One report called it “the bloodiest weekend of the year in Chicago,” and other news agencies are reporting anywhere from 66 to 71 shooting victims, as many as a dozen of whom were killed, but instead of demanding tougher justice for the perpetrators, marchers were out over the weekend demanding so-called “meaningful gun control.”
According to WBBM News, the local CBS affiliate, at least 12 people were killed and another 54 wounded over the weekend. But that station and other news agencies seemed determined to note that the violence overall is down from this time last year by 480 fewer shooting victims. Patrol Chief Fred Waller was quoted by CBS noting that shootings are down overall from last year by 30 percent. That may be small consolation to those who were wounded, and the families of those who were killed.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is now an attorney for President Donald Trump, reportedly slammed Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel for the violence. Emanuel and Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson held a press conference Monday during which, according to the local ABC affiliate, they said “more needs to be done” to hold recidivist gun law violators accountable.
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Ironically, Chicago will host this year’s Gun Rights Policy Conference, co-hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear arms. That conference is scheduled the weekend of Sept. 21-23.
Both the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune keep count of the homicides. There have already been more than 300 murders in the city this year, and with most of August remaining, that leaves nearly five months for the mayhem to continue. In a city with strict gun control laws; a city that has been repeatedly sued by the Second Amendment Foundation so law abiding citizens might enjoy a more level playing field against illegally-armed criminals.
During the Monday morning press conference, Johnson made a sobering observation that should raise some questions about the court system in Chicago.
“It is the same people who are pulling the triggers in some of these communities,” the city’s top cop said. “This isn’t a widespread issue among citizens of the city. This is a small subset of individuals who think they can play by their own rules because they continue to get a slap on the wrist when we arrest them.”
Fox News reported last week that people held a peaceful march along Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive Thursday afternoon calling for Emanuel’s resignation. They marched to historic Wrigley Field, demanding action against the “spiraling crime crisis,” the report noted.
