Speaker Nancy Pelosi was urged in a letter from a group of 30 House Democrats to introduce bipartisan legislation to “refund” the police in order to demonstrate to voters their concern for rising crime.
The letter stated that “members should have the chance to demonstrate to our constituents that we are combating crime in our neighborhoods.”
In order to make our communities safer from criminals, we also request that you kindly join us for a meeting the following week.
In order for lawmakers to “publicly display their support for law enforcement,” the letter encouraged Pelosi, D-Calif., to take up a number of separate bills rather than attaching them to the fiscal year 2023 funding.
Members asked Pelosi to use her speakership to bring the bills up for a direct vote so that everyone could sign off on them.
The letter, which was obtained by Punchbowl, called out the House Judiciary Committee and claimed it has made clear it has “no intention” of bringing forth any law enforcement bills.
Progressive lawmakers like Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Mondaire Jones of New York, and Cori Bush of Missouri are members of the House Judiciary Committee, which is presided over by Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York.
The letter was signed by 26 representatives, including Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Katie Porter, D-Calif., Dean Phillips, D-Minn., Abigail Spanberger, D-Va.
As Democrats scramble to hang onto their seats in the impending midterm elections, where Republicans are predicted to sweep the House, the letter adopts an especially strident posture in response to the left’s “defund the police” push.
Mass shootings have been on the rise lately, with the Uvalde, Texas school shooting last month being the deadliest with 21 victims.
San Franciscans successfully summoned back their progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin in a significant political upheaval.
The Boudin recall campaign, which received the majority of its funding from regional business associations, accused the lawyer of failing to do enough to protect the public and enacting laws that encouraged crime without fear of punishment.
Eric Adams, a former Republican who ran a tough-on-crime campaign, was elected mayor of the Democratic stronghold of New York City late last year.
President Biden won San Francisco by 72 points and New York by 53 just one and a half years ago.
Grand larceny, which is the theft of property valued at more than $1,000, has increased by 51% in New York City, while petit larceny has increased by 43%. From a year earlier, larceny theft increased by 20% in San Francisco whereas it increased by 66% in Chicago.
The Gallup poll from earlier this year indicated that 72 percent of Americans are unsatisfied with the country’s crime-reduction policies, up from 49 percent in 2020. However, it’s not just metropolitan centers that Americans feel less protected.
Republicans, who made up 87 percent of the disgruntled voters, also included 65 percent of Democrats.
Meanwhile, the homicide rates in five large cities—Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Milwaukee—are expected to surpass those of last year, which were already skyrocketing.
The FBI issued a warning last year, stating that killings in the US increased by about 30% from 2020 and that overall violent crime increased for the first time in four years.
This year, the startling homicide trend has persisted. When compared to the same period last year, the homicide rate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, increased by 24.7%.
According to Fox, the number of homicides has increased in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia, by 13.4 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively.
Baltimore, Maryland, police have noted a 7.7% increase in homicides so far this year. Los Angeles surpasses Charm City with a 7.3% increase.