The city of Chicago has long been the poster boy of our violent inner cities. Where Los Angeles held that distinction during the turbulent gang wars of the 1990s, the Windy City gets that today.

It’s not alone in being violent, to be fair. It’s just one of those cities that loves gun control, that has an outsized influence on the state so it gets gun control and then is overrun with violent crime.

This past weekend is a prime example.

Chicago shootings this Labor Day Weekend have left at least 42 people shot, seven fatally, police said.

A teen boy was critically injured in a South Side shooting on Sunday evening, Chicago police said.

Police said the shooting happened in the Englewood neighborhood’s 6000-block of South Elizabeth Street just after 7 p.m.

The teen was near the sidewalk when someone shot him in the head, police said.

The victim was transported to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition.

No one is in custody and area detectives are investigating.

It should be noted that “no one is in custody” seems to pop up a lot in this report.

Maybe it’s just me, but if arrests aren’t being made, the violence is just going to keep going. We know that violent crimes in most cities, including Chicago, are committed by a small percentage of the population, most of whom are already known to the police.

So if they’re not getting arrested, they’re just going to keep going and keep shooting innocent people.

Unless, of course, something else stops them.

Over at our sister site RedState, my friend Jeff Charles wrote about just such a “something else.”

However, there is one incident that brings a more nuanced perspective to the overall debate over violent crime and lawful gun ownership. A Chicago man is still alive thanks to his firearm, which he used to protect himself and his property from a home intruder on Monday.

A man is in the hospital after he was shot after allegedly entering another man’s home in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood.

CPD officers responded to the 2100 block of North Meade following several reports of an alleged attempted break-in just after 12:45 p.m. on Monday.

Police say a man allegedly walked into a home in the area without permission and was shot twice by the 26-year-old homeowner.

Neighbors in the area reported hearing three to five gunshots ring out sometime around noon and residents watched as first responders removed someone on a stretcher.

According to Chicago paramedics, a 35-year-old man was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

The intruder fled after the altercation, but law enforcement later located him.

This is one of many stories I have written highlighting why gun ownership is so important. The debate about gun control often results in further restricting access to firearms. Illinois isn’t exactly friendly to those who wish to keep and bear arms, as evidenced by the assault weapon ban the state’s government recently passed.

Of course, that’s why we also highlight armed citizen stories.

In the case of Chicago, though, think about this: That intruder will now be considering the prospect of getting shot, maybe fatally, anytime he looks at breaking into someone’s home. He may well sit in his jail cell and start rethinking his life choices.

His buddies might as well.

See, most criminals don’t seem to believe they’re going to get caught. It’s why increased punishment doesn’t seem to be much of a deterrent for them. Why would an extra five-year sentence bother them when they don’t figure they’ll do a day in prison?

But if they also have to start accounting for something that’s beyond their control, something like an armed citizen, that changes things.

So it’s unfortunate that rather than recognize that the armed criminals in Chicago are circumventing every gun control effort the state has tried, lawmakers seek to simply create more gun control. Not only does that not stop the bad guys, it makes it harder for the good guys.

Gun control isn’t the way to keep 42 people from being shot in a single weekend. It’s a damn good way to get more shot, though.