Chicago Mayor Blames Guns, Coronavirus For Spike In Violence

Apparently the mayor has never heard that guns don’t kill people, people do.

“Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, had an odd explanation for the gun violence gripping the city Sunday, suggesting that lax gun laws and coronavirus-related lockdowns were largely to blame for the spike in shootings, which has left at least four children dead and dozens of Chicago residents wounded.

Speaking to a press conference, Lightfoot said the violence problem is “complicated,” according to the Washington Examiner.

“That’s a complicated question,” Lightfoot told media. “We have way too many guns on the streets.”

RELATED: 73 Shot In Chicago – 13 Killed Including 7-Year-Old Girl

“Lightfoot also suggested that the coronavirus shutdowns that kept people inside for months played a role in creating a ‘perfect storm’ while also pointing out the death of George Floyd as an event that sparked anger in the community,” the Examiner reported.

That “perfect storm” is responsible for a nearly record-breaking streak of violence in the city. As of late June, “329 people have been killed in Chicago, an increase of about 34% from the 246 homicides during the same period last year, according to police. Shootings in that period rose by about 42%, from 978 in 2019 to 1,384 in 2020,” NBC Chicago reports. Crime, overall, is down by 9%.

There have been only five days in July, but already this month 84 people have been shot and wounded in the city, and 18 have been shot and killed. In just the last three weeks, several children have been murdered by gun violence, one as young as a year old.

Although the Chicago city government pledged to put 1,200 additional officers on the streets through the Fourth of July holiday, at least 16 people were killed – including a 7-year-old girl who was celebrating the holiday at her grandmother’s house on the city’s south side – and 63 were wounded. Two incidents of gun violence had more than eight victims, making them “mass shootings.”

Lightfoot responded to the weekend’s violence on social media.

“Tonight, a 7-year-old girl in Austin joined a list of teenagers and children whose hopes and dreams were ended by the barrel of a gun,” she tweeted Sunday. “We cannot grow numb to this. We are making progress in slowing shootings, but we have to do better, every single one of us.”

Chicago residents are not strictly prohibited from owning guns, but Illinois requires each gun owner to submit to an intensive background check and obtain a Firearm Owners Identification (or FOID) card before purchasing their first gun. The state prohibits open carry (and concealed carry, in many circumstances), and there are tight restrictions on gun sales in the city.

Neighboring states, like Indiana and Wisconsin, have looser gun laws, and authorities are typically quick to blame a lack of federal oversight in weapons trafficking for the continued gun violence problem inside the city of Chicago. Part of the issue may also lie with the Cook County States Attorney, Kim Foxx, whose “bail reform” program has seen violent offenders returned to the streets quickly, often in as little as 24 hours after being arrested, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Jeff Rainforth is the photographer & news editor for Airman Kolfage’s We Build the Wall, Inc.
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About Jeff Rainforth 580 Articles
Jeff covers border news in the US and has traveled around the world documenting the border walls and counter-terrorism efforts of other countries. He runs the Rainforth Report on Substack. In 2022 Jeff embarked on a border crisis tour, documenting cartel trafficking of drugs and humans. The year before he was contracted to film on the border with Ben Bergquam of America's Voice News and also for Women Fighting for America. Jeff was the videographer for the March for Trump bus tour which crossed the country twice and ended on January 6th, 2021 in DC at the Capitol. He filmed the events that took place at the Capitol Building. Jeff was the videographer and news editor for We Build the Wall, the organization founded by triple-amputee vet hero Brian Kolfage. He was the sole photographer allowed to be on site to document the construction of the first ever privately built border wall. Jeff has worked on Kolfage's projects since 2015. Steve Bannon sent Jeff to embed with the Hong Kong protesters, covering their fight for freedom against the Chinese Communist Party, and regularly films inside of riots in Democrat-run cities in the United States. Bannon also sent Jeff to film for a documentary on border walls in mainland China as COVID was about to emerge from the country. Bannon and Kolfage then sent Jeff to film walls and counter-terrorism efforts in Thailand, Malaysia, Israel by the Gaza Strip, Hungary & Serbia, France, Spain, and north Africa. As of 2022 Jeff is an editor at Populist Press and other news sites. Jeff did a special 2nd Amendment project for Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill who killed Bin Laden, and he was the national rally organizer to free Marine Sgt. Tahmooressi from the Mexican prison. He is chairman emeritus of Ross Perot’s Reform Party of California, and a former candidate for governor. He wrote for former war correspondent & Breitbart contributor, Pat Dollard, and headed up his 30-person research team. Mr. Rainforth also wrote for the Wayne Dupree Show. Jeff is a two-time nominee for the prestigious Blog Bash Award for best activism for organizing the national movement to form a select committee on Benghazi, and for his role as the national rally organizer to free Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi from Mexican imprisonment. Jeff appears in Sgt. Tahmooressi's mother's book, "When Light Prevails."

1 Comment

  1. a spike in trouble its been like this for years and nobody does anything its not the guns its the crooks behind the guns who do u think believes u not one damn person should have more cops stand down go for a record

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