Mayor Lightfoot Blames Gun Friendly States for Chicago’s Bloodshed

Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) contends the surge in shootings in Chicago is the result of states in the Union that have “virtually no gun control.”

She made this argument on CNN’s State of the Union over the weekend, reviving the Obama-era claims which blamed Indiana and other states for the crime in Chicago, Illinois.

The Hill published video of Lightfoot saying, “Our gun problem is related to the fact that we have too many illegal guns on our streets, 60 percent of which come from states outside of Illinois.”

She added, “We are being inundated with guns from states that have virtually no gun control, no background checks, no ban on assault weapons — that is hurting cities like Chicago.”

While claiming the federal government is “uniquely qualified” to enact certain gun controls, Mayor Lightfoot failed to mention every state has background checks, as those are a federal requirement.

To put it another way, a person purchasing a gun at retail must undergo a background check whether the purchase is being made in California, Kentucky, Florida, South Dakota, Indiana, Wisconsin, or any other state.

Lightfoot also omitted elaboration on Illinois’ Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards, and the failure that system would be experiencing if 60 percent of guns used in crime were coming in and passing hand to hand, with no paper trail, from out of state.

The FOID card system is in place so Illinois law enforcement knows who is allowed to own guns and the card is a prerequisite of possessing a firearm in the state.

Breitbart News reported Obama presented the 60 percent argument in his October 27, 2015, speech to the 122nd annual International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The Indianapolis Star quoted Obama saying: “There are those who criticize any gun safety reforms by pointing to my hometown as an example. The problem with that argument, as the Chicago Police Department will tell you, is that 60 percent of guns recovered in crimes come from out of state. You’ve just got to hop across the border.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.