How many people can a man kill without a gun?
That question occurred to me once again when a man armed with an automatic pistol and an assault rifle slaughtered 49 people and wounded 53 others before he was shot dead in Orlando, Florida, on June 12.
When I arrived in New York in 1968, fear of murder had gripped the city. In fact, murders were increasing fast, from 631 in 1964 to 1,554 in 1974 — a jump of 2.5 times in 10 years. The term "Saturday Night Special" (for an easily obtained handgun) was on everyone's lips.