Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
It should come as no surprise to any reader that the United States is a complete powder keg that’s been smoldering for quite awhile. 2020 was a dumpster fire and the way 2021 is shaping up, we might be dealing with more of the same. The only difference is, after over a full year of political unrest and COVID related lock downs, some might bring their marshmallows to the party and make the best of staring at the flaming refuse.
There are reports all over the country of increased amounts of break-ins and crime in general. Let’s face it, all of the previously mentioned has and does take a toll on the economic status of many Americans. Some jurisdictions are loosening restrictions, allowing people to get back to work. Other areas in the country are touting a 4th wave of corona virus. Many businesses have been permanently shutdown or crippled, adding to joblessness and overall despair. While some are flourishing and rebounding, we as a country are suffering, and some places have decided to add insult to injury.
As reported over at Fox News, major cities are reporting an uptick in both crime in general and murders, in the wake of so-called defuding the police efforts. From the reporting:
Cities such as Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Portland, Ore., and Austin, Texas, have shifted funds from police departments to social services programs. Such cuts have led some departments to lay off officers, cancel recruiting classes or retreat from hiring goals.
As police departments were left to make do with shrunken budgets and less support, some big cities have seen sometimes drastic upticks in murders and other violent crimes, a Fox News crime analysis found.
Some quick and fun stats from the article show a pretty bleak picture:
Between Dec. 11, 2020, and March 28 of this year, murders in the city [Minneapolis] rose 46% – to 19 – compared to the 13 reported during the same time period last year, statistics show.
[From Portland] There were 63 homicide offenses reported from July 2020 through Feb. 2021, but only 17 recorded from July 2019 through Feb. 2020, police data show.
Murders in New York City are up 11.8% year-to-date as of March 21, with 76 reported this year compared to the 68 from 2020, according to NYPD crime statistics.
And for 2021, [Los Angeles’] murders are up 28.3% as of March 13, with 77 killings reported this year to date compared to the 60 reported during the same time in 2020, statistics show. The number of shooting victims nearly doubled, from 157 reported through March 13, 2020, compared to this year’s 303.
As of February 2021, the most recently available data showed there were 11 murders year-to-date in Austin compared to the 10 reported during the same time last year, statistics show. Meanwhile, aggravated assault reports were up 26%, from 415 reported year-to-date in 2020 compared to the 524 so far this year.
That list only focused on the violent crimes and murders in those cities. Overall, property crimes have also skyrocketed. What does this all mean? Well for starters, the defund the police social experiment seems to be a complete failure. If not a failure, certainly implemented during what many would consider perhaps bad timing? The locations cited above all have less than kind views concerning our freedoms and civil liberties. If the defund police movement has proved anything is that we are truly on our own and thus this illustrates the importance of the lawfully armed citizen. The police cannot be everywhere, especially in jurisdictions that are pulling funding from those that swore to serve and protect, and with Supreme Court Cases ruling that the police do not have a duty to protect, what other options are there?
As 2021 fumbles along with more unrest, more lock-downs, more political divides, and more economic stress on the everyday American, lets call to attention the massive calls for freedom-limiting gun control laws that are being introduced in Congress, as well as Executive action being touted by the White House. The freedom limiting gun control schemes/scams are brought to you by the same brain trust that thinks it’s a good idea to re-allocate policing funds. Rather than add to the overall bottom line and supplement what tools jurisdictions have to combat the tough issues like crime and murder, they opted to pull the rug from under the feet of the boys in blue. Then there are some suggest the movement is being used to make up for budget shortfalls in such jurisdictions, riding on the coattails of today’s bump sticker politics.
If you’ve been considering that first firearm purchase or taking that firearm training class, that ship may have set sail with record amounts of demand…However go forth and try to buy and try train, it’s not likely that our major cities are about to change for the better to protect you.
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