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The Rev. Michael Pfleger, of St. Sabina Church, led yet another march on Chuck's Gun Shop in sunny Riverdale on Saturday. Why? To stop the killing, he says. Unfortunately, Pfleger is leading his flock down the wrong path. Mayor Richard Daley, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Pfleger all tout the goodness of more gun control, but all three of them shy away from the central issue. How can we take guns out of the hands of young men who join gangs, make their living selling drugs and rake in outrageous profits in the process? Drug prohibition is such a gold mine that these Kennedy-like entrepreneurs must arm themselves to the teeth to protect their staked corner, their drugs, their cash and their gang. And, of course, once drug prohibition has armed a gang-banger for one purpose, it has armed that gang-banger for every purpose -- a fight about a girl, disrespect of the gang, disagreement about the division of profits, retaliation, etc. By legalizing, controlling and regulating illicit drugs instead of prohibiting them, we could stop much of the killing and gunfire. But none of these three leaders are up to it. It is easier for the big three to target a handful of gun stores or to march for more gun control than face the central issue, which is: How do we take firearms out of the hands of tens of thousands of Chicago drug dealers and gang-bangers who are latched like a leech onto the drug-war (teet)? Daley recently has said, "It's the money." According to Peter McWilliams in his best-selling book, "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do," Al Capone was making $2 billion a year (in today's money) from alcohol prohibition. The front page of the Chicago Sun-Times (on Dec. 20, 2002, five years ago), proclaimed "$7 Billion Addiction: The Drug Trade In The City and Suburbs." Daley recently cited the successful church-supported gun buyback program in July that yielded 6,705 guns in Chicago. Sounds promising, unless you know there are "about 200 million guns in civilian hands in America," according to Yale law school professor (former President Clinton's law professor) Steven B. Duke. In "America's Longest War: Rethinking Our Tragic Crusade Against Drugs," Duke and co-author Albert C. Gross, J.D. write (p. 111):
If we could step up the gun buyback success from 6,705 guns to a million guns a year, it would take a century to get half the guns off American streets, assuming gun manufacturers would stop making new ones. Stop the killing with gun control? It's about time our leaders started shooting straight with people, many of whom are sick and tired of the endless gunfire and innocents caught in the crossfire. The truth is that nothing, absolutely nothing, offers any hope of restoring peace and quiet to many Chicago-area neighborhoods except an end to Capone-type prohibition. It will take some politicians and preachers with some real guts to lead us in that prayer. |
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We are careful not to duplicate the efforts of other organizations, and as a grassroots coalition of prisoners and social reformers, our resources (time and money) are limited. The vast expertise and scope of the various drug reform organizations will enable you to stay informed on the ever-changing, many-faceted aspects of the movement. Our colleagues in reform also give the latest drug war news. Please check their websites often. |
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