Clearly the DC gun ban doesn't go far enough

Reason #23485 why I lived in Northern Virginia when I worked in DC:

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier announced a military-style checkpoint yesterday to stop cars this weekend in a Northeast Washington neighborhood inundated by gun violence, saying it will help keep criminals out of the area.

Starting on Saturday, officers will check drivers' identification and ask whether they have a "legitimate purpose" to be in the Trinidad area, such as going to a doctor or church or visiting friends or relatives. If not, the drivers will be turned away.

 I wounder if "I'm trying to escape this hellhole of a city" appears on the list of "legitimate purposes." But the best part is that even some Democrats in the city think its a dumb idea:

"I guess the plan is to hope criminals will not walk into neighborhoods," said D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large). "I also suppose the plan is to take the criminal's word for it when he or she gives the police a reason for driving into a neighborhood."

There is, of course, no hope for DC residents to escape this type of policy. After decades of monolithically Democratic rule, they're used to it. In fact, they'd probably be more likely to blame DC's solitary Republican Council member before anyone else.

My favorite quote in the article comes from the ACLU:

"My reaction is, welcome to Baghdad, D.C.," said Arthur Spitzer, legal director for the ACLU's Washington office. "I mean, this is craziness. In this country, you don't have to show identification or explain to the police why you want to travel down a public street."

Of course that's your reaction, Art.  You see, DC probably would have never initiated this policy without the bad moral example of the eeeeeevil Bush Administration. Good Lord.

Exit question:  Washington, DC has always been plagued by gun violence.  What possible reason could there be for the DC government to use such statist measures to highlight it now?

Posted by: It's Vintage, Duh at 11:38 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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