Apparently the chief law enforcement officer for Chicago wanted to fan the flames of this gun control advocacy thing that’s all the rage at the moment. So he decided to display the guns he claimed had been seized already in the opening days of 2013. Included were the usual suspects: an assortment of AK and AR variants and other scary looking weapons. It creates the idea that, if such a large number of “assault weapons” were confiscated in such a short period, the number of illegal guns must be HUGE! Here’s the issue, though — the guns he showed off weren’t seized in 2013. In other words, Garry McCarthy lied. Here’s the story . . .
From the Chicago Tribune:
Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy held a news conference Monday where his department “put on display several of the firearms seized … during the first two weeks of 2013,” according to a police news release.
But that wasn’t exactly the case.
A police spokeswoman said McCarthy had hoped to display 25 weapons from among the more than 300 seized since Jan. 1 — but in fact the ones shown were from last year. Some dated from last summer, according to inventory tags on the weapons.
Reporters attending the news conference at the Gresham Police District station, 7808 S Halsted St., noticed the inventory tags, and McCarthy was asked about them. He said the guns weren’t the actual ones seized in 2013, but were “representative” of them.
Raise your hand if you buy that these guns are “representative” of the guns found.
The party line was that the guns which were actually seized in 2013 hadn’t cleared the inventory yet, and so couldn’t be displayed. And for those of you who believe that line, I have a bridge to sell you . . .