I get that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson isn’t really that concerned with public safety. He’s more likely to blame Indiana for all of his city’s problems, just like his predecessors have done. However, his latest effort has me shaking my head.
See, his approach to public safety is, like so many others, really about making it look like he’s taking the gun industry to task without having to do anything about the actual source of crime in a city that had more murders than all three major cities in relatively pro-gun Florida.
Let’s look at how this Kabuki theater is taking shape.
We recently reported about a new executive order by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson that will do nothing to reduce violent crime in the murder-prone city, but will have a negative effect on firearm industry members doing business with the city.
Every FFL sale already goes through a federal background check
The executive order is ostensibly designed to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent only on firearm vendors that demonstrate strong legal compliance and responsible business practices. The truth is, however, all firearms dealers do just that. Licensed dealers are required to run a federal background check before legally transferring a firearm to a purchaser.
If the purchaser passes the background check, he or she has been verified by the federal government as meeting the criteria for legally purchasing a firearm. Thus, every sale by an FFL is a legal, responsible one — a fact that is proven by the background check.
In other words, his executive order is designed to make it look like Chicago is taking extra steps to make sure that whatever company lands what is sure to be a lucrative contract to provide firearms to the Chicago Police Department meets certain standards for obeying the law.
But the thing is, they all do. Every single one of them. If they don’t, they get a nasty visit from the ATF, and they don’t stay in business long.
That’s especially true of those who are in a position to win a contract with a major city’s police department.
The problem is, though, that as noted in the above-linked piece, police departments don’t pick a gun out of a hat. They don’t just pick the lowest bidder, either. They test guns extensively to determine which one fits the department’s needs best.
But Johnson wants the city to ignore that, and instead pick whichever company is more politically compliant. That might not be the best gun for the job. It might not even be a particularly reliable firearm.
For example, we’ve documented the issues with the Sig P320. Yet what if Sig is the one to toe the line well enough for Johnson, and he demands the department buy a handgun that’s known to discharge on its own?
What if the only company that seems to play nice is Heckler & Koch? Those are expensive guns, which means there may be fewer bought, creating a shortage of firearms when weapons go down through wear and tear?
Look, it might not be an issue in the long run, but it’s still remarkably stupid, especially since every handgun sold in a gun store undergoes the NICS process. If it doesn’t, it’s the dealer who is at fault, not the manufacturer. They don’t sell to the public except through their websites, and all of those guns go to FFLs who conduct the NICS review.
So, like I said, it’s Kabuki theater.
But it’s a dangerous Kabuki theater.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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