Well, well. What's this?
Fresh off the heels of a report that 70% of criminals released early under KY Governor Andy Beshear's COVID early release went on to reoffend, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is admitted COVID masks have contributed to the crime wave in her city.
No, really.
You don't say.
The Mayor of Washington DC has proposed to restore the anti-mask law after crime sweeps the city.
Muriel Bowser addressed reporters at a new conference on Monday, where she discussed new legislation aimed at reducing crime.
The mayor appeared to be worried about the crime wave sweeping the district, particularly in teenage criminals.
Washington DC has seen a 39 per cent increase in violent crime compared to last year.
Bowser announced the Addressing Crime Trends Now Act, or the ACT Now plan, which aims to tackle recent crime trends.
The anti-mask law was terminated in 2020 at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Under the new bill, it will be unlawful to wear a mask for the purpose of “committing criminal acts or threatening people or causing fear,” Bowser said.
Now, one could make the argument that the masks, while ineffective against stopping the spread of COVID, are not the root cause of the crime wave. DC is the same city that saw two teenage girls carjack and kill an Uber Eats driver in 2021, only to get sentenced to juvenile detention until age 21. Bowser was also the mayor who, in 2020 after the death of George Floyd, passed legislation limiting police use of force and mandated DEI training. When the DC Council made these reforms permanent in 2022, Bowser did not veto them. Five days ago, Bowser called for a repeal of these laws amid soaring crime. Lenient sentencing, soft-on-crime policies, defunding of police, and the antisocial effects of COVID lockdowns all play a part in the crime wave.
But we digress.
Bowser mandated masks during COVID and now she's seeing the fruits of that decision.
Breathtakingly so.
No, it doesn't. Probably does more to fuel crime than masks.
Yes. Yes, it is.
We would like someone, anyone, to explain to us how making it illegal to wear masks when committing a crime is going to curb crime in any significant way.
Someone who is going to mug, carjack, assault, or murder (all things that are against the law) another individual is probably not going to care about masks being legal or otherwise.
It would be funny if it wasn't so outrageously incompetent.
And if we rewind a moment, back to March of this year, Timothy P. Carney was already sounding the alarm on masks and crime:
The national crime wave of the past two-and-a-half years was caused in part by the antisocial effects of lockdowns and closures, but masks surely get some of the blame. As long as masks are broadly accepted, we will have elevated crime.
Hopefully, other mayors will follow Adams in trying to reestablish the norm that hiding your face is shameful. Sorry if this makes a chatty neighbor say hi.
Others noticed the connection in April.
Glad the politicians who think they're smart enough to run our lives are finally catching up, seven months later.
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