2aguy
Diamond Member
- Jul 19, 2014
- 112,235
- 52,459
This is also why we have gun crime at high rates in Chicago....
The Left’s Phony War on Guns, by Kevin D. Williamson, National Review
Chicago has Wild West levels of homicide.
(Worse, in fact; the criminality and violence of the ungoverned West has been greatly exaggerated, and some of those old cow towns had lower per capita crime rates back when they had no formal government than they do today.)
Do you know what kind of crime illegal possession of a firearm is in the state of Illinois?
It is a misdemeanor.
A 2014 study conducted by the Chicago Sun-Times found that in most cases, Cook County judges handed down the minimum sentence for gun possession, and in most cases, the criminals ended up serving far less than that, doing only a few months.
Those charged with simple possession had an average of four prior arrests;
those charged with the more serious crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm had an average of ten previous arrests.
Ten arrests, and the eleventh is for a gun-related crime.
One wonders how many undetected crimes are covered by such criminal careers.
Many in Illinois have argued that, given the state of crime there, stiffer sentences are warranted.
A bill was introduced to that end, and it was opposed by Democrats who argued that stiffer sentences for those actually committing crimes with guns would “unfairly target African-Americans,” as the Sun-Times put it.
The NRA, to its discredit, opposed that bill, too, arguing that the penalties for simple possession in absence of other criminal activity were too stiff.
But that’s an argument for liberalizing Illinois gun laws, not for forgoing the punishment of criminals.
The NRA did support harsher punishment for felons in possession of firearms, and for the use of firearms in crimes. Democrats have generally opposed them.
The Left’s Phony War on Guns, by Kevin D. Williamson, National Review
Chicago has Wild West levels of homicide.
(Worse, in fact; the criminality and violence of the ungoverned West has been greatly exaggerated, and some of those old cow towns had lower per capita crime rates back when they had no formal government than they do today.)
Do you know what kind of crime illegal possession of a firearm is in the state of Illinois?
It is a misdemeanor.
A 2014 study conducted by the Chicago Sun-Times found that in most cases, Cook County judges handed down the minimum sentence for gun possession, and in most cases, the criminals ended up serving far less than that, doing only a few months.
Those charged with simple possession had an average of four prior arrests;
those charged with the more serious crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm had an average of ten previous arrests.
Ten arrests, and the eleventh is for a gun-related crime.
One wonders how many undetected crimes are covered by such criminal careers.
Many in Illinois have argued that, given the state of crime there, stiffer sentences are warranted.
A bill was introduced to that end, and it was opposed by Democrats who argued that stiffer sentences for those actually committing crimes with guns would “unfairly target African-Americans,” as the Sun-Times put it.
The NRA, to its discredit, opposed that bill, too, arguing that the penalties for simple possession in absence of other criminal activity were too stiff.
But that’s an argument for liberalizing Illinois gun laws, not for forgoing the punishment of criminals.
The NRA did support harsher punishment for felons in possession of firearms, and for the use of firearms in crimes. Democrats have generally opposed them.
