HALF OF 2015 MURDER INCREASES CAME FROM THREE CITIES



By Chuck Baldwin

April 28, 2016

NewsWithViews.com

A recent study by the Brennan Center for Justice shows that more than half of all of the murder increases in the United States were centered in just three cities: Baltimore, Maryland; Chicago, Illinois; and Washington, D.C. That’s an incredible statistic when you stop and think about it. Over half of U.S. murder increases came from just three cities.

During 2015, there were 344 homicides in Baltimore, 465 in Chicago, and 162 in D.C.

Of course, the Brennan Center report mostly blames “economic factors” for the increase in murders in these cities: “These serious increases seem to be localized, rather than part of a national pandemic, suggesting that community conditions remain the major factor. Notably, these three cities all seem to have falling populations, higher poverty rates, and higher unemployment than the national average. This implies that economic deterioration of these cities could be a contributor to murder increases.”

The report confirms that “crime rates remain at historic lows nationally, despite recent upticks in a handful of cities.”

See the report.

In other words, take out the huge spike in crime in America’s major cities, especially Baltimore, Chicago, and D.C., and the national crime rate would barely be a proverbial “blip” on the radar screen.

Besides falling populations, higher poverty rates, and higher unemployment, what else do these three cities have in common? You know the answer: STRICT GUN CONTROL.

Baltimore has an “assault weapons” ban, as does the entire State of Maryland. Chicago and the District of Columbia do too.

Writing for Breitbart.com, AWR Hawkins notes, “Chicago has a ‘violence tax’ that raises the price of every gun sold at retail in the city, and DC has a registration program which is broken down into six steps and requires more than a full page of explanation from the Metropolitan Police Department. The steps include multiple paragraph explanations for satisfying gun safety requirements, certifying that you are not legally blind, and paying a total of $94 to the DC Treasurer, none of which will impact or hinder criminals in the least.

“So the gun control in all three cities continue, even though the extra murders there were so high in 2015 that they represent more than half the overall increase in murders in the U.S.”

Overall, the gun-control laws in these three cities are among the strictest in the nation. Obviously, the criminals in those cities paid those laws no heed. DUH!

The unreported part of this story is the fact that nationwide (with the exception of a handful of radical anti-gun states such as Maryland, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, etc.) more and more states are recognizing a citizen’s right to keep AND BEAR arms, which is the primary reason why the national crime rate is falling like a rock.

More Americans are armed in their everyday lives today than at any time in modern memory. And that trend is increasing exponentially. 2015 set an all-time record (previous record being set in 2014, and the record before that being set in 2013, etc.) in gun sales nationwide. Gun ownership in America is skyrocketing. And more importantly, the numbers of Americans BEARING arms is skyrocketing.

On April 15 of this year, Mississippi became the tenth State to enact a “Constitutional-Carry” law enabling citizens to carry a concealed handgun without having to obtain a permit. The other nine states allowing for “Constitutional Carry” are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

See the report here.

The editors of the above report add: “Over 99% of Montana also enjoys Constitutional Carry.” That’s because 99% of the State of Montana is rural, in which case State law allows for Constitutional Carry. CCW permits are only required for incorporated cities in Montana. (The Montana House and Senate passed a Statewide Constitutional Carry bill during the last legislative session, but it was vetoed by Democratic Governor Steve Bullock. We aim to correct that problem at the polls this November.)

Readers might be surprised to learn that one in twenty adults have a CCW permit in this country. And, again, there is no question whatsoever that this fact is directly proportional to the decrease in crime nationally.

See the report.

The Gun Owners of America has also documented the fact that “Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year--or about 6,850 times a day. This means that each year, firearms are used more than 60 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives.

“Of the 2.5 million self-defense cases, as many as 200,000 are by women defending themselves against sexual abuse.”

See the report here.

The surge in both gun purchases and Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) applications can be largely attributed to women arming themselves. Pistol-packers are no longer just males. More women in America are armed today than at any time in our nation’s history. And as a warning to would-be attackers of women, ladies seem to be more naturally accurate with a handgun than most men. And if you think for a second that a mother would hesitate to defend herself or her children with a deadly weapon, you are dumber than a box of rocks.

Sadly, one of the biggest pro-gun-control blocs across the country is America’s pastors and churches. Not all, thankfully, but far, far too many pastors and churches across America have bought into the gun-control agenda hook, line, and sinker. This is especially true among the country’s megachurches, most of which are located in major cities, of course.

Back in 2013, when President Obama and Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced their nationwide “assault weapons” ban, a host of pastors were telling their parishioners that they had no need to own an “assault weapon” (or any other firearm, for that matter) and that the Bible instructed them to disarm if civil law required it. These pastors repeatedly used verses such as “Thou shalt not kill,” “They that take the sword shall perish with the sword,” etc., to push the gun-control agenda to their congregations. And the vast majority of pastors who were not vocally supporting Obama’s gun-control agenda were absolutely SILENT on the subject.

Thankfully, pro-Second Amendment Republicans AND Democrats rallied against Obama and Feinstein’s bill and it didn’t even make it out of the then Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate. No thanks, however, to a host of pastors and churches.

It was at that point that my constitutional attorney son and I wrote what I believe is a classic treatise on the Biblical Natural Law right and DUTY of men and women to be willing and able to defend themselves. I say it plainly: the right of self-defense is not just a right (as in the Second Amendment); it is a God-ordained DUTY. We have a God-ordained duty to defend ourselves with or without the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment merely recognizes the duty given to us by our Creator.

The title of our book is “To Keep Or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns.”

As the title suggests, the book is written primarily to people who call themselves Christians. It is not so much of a constitutional analysis (which, thankfully, has already been accomplished with countless research) but of a Biblical analysis. Frankly, I am sick and tired of hearing my fellow pastors use the Scriptures (such as the ones referenced above) as justification for gun control or even disarmament. The Bible teaches nothing of the sort.

Therefore, our book is a SCRIPTURAL refutation of gun control and a theological affirmation of man’s Natural and divine right of self-defense. In the book, we take the combined body of scriptural evidence and categorically prove that self-defense is a Natural right given mankind at Creation and a moral duty given mankind by Revealed Law.

For any Christian who is confused about the scriptural teaching on the subject of lawful self-defense or who goes to a church where this issue is not addressed and clarified or who has Christian friends who do not understand the Scripture’s approbation of armed self-defense, this book is MUST-READING (if I do say so myself).

To order our book, “To Keep Or Not To Keep: Why Christians Should Not Give Up Their Guns,” click here.

Nationwide, America’s crime rate is at historic lows because so many more people (including ladies) are arming themselves. Crime rates in America’s major cities are still much higher than in average-sized or smaller communities. And in virtual “gun-free” cities such as Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., the increase of crime (especially homicide) is at historic highs. Again, HALF of the nation’s homicide rate increase in 2015 came from THESE THREE CITIES.

If anything, these three cities prove the lunacy of gun control and the wisdom of America’s Founding Fathers to encapsulate our Creator’s Natural Law principle of self-defense into our Bill of Rights.

P.S. People who are relatively new to firearms often ask for my personal preferences regarding which firearms I like and why. I have put these preferences on a distinct web link, which can be viewed here.

Mind you, I am not a firearms expert, and these are merely my personal preferences and suggestions in order to help people get a head start in understanding the distinctions and nuances of the wide assortment of firearms that are available to the American people today. If anything I suggest is helpful, great. If not, that’s great too. There really is no “best” or “right” choice. Like beauty, the right or best firearm is in the eyes of the beholder. And please remember: no matter what choice you make, you must practice. Whatever firearm you choose is no better or worse than your ability to handle it. I also STRONGLY suggest that people receive training from a professional firearms instructor.