Philadelphia has a problem with crime. We can debate the causes of it if we want, but admitting there's an issue is fairly non-controversial. While the homicide rate has dropped over the last couple of years, it's still significantly higher than it was pre-pandemic.

And yes, that's an issue.

For some, the issue is because of guns. Pennsylvania isn't exactly anti-gun, and while Philly would love to be, the state has preemption, so they can't.

Even if they could, though, the question arises as to whether it matters or not. We see violent crime aplenty in states without preemption, after all, and no amount of gun control can stop some things.

You know, like a group of women assaulted an off-duty police officer and stealing his firearm.

One man has been arrested and police in Philadelphia are still looking for a group of women allegedly involved in attacking an off-duty police officer and stealing his gun.

The assault and robbery of the officer's personal firearm happened around 7 a.m. Sunday in the 2100 block of West Oxford Street, police said. 

The officer had disarmed his assailant while the two were engaged in a struggle and shot at him in self-defense, although it was unknown if the suspect was hit, authorities said. The officer was in the process of trying to detain his attacker when police say women interfered, allowing the man to get in a black BMW sedan and hit the officer with the vehicle while driving away. 

The man accused in the initial attack was found and arrested.

His gaggle of girlfriends, however, apparently have not been, nor has the firearm been recovered.

Of course, this is less than ideal, but while weapon retention training is pretty important, especially for a police officer, when you're essentially mobbed, there's not much you can do. We don't know the condition of the officer, which suggests the attack may well have been violent and brutal enough to cause serious damage.

While men are bigger and stronger on average than women, there's a reason why Kipling called the latter "the most dangerous of the species."

Women and be vicious and we all know it.

As for the firearm itself, let's remember that few people in this country want police disarmed, even among the anti-gun crowd. Some do, but most are unwilling to suggest such a thing, which means there will always be guns on police officers' hips as things currently stand.

Police will always have to face the fact that they're going to get into altercations. That means the potentiality of something like this happening not just in Philadelphia, but all across the nation.

No matter how much you try to restrict guns, bad people will find a way to get them. That includes taking them from police after vicious assaults, if necessary.

In fact, don't be surprised to see them targeted should anti-gunner dreams become reality. If cops are the only source of guns available, who do you think they're going to go after if they want a gun? Mobs attacking cops isn't difficult to imagine. Stealing their gun isn't either.

Only I don't think the cops will have a chance at recovering in such a situation.

On the upside, there's almost no chance of that happening despite their fondest dreams.