Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Scapegoat Alert! D.C. Murders Increase, Police Chief Blames . . .

Friday, August 21, 2015

Scapegoat Alert! D.C. Murders Increase, Police Chief Blames . . .

Murders in the District of Columbia are not nearly as common as they were a generation ago, when the city’s crack cocaine gangs and former handgun ban held sway. However, murders in D.C. are up by a third thus far in 2015, as compared to the first eight months of last year. And while the local police union faults the city’s police chief, Cathy Lanier, for dismantling units that had kept drug gangs at bay, Lanier is pointing an accusatory finger at guns.

Lanier speculates that changes in gun laws around the country and the popularity of “high-capacity” magazines are responsible for D.C.’s worsening murder situation. The theory is odd, however. As the Washington Post reports, many of D.C.’s murders result from stabbings, not gunfire. And, in 2013, the way that neighboring Maryland changed its gun laws was by banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds, banning “assault weapons,” and requiring permits to purchase handguns. At the same time, similar gun and magazine bans were also imposed in Connecticut and New York.

Instead of blaming guns, Lanier might do well to consider a few other factors. In June, the Washington Post reportedthat about 500 officers had left the city’s police department in the previous 18 months. Last week, the newspaper reported that 55 of the city’s then-91 murders were still open cases and, according to Chief Lanier herself, more than 10 percent of D.C.’s murders involve violent felons recently let out of prison. This week, Lanier even said that some of D.C.’s murder suspects have as many as a dozen prior arrests for violent crimes.

Lanier should know there’s not a single new gun law in any state that has made it easier for members of narcotics gangs or anyone else in D.C. to obtain guns. Federal law prohibits anyone other than D.C.’s one firearm dealer from transferring a handgun to a resident of the District and prohibits anyone from selling a handgun to anyone under age 18.

Despite its history of restrictive gun laws, the District of Columbia’s murder rate has been three to 10 times higher than the national rate for the last 50 years. The expression, “people kill people” is perhaps nowhere so apt, as it is in the District. To be sure, the District has a problem. But it’s not the ability, elsewhere in the United States, of law-abiding people to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms.

TRENDING NOW
MA Supreme Judicial Court Holds Old Nonresident Carry Licensing Scheme Unconstitutional But Upholds New Law

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

MA Supreme Judicial Court Holds Old Nonresident Carry Licensing Scheme Unconstitutional But Upholds New Law

On March 11, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts issued two decisions concerning the Commonwealth’s firearms carry licensing scheme for nonresidents.

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, February 7, 2025

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

Today, the White House announced a new Executive Order to protect and expand the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans. This is the first action taken by President Donald J. Trump to carry through ...

New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds Governor’s “Public Health Emergency” Carry Ban in NRA Challenge

Saturday, March 8, 2025

New Mexico Supreme Court Upholds Governor’s “Public Health Emergency” Carry Ban in NRA Challenge

In 2023, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an executive order declaring gun violence a “public health emergency” and banning the carry of firearms in various locations throughout the state.

New Mexico: Semi-Auto Ban Legislation Held Over in Committee Until Friday

Thursday, March 6, 2025

New Mexico: Semi-Auto Ban Legislation Held Over in Committee Until Friday

Yesterday the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee met to continue discussions on Senate Bill 279 (GoSAFE). The author did not accept the committee substitute to amend the near all-encompassing ban on semi-auto firearms with equally ...

Oregon Court Of Appeals Reverses Lower Court Decision, Lifts Hold on Ballot Measure 114

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Oregon Court Of Appeals Reverses Lower Court Decision, Lifts Hold on Ballot Measure 114

On Wednesday, March 12th, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision that had declared unconstitutional Ballot Measure 114, which imposed a permit-to-purchase scheme and banned the possession of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. ...

Red Flag Laws: The Pop-Tart Gun to Prison Pipeline?

News  

Monday, March 10, 2025

Red Flag Laws: The Pop-Tart Gun to Prison Pipeline?

Several years ago, a seven-year-old boy was suspended from school for chewing his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun and pretending to fire it at his second grade classmates. A school official stated the child ...

New Mexico: Anti-Gun Extremists Introduce Sweeping Gun Ban

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

New Mexico: Anti-Gun Extremists Introduce Sweeping Gun Ban

As they have tried in the past, anti-gun radicals in the New Mexico Senate have introduced Senate Bill 279, the "GOSAFE Act," a near all-encompassing ban on semi-automatic and NFA firearms.

Supreme Court Skeptical About Mexico’s Attempt to Pass Buck to U.S. Gunmakers

News  

Monday, March 10, 2025

Supreme Court Skeptical About Mexico’s Attempt to Pass Buck to U.S. Gunmakers

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case in which the Mexican government is attempting to hold members of the U.S. gun industry financially liable for drug cartel violence south of the border.

New Mexico: Senate Finance Staff Reviewing Semi-Auto Bill

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

New Mexico: Senate Finance Staff Reviewing Semi-Auto Bill

Yesterday, Senate Finance committee posted that their staff is reviewing SB 279 as a part of their Wednesday meeting. While this is not a formal hearing, this could be a decision point on whether Senate ...

Colorado: FOID Bill Passes House Judiciary With More Amendments

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Colorado: FOID Bill Passes House Judiciary With More Amendments

Yesterday, March 11th, Senate Bill 25-003 underwent another transformation during a late-night hearing in the House Judiciary committee, ultimately passing with amendments along a party-line vote. 

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

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.