“Chicago’s police superintendent lashed out at what he called lax state and federal gun laws after a violent Fourth of July weekend that saw 11 deaths in dozens of shooting incidents in a city already known for frequent shootings,” cnn.com reports. “‘There’s a greater sanction for the gang members to lose that firearm from their gang than there is to go to jail’ for illegal gun possession, Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said.” Wait, what? What do gang leaders to a member who loses a gun? Castrate them? (If only.) And the cops catch a gang banger with an illegal firearm, doesn’t that count as losing it? Anyway, CNN’s got the death toll for this weekend’s shootings wrong . . .
Fourth of July holiday weekend tally: 82 shot in Chicago, 14 of them fatally, chicagotribune.com‘s headline proclaims.
For 10 minutes, it seemed like the shooting was everywhere in the South Chicago neighborhood.
It started when someone shot and wounded a couple, then two people fired at the shooter, then there was a chase and shots exchanged and a man sitting on a porch was hit. Responding officers kept cutting each other off on their radios as they reported other gunfire in the area late Sunday night and early Monday morning.
Then the heavy equipment rolled in: A helicopter and SUVs packed with lockers of rifles. SWAT teams in green coveralls patrolled the streets with uniformed officers.
Now that’s not something we’ve heard before: Chicago turning into Chiraq, complete with armored patrols. And all because of lax gun laws. Who knew?
But we do know that an armed Chicago resident stopped a burglary in the Windy City over the weekend. Strange that the superintendent didn’t mention that little victory. Maybe it’s because the news would give ammunition to all 800 citizens who’ve filed suit against the City for denying their concealed carry permit application. For reasons they refuse to specify. Again, the Tribune . . .
The state police review every application and can automatically deny any applicant who does not follow application rules, pay appropriate fees or meet standard background requirements. A provision in the law also allows local police and other officials to object to a person’s application after the applicant has passed a fingerprint background check and met the other requirements for a license.
The Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board, a panel with law enforcement backgrounds, considers the objections in private and is not required to explain the reasons behind its decisions except under order from a court, according to the state police’s interpretation of the statute.
A police superintendent that blames lax gun laws for gang violence in a city that denies its citizens their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms without explanation or due process. Connect those dots.