The Homa Files

At least 150 people killed over July 4th weekend.
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According to Forbes reporting of data collated by the Gun Violence Archive :

At least 150 people across the U.S. were killed by gun violence in more than 400 shootings over the Fourth of July weekend

That puts 2021 on track to continue, and exceed, the violent surge that made 2020 the deadliest year of gun violence in decades.

The killings were spread across the country, but concentrated in major metro areas: Chicago and New York.

Source

I find it predictably curious that Forbes — and practically all other mass media outlets — tag the killings as “gun violence” … and not “gang violence”.

While there were certainly some domestic disputes and road rage incidents in the mix, it’s pretty reasonable to conclude that most of murders were gang-related … either direct gang retaliatory strikes or innocents killed by stray gang bullets.

So, why is the gang problem being back-burnered?

I’m going to go out on a limb and assert that gangs are the root cause.  Period.

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How prevalent are gangs?

Well, according to the FBI:

Some 33,000 violent street gangs, motorcycle gangs, and prison gangs are criminally active in the U.S. today.

Many are sophisticated and well organized.

All use violence to control neighborhoods and boost their illegal money-making activities, which include robbery, drug and gun trafficking, prostitution and human trafficking, and fraud.

Drilling down, according to an Attorney General’s Report to Congress on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs:

More than 20,000 gangs consisting of approximately 1 million members exist in the United States.

Gangs are present in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories.

An estimated 70 to 75 gangs with more than 100,000 members reportedly operate within Chicago

Let’s call it like it is: gang violence.. declare these gangs to be   “domestic terrorists” … and target them  with aggressive law enforcement.

Strikes me as a more likely way to combat the rampage of killings.

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P.S. What credibility does the U.S. have lecturing other countries to contain their gangs and cartels if we can’t do it in Chicago?

This entry was posted on July 13, 2021 at 9:00 am and is filed under Gangs - gang violence. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.