Amidst the City of Chicago Gun Homicide Epidemic, One Casualty Stands Out

Among the myriad gun homicides that regularly occur in the city of Chicago, one recent atrocity stood out, that of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, an innocent bystander slain in the prime of a life of promise by two alleged gang members thugs that are believed to have mistaken the victim and her friends for rivals.

There are an estimated 100,000 gang members in Chicago and although the city has strict gun laws, lethal weapons are readily available from neighboring communities, which helps to explain why it is the Wild Wild West.

In reviewing the Pendleton case, it is clear that Second Amendment absolutists have one valid argument, that the laws already on the books are not being enforced.  Those who possess weapons illegally are rarely prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and few such criminals go to jail. 

Thankfully, two young men that it would appear elected to throw away their lives have been arrested for Hadiya's murder.  The twenty-year-old accused trigger man has a lengthy arrest record, including a conviction for illegal possession of a gun one year ago, for which he was "sentenced" to probation.  Between that time and the murder of Miss Pendleton, he had been arrested three times, but the Probation Department did not notify appropriate officials of this, thus he remained free.  Now he faces the possibility of life in prison, two weeks too late for the grieving Pendleton family.

It is chilling to recognize that beasts with a depraved indifference to human life walk among us every day, individuals whose contempt for civilization can be ignited by anything, or by nothing as occurred with the killing of Hadiya Pendleton. Unless and until we find the proper mix of societal values, laws, and a judiciary that recognizes the danger inherent in turning dangerous criminals loose, we are doomed to repeat the failures of the past and funeral homes will be one of our most booming industries.