Debunking the “Chicago’s Gun Laws Don’t Work” Myth

 

 

CHICAGO’S GUN VIOLENCE EXPLAINED

“America’s air is poisoned by guns.”

I’m sick and tired of gun fanatics dragging out the same old tired stale disproven argument on Chicago’s gun violence after every mass shooting in America. They argue that gun laws “don’t work” and point to Chicago as the best example, which we agree has alarming rates of gun violence and deaths.

However, what these gun fanatics always fail to acknowledge is simple geography.

Here’s a request: Get a map. Look at it.

Take a look at Chicago, particularly South Chicago — where most gun deaths in the city occur. It is true, that most people in Chicago can’t freely buy guns and ammunition within the city limits. However, South Chicago shares a border with the state of Indiana.

Here’s an undisputed fact: Indiana has some of the loosest gun laws in the United States. Indiana has open carry (no permit required) for loaded handguns. In Indiana, you don’t need a permit to purchase/own/possess rifles, shotguns, and handguns. And anyone who buys a firearm doesn’t have to register it.

So, what good are Chicago’s tough local gun restrictions when handguns, rifles, shotguns, and assault weapons can be freely purchased and even carried only a few miles away?

Think of it like this.

If you plant a rose garden, does the air smell like roses? Well, maybe.

But what if you plant your rose garden next to a bunch of factories with smokestacks. Do you still think the air will smell like roses? Or, will the air smell like smoke?

Answer: No matter how many roses you have and how nice they smell, the air is still toxic.

That’s Chicago. That’s Indiana. Figuratively and literally.  If you’ve ever spent any time in Gary-Hammond, you know this is the truth.

So, next time you hear or read yet another misleading and ill-informed reference to Chicago spewed by a moron who can’t find the city on a map, remember what the air smells like in a rose garden next to a factory.  That’s true for Chicago.  It’s essentially true all across America.

It doesn’t matter how many rose gardens we have in the United States if there are smokestacks next door, down the block, and around the corner. That’s why federal gun laws must be strengthened and then rigorously enforced.

America’s air is poisoned by guns.