<p>We&rsquo;ve seen a sharp increase in gun violence during 2016, but Christmas weekend was especially gruesome for the city of Chicago &#8211; where over 40 people were shot and 11 died.</p>
<p>Obama&rsquo;s hometown is famous for its strict gun laws, and yet the number of homicides in 2016 has surpassed 700 for the first time since the drug wars of the 1990s. This is also a huge jump compared to 2015&rsquo;s murder count of 468. ;</p>
<p>There have been 4,322 shootings in Chicago so far this year, which is up nearly 50% from December of last year. Most of those victims were men under the age of 30; over 700 of them died.</p>
<p>This shockingly high number threatens to top that of New York City and Los Angeles combined. Chicago&rsquo;s death toll &ldquo;is so high that it is skewing national murder figures,&rdquo; reports <em>Breitbart</em>, which raises &ldquo;the overall perception of violence considerably.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The homicide rate for America&rsquo;s 30 largest cities is expected to rise by 14% this year. Chicago accounts for more than 40% of this increase. ;</p>
<p>With Chicago&rsquo;s failed gun control policies making murder rates across the nation appear higher than they actually are, the Democrats have even more ammunition (no pun intended) with which to create harmful and unnecessary gun control laws. ;</p>
<p>In addition to strict gun laws, officials blame the rising violence on:</p>
<p>&bull; Gang activity ;</p>
<p>&bull; Flow of firearms into the city</p>
<p>&bull; Federal failures in prosecuting weapons violations ;</p>
<p>&bull; Unemployment and poverty ;</p>
<p>&bull; Budget cuts affecting programs for the poor  ;</p>
<p>&bull; Lack of leadership ;</p>
<p>Citizens and officials also complain of a mismanaged and racist police force.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Police have no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color,&rdquo; reads a damning task force report issued in April. ;</p>
<p>Retired criminal justice professor Sam Walker points out that failures in the law enforcement system lead to more violence, which leads to increased gun ownership. &ldquo;If police are being ineffective and you have an increase in crime, then the streets get dangerous. Young guys are legitimately fearful for their lives, so they carry a gun.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The growing rift between police and civilians ;makes matters worse, and the Chicago Police Department&rsquo;s success rate in solving murders has dropped to about 30%. ;</p>
<p>Chicago plans to significantly increase its police force by 2018, but the city already has more cops per capita than many of the nation&#8217;s largest cities. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> Crime has gotten worse there since Obama adviser Rahm Emanuel was elected as mayor. If his gun control policies won&#8217;t work in a single city like Chicago, how can they possibly work nationwide?</p>