Democrats have blinded themselves to the cause of Philly’s crime problem
Christopher Tremoglie
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Pennsylvania state representative Jordan Harris gave an impassioned speech last month on the floor of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives about the violent crime plaguing Philadelphia. He blamed bump stocks, the lack of universal background checks, and Republican subterfuge (among other things).
Harris blamed everyone and everything except the main problem: the failed left-wing criminal justice reform policies implemented by Larry Krasner, the city’s woke, Soros-funded district attorney.
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“I’m asking the members of this chamber to take a look at ourselves because, in 2018, there was legislation to ban bump stocks that passed the judiciary committee, but it was never voted on the floor of this House of Representatives,” Harris said. “In 2018, there was legislation for universal background checks that failed in the judiciary committee in this very chamber. In 2021, there was a bill about constitutional carry that moved out of this chamber.”
Bump stocks? Really?
None of the city’s murders this year have been determined to be the result of bump stocks, nor, I am willing to guess, are any crimes anywhere. Bump stocks are extremely rare devices that make it easier to fire more shots from a rifle by altering the trigger mechanism. Nobody uses them in crimes. Even rifles, with or without bump stocks, are rarely used to commit murder. The national FBI expanded homicide data for 2021 suggest that at least 13 murders are committed with handguns for every killing involving a rifle. (Besides, rifles are just not practical for violent criminals in cities — you can’t conceal them on your person.)
So, as usual, Democrats are chasing after an imagined problem, whereas the city’s crime problem is a real one.
These bills would have made no difference in Philadelphia. In contrast, Krasner is making a huge difference, and not for the better. Krasner lets one criminal after another go free with a wrist-slap, refuses to prosecute gun crimes, and lets violent and career criminals keep their eligibility to buy guns by routinely pleading them down from felonies to misdemeanors. There is no amount of legislation that could slow down crime so long as the current policies keep criminals on the street where they can continue to harm people.
Not only did Harris omit Krasner — he actually portrayed him as a victim, unable to accomplish anything because Republican state legislators won’t “help” him. Such a distortion of the truth is simply unforgivable.
“So how could you in good conscience talk about violence without looking at the man in the mirror, while all of the votes you put up not to help the citizens of Philadelphia, not to help the District Attorney of Philadelphia, not to help the victims of crime in Philadelphia?” Harris said.
I contacted Harris on Twitter and asked him why he never mentioned Larry Krasner’s reforms and their impact on crime. Harris deflected my question and kept promoting irrelevant gun control laws.
Next, I asked Harris to explain to Philadelphians “how keeping criminals out of jail because of horrible criminal justice reform policies helps reduce gun violence and protect the innocent?” Again, he deflected and brought up potential legislation for reporting lost or stolen guns. He stressed the significance of a lack of gun control as the main problem in the city.
I then offered to provide him with data on which one caused more gun deaths: lost or stolen guns, or murders committed by people who were not in jail because of Krasner’s policies. Harris didn’t respond.
I tweeted Harris one last time and asked him to admit that “criminals belong in jail and Krasner’s policies have hurt Philadelphians.” Once again, Harris refused to answer my question and instead posted a gif of NeNe Leakes with the text “I said what I said” posted on it.
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Throughout the entire exchange, Harris refused to criticize Krasner or his policies in any way. This is despite the fact there are known murderers who are on the street because of his policies or were put back on the street by Krasner only to murder again. There aren’t any known murders that would have been prevented with the bump stock ban Harris called for.
Harris’s answers exemplify everything wrong with Democrats in Philadelphia and, quite frankly, the country. There are shooting victims as young as two years old because they let a killer out, and Democrats like Jordan Harris can’t handle that truth. Instead, they pivot the narrative to commentary that aligns with their political views. They only care about anti-police and anti-prison political and ideological agendas, not about finding solutions to keep innocent people from being murdered by the violent criminals they insist on coddling.