By Sam Hoober, Alien Gear Holsters
The city of Chicago is in so many ways a microcosm of the gun control debate. There is ample gun violence, but a certain cross-section of the population doesn’t want anyone to be able to legally buy and carry guns. A lot of people were opposed to the Illinois concealed carry law, which allowed Chicagoans to carry a concealed firearm for their protection.
2015 was a horrible year in that city, rife with gun violence and murder. 2016 has been even worse.
A few months ago, various media outlets reported that there had been a few thousand people shot in the city of Chicago. Sadly, this news wasn’t shocking; it’s just business as usual. It was also reported that the murder rate was on track to possibly reach 700 murders in that city by the end of the year.
At the time of this writing, slightly more than two weeks before New Year’s Eve, that figure has been eclipsed. To date, there have been at least 4,194 shooting victims in Chicago, and 758 homicides. Of the latter, 680 were homicides by firearm.
The usual predictions of blood in the streets thanks to legal concealed carry did not come true. There is, to be sure, blood running in the streets of Chicago. It isn’t because licensed concealed carriers have turned the city into a shooting gallery; it’s because the criminal element there has. It’s more the case that Illinois concealed carry is an effective crime-fighting tool in that city.
Reports of Chicagoans legally defending themselves have been steadily emerging. In fact, here are three from the past six weeks alone:
On Nov. 9, a, 18-year old man attempted to hold up a store in Gresham, in Chicago’s South Side, according to the Chicago Sun Times, but was shot multiple times by the clerk. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
Just before 1 a.m. on Nov 28, according to DNAinfo, two would-be robbers were shot by a store clerk in West Ridge, on Chicago’s North side. They were taken to area hospitals with non-threatening injuries, and were both arrested along with a third man who may have been acting as the getaway driver. However, that story didn’t have entirely happy news. At around the same time, two women in the same area were held up on the street by two armed robbers. After telling them that they didn’t have any cash, both were shot. Luckily, neither suffered serious wounds.
On Dec. 7, according to NBC Chicago, a liquor store owner was held up at gunpoint in Portage Park, and opened fire on the two robbers. They fled after a brief exchange of gunfire, with cash and other merchandise. Luckily, the owner and clerk of the store was unhurt.
Among so many other examples that have been occurring since the law was passed in 2013.
As 2016 draws to a close, Chicago gun control laws continue to be a failure, as violent crime there surely attests to. The Chicago Police Department deserve credit for doing their best to keep the population safe and locking up the dregs of society when and wherever they can.
Gun control advocates will likely continue to insist that their policies work, despite the palpable evidence in one of the largest cities in America, that they don’t.
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Sam Hoober is Contributing Editor for AlienGearHolsters.com, a subsidiary of Hayden, ID, based Tedder Industries, where he writes about gun accessories, gun safety, open and concealed carry tips. Click here to visit aliengearholsters.com.