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June 18, 2020
By Mark Chestnut
The disturbing trend of many Democrat politicians calling for defunding police while in the next breath calling for more restrictive gun-control laws is a two-edged sword that is most likely to negatively affect law-abiding Americans and benefit those who make a living committing violent criminal acts.
Yet, that’s exactly what Democrats at the federal level continue to try to shove down the throats of Americans. Even presidential candidate Joe Biden supports a number of anti-gun proposals that are seen by many gun-ban proponents as the answer to all of our country’s problems.
At the same time, the sham of a justice system in many of America’s biggest cities makes life more dangerous for all citizens. Take New York City, for instance. City officials there released prisoners because of COVID-19 concerns with little care for who might become victims of those same prisoners. And the outcome has been about what most of us would have expected.
Recent reports out of the Big Apple indicate that 250 prisoners released from Rikers Island have been rearrested. If you think that’s bad, you haven’t heard anything, yet. Those 250 prisoners have been rearrested 450 times!
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Yes, released because of COVID, these prisoners have committed more crimes, been rearrested, turned back out into society again , committed another crime, rearrested again, ad nauseum . And where is the public apology to those citizens who were victims of those criminals? Don’t look for one to be coming anytime soon.
A similar situation in California saw Orange County officials release seven “high-risk” sex offenders because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Six of the seven were rearrested within a month, at least one for another sex crime. That man’s previous convictions included child molestation, indecent exposure, assault, battery, criminal threats and inflicting injury on an elder adult. Since 2017, he had violated his parole five times.
Combine situations like those with the current police nonresponse in Atlanta and other places , and you see how law-abiding citizens are more vulnerable to violent crime than they were even a few months ago.
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Fact is, the right to keep and bear arms as protected by the U.S. Constitution is more important to Americans—all Americans, regardless of color—than it ever has been before. As riots become more violent and police quit (who could blame them?), become more timid or refuse to respond altogether, this is certainly no time for anti-gun politicians and gun-ban groups to further erode the Second Amendment.
Are there some police reforms that are needed in today’s highly charged environment? Of course, and all cities should be exploring different options to see what might work and what will be ineffective. There are some bad cops just like there are bad people in every type of profession. But giving all police officers—even the great, caring ones that are far more common than the few bad apples—the boot is not the answer.
Freelance writer and editor Mark Chesnut is the owner/editorial director at Red Setter Communications LLC. An avid hunter, shooter and political observer, he has been covering Second Amendment issues and politics on a near-daily basis for the past 20 years.
