Scapegoat Alert! D.C. Murders Increase, Police Chief Blames . . .

District of Columbia
District of Columbia
NRA - Institute for Legislative Action
NRA – Institute for Legislative Action

Fairfax, VA -(AmmoLand.com)- Murders in the District of Columbia are not nearly as common as they were a generation ago, when the city’s crack cocaine gangs and former handgun ban held sway.

However, murders in D.C. are up by a third thus far in 2015, as compared to the first eight months of last year. And while the local police union faults the city’s police chief, Cathy Lanier, for dismantling units that had kept drug gangs at bay, Lanier is pointing an accusatory finger at guns.

Lanier speculates that changes in gun laws around the country and the popularity of “high-capacity” magazines are responsible for D.C.’s worsening murder situation. The theory is odd, however. As the Washington Post reports, many of D.C.’s murders result from stabbings, not gunfire. And, in 2013, the way that neighboring Maryland changed its gun laws was by banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds, banning “assault weapons,” and requiring permits to purchase handguns. At the same time, similar gun and magazine bans were also imposed in Connecticut and New York.

Instead of blaming guns, Lanier might do well to consider a few other factors. In June, the Washington Post reported that about 500 officers had left the city’s police department in the previous 18 months. Last week, the newspaper reported that 55 of the city’s then-91 murders were still open cases and, according to Chief Lanier herself, more than 10 percent of D.C.’s murders involve violent felons recently let out of prison. This week, Lanier even said that some of D.C.’s murder suspects have as many as a dozen prior arrests for violent crimes.

Lanier should know there’s not a single new gun law in any state that has made it easier for members of narcotics gangs or anyone else in D.C. to obtain guns. Federal law prohibits anyone other than D.C.’s one firearm dealer from transferring a handgun to a resident of the District and prohibits anyone from selling a handgun to anyone under age 18.

Despite its history of restrictive gun laws, the District of Columbia’s murder rate has been three to 10 times higher than the national rate for the last 50 years. The expression, “people kill people” is perhaps nowhere so apt, as it is in the District. To be sure, the District has a problem.

But it’s not the ability, elsewhere in the United States, of law-abiding people to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms.

About the NRA-ILA:

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

For more information, please visit: www.nra.org. Be sure to follow the NRA on Facebook at NRA on Facebook and Twitter @NRA.

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Peter

What else would you possibly expect to hear from a four star general reporting to a job in socialist-sewer land?
By the way, a police chief wearing four stars?? I know that some chiefs wear them but isn’t that a bit much? Does the next in command wear three stars? cathy ought to hock the collection of stars and buy a comb…..stinking embarrassing!

TSgt B

As a youngster in the 60s, my parents took our family of 9 all over the country, including the Washington, D.C. area, on summer camping trips. We, as children, were able to enjoy learning our nation’s history firsthand. As I am now a retired member of the U. S. Air Force, a small arms expert with Top Secret security clearance(s) and many years as a cop, and grandfather to 11 little ones, I am saddened by the fact that I cannot, in good conscience, expose my kids and grandkids to my experiences as a child because I CANNOT LEGALLY PROTECT… Read more »

Herb

If the high crime in DC is the gun’s fault, why not arrest the guns?
Kinda make you think gun control laws aren’t very effective against criminals. DUH!

Janek

What do gun laws in other jurisdictions have to do with an upswing in DC murders? The law is being broken in DC.

George

I’m sure I’ll be called a misogynist for saying this, but the mark of a bad leader is when the troops start quitting in high numbers. Another thing that is really sad to see is a police officer blaming the guns, and not the user, as they usually have a more informed and experienced opinion. Apparently, she has kept her head in the sand all these years and was only promoted due to EOE political correctness.