Say Anything Blog

And their answer?  They want to crack down on assault rifles despite the fact that there’s already an assault weapons ban in place and that exactly one of the most recent murders actually involved an assault rifle.

When a rash of gun murders takes place, it makes sense for the police to do one of two things: renew tactics that have been effective in the past at curbing homicides, or embrace ideas that have not been tried before. But those options don’t appeal to Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis. What he proposes is a crackdown on assault weapons. . . .

If there are too many guns in Chicago, it’s not because of any statutory oversight. The city has long outlawed the sale and possession of handguns. It also forbids assault weapons. If prohibition were the answer, no one would be asking the question. . . .

“There are just too many weapons here,” [Weis] declared at a Sunday news conference. “Why in the world do we allow citizens to own assault rifles?”

Actually, in Chicago “we” don’t allow citizens to own assault rifles. Elsewhere they are allowed for the same reason other firearms are permitted. The gun Weis villainized is a type of semiautomatic that has a fearsome military appearance but is functionally identical to many legal sporting arms.

And its bark is worse than its bite. As of March 31, there had been 87 homicides in the city. When I asked the Chicago Police Department how many of the murders are known to have involved assault rifles, the answer came back: one.

I think far too many law enforcement officials use guns as a scapegoat for rising crimes in the same way educators respond to criticism of education standards by making allegations of insufficient funding.  It’s a way of passing the buck.  Rather than take responsibility for poor performance they try to lay the blame with something they can’t control, and it’s generally an easy sell as it sounds plausible to the public at large.  And, in general, the public likes to trust cops and teachers.

Unfortunately, crime has little to do with the proliferation of guns and American schools are the most well-funded in the world.  But the truth isn’t as convenient as fiction.