Like all gun control groups and activists, Everytown for Gun Safety will use any incident to push more gun control on law-abiding citizens. Even if it’s gang shootings in the most restrictive state in the country.
Everytown took to Twitter to lament that a “dispute” in Los Angeles led to a shooting in which two people were killed and five more wounded. “When guns are in the mix, arguments can become deadly,” the group tweeted. “We don’t have to live like this.”
Two people were killed and at least five more were wounded at a park in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles following a dispute at a car club show yesterday. When guns are in the mix, arguments can become deadly.
We don’t have to live like this. https://t.co/007WHTqcyc
— Everytown (@Everytown) July 25, 2022
But this was not some heated argument or a simple “dispute.” According to police, this was a gang-related shooting, making it very likely that the shooters involved had guns that were not legally acquired or that they were not legally allowed to carry.
What this tweet AND the NYT article fail to explain is that (1) officials now believe the shooting was gang-related, and (2) there is an almost zero chance these guns were lawfully possessed and carried given the reality of California guns laws and L.A. carry permitting schemes. https://t.co/K4bDoku4vS
— Amy Swearer (@AmySwearer) July 25, 2022
On top of that, this shooting occurred in California, a state that Everytown itself ranks as the top state for “gun law strength.” According to the group’s website, “California has some of the strongest gun laws in the country and leads the nation in having the most comprehensive system for removing firearms from those who are legally prohibited from having a gun.”
Apparently, that doesn’t apply to gang members, though. California’s lax attitude toward gangs allowed several gang members to be on the street, in possession of illegal firearms, earlier this year in Sacramento. The resulting shooting killed six people, sent 12 more to the hospital, and damaged several nearby buildings and vehicles.
What’s more, the refusal to hold criminals accountable is a major problem in Los Angeles. District Attorney George Gascon refuses to use sentencing enhancements for criminals who use guns in their crimes and for criminals with gang affiliations. While he seeks the lightest sentences possible for criminals, he is calling on the state to pass more gun control laws for law-abiding citizens.
The problem in Los Angeles is that Gascon refuses to take guns out of the hands of criminals and take criminals off the street, not that California’s gun control laws are too lax, which Everytown obviously doesn’t believe. But by using this shooting as an example, the group is once again demanding that law-abiding citizens be given more restrictions because criminals continue to be criminals. This is the gun control movement’s biggest blind spot, and Everytown has shown it has no interest in addressing it any time soon.
