A report at Fox News focuses on several instances in recent months when armed Chicago residents have fought back against crime during a time when Chicago police ranks have been shrinking.
It may be indicative of a trend extending far beyond the Windy City, according to reports from across the map. In Florida recently, a homeowner fatally shot a home invader in Lake County. In Connecticut, a shop owner killed one of two robbers, and was, himself, wounded in the incident. A suspected carjacker was shot to death in St. Louis when his intended victim turned out to be armed.
According to the Fox News report, Fox News Digital “analyzed local media reports going back to 2020 and found there have been at least 44 incidents in which people thwarted an attack or crime with a gun who had concealed carry permits (CCW) or an FOID, an Illinois identification card used for gun possession and purchase.”
Anecdotal reports include one involving a licensed woman drew her gun and discouraged a couple of would-be armed robbers after she withdrew cash from an ATM. In another incident, an 80-year-old man shot one of two home invaders. A third incident from last November saw a legally-armed man fatally wound an armed robber at a grocery store, who lived long enough to shoot and kill a clerk in the store.
The story quotes John Lott, founder and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center. He explained increased gun sales as a reaction to increasing crime.
“People realize that the police and law enforcement broadly isn’t being allowed,” he said. “The criminal justice system isn’t being allowed to go and do its job…And the people know that they ultimately have to be responsible for protecting themselves and their families.”
A remark from the woman who drew her gun on the thugs trying to rob her outside of the bank supports Lott’s suggestion.
“Thank God I had my gun,” she told CBS Chicago, “or I’d probably be dead right now.”
The past three years have seen crime skyrocket not just in Chicago but elsewhere. Last year, Portland, Oregon reported 101 homicides, a grim new record, according to the Portland Oregonian. This eclipsed the previous record—set in 2021—of 92 slayings. Whatever the Rose City used to be, it no longer appears to be.
In Detroit, Michigan Radio said 309 people were murdered during 2022, up one from the number killed in 2021. Presently, due to the triple-slaying at Michigan State University earlier this week, Democrats now in control of the Michigan Legislature are talking about adding gun control restrictions.
Chicago citizens are able to fight back thanks to the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in McDonald v. City of Chicago, a case brought by the Second Amendment Foundation and Illinois State Rifle Association. The high court nullified Chicago’s 30-year ban on handguns and incorporated the Second Amendment to the states via the 14th Amendment. Subsequent legal actions including a SAF lawsuit forced the Illinois Legislature to adopt a concealed carry statute, making it possible for Prairie State citizens, including Chicago residents, to get carry permits.
According to the Fox News report, the Windy City logged 695 murders last year, down from the 855 posted in 2021. That year, according to Heyjackass.com, 798 of the murders involved firearms. And last year, Heyjackass.com says the city actually recorded 737 slayings, of which 665 involved guns.
