We should be talking about solutions to high crime rates but as usual, President Biden used the 4th of July Holiday to tell Americans they should not keep and bear arms, contrary to the US Constitution. Rather than celebrating our God-given freedoms, he ‘went negative.’ So, I decided to do some fact-checking.
What US state has the strictest gun laws?
When you think of strict gun laws, California and New York are the first states that come to mind. Chicago and the State of Illinois have some of the strictest gun laws in any area of the US. Yet, Chicago also has one of the highest mass shootings and murder rates anywhere in the US. I looked at the Chicago Tribune website and found some interesting data that track homicides in Chicago.
Looking at the age and race of the murder victims and the specific areas in which they lived, I saw a pattern. Systemic racism’ doesn’t appear to be an underlying cause. This pattern seems consistent in every city with a high murder rate. Between the Chicago Tribune and HeyJackass Chicago, you can draw your own conclusions by sifting through the data.
Some argue that a significant reduction in these unfortunate fatalities may be achieved by outlawing all or most commonly used firearms. If that IS true, why ISN’T it true in cities where most guns are outlawed? BTW, it has always been a crime to murder a person with rocks, cars, strangling, beating, bats, clubs, knives, and guns. And just for the record, criminals don’t obey laws.
How can we solve high crime rates?
Here are a few possible solutions to this problem in Chicago and every location experiencing high violent crime rates:
1) Educate kids early on about courtesy, kindness, respect, faith, character, civics, and the value and sanctity of all life.
2) Allow law enforcement to arrest, prosecute, and imprison any violent crime perpetrators. End the insane ‘catch and release’ no-bail policies.
3) Support and show REAL respect for police, fire, emergency, military, and other first responders. Hire them very carefully, based on character and experience. And let them do their jobs of busting criminals and gangs. Ask any police officer; they know exactly who the criminals are in any given area.
4) Research who you vote for and vote out all judges and other civic authorities who will not enforce the laws and hold criminals responsible.
5) End welfare programs that allow those who can work to live without working. And hold fathers and mothers responsible for the behavior of their children. Calling “mob actions” gatherings isn’t helping matters.
6) Require mandatory and regular drug and alcohol testing to qualify for benefits. Failing a single negative test means that ALL benefits STOP for a period of time. Multiple failures mean permanent suspension of benefits.
Although this may seem harsh, I believe the current number of violent deaths is far more severe. Innocent people, including many children, are being killed.
Why should we have a gun for self-defense?
Last, we can use firearms for good or bad. Law-abiding citizens can protect themselves more effectively than the police. With law enforcement response times increasing, self-protection is more important than ever. Just look at this recent incident in Chicago, where a couple had to wait more than 20 minutes for help to arrive.
To put this in another light, if firearms kill people, then spoons make people fat.
By Russ Minary (Helpful Skeptic, Humorist)
Russ is a retired old guy who loves people and is happy to share his (FREE) advice, mistakes, valuable career and life lessons, good and bad experiences, wisdom, and some funny stuff too.