U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)-Close observers of gun politics might be surprised to learn that decades-long Chicago gun control advocate and Catholic priest Father Michael Pfleger is in fact capable of some logic.
An Agence France-Press piece on the continuing violence in Chicago amidst the COVID-19 lockdown shared Pfleger’s thoughts on the Windy City’s crime problem. Eschewing the notion that the ongoing lockdown could have ever stemmed the violence, AFP reported,
“Pfleger argued that someone who was prepared to commit murder was unlikely to be too bothered about observing a stay-at-home order.”
Pfleger’s key insight will be familiar to gun rights supporters. Second Amendment activists have long understood that gun laws do not stop violent criminals. Simple logic dictates that an individual willing to commit criminal violence will give little thought to violating gun control laws. In bumper sticker form, this reads: When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.
Despite Illinois’s stringent gun control laws, Chicago criminals have little trouble securing firearms. A 2015 study published in Preventative Medicine titled, “Sources of guns to dangerous people: What we learn by asking them,” queried inmates in the Cook County Jail about where they obtained firearms. The overwhelming source was “family, fellow gang members, or other social connections.” Discussing the efficacy of Illinois’s firearms licensing system, an inmate opined, “All they need is one person who got a gun card in the ‘hood’ and everybody got one.”In fact, the authorities can’t even keep guns out of the Cook County jail.
It’s unfortunate that this simple deduction only came to Pfleger in his 70s, as it might have spared Chicagoans some of the priest’s more inane antics.
In 2007, Pfleger teamed up with social justice gadfly Jesse Jackson to protest a gun store in the Chicago suburb of Riverdale for having the temerity to sell guns to those who had already complied with Illinois’s onerous licensing procedure. Pfleger and Jackson were arrested after trespassing on the gun store’s property. Seeming to set aside the sixth commandment, during the incident the priest said about the gun store owner, “We’re going to find you and snuff you out.”
Following the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the handgun prohibitionist joined then-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevitch (a one-time Firearm Owner’s Identification cardholder) to condemn the ruling.
Pfleger’s anti-gun foolery seems to be too much even for his Chicago comrade Barack Obama. In 2016, then-President Obama held a CNN “town hall” on guns. During the contrived presentation, Pfleger asked Obama why the federal government won’t institute full firearms registration. Obama shot down the priest’s tired proposal, stating,
“Issues like licensing, registration, that’s an area where there’s just not enough national consensus at this stage to even consider it. And part of it is, is people’s concern that that becomes a prelude to taking people’s guns away.”
Now that Pfleger has demonstrated a rudimentary understanding of the criminal mind and a capacity for reason, one would hope the priest could apply this basic knowledge to his activism. Don’t hold your breath.
About 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. Visit: www.nra.org
In that 2007 protest against Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale, IL I was one of the counter protestors. ‘Flakey Pfleger’ was there as was Jessie Jackson, who was being ‘protected’ by members of Louis Farrakhan’s ‘Fruits of Islam’ goon squad, some of whom were open carrying. The police ignored their guns but we sure wouldn’t have been treated the same. It was instructive to get in Pfleger and Jackson’s faces and seeing the hate in their eyes. Guns were OK for them, but they would have happily thrown us in prison.
@MR, Good eye witness report!
Strange how someone who purports himself to be a leader in Christianity would ignore SCRIPTURE. Luke 22:36 is literally spoken by the LORD HIMSELF; If a man has no sword (the assault weapon of that day), let him sell his cloak (his outer garments) and buy one. It is better to go around half naked and armed than fully clothed and no way to defend yourself and others. When the LORD says do this or don’t do that, it should be heeded above anything, any law that mankind produces, because the LORD simply out ranks everything and anyone else, period.… Read more »
Author quotes bumper sticker “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns” using its most simplistic interpretation that those who are already outlaws will continue in their criminal behavior. The deeper, and I’d argue more important, meaning is that outlawing guns will create millions or tens of millions of outlaws with the stroke of a pen. Those who have striven their whole lives to live honest, law abiding laws may resent their reclassification. As new outlaws they may be simultaneously more inclined to engage in crime for crime’s sake, less restrained by fear of newly disrespected authority, and apply… Read more »
@Finnky, You mean like, ” Well, I am already a criminal by declaration of the legislature, and they are going to send me to prison, anyway, so … I may as well do some crime!”
Very good point. You mentioned greater intelligence and capability, but I’d like to drive home the point to others: that includes greater skill with firearms. The overwhelming majority of those who are currently violent criminals are pretty bad shots and have little knowledge regarding basic gun maintenance. While that’s true of a sizeable numbers of law abiding gun owners as well, nearly all of the people with knowledge, training, and skill in the use of firearms are law abiding citizens. So maybe the slogan should be: When guns are outlawed, all the best shooters will be outlaws.
This is another “stay in your lane” situation. Stick to molesting little boys, Pfleger.
Men like Phleger are not subject to reason, they are driven by ideology and influence. To deny ones God given right to defend life and limb is evil.
You know he will screw you when it has FATHER in front of his name…
@Rock, Lots of nervous looking alter boys, around him.
It does seem suspicious that an apparent totalitarian is called “Father” …and seems to be really committed to oppression and fails to follow the real Church doctrines …unless one might consider the tax breaks the “Father ” gets so he has more money to spend in his quest for domination of the People ?
Engaging ideologues is always amusing. You never do it with an eye toward changing their beliefs, that’s just not going to happen. However, exposing their bigotry to everyone on the sidelines is helpful and shows the undecided exactly how reasonable our side of the discussion is and how factually based it is as opposed to folks like the good “Father’s”.
My oldest two children learned from the Eddie Eagle program on VHS!!! I “tested” the neighborhood kids (with their parents watching) by setting up a video camera and leaving a starter pistol in the garage where I knew it would be seen. ALL of the neighborhood kids who watched the Eddie Eagle program refused to touch the gun and came to get an adult. The ONLY child to touch it was the child from a family who refused to allow their children to have anything to do with guns! No toy guns, no finger guns – nothing. Side point –… Read more »