ZeroHedge.com
In continued defiance of the Democrat narrative calling for stricter gun laws, Chicago’s homicide problem just keeps getting worse despite gun laws that are already among the most restrictive in the country. If fact, even the New York Times described Chicago’s gun laws as some of the “toughest restrictions,” saying:
Not a single gun shop can be found in this city because they are outlawed. Handguns were banned in Chicago for decades, too, until 2010, when the United States Supreme Court ruled that was going too far, leading city leaders to settle for restrictions some describe as the closest they could get legally to a ban without a ban. Despite a continuing legal fight, Illinois remains the only state in the nation with no provision to let private citizens carry guns in public.
Data compiled the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute revealed that homicide rates in Chicago increased to 18.81 per 100,000 in 2015 vs. 17.64 in 2010, a 7% increase. That’s compared to a 6% decline for the United States overall for the same period and over 4x the national average. In fact, at 18.81 homicides per 100,000, Chicago would be ranked as the 201st most dangerous country out of the 218 countries tracked by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
Perhaps even more shocking is the disparity in homicide rates by ethnicity. African American homicides increased 19% between 2010 and 2015 vs. 8% for Caucasians and a 2% decline for Latinos. Data revealed that African American homicide rates were eight times higher than Caucasians in 2005, 16 times higher in 2010, and 18 times higher in 2015.
Homicide rates were the highest among young people with the highest rates experience among 20-24 year olds at 64.28, a 48% increase in 5 years.
Finally, despite some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country, 87% of homicides were committed with firearms, up from 79% in 2010. So how could the city that has the toughest gun laws in the country, laws described as the “closest they could get legally to a ban without a ban,” also have some of the highest gun-related homicide rates? Could it be, that criminals looking to use weapons for violence have a lower propensity to follow laws and that by banning guns you’re really just taking them out of the hands of law-abiding citizens that wouldn’t have used them for violence anyway? Just a thought.
