Politics

WaPo: ‘Crime Wave’ rhetoric is hype, except in three liberal cities

Violent crime is actually down, so why do some people keep talking about a”crime wave?” – Dave Workman photo

Thursday’s Washington Post carried a scathing Op-Ed that may have been a slap at statements made by Donald Trump about crime at the GOP convention, but is more of an indictment against the administrations of three big cities that have been under liberal Democrat control for decades.

According to authors Mark Holden and Ronal Serpas, “statements on rising murders are highly misleading. The truth is that Americans are still experiencing hard-won historic lows in crime.”

They quote a piece by Heather MacDonald at the Manhattan Institute that said homicides have increased “nearly 17 percent in the 56 largest U.S. cities last year.”

But the authors got around to this bombshell:

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“This rise in homicide is alarming on its face. But half of 2015’s murder increase occurred in Baltimore, Chicago and the District (of Columbia) — the very cities that those pushing the crime panic repeatedly use as examples. While we must work to address the issues driving this unacceptable localized violence, it is not the norm.”

Overall, they explain, last year’s homicide numbers are “near 2012 levels—still very near to all-time lows.”

The common denominator in Baltimore, Chicago and Washington, D.C. is the leadership. All three cities have been liberal Democrat strongholds for many years. They also stubbornly cling to extremist gun control laws that make it nearly impossible for law-abiding citizens to arm themselves and fight back.

The Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association have each had to sue Chicago and the District of Columbia repeatedly. Administrations in both cities have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into some semblance of compliance with the 2008 Heller and 2010 McDonald Supreme Court rulings.

While overall crime rates have declined, as Holden and Serpas explain, firearms sales have skyrocketed. This poses yet another problem for the gun prohibition lobby, one of credibility. For years the gun control crowd has been harping that more guns in circulation would lead to widespread violence. With the exception of the aforementioned “56 largest U.S. cities,” that hasn’t been the case.

And, when one looks at the homicides being committed, much of that falls on the shoulders of recidivist criminals who illegally obtain and possess the guns they use. It’s not typically the work of law-abiding citizens. As the Conservative Firing Line reported Thursday, a recent study by the Crime Prevention Research Center revealed that armed citizens who are licensed to carry are less likely to commit crimes.

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