Police Blame Freedom to Carry for Gun Thefts in Kansas City

AmmoLand ^ | January 4, 2022 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

In a recent article aired on National Public Radio affiliate, Kansas City Police were given a platform to blame increasing crime rates on the restoration of Second Amendment rights. One of the first things noted was an increase in the reports of firearms stolen from vehicles in Kansas City, MO. From kcur.com:

In 2021, 613 guns were stolen from vehicles, compared with 498 in 2020, Capt. Sean Hutcheson said in a presentation to the Kansas City Police Board on Dec. 14. Police know the weapons are being used in crimes, he said.

“One of the drivers of our violence in Kansas City is easy access to guns,” Hutcheson said. “And since the early 2000s, a lot of our gun laws in the state have been relaxed. So people are more likely to be carrying guns and especially in their vehicles.”

Hutcheson makes a major jump in logic, asserting, without evidence, that “easy access to guns” is  “One of the drivers of our violence in Kansas City…” There are numerous studies that show mere access to guns is not a driver of illegal violence.

The clearest indicator of illegal violence, murder, is not associated with rates of gun ownership.  This is an attempt to place responsibility on inanimate objects rather than on personal decisions, ethics, and morality.

Missouri law applies to all of Missouri. These problems seem unique to particular areas of Kansas City. There are many areas in Missouri that have high gun ownership (access to guns) and low murder rates. The KCUR article notes where many thefts of guns are taking place:

The hotspots for vehicle thefts are the city’s entertainment districts, Hutcheson said, including Westport, the Power & Light District, the Crossroads District and the 18^th & Vine District.

[Recompennation]

Figures lie and lier figures. Just ask anyone in the UK about Guns and statistics, cooked books.

[centermass_socrates]

Learned this long ago, more patrolling, less bitching.