As the nation tries to restart the economy, the nationwide death toll is rising rapidly. Deaths in New York City are up 79%; Chicago, up 71%; Los Angeles, up 250%. In Denver, the death rate is reaching historic highs.

These deaths are not due to the coronavirus; these are gun homicides.

On Monday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “It’s impossible to say which factor has which outcome. It’s everything together.” He’s wrong.

The Ferguson riots taught cops that support from elected officials was shallow. Even former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder waded in (but found no wrongdoing). During the 2015 riots, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake threw her cops under the bus, too. Respect for law enforcement fell, and cops grew hesitant to make stops and arrests.

De Blasio’s own NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan simplified it for CNN: “More people not in jail. Rikers Island (jail) in New York is empty.” He said COVID, bail reform and anti-police protests took cops out of the “neighborhoods that needed us most.”

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan prevented cops from defending their own precinct from rioters, ceding a swath of the city that resulted in a 525% spike in crime. 

Thanks to calls for defunding police from politicians like de Blasio, gun sales to lawful citizens are up 48% over last year, with 40% of those to going first-time gun buyers.

For a growing number of thoughtful Americans, preparing to defend yourself isn’t panic; it’s just common sense.

Clay Turner

Colorado Springs

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