Information to consider
Chicago is not the “Murder Capitol” of the country.
The Pew Research Center reported in November that when adjusting for population, Chicago has recorded fewer murders per capita than many other smaller U.S. cities. Chicago ranked 14th among cities with at least 100,000 people in 2017. FBI statistics released this fall found St. Louis had the highest murder rate in 2017 — 66.1 homicides per 100,000 people. The Pew report said Chicago did have the highest actual number of homicides in the past few years. In 2016, there were 762 homicides. Last year, homicides dropped to 650. As of Dec. 6, there were 534. Pointing to Chicago to suggest that gun laws don't work is not a new talking point — Trump claimed Chicago had "the toughest gun laws in the United States" in a 2016 presidential debate, which is when this myth gained traction. He was, of course, wrong.
Chicago does not have the “toughest gun laws in the country.”
There hasn’t been a ban on handguns in the city limits for more than a decade, despite Trump’s assertions. Illinois is considered to have fairly tight gun laws. The state requires gun owners to obtain licenses and face background checks. It also imposes waiting periods on purchases. But unlike New York and California, Illinois, among other things, does not ban assault weapons or large-capacity magazines and does not require a state license for firearms dealers or one to sell ammunition. Many guns used within Chicago are actually purchased in states with weaker gun laws.
In fact:
60% of firearms recovered in crimes came from states with less regulation over firearms. Indiana accounted for about 1 in 5 of these weapons, followed by Mississippi and Wisconsin. The report says these trends have been consistent over the past decade.
(https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-news-violence-laws-in-state-wire-64e34cffb7db4dc7bf9bcda2ea201ea7
Pew Research Foundation
NPR)
Incidentally: The twenty cities in the United States with the highest murder rates (murders per 100,000 people) are:
1. St. Louis, MO (69.4)
2. Baltimore, MD (51.1)
3. New Orleans, LA (40.6)
4. Detroit, MI (39.7)
5. Cleveland, OH (33.7)
6. Las Vegas, NV (31.4)
7. Kansas City, MO (31.2)
8. Memphis, TN (27.1)
9. Newark, NJ (25.6)
10. Chicago, IL (24)
11. Cincinnati, OH (23.8)
12. Philadelphia, PA (20.2)
13. Milwaukee, WI (20.0)
14. Tulsa, OK (18.6)
15. Pittsburgh, PA (18.4)
16. Indianapolis, IN (17.7)
17. Louisville, KY (17.5)
18. Oakland, CA (17.1)
19. Washington D.C. (17.0)
20. Atlanta, GA (16.7)
(https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/)
And for an interesting read on the efficacy of firearm accessibility (conservatives, you won’t be happy), check out:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.jhsph.edu/sebin/u/c/myths.pdf
The Pew Research Center reported in November that when adjusting for population, Chicago has recorded fewer murders per capita than many other smaller U.S. cities. Chicago ranked 14th among cities with at least 100,000 people in 2017. FBI statistics released this fall found St. Louis had the highest murder rate in 2017 — 66.1 homicides per 100,000 people. The Pew report said Chicago did have the highest actual number of homicides in the past few years. In 2016, there were 762 homicides. Last year, homicides dropped to 650. As of Dec. 6, there were 534. Pointing to Chicago to suggest that gun laws don't work is not a new talking point — Trump claimed Chicago had "the toughest gun laws in the United States" in a 2016 presidential debate, which is when this myth gained traction. He was, of course, wrong.
Chicago does not have the “toughest gun laws in the country.”
There hasn’t been a ban on handguns in the city limits for more than a decade, despite Trump’s assertions. Illinois is considered to have fairly tight gun laws. The state requires gun owners to obtain licenses and face background checks. It also imposes waiting periods on purchases. But unlike New York and California, Illinois, among other things, does not ban assault weapons or large-capacity magazines and does not require a state license for firearms dealers or one to sell ammunition. Many guns used within Chicago are actually purchased in states with weaker gun laws.
In fact:
60% of firearms recovered in crimes came from states with less regulation over firearms. Indiana accounted for about 1 in 5 of these weapons, followed by Mississippi and Wisconsin. The report says these trends have been consistent over the past decade.
(https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-news-violence-laws-in-state-wire-64e34cffb7db4dc7bf9bcda2ea201ea7
Pew Research Foundation
NPR)
Incidentally: The twenty cities in the United States with the highest murder rates (murders per 100,000 people) are:
1. St. Louis, MO (69.4)
2. Baltimore, MD (51.1)
3. New Orleans, LA (40.6)
4. Detroit, MI (39.7)
5. Cleveland, OH (33.7)
6. Las Vegas, NV (31.4)
7. Kansas City, MO (31.2)
8. Memphis, TN (27.1)
9. Newark, NJ (25.6)
10. Chicago, IL (24)
11. Cincinnati, OH (23.8)
12. Philadelphia, PA (20.2)
13. Milwaukee, WI (20.0)
14. Tulsa, OK (18.6)
15. Pittsburgh, PA (18.4)
16. Indianapolis, IN (17.7)
17. Louisville, KY (17.5)
18. Oakland, CA (17.1)
19. Washington D.C. (17.0)
20. Atlanta, GA (16.7)
(https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/)
And for an interesting read on the efficacy of firearm accessibility (conservatives, you won’t be happy), check out:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.jhsph.edu/sebin/u/c/myths.pdf
