In the current gun control debate taking place, Republicans are quick to jump on Chicago to prove their point that gun control causes more crime.
Their argument is that since Chicago has strict gun laws in place and still has high crime, this means that laws to restrict gun violence are a failure and we would be safer in a place where guns aren't limited because good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns.
I take it that they are talking about somewhere like Louisiana.
Louisiana has no assault rifle bans, no permits to purchase guns, no registrations, no licenses...
Sounds like a paradise of 'freedom', right?
Surely in a state this armed and loose with guns, criminals must be shaking in their boots, too afraid to mess with the people of Louisiana...
Actually... Louisiana has a 12.7 per 100,000 murder rate.
This is more than California 5.4 per 100,000 , Massachusetts 2.7 per 100,000, and New Jersey 3.7 per 100,000 COMBINED. All of which have fairly strict gun laws.
As for Illinois, the home of Chicago, the murder rate is 8.4 per 100,000.
Now to be fair, there are some points in this data that will benefit the conservative's arguments. Such as the District of Columbia.
The District of Columbia is the murder capital of the United States with a 24.2 per 100,000 murder rate. The District of Columbia has an assault weapons ban and strict gun laws.
The point I take from this is that maybe the solution isn't as cut and dry from either point of view.
I support an assault weapons ban and gun regulations. I don't think that banning assault weapons will stop all murder with assault weapons. However I don't think that arming everyone and giving guns out like candy makes us a safer society and the data proves both these points.
If banning weapons worked fully the District of Columbia wouldn't have the highest crime rate in the nation. On the same hand, if loose gun laws and guns everywhere made us safer, Louisiana wouldn't be in third place and have a higher murder rate than states 4 times their size.
Overall, I don't believe in just giving up. If you listen closely, this is basically the right's argument. That since people get killed with cars, knives, hammers, and the flu, we should just say 'screw it' and let military-style assault weapons be available to anyone who wants them and allow killers to kill even more and quicker.
With that logic, I could make the argument that since people murder despite murder laws being in place, we should just repeal murder laws so that the good guys can murder the bad guys.
I don't believe in this way of thinking because I'm not insane.
So the next time conservatives throw Chicago in your face, be sure to bring up Louisiana.