The state of Missouri is pretty pro-gun. Those who oppose gun rights will also argue that the state has seen a significant uptick in violent crime, which isn’t wrong. However, much of that is centered in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Urban centers generally have more violent crime, at least in raw numbers, thus impacting the rest of the state. For leaders of these communities, though, it’s pressing to be seen to actually take the problem seriously.

Which is why the mayor of Kansas City just issued a proclamation on “gun violence” that will do nothing but signal RightThink.

Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas is keeping a focus on gun violence in an already deadly time for the city.

The mayor signed a Gun Violence Awareness Day Proclamation on Thursday, the day before June 2nd’s nationally recognized awareness day.

Lucas hosted a ceremonial proclamation signing alongside University of Missouri Kansas City Students Demand Action and Moms Demand Action.

So, you see, it’s not really about gun violence but about gun control.

Lucas can spin it however he wants, but these are two groups that only approach violent crime through the lens of gun control. They literally never look at the issue as anything but an excuse to push for gun control.

The truth is that violent crime is complex. It’s not just, “I have a gun so I guess I’ll shoot someone because I’m bored.” Not in the vast majority of cases, anyway.

Short-circuiting the process of becoming a violent criminal doesn’t just stop so-called gun crime but all violent crime.

Yet you wouldn’t know that based on what we’re seeing in places like Kansas City.

Instead, the mayor is offering up a proclamation that anti-gun groups will use to say they have all this support–not that anyone thought large cities were typically pro-gun bastions by any stretch of the imagination–and do little to make the community safer.

What’s more, there are programs Kansas City could implement right now that would likely reduce violent crime. They don’t infringe on anyone’s rights and have been shown to create a positive impact. They could do this without the state crying foul.

But Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action don’t want that kind of action.

For all their talk of violence prevention, they don’t care if you or a loved one get stabbed, just so long as you’re not able to carry a gun to use to shoot the bad guy.

Oh, they’d argue that’s not what they’re about, but look at the policies these organizations push and it becomes clear what they’re focused on entirely.

Kansas City is free to issue proclamations. Mayor Lucas is free to do it standing next to whatever groups he wants to.

What he can’t do is hide the fact that he’s using this as a cover for his own failure to actually do something useful and meaningful for the people of Kansas City.