Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blames city’s violence problem on ‘red states’
The article discusses Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s stance on the city’s ongoing violence problem, which remains significant despite some recent declines in homicide rates. Johnson, who has been in office since May 2023, oversees a city that consistently records the highest number of homicides in the United States. He rejected the Trump administration’s offer to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, criticizing such interventions as authoritarian. Rather, Mayor Johnson attributes Chicago’s gun violence largely to the influx of illegal firearms from so-called “red states”-specifically naming Mississippi, Indiana, and Louisiana-due to thier looser gun laws. He called on the federal government to take stronger action to stop interstate gun trafficking networks. Johnson emphasized that Chicago police have removed over 24,000 illegal guns since he took office and credited their efforts with some progress in reducing violence. However, he argued that the problem cannot be resolved until the flow of illegal guns from other states is curtailed.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson blames city’s violence problem on ‘red states’
As mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson oversees the city in the country with the highest number of homicides each year.
Despite this, Johnson has rejected the Trump administration’s offer to deploy the National Guard to his city to help with Chicago‘s crime problem. Moreover, he has been outright critical of such overtures, likening them to an authoritarian takeover. On Tuesday, he blamed the city’s problem on so-called “red states,” claiming it was their supposedly loose gun laws that were contributing to Chicago’s violence.
“Chicago will continue to have a ‘violence problem’ as long as Red states continue to have a gun problem,” Johnson posted to his X account on Tuesday evening. “The endless flow of illegal guns into Chicago can be traced to Red states like Mississippi, Indiana, and Louisiana. It is up to the federal government to step up and stop interstate gun trafficking networks.”
Incidentally, Johnson did request the federal government’s assistance, but not for additional law enforcement officers or the National Guard.
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“We need the federal government to stop the endless flow of guns into our state and into our city,” Johnson said. “Chicago police officers have taken more than 24,000 guns, illegal guns, off the streets of Chicago since I’ve taken office.”
“They have worked hard every single day to make our city safer, and they’ve made historic progress,” said Chicago’s mayor. “However, we will never be able to end gun violence in Chicago as long as the president continues to allow tens of thousands of guns to be trafficked into our state and our city. The vast majority of guns do not come from Chicago. They are not made in Cook County. They are not bought in the state of Illinois.”
“These guns come from red states,” Johnson affirmed. “They are coming from Indiana. They are coming from Mississippi. They are coming from Louisiana. And that is the harsh reality, whether Republicans like it or not.”
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Chicago is the third-largest city in the U.S. and is regularly listed among the cities with the most homicides each year. Johnson has been the mayor of the city since May 15, 2023. Over the last two years, Chicago has had more homicides than any other city in the nation, with 617 in 2023 and 573 in 2024, Johnson’s first full year in office. Last year was the first time Chicago had fewer than 600 reported homicides since 2019, according to reports.
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