Posted by
John Caile on Sunday, January 25, 2009 11:56:44 AM
Chicago's
extreme gun control continues to fail, while L.A.'s aggressive
targeting of gangs scores a big victory. There are lessons here that
every major metropolitan area in the country should consider.
From the L.A. Times:
Homicides over the past three months in Los Angeles have fallen to
their lowest levels since the Summer of Love more than 40 years ago
despite a struggling economy that historically has meant more crime.
Police Chief William Bratton attributed the recent drop to
collaboration with other police agencies, and intense focus on gang
crime and a crackdown on illegal immigrants with criminal records.
"Unemployment is up, the economy is not good. A lot of the things that
so-called experts predict make crime go up are not happening here," he
said. "We have been building momentum over the last six years. I think
it will continue to get better."
Heavens! Police daring to target...criminals? One can hear the
politically correct professional victim groups crying "profiling!" and
"racism!" - while ignoring the harsh reality that such good policing
works.
Now compare the above story with this one from Chicago, covering the same three months:
CHICAGO (CBS) - An estimated 123 people were shot and killed over the
summer. That's nearly double the number of soldiers killed in Iraq over
the same time period. [More than 120 additional victims were shot and
wounded.]
In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them
on Google maps. Information compiled from our reporters, wire service
reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 123
people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of
the Memorial Day weekend on May 26th, and the end of Labor Day on Sept.
1st.
The difference? Unlike the L.A. approach of focusing on the real
sources of violent crime, Chicago opts for some of the nation's most
repressive gun control. Not only is Illinois one of only two states
that still prohibit a citizen from carrying a gun for personal
protection, it is illegal for residents of the city to even possess handguns in their own homes!
For decades, self-defense advocates have pointed out that the worst
crime is almost always found in the cities and states with the
strictest gun laws. They rightly point out that such laws never affect the
element that actually commits the violence (the latest FBI studies confirm that thugs obtain 99% of their guns through theft and the black market). Instead, so-called gun control only prevent the
innocent from defending themselves.
The L.A. and Chicago stories should serve as a notice to city officials
everywhere - gun control doesn't work, but focused policing does.
It is no coincidence that Barak Obama hails from Chicago, has wholeheartedly endorsed (and voted for) its
repressive policies, and has publicly proclaimed that he would work to see that such measures would be forced upon the entire nation.
Whether a President Obama actually does implement such disastrous gun control policies, or instead listens to the more sensible Democrats in the party, only time will tell...