Written by Michael Thervil
If you know anything about Chicago, then you should know that gun violence seems to be a part of everyday life there. This past weekend over 34 people were shot, and 3 people killed. Of the 34 people shot, half of them were shot at a Halloween party – which technically is considered a mass shooting. Within hours, after those 15 people were shot at that Halloween party, another man was shot in the back on the west side of Chicago. The next day another person was shot in the neck as they were riding their bike – he died because of his injuries. These are just some of the shooting occurrences that happened around this city of Chicago this past weekend. With all these shootings and more occurring in Chicago, it leads many people around the country and the world to wonder what is going on in Chicago?
Although there isn’t any one true answer to the problem, the one thing that everyone can agree on is that it’s “complicated”. Variables such as racism and segregation, drugs, generally hardened criminals, street gangs, socio-economic disparities, lack of meaningful employment and the shutting out of people who get convicted of crimes from obtaining just about any kind of employment are some things to consider. But even more importantly, could it be that quite honestly that the politicians in Chicago are to blame? Many would say yes but just as many would say no. If you don’t know, Chicago is a city in which there are no gun stores within its city limits – thus all the gun sales are conducted outside of Chicago city limits. But that still doesn’t answer the question of how all these illegally used firearms are being induced into the hands of criminals in the City of Chicago.
Some would say the theft of firearms stems from people not properly securing their firearms in their homes and or leaving their firearms in their cars. There are people that take the position that “straw purchases” allow many of these guns to fall into the wrong hands. But the one claim that we haven’t heard anyone say is the gun trafficking that tends to occur not only in Chicago but across the world. Sure, it’s illegal, but it’s only illegal if you get caught. For instance, in the southern states of the United States you can easily purchase a used Glock pistol for $400 depending on location.
After the purchase is complete, the buyer could simply take a drive to a place like Chicago and sell that same Glock for $1,200 or more. Simply doing the math, if a buyer made 4 used Glock pistol purchases at a price point of $400, they could gross $3,200 or more. The same goes with rifles and shotguns – of course they stand to make more. Once the illegal transaction is complete – then the original buyer of the firearm simply reports the firearms as “stolen” and walks away.
Also, cargo carrying railcars are often hit in Chicago as well, and when there are thieves can get their hands of hundreds of firearms with one report stating that $50,000 in firearms were stolen at one point. So, when things like this occur, gun control laws are not the problem – the problem becomes the simple manufacturing of weapons in America. And when you’re the largest arms manufacturer in the world – it’s inevitable that an extremely high likelihood of issues stemming from firearms will occur. So, with that being said – get used to it America, firearm violence is nothing short but normal and should be expected at any given time every day of the week.
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