Are Seattle’s public safety policies causing more residents to own guns?

Whenever violent crime spikes in Seattle, the city’s political leadership often ignore their own failed policies as they spout their same old political rhetoric – guns, not criminals, are responsible for the increase in crime.

The politicians conveniently forget their previous reckless actions and then argue that the only solutions are to pass more gun restrictions and fund more social programs. They do this without answering one important question, “How will this gun policy and social program differ from the City of Seattle’s many similar efforts which failed to take guns out of criminals’ hands?”

The facts are that these efforts never reduce the number of guns criminals can easily obtain while forcing taxpayers to fund yet another wasteful social program that will fail to meet the politicians’ promises.

Criminals will always be able to obtain guns no matter what restrictions politicians place on legal ownership. We should note that these guns are just as available to criminals in other communities (like Bellevue) which are not experiencing the same increase in violent crimes.

Seattle’s crime problem is the direct result of the failed public safety policies supported by city hall.  The “Defund the Police” and other anti-police measures caused a mass exodus of police officers which severely depleted the Seattle Police Department’s staffing levels. Meanwhile, a revolving door judicial justice system which relies on ineffective diversion system, fails to stop criminals from committing crimes.

And if the aim is to reduce guns, then the city’s policies are the biggest obstacle to achieving this goal,

We are seeing an increase in news stories of households and businesses relying on guns to keep their homes and businesses safe. The latest data shows that gun ownership in Seattle continues to climb as residents seek to find ways to protect themselves because the city’s policies have made Seattle far less safe.

If the aim of Seattle politicians is to reduce guns, then make Seattle safer by supporting Seattle’s police officers and punish those who commit crimes. A safer Seattle will reduce the gun demands of residents who feel a firearm is necessary to keep their family and business safe.