ABC News is reporting that “At least four major U.S. cities were reeling from an onslaught of mass shootings over the weekend that left at least 38 people wounded, six dead and police officials alarmed that the surge in gun violence is a prelude to a bloody summer.”
But is there more to the story, which mentions Austin, Cleveland, Chicago and Savannah?
What about the politics of the people running those cities? Liberty Park Press checked. All four have Democrat mayors. In Cleveland, Mayor Frank Jackson has already announced he will not seek another term.
Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek was quoted by WOIO News noting, “Gun confiscations are up 120%, and we are ten more homicides (as of yesterday) ahead of where we were last year –and last year, we were on our way to set a record number of homicides. It’s not acceptable.”
According to ABC News, “Austin Mayor Steve Adler tweeted that the mass-casualty shooting occurred even as police initiated multiple violence prevention programs intended to combat a recent increase in shootings in the Texas capital city.
“But this crisis requires a broader, coordinated response from all levels of government,” Adler said. “One thing is clear – greater access to firearms does not equal greater public safety.”
Last week in Orlando, Joe Biden was in town to observe the fifth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, during which he declared, “It is long past time we close the loopholes that allow gun buyers to bypass background checks in this country, and the Senate should start by passing the three House-passed bills which would do exactly that.”
But the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is firing back at Biden.
“Joe Biden told reporters it is time to close loopholes that allow gun buyers to bypass background checks, but it is well-documented that the Orlando mass killer had passed background checks when he legally purchased the rifle and pistol used in the attack,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Biden was either stupid, or intellectually dishonest with his remarks, and I’m livid the establishment media omitted this key fact in its reporting.”
The shooting was declared an act of terrorism and a hate crime. The killer not only passed the checks, but in Florida there is a three-day waiting period on a handgun purchase.
“This is the kind of flagrant disregard for the facts that gun owners have to deal with constantly,” Gottlieb added. “Biden wants Congress to adopt so-called ‘reforms,’ without acknowledging that when these decisions are made on Capitol Hill, they affect individual rights and freedoms, and the results can be disastrous for law-abiding citizens who had absolutely nothing to do with the Pulse shooting or any other crime.”
Violent crime is also up in Seattle, Portland and other West Coast cities where mayors are predominantly Democrat and support stricter gun control laws.