Focus on the Violence — Not the Guns

Every time there’s a tragic shooting, we hear the same tired refrain: “We need more gun control.” Politicians rush to the microphones, pundits tweet out emotional pleas, and anti-gun activists renew their calls to ban civilian firearm ownership. But what if I told you the majority of “gun violence” in America has nothing to do with law-abiding gun owners—and everything to do with gangs?

Let’s start with the numbers.

The Overlooked Truth About Gun Violence

When the term “gun violence” is thrown around in headlines and speeches, most people imagine mass shootings, school attacks, or domestic incidents. Those are real and awful—but they’re also a small slice of the overall picture.

According to data from the FBI and Department of Justice:

• In cities like Chicago, Baltimore, and St. Louis, over 60% of homicides are gang-related.
• The CDC’s own statistics show that a significant portion of gun deaths are actually suicides—not homicides.
• The majority of non-suicide gun deaths occur in urban areas and involve young males in their teens and twenties, often with prior criminal records.
• In some jurisdictions, a tiny number of individuals (sometimes fewer than 1%) are responsible for the majority of shootings—and they’re almost always gang-affiliated.

So if we’re serious about saving lives, why aren’t we addressing the gang problem?

Mass Shootings vs. Daily Reality

Mass shootings dominate the news cycle because they’re shocking. But the truth is that a city like Chicago experiences the equivalent of a mass shooting every weekend, with dozens shot and multiple fatalities—week after week.

You’ll rarely see national headlines for those victims. Why? Because the violence is often gang-on-gang, occurring in neighborhoods the media and politicians don’t seem too eager to talk about.

This selective outrage is not just dishonest—it’s dangerous. It distorts the conversation, misleads the public, and fuels laws that punish the wrong people.

If Guns Were Gone, Would Gangs Just Stop Killing?

Let’s humor the anti-gun crowd for a moment. Let’s say tomorrow, every legally owned firearm magically vanished. Would gang violence disappear?

Of course not.

We’ve seen what happens when guns are restricted. Just look at the UK—where knife crime has skyrocketed, acid attacks became a thing, and gangs adapted to new weapons. Criminals don’t follow gun laws. That’s what makes them criminals.

Gangs would continue to rob, assault, and murder using whatever tools are available. They already do. Guns aren’t the cause of the violence. They’re just the weapon of choice—for now.

So Why Not Ban Gangs Instead?

It sounds flippant, but think about it: If most gun violence stems from gangs, wouldn’t it make more sense to target gangs instead of guns?

• Enforce existing laws aggressively against known gang members.
• Crack down on illegal firearm trafficking (which gangs rely on).
• Build real community programs to divert youth from gang recruitment.
• And when gang members commit crimes—stop letting them out early to do it again.

You don’t outlaw matches because of arsonists. You arrest the arsonists.

The Real Agenda

The frustrating part is that we already know all this. Law enforcement knows it. Criminologists know it. Even many politicians know it. But addressing gang violence doesn’t generate campaign donations or cable news ratings the way shouting “ban guns” does.

So instead of confronting the real drivers of violence, they go after the tools—while ignoring the criminals wielding them.

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Millions of Law-Abiding Gun Owners — And Thousands of Lives Saved

There are over 80 million gun owners in America — people who have never committed a violent crime, never brandished a weapon unlawfully, and who simply want the right to protect themselves and their families.

What the media never reports is that guns are used defensively between 300,000 and 2 million times each year, depending on the source (CDC & DOJ studies).

Sometimes it’s as simple as showing a weapon to deter an attacker. Other times, it means stopping a home invasion, carjacking, or attempted assault. These stories rarely make headlines—but they matter.

A gun in the right hands isn’t a threat. It’s a tool of survival.

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Final Thought

If we’re serious about protecting lives, let’s be honest about what’s happening.

Gun violence is mostly gang violence.

And no amount of new laws aimed at hunters, veterans, or suburban families is going to fix that.

Want to make a difference? Target the gangs. Prosecute the repeat offenders. Invest in broken communities. Stop punishing law-abiding gun owners for crimes they didn’t commit.