It’s not that they don’t know the truth. But following party dogma is safer and more politically convenient.

Here’s St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones last year.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones on Tuesday called on Congress to ban “weapons of war” and raise the age to purchase assault weapons to ensure her city continues to see a drop in violence.

”We have to get guns off our street. Period. Stop,” Jones told Meet the Press Now. “That still makes a difference in how successful we are in continuing our programs.”

”We need action on the federal level and the state level but no one one wants to seem to do anything,” she said.

“I am cautiously optimistic that Congress will act, but unfortunately we’ve seen this before,” she said.

In private, Mayor Jones was much more realistic.

Democratic St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones’ support of gun control is coming into question after an open records request released thousands of her personal texts, including one that argued gun crackdowns are ineffective.

“Chicago has strict gun laws as well but that doesn’t deter gun violence,” Jones texted in a group chat to her dad, Virvus Jones and advisor Richard Callow on March 21, KSDK reported. “It’s about investing in the people.”

But if only Congress banned “weapons of war” which are involved in a tiny percentage of shootings…