The Windy City has recently topped 600 homicides (604 at last count) for 2017, and we aren’t halfway through November yet. Of the more than 3,200 Chicagoans shot, approximately 2600 were non-fatal. Grimly, this is good news for gun controlled Chicago!
This time last year, the city had already experienced nearly 681 homicides. With 800 for the year, an average of more than two murders per day; this is a higher number than Los Angeles (294) and New York City (334) combined.
A few “highlights” below:
Life in a Gun Control Zone
On November 8, shots rang out in an Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West side. One man who lived in the 900 block of North LeClaire Avenue was found shot to death inside his home. Neighbor Moses Bailey said he heard six shots, but dismissed it, because he hears gunfire often in the area; he did not bother to check it out. Later, he learned that someone had been killed.
“I thought it was in the area, not the block.” Bailey said. “This is the first time I’ve seen shots right on the block.”
Four other people, including a teen aged boy were injured on the South and West sides of the city the same day. Violent outbreaks are not new to Chicago, despite the fact that the city is often cited as having very restrictive gun laws. In fact, several activist groups that advocate for stricter gun control laws rate Illinois high on their ranking list, with California cited as number one.
With the murder rate so disturbing, this development once again prompts the question: doesn’t Chicago have the strictest gun laws in the country?
At one time, yes. It did when the city banned handgun ownership in 1982. According to the Chicago Tribune, the next 10 years saw “a 41 percent jump in murders.” The rest of the US saw a rise of only 18 percent in these same years. To Second Amendment advocates, this came as no surprise. When a ban is enacted- only the bad guys are armed.
In 2010, the Supreme Court overturned the handgun ban, but city leaders attempted to preserve aspects of it wherever they could. Municipal and county limits were placed on the number of gun shops permitted in Chicago. There were restrictions to locations in which gun shops could exist. Concealed carry was still outlawed throughout the state. In 2012, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the concealed carry ban as unconstitutional and Illinois became the last state in the nation to approve concealed carry.
To get a concealed carry license, a resident undergoes a background check, must pay a $150 application fee and complete a 16-hour training course including gun safety and a gun range test. Even then, the concealed carry may be denied. While the state requires all individuals without concealed handgun permits to obtain a ten-year license (Firearm Owner’s Identification, or FOID card) in order to purchase or possess firearms or ammunition, the state does not license or otherwise regulate firearms dealers.
The state imposes waiting periods between purchase of a firearm and transfer to the purchaser (72 hours for handguns, 24 for long guns), but does not require firearm owners to register their firearms.
Illegal Guns are the Problem
It is clear that illegal guns in the hands of street gangs and drug dealers are the problem in Chicago, not legal gun owners. Guns brought into the city from out of state sell for top dollar on the street. This would indicate a problem with local government and courts. Addressing the uncontrolled gun violence rampant in his failing city, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel recently announced that 100 more police officers have been placed on the streets.
Emmanuel took exception to President Trump’s recent observation that (regarding gun violence) “Chicago …is a disaster, a total disaster.”
Emmanuel said the president should be showing leadership, rather than ‘pointing fingers.’ With abysmal schools, mounting social issues and Chicago’s streets flowing with shooting victim’s blood, one has to wonder where fingers should be pointed if not at the mayor’s own office.
~ Liberty Planet
