Young people are killing young people in Chicago. Would second amendment supporters suggest arming everyone for self defense? When the smoke cleared, the streets would be littered with the dead. As an alternative, should the police shoot to kill? That might reduce the violence temporarily, but is not the solution.
I grew up in Chicago but it is many years since I have been back. When I lived there, Chicago was one of the most segregated cities in the country. I doubt that much has changed. I am now in Utah and Chicago is still many miles away in Illinois, but from here I think I know what the problems are. I cannot offer specific solutions but I do know that a piecemeal approach will not work. The problems that face our youth must be approached simultaneously if there is to be any hope of success.
The problems are: drugs, gangs, broken families, poor schools, guns in the wrong hands, unemployment and lack of opportunity. Why spend the effort to educate yourself if you are denied a chance to advance? Good , rewarding lives as productive members of society require good, well-paying jobs. Political and social leaders must set moral examples. Jails are overcrowded and the courts are too. Justice delayed is justice denied.
