SEPTEMBER 3, 2019
An police officer walks early Sept. 3, 2019 under tape near where four men were shot during an outdoor party late Monday. They were gathered with others outside in the 6200 block of South King Drive when two gunmen jumped out of a white Ford Explorer, opened fire and fled, police said. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Mayor Lori Lightfoot ripped Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and “coward Republicans” in response to conservative criticism of Chicago gun laws, writing on Twitter, “Keep our name out of your mouth.”
The mayor responded to a Cruz tweet on Sunday that said, “Gun control doesn’t work. Look at Chicago. Disarming law-abiding citizens isn’t the answer. Stopping violent criminals — prosecuting & getting them off the street — BEFORE they commit more violent crimes is the most effective way to reduce murder rates. Let’s protect our citizens.”
Through her political account, Lightfoot for Chicago, the mayor tweeted back, “60% of illegal firearms recovered in Chicago come from outside IL — mostly from states dominated by coward Republicans like you who refuse to enact commonsense gun legislation. Keep our name out of your mouth.”
She added: “When @tedcruz and the @gop dismiss common sense gun policies, they disrespect victims and their families, who deserve to live without pain and fear.”
Chicago’s gun violence has been a frequent target for conservative critics who use it to attack the Democratic Party and push back against gun control proposals. Lightfoot has called for uniform background checks and gun control measures in response to repeated mass shootings across the country.
As mayor, Lightfoot has not been shy about defending Chicago on the national stage. Last month, she ripped President Donald Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, for an inaccurate tweet about Chicago’s violence in the wake of El Paso and Dayton mass shootings.
“With 7 dead and 52 wounded near a playground in the Windy City — and little national outrage or media coverage — we mustn’t become numb to the violence faced by inner city communities every day,” Ivanka Trump tweeted.
President Donald Trump greets Sen. John Cornyn, right, and Sen. Ted Cruz as he arrives in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 7, 2019, to meet with people affected by the recent mass shooting. (Evan Vucci / AP/AP)
A livid Lightfoot responded that Trump got key facts wrong in her online comments and falsely implied that all the injuries happened in one incident. If Ivanka Trump cared, Lightfoot said, she should have reached out to city officials.
“It wasn’t a playground, it was a park. It wasn’t seven dead. It wasn’t 52 wounded in one incident, which is what this suggests. It’s misleading,” Lightfoot said. “It’s important when we’re talking about people’s lives to actually get the facts correct, which one can easily do if you actually cared about getting it right.”
Courtesy/Source: Chicago Tribune
