Boston Widow Says Obama's Gun Control Actions Fall Short
BOSTON (CBS) – As President Obama threw his executive authority behind gun control by implementing stricter background checks, one Boston woman said she's left wanting more.
"We need much more to happen," said Mary Franklin, whose husband was gunned down in Boston back in 1996. "I mean really investing into our under-served communities where crimes like this happen on a constant basis, you know like every day."
Read: Tearful President Obama Announces Executive Actions On Gun Control
Melvin Franklin was a minister and father of three. He was he was shot to death as he tried to stop a robbery on the streets of Boston.
His murder is still unsolved. Every time his widow hears about another shooting in the city, the painful memories come rushing back.
She wears a pin with his picture on her shirt every day.
Franklin says more background checks will help, but she wishes Obama had focused more on daily street violence instead of mass shootings.
"There must be resources sewn into these communities to really look at why this problem exists and why haven't we been able to control it," she told WBZ-TV.
Mayor Marty Walsh says if the executive actions fall short, it's because the President can't do it all himself.
"I think his actions take a big step, however, unfortunately I think it's out of his control right now. Anything he wants to do further, he needs legislative action," Walsh said.
Massachusetts has some of the tightest gun controls in the country. But Walsh says the new regulations will help stop illegally owned guns from coming into Boston, where he says 70 percent of crimes involve guns from out-of-state.
