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Friday, July 15, 2011

NBC Chicago: How Flint Michigan Proves Mayor Daley Right on Gun Control

Almost sounds like a justification, but all the activity isn't thanks to Flint's lack of gun control. The availabilty of guns aren't causing people to use their guns to commit crimes:
In Flint, it's hard to make the case that liberal gun laws and a well-armed populace have made it a secure place to live. Last year, the impoverished city, which has lost more than 70,000 auto industry jobs, laid off a third of its police force. Homicides jumped from 36 to 66, breaking a record set in 1986, when Flint had nearly twice as many people as its current population of 102,000. Flint is the deadliest city in America, with a murder rate four times as high as Chicago’s. Some killings were in self-defense: an elderly woman shot a teenage boy who broke into her home. But most were drive-by shootings, robberies and drug murders.

Residents say the understaffed police force takes 50 minutes to respond to a shooting. Which inspires people to take law enforcement into their own hands.

“If you know no one’s going to show up for 50 minutes, that’s plenty of time to get away,” a young African-American man told me. “I’ve got a Glock in my house. If they’re not going to have my back, I’ve got to have my own.”
Perhaps guns haven't made Flint safer, but the people don't feel safe anyway. Perhaps the people of Flint feel safer with their own guns because their police department doesn't have decent responses to incidents. I can also point out, that it also depends on who is holding the gun and every individual shouldn't have a gun. Does that really mean that no one should ever handle a gun?

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