Political Cartoon: Philly’s gun violence surge

Philadelphia politicians and law enforcement leaders are doing a lot of decrying over the daily gun deaths in the city. In response to the mayhem, Mayor Jim Kenney and other city leaders yesterday announced a high-minded lawsuit against the State of Pennsylvania demanding that the city be able to enact its own gun laws. It will be going nowhere in our gun-loving state legislature.

Instead of wasting time in Harrisburg, how about doing what’s in our power in the city, like solve some of the many unsolved murders and non-fatal shootings? To quote a June Inquirer editorial: “In 2020 through May 27th, an arrest followed only 20% non-fatal shooting incidents and 35% of homicides.” That means 65% of those responsible for murder were still walking our streets.

The Police Department has finally begun an updated “focused deterrence” program that works to prevent murders before they happen. When it was tried in South Philadelphia in 2013 (before fizzling in the Kenney administration), Temple University researchers found the program reduced shootings by 35%. Now that it’s back, give it what it needs to succeed.

Let’s stop bemoaning the violence and do something about it.

Editorial cartoons from this week include: