For years, Chicago has been named the most violent city in reference to homicides. With the topic gaining national attention, everyone wants to have an opinion on the matter. However, you can’t trust news companies, and to an extent you can’t really trust politics when speaking on the matter. With everyone wondering what’s going on, news companies and other media outlets have become the only source of some understanding, which can be dangerous. Their perspectives are based on popular topics that they hear, but the assumptions and accusations that they make are misinformed opinions. The only way to fix this is by creating harsher penalties for gun related crimes or being in possession  of a firearm legally.

To understand why the gun violence is surging in Chicago, we have to dig at the root causes. The root causes of gun violence and other crimes that stem from poverty and drugs. I must ask readers, why is it that the most poverty stricken areas the most drug infested neighborhoods? I’ll tell you why.  It’s because this system is set up for these areas to continue to fail instead of progress.

Logically thinking, how could any of these drugs get to these neighborhoods without the help from people outside of the neighborhood? It makes zero sense if you ask me, but I will tell you that there aren’t many businesses in these communities. There aren’t many opportunities to find work and if there are, minimum wage doesn’t cut it.

With that being said, most people defer to selling drugs because, to be honest, does working for $9.25 an hour and receiving about $600 after taxes sound good, or does having the possibility of making $500 in a day sound better? The opportunity of making this kind of money now introduces negative results. You now have people with a “protect at all cost” mentality, which is where guns come into play. People want to protect their means of getting by from others because they see it as an easy way to climb up the social ladder.

Along with this comes the issue of gangs and surrounding media. The music that is made in Chicago (drill music) is based around violence and drugs. Since it is mostly our youth who is listening to this music, they are heavily influenced and sometimes take that path in life. There needs to be a change in the attitude of music also. This is another factor that plays a big part in guns ending up in the hands of wrong people.

With homicides soaring beyond the past couple of years, red flags have been drawn from all angles which bring us to gun control. According to HeyJackass, 674 homicides have been recorded so far this year and it’s only November. The Republican party platform agrees with the right to bear arms. But that firearms should not be sold to violent criminals legally or illegally.  Donald Trump feels as if to fix the gun violence in Chicago stop and frisk should be implemented. According to Politico, Donald Trump states “I think Chicago needs stop-and-frisk. Now, people can criticize me for that or people can say whatever they want, but they asked me about Chicago, and I think stop-and-frisk, with good, strong, you know, good, strong law and order. But you have to do something. It can’t continue the way it’s going.”

Many people feel as if many of the guns in Chicago, are purchased there. When the guns are actually purchased from surrounding states. Ehrenfreund writes in the Washington Post that a report from Chicago Police Department found that 60 percent of firearms found at gun scenes were originally bought out of state. Out of the 60%, 20% were acquired from Indiana. There needs to be reform on the distribution of guns not only in Chicago, but surrounding areas as well. Guns coming in from other states are adding on to this issue.

The Democratic party platform stance on gun violence is to expand and strengthen background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws. Prohibit the purchase of firearms by violent criminals and people with mental illnesses, and to make gun violence a public health issue. In an article posted by the Chicago Sun-Times, Brian Doherty claimed that Hillary wanted to get military-style weapons off of the streets and out of the hands of criminals. The problem with her proposal is that these weapons are used in a very small percentage of the crimes. Reason being: assault weapons are too bulky for the average criminal to carry around, so handguns became a favorite choice for criminals.

Some may wonder what can be done about all of this and wonder if change can happen. Realistically, I would have to say no. I don’t think either of the candidates ideas will help with trying to lessen the crime rate in Chicago. The real problem here is that the penalties for getting caught with a firearm aren’t stringent enough in Chicago. Policies are more focused on how to prevent the purchase of guns, and not the action of what will happen when people do end up with guns get caught.

At the end of the day, if someone wants a gun they are going to find themselves a gun. Most criminals in Chicago don’t fear the consequences of getting caught with a firearm as opposed to criminals in other states. But maybe if there was a severely harsh penalty of what would happen if you are caught with a gun, less people will try and get a firearm illegally. When we look at states like New York, Texas, and California, the penalties are through the roof. Texas, for example, still has the death penalty so a correlation can be made that it deters a huge number of criminals as well as New York and California.

In order for there to be complete change, we have to actually address the issues instead of gentrifying neighborhoods and spreading violence to other parts of the city. Our crime riddled city is losing hope. I just ask that you take a look become more informed and pray for my city.