Washington, D.C.’s Cavalier Disregard for Crime Victims

David Freddoso has an interesting column in National Review Online about the D.C. Government’s lack of concern for crime victims. The District justifies its ban on guns for self-defense based on the claim that any gun possession will lead to violence. But D.C. police are often tardy in responding to calls for help by citizens, leading to rapes and murders. The D.C. government denies any responsible for such crimes, even when its recklessness makes them inevitable.

D.C. also imposes shorter sentences on criminals, including criminals who use guns, than neighboring jurisdictions like Virginia. Some D.C. Superior Court judges view criminals as being victims of society, obsessing over their unhappy childhoods and underprivileged backgrounds, rather than being outraged at how they injured law-abiding citizens. They have forgotten the wisdom of the great Athenian law giver Solon, who observed that true justice will not be achieved until those who have not been victimized by crime are just as indignant as those who have been.

I have previously explained why the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was right to strike down D.C.’s gun ban in Parker v. District of Columbia, here and here, and also why the ruling did not constitute judicial activism.