Washington, D.C., Once Again Graphically Illustrates The Failure Of Gun Control

Washington, D.C.’s ban on handguns and on using guns for protection at home exists throughout the entire city.  Now, so does the fear of violent crime.  In the American city with the most restrictive “gun control” laws, a “crime emergency” has been declared, following 13 murders in only 11 days, as well as a spike in robberies and assaults.  D.C.’s police chief, Charles Ramsey, issued the declaration on July 11, the third time he has done so in the last four years.

“It used to be almost 80 percent of criminals, if not higher, were arrested in areas near where they live,” Chief Ramsey said. “Now we’re starting to see a trend where more and more people are being arrested in places they do not live in.”  In a recent, highly publicized crime of this type, a British man had his throat cut and his woman companion was nearly raped in D.C.’s affluent, trendy, and usually peaceful Georgetown neighborhood.  The main suspects in the murder, both from other neighborhoods, have criminal records, one for armed robbery and a drug charge, the other for drug offense and probation violation, and both are suspected of committing at least two robberies in Georgetown in recent weeks.  Even the Washington Mall, a popular location for people touring the city’s historic landmarks, has been plagued by crime recently.  After a rash of robberies in May, a new string of robberies has begun around the Washington Monument.

D.C.’s delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D), has called for increased patrols in the Mall area.  But we won’t hold our breath waiting for her to join NRA in calling for repeal of the city’s anti-gun, anti-self-defense laws.  Holmes-Norton is one of the chief obstructionists to that long overdue reform.

Please be sure to contact your U.S. Senators and Representative and ask them to cosponsor and support S. 1082 and H.R. 1288-- the Senate and House versions of the “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act”-- and restore the constitutionally-guaranteed Second Amendment rights of the residents of the District of Columbia.  You can call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, or your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121.