How many lives would ultimately be saved if we actually kept violent criminals in prison instead of releasing them onto the streets to terrorize America?
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) April 20, 2026
We don't have to live this way. pic.twitter.com/iVyZ119QQP
In a discussion on CNN last August when President Donald Trump ordered the takeover of Washington, D.C. by federal forces, host Abby
Phillip said it is “interesting” and “probably it’s a good thing” that Republicans are now talking about illegal guns on the streets, as for years they rejected calls for stricter gun regulation and insisted the number of firearms on the streets was not the issue in the country’s gun violence.
Phillip also noted the GOP have long hit out at D.C’s stricter gun laws making it harder to legally own a firearm, which Jennings now seems to be supporting.
“Republicans aren’t for illegal guns. Republicans are for responsible gun ownership,” Jennings said.
Frost then asked Jennings if that was the case, why had Trump stripped funding for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which included grants earmarked for local gun-violence prevention. Reuters reported last month that the Trump administration had terminated around $158 million in gun violence prevention grants in Democratic-led cities such as D.C., New York, and Los Angeles.
“Republicans are for legal gun ownership,” Jennings reiterated. “The laws of D.C. have obviously not been enforced to the point where the citizens believe they’re safe.”
Phillip then asked Jennings that if Republicans want fewer
gun laws, how can he advocate for legal gun ownership while opposing as much
regulation on guns.
“A gun becomes illegal when a violent person uses it on another person,” Jennings said.
Making a gun illegal only as it's used on another person is a little late for the children of Shamar Elkins of Shreveport, Louisiana, a National Guard veteran who early on April 19
went to two houses within a short walk of each other, killing eight children – seven of his own – and gravely wounding two women, including the mother of his children. The victims who were fatally shot ranged in age from three to 11, authorities said...
After the shootings, the gunman, identified as 31-year-old Shamar Elkins, stole a car at gunpoint and fled onto a nearby interstate, officials said. Police pursued him into Bossier City, where they exchanged gunfire. Elkins was pronounced dead at the scene, but it remains unclear whether he was shot by police or died by suicide.
The incident is being investigated by ATF and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana and
On April 26, 2026, federal prosecutors charged Charles Ford, 56, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and making a false statement to federal agents, with the firearm and false statement charges relating to the firearm used by Elkins....
Whne law enforcement interviewed the original purchaser, that person identified Ford as the person to whom she'd given it. Ford, a convicted felon not permitted to possess firearms, initially lied to ATF agents about possessing the firearm, claiming he never did. Ford later admitted that he did possess the firearm, claiming that he kept the firearm under his seat. Ford further admitted to believieng that Elkins tookd possession of the firearm.
In the video above, Jennings notes that Elkins had been charged in Louisian in 2019 for illegal use of weapons and carrying a firearm on school property. He pled guilty to (only) the illegal weapons charge while the other charge was dismissed and was placed on probation for 18 months. Jennings remarks
It makes you wonder what if he had gotten a lengthy prison sentence back then instead of leniency from progressive prosecutors. Well, we probably wouldn't be talking about eight dead children today if something different had happened back then. Another example of a criminal justice system that seems to be tilted in favor of the violent instead of the innocent. Living this way is a choice, folks, and we can stop making it any time we want.
"We" can make that decision, though probably neither Jennings nor I knows whether the fault in this case lies with the prosecutor's office of the judge hearing the case in this very conservative, solidly Republican state. (More details would be helpful.) But if we can (re-) create a criminal justice system more concerned with the needs of the innocent rather than of violent offenders, we can also decide to do something with guns.
We can renew an assault weapons ban, which was in place from 1994 to 2014. It was highly effective, perhaps
because assault weapons are semiautomatic firearms designed for rapid fire and combat use, and large-capacity magazines increase the number of rounds that can be fired without reloading. While the gun lobby prevented the ban from being as effective as it could have been and saddled the law with a 10-year sunset provision, the ban did impede the easy access to the type of lethal weaponry that those intent on mass killing have readily available in most of the country today. (Assault weapons are legal in 43 states; large-capacity magazines, commonly understood as ammunition-feeding devices holding more than 10 rounds, are legal in 41.)
Louisiana has no assault weapon restrictions and its gun laws are among the most lenient in the nation. It also has the second highest rate of gun violence in the nation, which is very likely not coincidental. Firearm violence is a problem, of course, not only for Louisiana but for every state, especially those which tolerate it due to worship of guns and a convenient misreading of the Second Amendment. Punishment of the offender is important but so is prevention of firearm violence and that, too, is a choice we can make.
No comments:
Post a Comment