Homicides in Los Angeles are Surging
Jose Nino
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Cam Edwards of Bearing Arms reported that there were more 300 homicides in Los Angeles in 2020. This figure represented the largest increase since 2009. Even worse, the city is on track to surpass these numbers in 2021, as murders continue occuring at a higher rate.
Los Angeles Magazine reported:
In the first four months of 2021, the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center has seen a nearly 87 percent increase in the number of patients experiencing “penetrating trauma,” such as gunshots and stabbings, over the same period in 2020, and that’s only one indicator of an alarming trend, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Data from the Los Angeles Police Department shows that 465 people were shot in the city between January 1 and May 1 this year, a 67 percent jump over 2020, while homicides had already hit 115 on Sunday, an increase of more than 26 percent compared to this time last year.
The news is equally grim in the surrounding areas. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department reports that homicides in its jurisdiction rose by more than 113 percent in the first three months of 2021, with 64 people murdered, up from 30 killed last year. In that time, aggravated assaults with guns have risen by 82 percent, with 465 victims over 255 in 2020.
In the L.A. Mag report, police blamed the increased violence on “gang activity and the easy availability of guns.
However, Edwards highlighted some facets of California’s gun laws that make it difficult for lawful individuals to acquire firearms, while criminals obviously skirt those laws:
If someone wants to get a gun legally in Los Angeles, they have to go through a background check and a ten day waiting period. If they want to legally purchase ammunition they have to go through an additional background check, and it’s against the law for them to purchase ammo from out-of-state to bring back to California.
All legally owned firearms must be registered with the state, and including DIY and home-built firearms… you know, those dastardly “ghost guns.” And in order to legally carry a firearm in Los Angeles, you have to obtain a concealed carry permit, of which there are only a few hundred in all of Los Angeles.
If criminals can get their guns so easily, the same can’t be said for law-abiding citizens who would like to keep and bear arms for self-defense.
It’s unlikely that LA’s elected officials will understand why gun control doesn’t work to deter crime, which will be followed up with even more gun control. To make matters worse, there will likely be soft on crime policies implemented that serve to further destabilize the city.
LA is just a microcosm of the instability major urban centers nationwide are beginning to experience. Many residents who have the means to do so should consider leaving for saner political climes. Sadly, many of these cities won’t be reforming themselves anytime soon.
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