Say Anything Blog

Because we all know criminals wouldn’t commit crimes in Chicago if they didn’t have guns.

CHICAGO (AP) — Police planned to increase patrols and put SWAT officers and specialized units on the streets over the weekend, a show of force aimed at deterring violence like the three dozen shootings that left nine people dead last weekend.

“Weather permitting, we will have our helicopter up,” said police spokeswoman Monique Bond, who said Thursday night was relatively quiet, with only four shootings, none fatal. . . .

On Friday, Mayor Richard Daley took the unusual step of calling together more than two dozen officials from the police department, schools, social service agencies and religious groups for a City Hall summit on the violence. Afterward, he said it was just the start of a continuing dialogue about how to combat violent crime.

A fired-up Daley blasted the gun industry and called on parents and adults to do their part by intervening to help troubled youth and by working to keep others on the right path.

As I’ve explained before, blaming crimes on guns is a convenient scapegoat for public officials (both law enforcement and political alike) who are under fire for rising crime rates.  Just like public school officials endlessly blaming a lack of funding for their inadequate performance, law enforcement officials and politicians are quick to lay the blame for crimes at the feet of the gun industry.  Because that explanation sounds plausible to the public, is something the liberal media wants to report anyway and targets a group of people (gun companies) that don’t exactly paint a very sympathetic picture.

But the truth of the matter in this case is that Chicago already has one of the most stringent set of gun control laws in the nation.  Handguns are banned in the city, assault rifles are banned in Cook County in general and all other firearms have to be registered with police departments.  In order to purchase any non-hand, non-assault firearm (and/or the ammo to go with it) one must obtain a Firearm Owner’s Identification card (FOID) from the Illinois State Police. 

That none of this gun control is working (it never works wherever it’s tried) is hardly the fault of gun manufacturers.  If anything, it’s Chicago’s inability to enforce its own laws that is to blame.

To be perfectly honest, if Mayor Daley wants to find a real culprit for this wave of crime perhaps he need to look no further than this:

Illinois is one of two remaining states that have no provision for the concealed carry of firearms by citizens. Open carry is also illegal, except when hunting.

Perhaps if the state of Illinois, and the City of Chicago, would let citizens better arm themselves they wouldn’t be so likely to be victims to criminals.