detained by police in Kansas City, Missouri, in connection with a mass shooting of 22 people on Wednesday, including eight children and one deceased adult. It happened on a day when Kansas City Chiefs fans turned out in droves to attend a celebratory parade and rally commemorating the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory. Initial statements by the police point to the violence being criminal conduct versus having its roots in terrorism.

Valentine’s Day originated as a feast day honoring the martyr St. Valentine. In Kansas City, it was a day for at least one more martyr who died because of the love some politicians have for unrestricted guns.

Wednesday was Valentine’s Day, a celebration that originated as a Christian feast day honoring the martyr St. Valentine. In modern times, it’s become a day for expressions of love. In Kansas City, it was a day for at least one more martyr who died because of the love some politicians have for unrestricted guns.

Wednesday was also the 16th anniversary of the mass shooting at Northern Illinois University and the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Even on Valentine’s Day, strong romantic relationships require some boundaries. But certain American politicians’ love affair with guns seems unconstrained, especially in Missouri, where a law adopted in 2017 permits people to carry concealed guns without needing any background check or permit. The result has been dozens more deaths from firearms every year.

In August, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson chastised the mayors of Kansas City and St. Louis, the state’s largest cities, for proposing two new gun safety laws. The first would prohibit the purchase of bullets by those who are 18 and younger without parental consent. The second proposed law would have banned “switches” that convert pistols into fully automatic handguns that can empty an entire magazine with one pull of the trigger. That’s the kind of weapon that could easily be concealed in a large crowd and do maximum damage, like the carnage on Wednesday. Parson didn’t like those prohibitions:

“I think you have to be very careful to stay in your lanes. Cities can’t just go out there and do what they want to do, and when there is a constitutional issue to it, or state legislatures do it, they can’t supersede that. Just lik