Asheville Mayor Blames Guns for Her Own Failures

On July 19, a shooting took place in Asheville, N.C. Two people were killed, and seven others were injured. Right now, police still haven't caught the suspect, which is less than good, to say the least.

It's safe to say that while the media calls this a "mass shooting," it bears no resemblance to what happened in Idaho over the weekend. This was likely a targeted attack over a personal beef. In other words, it was likely gang-related.

But, like so many other mayors of decent-sized cities across the country, rather than admit that she's sucked at managing crime, Asheville's mayor engaged in the tried-and-true "blame the guns" strategy.

As Asheville police continue searching for suspects in the July 19 downtown Biltmore Avenue mass shooting that killed two people and wounded seven others, Mayor Esther Manheimer, a Democrat, is using the tragedy to criticize North Carolina’s firearm laws, arguing recent legislative changes have made communities less safe.

The comments came during a July 24 press conference intended to update the public on the investigation. Police repeatedly emphasized that the case remains active, identified several persons of interest, and asked the public for help. No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.

Instead of announcing new investigative developments, much of the discussion shifted to gun policy after reporters asked whether the city had considered restrictions on firearms in bars or other public places.

Manheimer pointed to Senate Bill 50, “Freedom to Carry NC,” legislation approved by the General Assembly this year that would have lowered the minimum age for permitless concealed carry from 21 to 18. Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the measure, and lawmakers have not overridden the veto.

“When the governor was here last week, he talked about how he vetoed a bill that would have allowed people as young as 18 to have concealed carry without a permit,” Manheimer said. “That was a law passed by our North Carolina legislature this year.”

The mayor argued that North Carolina has “relaxed gun laws more and more” and said those policy decisions leave local governments with few options to respond to gun violence.

So it's the fault of a vetoed bill that hasn't been overridden?

Seriously?

Let's not worry about how violent crime dropped significantly between 2024 and 2025, including a nearly 10 percent drop in homicides. As 2026 stands, they've got a drop of nearly 12 percent in violent crime, as of this writing. Hell, there's a 20 percent drop in murder.

So, I'm curious, Mayor Manheimer. Why is it that the state as a whole has a 20 percent drop in homicides, while you have a 100 percent increase as of right now, and the issue is state legislation rather than you and your city not being able to handle your business?

If "relaxed gun laws" are the problem, then why is violence down across the entire state? Why is it that your city has seen a doubling of homicides and a 15 percent increase in violent crime as a whole, but that's not the norm in North Carolina as a whole?

The problem is that urban mayors are elected by urban voters, who are far more likely to have swallowed the anti-gun Kool-Aid, and so she can blame gun laws all day long and no one in her city is going to question her over it.

Manheimer is following the same playbook the mayor of Tucson tried recently. It's the same playbook that Mexico plays and that former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tried.

But the constant in all of them isn't that guns are the problem. It's that an inability to deal with the criminal elements of their jurisdictions makes it so they have to blame someone else lest they have to answer to an outraged electorate. That's all this is, and anyone with half a brain can see it.

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.

Help us continue to report on and expose the Democrats’ gun control policies and schemes. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.