CCRKBA: SEATTLE DOESN’T HAVE A GUN PROBLEM, IT HAS A CRIME PROBLEM

BELLEVUE, WA – In the aftermath of Sunday’s deadly shooting at the Seattle Center—when police would initially only describe one suspect as a “young person” and a press briefing was delayed for hours, ostensibly due to safety concerns—the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said the city has a crime problem, not a gun problem.

“It took 17 hours for police to acknowledge the suspect they had in custody is only 15 years old,” said CCRKBA Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb. “And then Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes talked about ‘small groups’ and not much about gangs. I’m sorry, but that sounds like political correctness rather than candor. He also said there was a second shooter, whom they are trying to identify. He is not in custody.

“Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson must have used the term ‘gun violence’ more than a half-dozen times during her remarks,” Gottlieb observed. “Chief Barnes used it at least ten times. All that does is demonize guns when the real culprit here is apparently a teenager who legally could not be carrying a handgun.

“If you look at the Seattle Police Blotter,” he continued, “you will find reports of shootings and violent crime, including stabbings. Deflecting blame to guns is a non-starter because they just don’t commit crimes by themselves. We don’t blame cars for fatal crashes, and we shouldn’t infer guns are to blame for violent crime.

“The public has a right to know the source of the two guns recovered at the scene,” Gottlieb noted. “It is clear the teenage suspect didn’t legally buy the gun he allegedly used. The other gun recovered by police, allegedly used by another shooter, may have also been obtained illicitly. So far, that apparently hasn’t been determined.

“Mayor Wilson and Chief Barnes repeatedly mentioned efforts to reduce ‘gun violence’,” he said. “That typically translates to more gun control measures against law-abiding adults including the 112,500 King County residents who have valid concealed pistol licenses. They haven’t hurt anybody. Yet, instead of acknowledging that the problem is with criminals, including juveniles whose parents should be asked why their kid is at the Seattle Center shooting people, we hear about something called ‘gun violence reduction.’ But you’re not going to reduce gun-related violence by penalizing the wrong people, and Seattle’s leaders must keep that in mind.”