Sheriff Gives Citizens Power To Defend Themselves As Crime Skyrockets

Sheriff Alex Villanueva shared some shocking statistics this week about the city he’s tasked with protecting. He revealed that the murder rate is up more than 95% in Los Angeles this year – data point that should concern everyone in the city.

His answer to the rise in crime is simple: allow more law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.

Villanueva vowed to issue more concealed carry permits in Los Angeles to give citizens a chance at self-defense in response to the growing murder rate – a decision anti-gun liberals have railed against.

NEW: @LACoSheriff releases new 2021 crime stats for L.A. County vs same time period in 2020.

Homicides: ⬆️ 95%
GTA: ⬆️ 40%
Rape: ⬆️ 7.8%
Agg. Assault: ⬆️ 12.9%
Arson: ⬆️ 22%

He says LASD will start processing more CCW permits due to “less cops, more crooks, less consequences.”

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 2, 2021

Sheriff Villanueva said LASD will not move to a shall issue standard where “anyone who can fog a mirror” gets a CCW, but LASD will be increasing staffing to process “good cause” CCW permits in recognition of increasing danger to public.
Remarks here : https://t.co/L0zTDa6Ir7

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 2, 2021

Violent crime in Los Angeles skyrocketed to a 36% increase by the end of 2020. Villanueava said that the rise in crime was an “existential threat,” along with rampant homelessness and the passage of poorly conceived Defund The Police reform.

He noted that crime was rampant in areas with heavily Latin American and African American populations, and scolded liberals for demanding less police presence in that area, arguing that preventing crime was “racist.”

The federal government, under Biden’s tutelage, has blamed guns themselves for the rise in crime nationwide. But according to Villanueva, conceal and carry permits are the solution to provide protection where the police cannot.

Go figure…..

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki blames guns (i.e. the lack of gun control) and the easing of coronavirus restrictions for the rising in crime in cities across the country. pic.twitter.com/nBLXl8ovsz

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) May 24, 2021

Villanueva has been arguably the most vocal opponent Democrat efforts to Defund The Police, noting that over $145 million was cut from the LASD budget in 2020 and another $143 million reduction is on the way.

Villanueva also disagreed with local leaders’ attempts to spend more money on housing for the homeless, saying it would attract more homeless from other states.

The sheriff has signed a recall petition aimed at George Soros-backed, left-wing L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón, who has pursued criminal justice reforms, over prosecutors’ objections, even as crime has soared in the county.

He also criticized City Council member Mike Bonin for attempting to interfere with policing homelessness. Bonin is proposing to use beach parking facilities to house the homeless, a proposal residents oppose.

Author: Elizabeth Tierney