CHICAGO, April 22, 2008
Shock Over Chicago Student Gun Deaths
In This School Year Alone, 24 Students Were Killed, Leaving City Rattled To The Core
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Chicago Murders Skyrocket
Angry parents decry lack of action after 13 students were shot in one weekend in Chicago. The wave of gun violence is stirring issues of class and race, reports Cynthia Bowers.
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Chicago youth mourn for a friend killed in the surge of gun violence there. (CBS)
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"You can't go nowhere without being shot," said Juston Gant. "It's crazy."
Since September, 24 students have been murdered, most of them shot.
The dead amount to a classroom of kids. Among them, 10-year-old Arthur Jones, who was on his way to buy candy when he got caught in gang crossfire. As did 15-year-old Miguel Pedro, who went out for ice cream and never came back.
Last school year 34 students were killed. That's 58 deaths over what amounts to a 17-month period. And that makes an average of one child getting murdered every eight days.
In a city where handguns are already banned, Stop The Violence rallies have had little impact and the mayor's calls for stricter gun laws have fallen on deaf ears.
"Why is America turning its back on its children when it comes to gun violence?" said Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. "It's that simple."
Ron and Annette Holt blame the apathy on the majority of people assuming this will never happen to their kids, because most of the victims are poor and black.
"Reporters always say 'gang-related.' I'm so sick of hearing that word, 'gang-related.' Say the perpetrator was gang-related, not the person shot," said Annette Holt, who lost her 16-year-old son. "The person shot was a good child."
Like their son Blair, the only child of a police officer and fire captain planning to go to college to study business and music.
His future was cut short last May when a teenage gunman looking for a rival gang member opened fire on a crowded city bus.
"Nothing's ever the same," Holt said.
"Part of you dies?" Bowers asked.
"Oh my God, a big part. It's like you die with your child," she said.
These days the only thing that keeps them going is their mission to let Americans know every child deserves to be safe.
Blair's father, Ron Holt, said: "This affects every culture, everyone - black, white - no matter where it happens. Gun violence is gun violence."
It's not just about guns, many say. It's more about poverty, lack of education and absentee parents who've lost control of their children.
"Your duties are to take care of your child, know what your child is doing and make sure he's heading in the right direction," said Willie Williams, who also lost a 17-year-old son.
Until then, these kids remain potential targets believing no amount of police protection can truly keep them safe.
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See all 128 Commentsoh here we go, the mayor says we need more laws on guns. and yet handguns are already banned. so why doesn''''t he ENFORCE the ones he has got instead of just passing more that still wont take the guns out of the gangbangers nor solve the lets kill em mentality,, get a family for support, and hold the shooters accountable. thanks
Posted by scaredbygov
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Its no different than drinking/driving laws .. lowering the blood alcohol level didn''t reduce deaths or accidents because the people that are going to get drunk and drive are going to do so whether the BA level is .08 or .18 ... the lower BA level does what banning more guns does .. create criminals out of otherwise law abiding people.
Someone can call the police, tell them where an illegal/improperly stored gun can be found.
If the police find the gun as stated, they charge the gun owner $800 and take the gun (no other action is taken). The snitch gets paid ~$500 for the information, but is able (somehow) to keep his/her identity secret (even from the police).
This way inner city grandmothers can snitch out their gang-member grandsons without fear of being hurt, of losing their grandsons.
Prohibition kills. Always has, always will!
www.leap.cc
"When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns."
afraid to walk in your own backyard
volunteer for a combat zone
its safer there than your streets back home
The "father" of the baby disappears after the girl gets pregnant. Baby grows up to be just another thug/gangster spreading mayhem & misery.
Birth control, people. I know it''s a crazy idea but think about. Have all the s e x you want. But protect yourself, girls. Figure out how to use a condom, gents. Can you say "birth control"?
Most inner city public school systems are awful with a capital "A". Being mayor of a Northeastern city is a thankless job. A long list of very old poblems. No money.
You can ban handguns til the cows come home. Won''t stop gun violence in the city. Most of the people that are shooting these kids are gang members. They don''t care if they live or die.
People who take the time to register a gun & do everything legally are not the ones you need to worry about. How many NRA members are in prison for murder?
People making t-shirts when these kids die. "God needed another angel." Uh huh. No point in blaming the police or politicians. But they do. Look at yourselves. You raised these kids.
It''s not the KKK or skinheads killing black people. It''s young black men killing other young black men over the drug trade & gang issues. And anyone else who is caught in the crossfire.
candles will fix everything.
Posted by cyberus at 09:43 PM : Apr 22, 2008
Exactly!!
candles will fix everything.
Posted by usmcvn2 at 04:42 AM : Apr 23, 2008"
And debating about gun control is not fixing the problem either. Face it, there has been more concern recently (politicial, media, everything) about stopping the violence in Baghdad than stopping the violence in Chicago. As long as everyone is apathetic, it will not improve.
Posted by Keithle1 at 04:15 AM
Great post.
Sadly, no one is listening to you.
Today there are millions of little Al Capone-like thugs running around fighting turf wars and shooting at each other all while making billions of dollars from selling illegal drugs on the black market.
Drug prohibition just like alcohol prohibition causes much more crime and violence.
Blaming guns will never solve the problem and will only place responsibility on inanimate objects rather than the dangerous criminals!
Killers prefer defenseless victims.
That''s all the gun-hating extremists seem to rely on to support their gun banning agenda.
You can blame guns, or knives, or any other tool you want, it will never address the real causes of why some people are choosing to harm themselves and others.
And remember,
criminals love defenseless victims!
That''s the first thing - put people to death? You do know many kids have no solution but to join a gang. Nobody is coming with open arms to help them in a good way. I do a lot of volunteer work and there is a boy who was forced to be in a gang or else he would have been the victim of the gang. He didn''t want to do it. He was on 13 at the time. His parents could care less about the death penalty as they were already killing themselves with drugs. Who outside of the bad influences were there to help him? Teenagers are NOTORIOUS for making bad decisions and without guidance that is what many do. There are a few of us who are trying to help, but I see often a lot of people making comments on message boards that are helping nobody.
Offering the death penalty is not prevention. Something has to happen before you can offer the death penalty (the child joins a gang, the child kills somebody, etc.). IT IS TIME THAT WE WORK ON PREVENTION. Children are growing up in circumstances that we would find unsuitable for dogs. Yet, nobody does anything UNTIL the kid does something wrong!!!!
America is not turning its back on its children - Chicago is.
Chicago needs to fix their family value, education system and get a handle on their gang violence problem which stems from the other two and stop trying to represent a state problem into some nationwide gun issue.
Guns are readily available in other states yet those other states (DC aside) don''t have Chicago''s symptoms.
"It''s that simple."
The arguments of pro-gun advocates have been proven again in Australia: Less guns, more crime. These reasons have been explained over and over again to lawmakers, only to be thrown aside during times of national mourning for political correctness. The governments of the Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and dozens of other countries have violated countless rights of their people. To them, it was merely a convenient response to tragedy. The result of these restrictions is more killings, more rapes and more crimes.
It''s that simple because it is stupid.
This is not a Chicago problem. This is a problem in most cities. This also has gotten worse due to Bush''s tax cuts. While the rich person can now buy a third yacht the tax cuts that made it possible are meaning that many cities are having to cut back on police officers.
Its not really that simple. But you are absolutely dead on with the solution.
The US has continued to ignore innercity problems for ages. Education in these areas is substandard, poverty is an endless cycle and jail time doesn''t seem to have any affect as recidivism is around 60%(?). Many decent hard working people live in these areas and are given little opportunity to make a better life for their children. It has created decades of anti-social behavior.
Banning guns creates an environment controlled by criminals. I don''t own a gun and don''t have a desire to but you can bet if I found myself having to fear for the life of my child I would be livid if I was told I couldn''t protect myself.
"Gang related'' shuld exclude or distinguish the victim apart from the gang. And, YES - we do have too many absentee parents or those who refuse to accept their responsibility as parents.
When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns!
Criminals love it when they have an entire city full of defenseless victims.
A-HUMAN-RIGHT.com
Well I got news for you, sometimes people never make life changing decisions until somebody OFFENDS them.
Then we have churches like that of Mr. Obama''s arise who don%u2019t DARE preach about "sin", but instead convince the poor that their problems are caused by the rich and Washington %u2013 That is no church of God, that has become a place of whining and belly aching instead of a house of worship%u2026 And they wonder why there%u2019s blood running in the streets %u2013 Oh Please !
Chicago - You toss GOD out of your day to day lives, you think the answer to every problem is new laws and taxes and gun laws. How about this? Take you and kids to a BIBLE teaching church (if there are any left in that town LOL).. And put into PRACTICE what they teach you.... and watch the violence drop to almost zero there.
But let me guess... It''s Bush''s fault right. Oh get over it! Spend some time with your kids and they wont be cruising the street blowing people''s heads off.
You might have a bit of an anger problem sbllake63.
My kids don''t even own guns. And they won''t leave me alone. They want to call me all the time and come home to visit on Mothers Day- I just can''t believe that those educated, good productive citizens still want to have a relationship with their Mommy! I thought my job was over but nooooo they won''t leave me alone!!! Truly it can''t be because I love them and tell them and raised them well enough to let them go.
Get over yourself Mr. 25 years in Chicago- that alone does not make you an expert. You really need to look at how long this problem has existed. It does create anti-social behavior. That isn''t fixed overnight.
After nearly four decades of fueling the U.S. policy of a war on drugs with over a trillion tax dollars and 37 million arrests for nonviolent drug offenses, our confined population has quadrupled making building prisons the fastest growing industry in the United States. More than 2.2 million of our citizens are currently incarcerated and every year we arrest an additional 1.9 million more guaranteeing those prisons will be bursting at their seams. Every year we choose to continue this war will cost U.S. taxpayers another 69 billion dollars. Despite all the lives we have destroyed and all the money so ill spent, today illicit drugs are cheaper, more potent, and far easier to get than they were 35 years ago at the beginning of the war on drugs. Meanwhile, people continue dying in our streets while drug barons and terrorists continue to grow richer than ever before. We would suggest that this scenario must be the very definition of a failed public policy. This madness must cease!
www.LEAP.cc
Sory, I grwe up and was edjmacated in Detroit.
LOL- I was homeshcooled in ilinoy. Nope I wnet to publik shcool but I lernt alott
Guns are already ILLEGAL in Chicago!
Of course, criminals prefer defenseless victims.
banning guns makes innocent people fear for their lives- and it leaves an imbalance. Criminals will buy guns whether they are banned or not. It would seem that law abiding people would be less likely to do so.
really taxing our local school distict. Lack of taxes, 2-3 familys living in single family homes. Maybe if we could send the 20 million illegals back to where they came from there would be more jobs for the "intercity" youth. (After school of course) Or even the kids around here, Fox Lake area.
How can such a simple concept be so hard for some people to understand?
%u201CIn 1999 Tony Martin, a 55-year-old Norfolk farmer living alone in a shabby farmhouse, awakened to the sound of breaking glass as two burglars, both with long criminal records, burst into his home. He had been robbed six times before, and his village, like 70 percent of rural English communities, had no police presence. He sneaked downstairs with a shotgun and shot at the intruders. Martin received life in prison for killing one burglar, 10 years for wounding the second, and a year for having an unregistered shotgun. The wounded burglar, having served 18 months of a three-year sentence, is now free and has been granted 5,000 of legal assistance to sue Martin.%u201D
BTW Missy I once found a site that showed a 40% drop in Australia''s crime rate after their law was established. I''ll repost the reference when I find it again.
"The Home Office figures - which exclude crimes involving air weapons - show the number of deaths and injuries caused by gun attacks in England and Wales soared from 864 in 1998-99 to 3,821 in 2005-06. That means that more than 10 people are injured or killed in a gun attack every day...."
%u201CIn 1999 Tony Martin, a 55-year-old Norfolk farmer living alone in a shabby farmhouse, awakened to the sound of breaking glass as two burglars, both with long criminal records, burst into his home. He had been robbed six times before, and his village, like 70 percent of rural English communities, had no police presence. He sneaked downstairs with a shotgun and shot at the intruders. Martin received life in prison for killing one burglar, 10 years for wounding the second, and a year for having an unregistered shotgun. The wounded burglar, having served 18 months of a three-year sentence, is now free and has been granted 5,000 of legal assistance to sue Martin.%u201D
Posted by MISSY_PITHY
If you bothered to find the whole story rather than the NRA''s edited highlights you''d find that the criminal was a) unarmed, b) safely chased out of the house by the farmer and c) shot in the back while running away. How would that scenario play out in this country? (and by this country I don''t mean Florida or Texas).
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