The Washington Post has claimed that the crimes spike in cities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York are not because of the defund the police movement or embolden criminals after the George Floyd riots. The rise in crime is only because Americans are legally purchasing firearms at a record rate.
According to the Washington Post, legal firearm purchases are a result of racism and that the guns are being purchased so Americans can shoot people on the streets, and that’s why crime has spiked.
“Americans purchased millions more guns than usual this spring, spurred in large part by racial animosity stoked by widespread protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, as well as anxiety over the effects of the covid-19 pandemic.
[…]
Our estimates indicate that almost three million more firearms have been sold since March than would have ordinarily been sold during these months. Half of that increase occurred in June alone. This pattern highlights an important potential consequence that may result from this tumultuous period: more firearms in the hands of private citizens.
Actually, we saw the looting, the violence, and then the police stand down. Americans realized if something happens in their neighborhood…we are on our own.
Naturally, (in WashPo minds) the only way to stop Americans trying to protect themselves is to deem the act of buying firearms racist.
Funny thing is that the Washington Post while claiming racist gun buyers are to blame admit the defunding the police rhetoric was what caused the spike in purchases.
The onset of these protests started another surge in firearm sales, reaching 150,000 per day on June 2 and June 3. The protests faded but, as public discussions about Black Lives Matter and defunding the police persisted, firearm sales remained elevated throughout the month of June.
As a result of these events, firearm sales in June were the highest on record (since data collection began in 1998), with 3.9 million firearms sold. This includes an additional 1.4 million firearms beyond the number that we would normally expect to be sold in June.
I suspect the defund the police movement wasn’t the only issue that created a record number of first-time gun buyers. At first, it was the pandemic back in April (wish feels like a lifetime ago). Next up were violent criminals being released from prison due to coronavirus concerns and then there were the riots.
The left pretty much killed the gun control debate this year after giving the thumbs up to chaos. I can’t wait for Biden to start touting how he’s going to regulate AR-15’s…good luck with that.
