End drug prohibition, destroying the drug cartels which fuel gang warfare then Chicago and the rest of the U.S will find the homicide rate likely halved. There is no need to ban guns. That is as effective as banning drugs. Vermont and New Hampshire have the most liberal (as in free) gun laws in the country, but the lowest homicide rates and violent crime overall. I wonder why. 

7000+ in one year is several times the murder rate of all of Europe! Aside from the East.

Nope, he was commenting on a terrorist attack that didn't occur. He was caught lying like the incompetent jackass that he is.

Hmm ... I find the statistics interesting, but a part of me still can't shake the idea that this is comparing apples to oranges. The constraints of each analysis are so very different. For example, even though both are looking at the unnatural deaths of US citizens in both areas, the available population of US citizens is muuuuuch greater in Chicago than that in Iraq and Afghanistan. I still see the general point that is trying to be made here, but at what point the assumptions/constraints distort this conclusion, I dunno, maybe it's a little too blurry at this point. Regardless, interesting to think about if nothing else :)

When people say 'blacks and minorities are victims of stop and frisk', it really gives me pause. While I understand the frustration and embarassment of being stopped by police, especially frequently, I dont see how police cannot be trusted to have gotten a feel for criminals in their jurisdiction. Their is definitely, without a doubt, an inner city crime culture. It is observable in dress, reaction to the presence of officials, and in the places they hang out. The Huxtables dont walk down the street and get frisked. The five people by the alley wearing raggy clothes and yet a brand new pair of Jordans get frisked. Some call this stereotypes, others call it commonalities.

The "stop snitchin" thing doesnt help either.

I've also heard that gentrification has also pushed the poor out of where they live and huddled them into a terrible existence. Its only made it easier for gangs to kill and recruit.

Chicago's murder rate is actually lower today than it was in the 1990s, it looks to me like relatively it was actually fairly down to a reasonable level up until something happening in 2014 or so that changes everything (my guess is an all out gang war erupted there). 

Europeans and Canadians coming into this thread really have no clue how violent US cities can be. 

I actually saw a report where they stated arresting/jailing a lot of the older gang leaders is actually driving violence *up*, because the older leaders are more level headed and just want to conduct "business". When you arrest them, that means the gangs are now being run by a bunch of younger hot heads who don't really respect the "code" of conduct and/or want to make a name for themselves, and that actually escalates violence. Which is basically the moral of the first Godfather movie as well, lol.

You need to create a system in which young boys in particular don't go looking towards a gang for a family. 

I think saying it's not at all a time high when there was a national crime wave is a bit silly.

There is no national massive crime wave right now, so the issue with Chicago are specific to that city and a fault of people in charge of it .

From what I've heard they apparently took down some huge drug dealer and it's caused a massive amount of killing from people trying to take over the territory.