Stop Blaming Indiana for the Gun Violence in Chicago!

In October 2015, Barack Obama first broached the idea that Indiana was responsible for gun violence in Chicago, because of that state's lax gun laws.  Then, the following January, he told CNN's Anderson Cooper that "The problem is, is that about 30 percent, 40 percent of those guns are coming from Indiana across the border, where there are much laxer laws."

In reporting the later statement, USA Today confronted Obama's assertions by presenting the "true" facts.  In a Chicago Police review of "illegal guns" recovered at crime scenes, 60% came from other states;  of which, 19% were from Indiana.  Mathematically, that means that 19% of 60% accounts for just 11.4% of all guns retrieved from crime scenes. In other words, almost 89% of illegal guns used in crimes in Chicago came from sources other than Indiana.

Yet, the lie still persists.

In October 2016, The Huffington Post took Donald Trump to task when he criticized Chicago crime by writing an article titled: "Trump Apparently Unaware Chicago’s Gun Problems Stem From Indiana".  Then, just recently, when it was announced that Chicago's January 2017 homicides were equal to the pace of 2016's bloody January,  I heard again, the claim that Indiana was to blame.  Of course, Mike Pence, our V.P., is the former Governor of Indiana and this gives Democrats a perfect reason to blame Indiana.

But, there's another twist to the lie.  Chicago has very little knowledge of where all the guns are coming from since it has one of the lowest "solved" rates in the nation.  While, on average, 61.5% of the nation's homicides result in an arrest, the rate in Chicago was 25.6% in 2016.   According to the website "Hey Jackass", 90.6% homicides have gone unsolved so far this year as noted by this graphic:

Simply, Chicago, not Indiana, is responsible for the high gun violence in that city.  It's time that Democrats accept that fact and stop trying to scapegoat that reality.

References:

INDIANAPOLIS — President Barack Obama suggested that Indiana and other states with few gun restrictions are to blame for Chicago’s homicide problem: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2015/10/28/lax-indiana-gun-laws/74740388/

Obama links Indiana guns to Chicago violence: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2016/01/08/obama-links-indiana-guns-chicago-violence/78496308/

Trump Apparently Unaware Chicago’s Gun Problems Stem From Indiana: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-gun-violence_us_58082033e4b0dd54ce37ad9e

At end of bloody year in Chicago, too few murders solved: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/12/30/chicago-murders-clearance-rate-2016/96009878/

Chicago’s Violent Crime In January Matches Bloody Start Of 2016: http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/02/01/chicagos-violent-crime-in-january-matches-bloody-start-of-2016/

Hey Jackass: http://heyjackass.com/