January 25, 2017

Trump Threatens to “Send In the Feds” to Stop Chicago’s Gun Violence

He could start by fighting gun trafficking.

Most of Chicago's crime guns come from surrounding states with looser gun laws.M. Spencer Green/AP

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Yet again, President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to threaten Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel with unspecified federal intervention if the city’s violent gun crime rate doesn’t drop:

The last time Trump made such a remark, earlier this month, Emanuel’s office welcomed the attention, releasing the following statement outlining ways the feds could help out:

As the president-elect knows from his conversation with the mayor, we agree the federal government has a strong role to play in public safety by funding summer jobs and prevention programming for at-risk youth, by holding the criminals who break our gun laws accountable for their crimes, by passing meaningful gun laws, and by building on the partnerships our police have with federal law enforcement. We are heartened he is taking this issue seriously and look forward to working with the new administration on these important efforts.

If Trump is serious about solving gun violence in Chicago, he might want to consider that the vast majority of guns used in crimes in the city come from nearby states with loose gun laws. (See how guns stream into Chicago in the gif below put together by The Trace.) He could also beef up the federal government’s anemic efforts to punish domestic gun trafficking.

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