Gun Violence

“Gun Violence in Chicago.”

By: Erik Lopez    



Imagine you are walking down the beautiful streets of Chicago. Or just cruising down the streets at night, while the amazing lights of downtown Chicago is shining down at you. Then bam! The people around you are shot. Or even worse, you are shot. This is gun violence. It could happen to anyone. It could come from gangs, criminals, or even from police intervention. Thousands of people are distraught from this problem. They protest against the C.P.D day and night. Though the Police dept. are just as frustrated as the citizens are. What seems to be the source of this gun violence?

                Statistics



Why is this important? Considering the fact it can happen to you or one of your loved ones. Gun Violence is a problem and it’s growing rapidly. According to the Brady Campaign, a campaign that is trying to find solutions to gun violence, “Every day,  48 children and teens are shot in murder, assaults, suicides attempts, Unintentional shootings, and police intervention.” This quote explains the number of kids and teens that are killed just in Chicago due to gun violence. Unfortunately that's only in Chicago , according to the article, “ Every day,  306 people in America are shot in murders,assaults, suicides and  suicides attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention.” This quote explains the vast majority of people that shot and killed due to gun violence. Wait, how do people get guns anyways?


Illinois is one of the toughest, if not the toughest state to get a hold of a firearm. Due to the amount of gun violence occurring in Illinois currently. But you may ask yourself, Why is there still gun violence? The reason why is because people get their firearms from surrounding states such as Indiana. Indiana’s gun regulations are more of a quick cinch compared to Illinois. People just go there instead of the gun shops here found in Illinois. More and more guns are flowing to the streets of Chicago due to this. According to WYCC PBS Chicago, “Chicago PD had confiscated more than 7,600 guns in the past year. And cook county had confiscated more than 1,300 guns in the past year also.” And all these guns are from Indiana. (One of the surrounding states of Illinois.) This is increasing at an alarming rate.

Chicago is known to have to most gun violence out of the whole U.S!   According to CNN news, “Chicago has already received 144 homicides and up to 43% over 2015 so far." Although that not all, " ... Chicago has more homicides and shooting than any other cities... In fact some people call the city 'Chiraq'. It draws the side of Chicago's south side and Iraq's war zone." `1`This shows that Chicago draws much attention for gun violence. These quotes explains the dangers that could happen in Chicago. But what are local enforcements doing to solve gun violence?
               

The Proposed Solution

This is called the proposed solution because it’s not guaranteed it would solve this issue. The Chicago police dept. have tried many things to decrease gun violence in Chicago lately, but nothing has work so far. So what the police dept. are currently doing? They are de-policing. Many people had argued for the past years that police officers aren't doing their job. They feel like they are not doing their job to their fullest potential. So the Chicago police dept. had made drastic changes. According to Vice news, “Is Chicago de-policing?”asked the reporter. “It’s a fact, and there are different causes for it. You have to police... appropriate. You do your job, we pay you to do your job, and to serve and protect the community. Do it or else, you don't need to be here.”  The mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, announced that the city would immediately implement changes in the police department. Including a system for increased accountability and changes in officer training. The mayor also fired his police superintendent Garry McCarthy and appointed Eddie Johnson. Do to him having more experience with the streets of Chicago.


Chicago is still known as on the violent cities in the us. We can Change that though. With the help of yours, you can spread the word of gun violence and raise awareness. Help those who can’t control anger and speak to those who need words of inspiration. Chicago put the guns down.