In a country (and my home state) that is run under the Democrats’ one-party rule, civilians are being caught in the crossfire of soaring crime. Shootings of police officers have increased 63% compared to this time in 2020, and over 100 officers have been shot on duty so far in 2022. Last year, more police officers were killed in the line of duty than in any year since 1995, a 59% increase from 2020. In 2021, over a dozen Democrat-run “blue” cities across America set new homicide records. Defunding and demonizing police has dangerous consequences; crime is soaring.
Instead of addressing these shocking statistics, some of my more “progressive” colleagues continue to call to defund the police, while simultaneously spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on private security. They are benefiting from law and order themselves and leaving the people who voted them into office in danger due to their backward ideologies.
These deadly statistics prove an uptick in serious crime, committed by dangerous individuals and usually committed with illegal or stolen weapons. Unfortunately, President Joe Biden isn’t going after them. He’s turned his attention yet again to law-abiding citizens who wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights. Biden wants the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to ban privately made firearms, so-called “ghost guns.” These are predominantly a hobbyist option and require extensive time, special tooling, and dedication to craftsmanship to make them operate correctly — far more effort than criminals are willing to invest. A review of FBI statistics shows criminals typically steal firearms or get their weapons illegally on the black market. Adding more restrictions on responsible gun owners and hobbyists won’t prevent criminals from breaking the law.
The Biden administration has a record of going after law-abiding citizens instead of dangerous criminals. Last year, his own education secretary colluded with the National School Boards Association to get the FBI to investigate concerned parents who protested at school boards, trying to label them as domestic terrorists. Unfortunately, the record of congressional Democrats isn’t much better. A few weeks ago, they introduced legislation that would target law enforcement and service members as potential domestic terrorists. This is not only deeply offensive to our men and women in uniform, but it would also waste federal law enforcement resources on targeting particular groups rather than the greatest threats to public safety. It also ignores the fact that terrorist incidents are far more likely to be committed against military and law enforcement than committed by military and law enforcement personnel.
The state of California has long had to deal with the fallout of blue-state soft-on-crime policies. Proposition 47 and Proposition 57 have released thousands of hardened criminals back on to our streets, enabling them to commit more crimes. The propositions also reduced penalties for committing crimes, including stealing guns and home invasion robberies. This isn’t something that only big cities have to deal with; recently, in rural Red Bluff, California, police seized enough fentanyl at a single traffic stop to kill up to 16,000 people — more than the entire population of the town. On that day, law enforcement officers saved countless lives, but sadly, they continue to be vilified under this administration’s policies.
Making up new burdensome regulations and going on witch hunts against law-abiding citizens won’t curb crime. Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento need to get serious about locking up criminals and give our law enforcement personnel the resources they need to stop crime.
Rep. Doug LaMalfa represents California’s 1st Congressional District in the House of Representatives.
* Article from: The Washington Examiner
