Birmingham, Alabama isn’t exactly a small town. At nearly 200,000 people, it’s got some size to it, though it’s not exactly New York. With that size come problems.

One of those problems is violent crime.

A recent drive-by has triggered the mayor there to call for gun control.

As his city reels from the shooting death of a 12-year-old girl, Birmingham’s mayor called again for tougher gun laws.

“…there’s a reasonable, fair expectation that the bed is a very safe place for your child,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said at a press conference Wednesday.

Audriana Pearson, 12, was slain in a drive-by shooting while she was sleeping in her home. She was the city’s 140th homicide victim this year.

“Most families are excited about what’s to come in four days,” said Woodfin. “I think a lot of that will be around anticipation and excitement for their children being able to wake up early in the morning, in their pajamas, to be in a position to open up their gifts, to be able to celebrate and be with their family, but Audriana’s family will not necessarily have that excitement.”

The mayor said he believes tougher gun laws are needed to prevent future deaths like this in his city.

“Both of those tiers of government above municipal government have the power to do something about gun laws and gun laws in the state of Alabama,” he said.” And one is choosing to do the opposite, and the others aren’t doing anything.

He went on to say that if he could, Birmingham would most definitely have gun control.

I get being upset, but being upset doesn’t change the facts of what happened. This young girl shouldn’t have been killed; no one is saying otherwise. However, she was killed in a drive-by. That means this was the result of an action carried out by criminals.

You know, the people who aren’t getting their guns lawfully in the first place? Yeah, them.

I guarantee that if these people are caught, we’re going to find out that the weapons they used turned out to be stolen or bought via a straw buy or something like that. They didn’t pass a NICS background check and fill out a Form 4473. It just didn’t happen.

So, since it’s probable that the shooter or shooters here didn’t get their guns legally, then just what gun control laws would have prevented this poor girl’s murder?

Nothing.

Woodfin is so focused on guns in part because it’s easy. He can blame the state and federal government so that none of the blame will stick on him, but the issue isn’t the tool, it’s the tool using it. People killed that young girl and it’s people who need to change.

There are ways to address violent crime without restricting people’s rights. It has the added benefit of addressing the root causes of gun violence.

Mayor Woodfin is misguided in blaming guns, but as a Democrat, this seems to be par for the course. Gun control isn’t the answer, but he’s not really interested in getting it right.