Guns don't kill people, Phila. does

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | Jul. 17, 2007 | John Lott, Maxim Lott

[Condor51]

Philly is more dangerous than Baghdad, it’s truly a ‘quagmire’. We should pull out now and let the local ‘insurgents’ fight it out amongst themselves.

[Plains Drifter]

Amen to your post.

[new cruelty]

I once heard the mayor tell a group of 14 year old boys that the problem with gun violence will not change until THEY decide it is time to make a change. I was surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth. The funny thing about it was that he looked both ways and covered a side of his mouth as if to jokingly make sure no one else heard him say it. Unimpressed, the boys were more concerned about when their youth program was going to get computers.

[NY.SS-Bar9]

THAT was in the Phila. Inquirer?

By John Lott and Maxim Lott

My initial reaction too. Until I looked at the byline. Must have hurt to press the "Enter" key on that one. :o

[subterfuge]

Well in Orlando, where I live, the murder rate has skyrocketed, due in large part to light sentences for repeat offenders. We’re averaging about a murder every day and a half, but the media has stopped reporting on the total numbers here. It’s a tourist destination!

There was a shootout downtown again last night. A couple of weeks ago there was a shootout in broad daylight and a 14 yo innocent bystander got shot.

About the same time a 14 yo girl led police on a high speed chase in a stolen car. It was her SIXTH time getting caught stealing a car.

[Barb4Bush]

You’re right. I’m not an Ed Rendell fan. I never voted for him when I lived in Philadelphia but the city made a huge improvement when he came in after Wilson Goode. I moved to New Jersey while Rendell was Mayor but still went into the city quite frequently. I rarely go into Philadelphia now. It is a cesspool of crime and dirt and there is nowhere in the city that feels safe anymore. I never see any Police on the streets of Center City, even in cars. The tax base of the city has left for the suburbs and I really think the city’s demise is imminent. I still have a few relatives that are living in Philadelphia but I don’t think they’ll be able to stick the high taxes and high crime rate much longer.

[paul51]

BUMP

[subterfuge]

Street has told the cops and judges to keep off the blacks, regardless of what they do. Time and time again, thats what it boils down to. shhhh. we are not supposed to talk about it. Just let it happen.

The Crime-Stopping-Business doesn't make any money off of gang bangers and "poor" repeat offenders.

[new cruelty]

Well in Orlando, where I live, the murder rate has skyrocketed, due in large part to light sentences for repeat offenders.

Sounds like they got a mickey mouse operation over there.

[abseaman]

I may be wrong, but I think a lot, or most of the New Orleans “thugs” were forced out of Dallas.

I think the drop of 24% just takes the rate back to normal.
Again I could be wrong.

[HOTTIEBOY]

Did a pretty, upperclass, cheerleader type white girl get out of the car when she was caught?

I think its a small percentage of scum doing the crime. They just keep doing it over and over. Why should they stop? There are no consequences.

[Born to Conserve]

Philadelphia is run by ghetto trash and lawyers. To hell with the Mexican border fence — we need a fence around Philadelphia.

[dynachrome]

Good post!

[subterfuge]

Yeah, I think it was a white girl, but not sure about the upperclass part.

It is a small percentage doing the crimes. Heck, we’ve had two cops get shot in shootouts here this year. Both times the orange county sheriff said now he’s “really going to get tough on crime and no more mr. nice guy.”

A friend of mine got shot in his front yard in a drive by. Cops show up and go through their list of who got out of jail recently and sure enough, a known banger type got out just a couple days before and his address listed was only a few blocks away. They picked the perp up in less than an hour and he confessed, saying he actually “meant to shoot someone else” and that it was a case of mistaken identity. He was sentenced to two years for that, out in less, and robbed a bank 2 weeks after getting out.

[JZelle]

You forgot the concert.

[Clemenza]

Well in Orlando, where I live, the murder rate has skyrocketed, due in large part to light sentences for repeat offenders. We’re averaging about a murder every day and a half, but the media has stopped reporting on the total numbers here. It’s a tourist destination! At the risk of being politically incorrect, hasn't Orlando experience a large migration of folks from Puerto Rico? If so, it's the Bronx in the 1960s all over again!

[subterfuge]

Orlando has a huge immigrant population and they list of countries they come from is long. Mainly, Guatamalan, Mexican, Brazilian, Ecuadoran, Chile and other south americans.

[Fishrrman]

The tax base of the city has left for the suburbs and I really think the city's demise is imminent. I still have a few relatives that are living in Philadelphia but I don't think they'll be able to stick the high taxes and high crime rate much longer.

Philadelphia: soon-to-be Detroit on the Northeast Corridor.

Reading some of the previous posts, this sounds like New York during the Dinkins era, and before Giulianni. I was there.

- John

[Clemenza]

Interesting. I did know that Orlando and Kissimmee had become very heavily Hispanic, particularly due to the large influx of folks from PR. Many of the underclass Nuyoricans have been moving down there as well, bringing their gangs with them.

[RockinRight]

Local politicians say they know the source of the problem: the lack of gun control.

Um...no, they DON'T know the source of the problem. The real source of the problem:

Philadelphia is filled with murdering thugs. THAT is the problem. The best solution is just to shoot every one of the bastards in self-defense.