NYC Boroughs Double Down On Failed Gun Buybacks

New York City has a violent crime problem and accidental Mayor Bill de Blasio is shuffling deck chairs in attempts to address it. After proposing to cut $1 billion from New York City’s law enforcement budget just as crime skyrocketed, he’s throwing taxpayer money at failed policies. That includes gun buyback programs that don’t reduce violent crime and waste money. Worse, they give a false impression to the public that something effective is being done to reduce the criminal misuse of illegally possessed firearms.

New York’s crime problem started much earlier but was literally set on fire with the coronavirus response. New York was quick to release criminals from prisons. The result? In one instance, more than 1,500 criminals were back on the streets. Many were re-arrested for committing more crimes. Add to that the rising violence from riots and looting and the city has seen some of the worst violent crime surges. The violence was exemplified when a father was gunned down in broad daylight while walking in a crosswalk hand-in-hand with his seven-year-old daughter.

Mayor de Blasio watched it all and heard the “defund the police” cries. He cut a billion dollars from the budget of the men and women risking their lives to keep the cities safe. “I’m excited to say we have a plan that can achieve real reform, that can achieve real redistribution,” the mayor said while announcing the cuts. Now, he wasting what’s left.