The District of Columbia has a long and storied history of trying to suppress the right to keep and bear arms. The only reason they became a "shall-issue" jurisdiction before Bruen is simply because they didn't want to upset may-issue laws everywhere else in the country. They just opted not to appeal a judicial setback. They didn't see the light.
And the district became a notorious haven for crime. It was enough of one that President Trump brought in the National Guard to handle business, which seems to have done wonders.
But the National Guard can't be there forever, and so things have to change.
A recent op-ed is taking issue with one of the proposals, though.
We should all be concerned when young people get their hands on deadly weapons. Simply put, the research shows that youth who carry firearms are much more likely than other youth to be victimized by and to commit gun violence. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for teens. However, according to the research, a small fraction of youth who carry guns use them to commit violent crimes.
But instead of understanding why teenagers carry guns, or investing in what works to guide them away from such behavior, policymakers are relying on one-size-fits-all punitive responses that not only fail to make communities safer, but also jeopardize young people’s futures.
As part of the recent justification for taking over Washington, D.C.’s police department, the Trump administration escalated their punitive rhetoric, with U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro publicly calling on the D.C. Council to repeal key reforms for youth. Backed by the president, Pirro demanded harsher punishments, despite data from the Department of Justice showing the decline of violent crime, both in the city and nationwide since 2023. And Congressional Republicans have also embraced this agenda, moving federal legislation to change D.C.’s youth justice laws.
Black youth would bear the brunt of such backtracking in the nation’s capital. Nationally, they represent half of all youth weapons arrests, even though they only make up 15% of all youth. Youth arrested for possessing a gun, often out of fear, are often denied the opportunity to take part in diversion programs; instead, they are placed in detention facilities and even transferred to adult courts.
Many carry those weapons for self-protection, not to commit crimes. Some carry because they feel unsafe, have experienced trauma, or are surrounded by peers who also carry. So why are we criminalizing youth we should be helping?
Now, I'm a firm believer in addressing the root causes of violent crime, and that sounds like what author Liz Ryan is getting at. I respect that, even if she was part of the Biden administration.
However, let's also note that you cannot address violent crime exclusively through strategies that focus on what happens before a teen starts carrying a firearm.
While Ryan says repeatedly that these strategies are proven, the only link she seems to provide to back that up is one to a search engine for crime statistics that doesn't actually break down juvenile crime at all, so far as I can find. If you're going to make the claim, you need to back it up.
Because while many teens carrying firearms might be carrying for self-defense, they're still doing it illegally. I find it amusing that someone who worked for the Biden administration on the topic of juvenile crime is trying to defend juveniles carrying guns for self-defense, when the rest of the administration she worked for was trying to keep adults from enjoying their Second Amendment rights to every degree possible.
Look, I get concerns over defunding efforts that Ryan believes address the root causes of juvenile violent crime. Again, I can respect that and even be open to seeing her point entirely on that front.
However, I don't see harsh penalties for breaking the law as somehow contrary to that goal. While not quite a "carrot-and-stick" approach, it's not far from one. Addressing the perceived need for these kids to carry while also having them face harsh penalties for doing so works hand in hand to discourage them from it.
As a result of that, you'll have fewer carry, and while more guns don't equate to more crime, it's bound to catch up some of those who were criminally inclined to begin with.
Editor’s Note: The radical left will stop at nothing to enact their radical gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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