(Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
For people claiming to be so concerned about gun violence, Democrats sure seem uninterested in solutions that might actually address the problem. Indeed, a closer look at the cities experiencing the highest rates of gun violence shows that left-leaning politicians haven’t done much to curtail violent crime of any sort. Nevertheless, despite having stricter gun laws, Democratic politicians seek to further restrict gun ownership among law-abiding citizens.
For starters, most of the cities have employed so-called progressive district attorneys who appear to be more concerned with protecting criminals than civilians. The Washington Examiner noted that in “some of those cities, gun-related arrests, prosecutions, and convictions are down as liberal law enforcement policies contribute to the rise in crime.”
The issue is that most gun crimes involve firearms obtained illegally. The Department of Justice (DOJ) in 2019 conducted a study revealing that 43% of offenders bought their guns on the black market while 6% stole them. About 11% obtained their weapons through straw purchases, which occur when a prohibited person has someone else buy the weapon for them. This means that at least 60% of the guns used in violent crimes were obtained illegally. None of the legislation Democrats are touting would address this problem.
A popular Washington newspaper reported that District of Columbia police confiscated 2,400 illegal guns in 2021. However, prosecutors refused to press charges in many cases. Last month, law enforcement recovered 77 illegally obtained firearms. In 25 of these instances, police made no arrests.
The Philly Inquirer reported that “[t]housands more people are being arrested for carrying guns illegally. But their chances of being convicted in court have fallen by nearly a quarter.” If the trend continues, local law enforcement will make over 3,000 arrests in 2022 for illegal gun possession.
Danielle Outlaw (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images)
Police commissioner Danielle Outlaw told the outlet that Philadelphia’s system has become a “revolving door” for repeat gun offenders who do not fear being caught illegally carrying a firearm. The rate of convictions for these offenses dropped under District Attorney Larry Krasner, who took office in 2018.
“If there’s nothing to deter folks, if there’s no consequence where people believe, ‘If I do this, this is going to happen,’ [then] there’s no incentive to not carry a gun illegally, quite frankly,” Outlaw said.
The same is happening in major cities across the country. What do they all have in common? They are all being run by Democrats. But in at least one area, voters are pushing back.
San Francisco voters on Tuesday voted to oust District Attorney Chesa Boudin because of his soft-on-crime policies, which have contributed to a rise in gun violence, burglaries, and car thefts. About 60% of voters supported his removal from office. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon might be next on the chopping block for being lenient on crime.
Meanwhile, Democrats across the country are fervently calling for more restrictions on legal gun ownership. To them, it makes more sense to make it harder for responsible Americans to obtain firearms than to actually enforce the laws at their disposal. But one question remains unanswered: How will further restricting law-abiding citizens’ right to keep and bear arms make them safer – especially when criminals are allowed to ignore those laws without fear of prosecution?
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