Still blaming Chicago's higher murder on the lack of gun control

For some reason Mayor Daley isn't learning from his past mistakes. Will Mayor Daley notice that DC's murder rate fell by 25 percent after the Supreme Court struck down its handgun ban and gunlock requirement?

The homicide rate in Chicago has jumped in the past month, and the city is grappling with how best to respond.

At least two weekends in a row have been marred by multiple killings. For many Chicagoans, the breaking point was last Wednesday, when a 20-month-old girl was shot in the head while in a parked car on the South Side. The alleged gunman, who turned himself in, was reportedly aiming for the girl’s father.

As of last Sunday, Chicago tallied 113 homicides for 2010, compared with 101 for the same period last year.

The city’s mayor, state lawmakers, and the Chicago Police Department, among others, are weighing in on what should – and shouldn’t – be done.

On Sunday, state Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford, both Democrats, suggested that the National Guard should be dispatched to curb the recent rise in violence. They made the proposal to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D).

On Monday, both the governor and Richard M. Daley, Chicago’s mayor, dismissed the suggestion.

“The notion of trying to step in, in any way ... on the toes of people who are on the front line every day fighting crime in tough neighborhoods, I think is really not the way to go,” Governor Quinn said.

Mayor Daley argued that the National Guard does not have the appropriate resources and skills to fight street gangs.

Instead the solution, Daley says, is to continue pressing state and federal courts to tighten restrictions on gun ownership – and to uphold the city’s ban on handguns and assault weapons.

“This is all about guns, and that’s why the crusade is on,” he said at a press conference Monday. . . .

Thanks to Larry Cook for this link.