Out of Control Gun Violence in Chicago, the Poster City for Gun Control

Halloween weekend was deadly for the city of Chicago, where 17 people were fatally shot and another 42 were wounded between Friday and Monday.

Seven of the victims were under the age of twenty.  

President Obama’s hometown is generally at the top of the charts for murder rate, and the city has some of the strictest gun control laws in the nation. As PB has pointed out many times in the past, removing guns from a society does not make it safer. Such laws leave innocent citizens unarmed and at the mercy of the bad guys. 

“In Chicago, which has the toughest gun laws in the United States, probably you could say by far, they have more gun violence than any other city,” said Donald Trump during the October 19th debate. 

2016 has been a particularly bloody year for the Windy City, and Halloween weekend pushed the number of homicides to the highest point we’ve seen since 2003. The death toll seems to be the combined result of draconian gun laws and gang violence, the latter of which tends to peak in the summer. 

There were 79 homicides during the month of October (more than twice the amount of killings 30 years ago), pushing the total homicide count for 2016 to 653.

More than 3,600 people have suffered gunshot wounds in Chicago this year, and the total number of shooting incidents for 2016 is more than 40% higher than it was in 2015.

Year to Date Stats:

• Shot & Killed: 584

• Shot & Wounded: 3,104

• Total Shot: 3,688 

The weekend’s youngest victim, Demarco Webster Jr., was just 14 years old. He was shot to death at 1:20am on Saturday while helping his father move out of his apartment. 

“I can’t believe it,” said Demarco’s stepfather. “I feel like this is the worst city. I don’t really understand what is really going on. It’s just not safe. But I feel like it’s going on everywhere now. No matter where you go.”