Liberals have always been extremely confused when it comes to firearms and the Second Amendment. They seem to think that the right to bear arms as outlined in the United States Constitution is somehow connected to gun crimes in this country, and that if it weren’t for the Second Amendment, our country as a whole would be a much safer place. (Related: Remember when Obama demanded that congress pass a law denying Second Amendment rights to anyone the government put on a list?) Based on this logic, Chicago should resemble Heaven on Earth. After all, the radical left wing politicians that run the city have all but banned individual firearm ownership, so Chicago should look like a clean, peaceful Utopian society, right?
Not exactly.
As the Daily Caller reported last month, over 50 people were shot and killed on Father’s Day alone, including 13 who were shot in a three-hour period. One of the victims on this day was a 16-year-old boy who was killed by a man driving by inside a car. Another victim, 25-year-old Raven Lemons, was shot multiple times while standing outside next to her friend. She died at a local hospital shortly after.
As of June 18, there had been an astonishing 1,500 people shot since the beginning of the year and a total of 279 homicides. Many of these people who are being killed are young kids in their teens and twenties. It would take some time, but all of this gun violence could be solved if the liberals who run Chicago embraced the Second Amendment and allowed law-abiding citizens to defend themselves with firearms. Sadly, the left continues to go in the opposite direction.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Illinois Democrats were considering new legislation that would implement more fees and regulations for licensed gun dealers in Chicago. According to the National Rifle Association, SB 1657 “would create onerous mandatory regulations, fees potentially in the thousands of dollars and excessive amounts of red tape that would almost assuredly force the closure of many firearm dealers, and prevent prospective owners from opening new ones.”
So are more laws on top of numerous existing firearm regulations the answer to Chicago’s gun violence problem? Does it make sense to target licensed gun dealers and law-abiding citizens who are looking to practice their Second Amendment rights to bear arms? Of course not, because it’s not licensed gun dealers and law-abiding citizens who are taking to the streets and killing innocent people; its criminals who do not follow the law in the first place.
According to a survey conducted in 2015 by the University of Chicago Crime Lab, very few Chicago criminals are obtaining their firearms at gun shows, through the Internet or at licensed gun stores. A series of interviews with 100 detainees at Cook County Jail revealed that most criminals are actually obtaining firearms through personal connections because they fear for their own personal safety. In other words, they are not obtaining them legally, but rather illegally. That being said, how does it make sense to enact legislation that targets those who are legally acquiring guns for self-defense?
If Rahm Emanuel and his team of left wing politicians were serious about decreasing the homicide rate in their city, they would unleash the Second Amendment, not restrict it. The liberals may not feel comfortable with the reality of individual gun ownership in America, but the truth is that when more people are legally allowed to obtain firearms for personal protection, violent crime is generally kept to a minimum. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that proves this to be true, but until the politicians in Chicago accept the fact that guns are an effective tool for self-defense, the city will continue to fall apart.
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