Los Angeles Federal ‘Strike Force’ Evokes Definition of Insanity

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “A new federal strike force launched by the U.S. Justice Department on Thursday will focus on disrupting the illegal flow of weapons into Los Angeles from neighboring states while also going after makers of local ‘ghost guns,’ according to local and federal authorities,” The Los Angeles Times parroted Thursday. “Both sources of weapons are a major driver of violence within L.A., and local officials hope their disruption will help stem the city’s increasing levels of shootings and homicides.”

Evidently, the Giffords Law Center’s “A” rating for California does not produce results commensurate with the grade. All those infringements that promised such solutions and things are still out of control…

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore, a politically dependent career “Only One,” doesn’t have a clue on how to stop the signal, but did come up with an excuse that allowed him to point fingers and blame states that haven’t yet enacted California’s “strongest gun laws in the United States.” Arizona, Nevada, and Utah are to blame, the chief blathers:

“Suspects go to those locations,” Moore said, “buy those weapons because of lax or permissive gun laws and then traffic those weapons here and sell them to the market of people who are not lawfully able to own or possess or purchase a weapon.”

For some reason, Chief Moore and The Times neglect to mention that all that is already against the “lax and permissive” law. At least the chief admits the FFLs aren’t the problem:

“It will be less likely to focus on federal firearm licensees known to be selling weapons in the L.A. area, Moore said, because ‘there’s a finite number of them in this region, they’re well policed, they’re well managed, [and] they’re well supervised by ATF and frankly by our gun detail.’”

So he and the feds are going after “underground providers.”

Good luck with that. Especially since criminal cartels take full advantage of California “sanctuary” policies, something you’d think The Times would be able to connect dots on.

Who thinks things will get more or less dangerous? Has anyone factored in the expansion of ruthless criminal enterprises under Prohibition and the War on Drugs, along with the growth of “official” corruption and corresponding abuses of civil liberties in the name of fighting crime?

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, for his part, has taken a (short) break from blaming societal dangers on “white supremacists” to warn against “guns found at crime scenes [that] come from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. We are redoubling our efforts as ATF works with law enforcement to track the movement of illegal firearms used in violent crimes.”

Perhaps if he’d review ATF’s data, he’d be able to explain why California’s 11.10-year time-to-crime average  (defined by ATF as “the period of time … between the first retail sale of a firearm and a law enforcement recovery of that firearm during a use, or suspected use, in a crime”) warrants front-and-center priority. Then again, he doesn’t have to because no one in the DSM (Duranty/Streicher Media) cares, assuming they’re even aware.

For that matter, who has figures on homicides solved because police were able to trace a gun found at a crime scene to its original lawful purchaser?

That’s not to say everything being proposed is old stuff that’s already been tried and proven ineffective. There’s a new factor to blame thanks to Chicom wet markets and/or lab leaks:

“Shootings and homicides have surged nationally since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year and the associated social and economic shutdowns. L.A. has been no exception. As of Tuesday, homicides were up nearly 30% over last year, and shootings were up 43%. The city ended 2020 with 350 homicides, the most in a decade.”

Funny thing, though. If the critical factor here was guns, why haven’t there been headlines about shooting surges by any of the 5-million members of the NRA, arguably the most heavily armed civilian population on the planet? Weren’t they subject to the same “pandemic” restrictions and economic losses as everyone else? Could it mean it’s not about the guns at all, and pretending that it is for political reasons is either insanity and/or scripted fraud for something everybody involved knows will do nothing but pour money down a hole?

Here’s a clue:

“Moore said the initiative wouldn’t ‘change the entire course of the world,’ as the LAPD and other agencies already work with the ATF on such investigations, but would add strength to those efforts.”

So, like always, he knows this latest round of posturing won’t work and is but another in an endless cycle of boondoggles designed to make it look like government has a handle on things, when in fact, government policies are at the heart of why things are so screwed up.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the familiar definition of insanity.  The violence monopolists are seizing on this to outlaw home builds on guns, to press for universal registration, and to expand the number of due process-denying disqualifiers subject to gun confiscation. Not that those slow the predators down. The shooting/homicide “surge” will continue, and don’t be surprised to see it increase in turf wars over a lucrative black market that will only expand under policies that meet that definition.

About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.