Sacramento City Hall. (Photo: cityofsacramento.org)
Sacramento Mayor Steinberg, State Lawmakers Demand $3 billion for ‘Crime Prevention’
‘We’ve been incarcerating our way to public safety’
By Katy Grimes, April 7, 2022 9:08 am
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, together with Democratic state lawmakers and “criminal justice reform” advocates, held a press conference and demanded $3 billion “for immediate and substantial investments in crime prevention and healing services for crime victims.” Their demand follows the weekend shooting in Sacramento which left 6 dead and 12 injured.
Interestingly, the media and Democrats continue to call the shooting event a “mass shooting,” yet law enforcement say this was a gang shooting. Monday, former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinnis said on his KFBK radio talk show that it was evident this was a gang-involved shooting. The Globe learned that Sacramento police activated gang teams to investigate the shootings. And on Wednesday, Sacramento Police said the shooting “was a gunfight involving at least five shooters from rival gangs.”
“Mass shooting” justifies Democrats lawmakers’ ongoing call for more and stricter gun control, despite that California already has the strictest gun control laws in the country. Notably, since the weapons used in the shootings were illegal, more gun control imposed on law abiding citizens would not have prevented the shootings.
However, at the press conference, Mayor Steinberg acknowledged that the shootings were gang related.
Steinberg said the City of Sacramento has invested nearly $3 million dollars in direct gang prevention initiatives in recent years.
With Steinberg at Wednesday’s press event were gun control and and defund-the-police advocates:
- Californians for Safety and Justice works to replace prison and justice system waste, and is supported by George Soros’ Open Society Foundation.
- Smart Justice California is a left-of-center criminal justice advocacy group. It is a project of Tides Advocacy, with a $52 million budget.
- ACLU California Action is a left-leaning activist organization and state-level arm of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Advocates used the opportunity to call for more state funding for crime prevention, cash assistance to victims and survivors of violent crime, and “interventions around gun violence.” However, the advocates for interventions around gun violence offered no specific solutions – just funding.
It appeared that this was an opportunistic shakedown to direct funding to the numerous “criminal justice reform” advocate groups.
“Money matters – it’s what’s needed to fund mental health,” Steinberg said. “The money needs to be matched to change the law… a legal right to housing and legal right to health treatment.” He said without it, “we are still going to have broken systems. I, for one, am tired of it. I was tired of it long before the trauma in my community.”
Steinberg also called for “24/7 wrap-around care for anyone leaving that jail,” pointing to the Sacramento County Jail.
Steinberg created the Steinberg Institute in 2015 while still a State Senator, just prior to leaving the California Senate, to help the mentally-ill: “Since its inception in January 2015, the institute has helped enact sweeping improvements in California mental health policy, including securing $2 billion to provide housing and care for homeless people living with brain illness,” the website says. Have they spent $2 billion helping the mentally-ill, creating housing and funding crime prevention?
Carlos Marquez with the ACLU California Action said the “root causes of crime” will take “political will and funding.” He asked for $200 million for “mental health diversion.”
Phil Melendez with Smart Justice California said the problem is a focus on crime and blame instead of treatment. “We need to invest in communities and prevention. We’ve been incarcerating our way to public safety.”
These appear to be statements pushing toward more gun control. But as Breitbart reported:
- California already bans ghost guns.
- California has required background checks for all gun sales since the 1990s.
- California has banned “assault weapons” since the 1990s.
- California bans “high capacity” magazines.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is pushing to allow private citizens to sue gun makers.
“Additionally, California has a red flag law, gun registration requirements, a 10-day waiting period on gun purchases, a ‘good cause’ requirement for concealed carry permit issuance, a ban on campus carry for self-defense, a ban on teachers carrying on K-12 campuses for classroom defense, and a limit on the number of guns law-abiding citizens can buy each month.”
Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher is taking a different tact:
“Wake Up Call: Pro-criminal policies supported by the Governor and Capitol Democrats must be reversed,” he Tweeted Thursday morning. “@AsmRepublicans are calling on them to act now and stop the violence.”
Assembly Republicans are calling on the Governor and the Legislature to reverse course to curb violent crime:
- End the Early Release of Violent Felons
- Restore Stiff Penalties for Gun & Gang Crimes
- Disarm & Penalize Felons with Guns
The Ca Crime Crisis Wake Up Call. Today, we’re calling on the Governor and the Legislature to reverse course to curb violent crime:
✔️End the Early Release of Violent Felons
✔️Restore Stiff Penalties for Gun & Gang Crimes
✔️Disarm & Penalize Felons with Guns pic.twitter.com/sz5igeBfSd— James Gallagher (@J_GallagherAD3) April 7, 2022
One of the alleged shooters was released from prison six years early by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, even though the man has a long and violent criminal record, the Sacramento Bee reported.
Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert strongly opposed the man’s early release: “If he is released early, he will continue to break the law,” DA Schubert wrote to the Parole Board.
Three suspects have been arrested in the shootings. Police say they are looking at two additional suspects.
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“Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, together with Democratic state lawmakers and “criminal justice reform” advocates, held a press conference and demanded $3 billion “for immediate and substantial investments in crime prevention and healing services for crime victims.” Their demand follows the weekend shooting in Sacramento which left 6 dead and 12 injured.”
My guess is that these lawmakers and advocates will find some way to blame the police for not being there to prevent this violence. Although, as the LA Times reports, the police were looking for the Martins but were called off to search for some missing children in the area. So are these same lawmakers and advocates responsible for the lack of law enforcement funding for additional personnel and less focus on gangs?
Democrat Mayor Steinberg is now demanding billions of dollars to fight crime that he and his Democrat cronies have helped create with their anti-law enforcement policies? It’s interesting that the NY Post has more details about the Sacramento gang shooting on Sunday than any of the local media outlets? Maybe it’s not surprising considering that local media outlets like the Sacramento Bee are just propaganda outlets for the Democrat party? Outlets like the Sacramemto Bee don’t report anything that goes against the narrative of their Democrat masters? Gang violence using unregistered weapons doesn’t fit into the Democrat gun control narrative?
“Shameless” Steinberg Strikes Again! Whose puppet is he THIS week as he is pushed out onto center stage in the Democats’ mission to secure $3 BILLION on the heels of the bloodbath in Sacramento to compile slush funds to hand out to the State’s “friends?”
If you only recently tuned in to these California Dem politicians you’d think they’d get a clue after all their previous efforts have failed SO MISERABLY, but think about it: maybe you’re just looking at it all wrong. This latest slush fund shakedown actually crosses so many T’s and dots so many I’s for them that it succeeds toward their goal in a number of Dem/Marxist categories:
1) It continues to fool their hypnotized and uninformed base who suicidally buy into the Dems’ “gun control” agenda thinking it actually reduces gun violence, which it does not, DUH
2) It satisfies the Do-Something! checklist of desperate and sleazy politicians
3) It allows the usual Dem politician-demonizers to take shots at sensible people who start to wonder if this latest bloodbath was more than a coincidence, and to once again label them as deplorable tin-hat wearers
4) It deflates and demoralizes the citizenry who increasingly tune out when they see nothing good happening no matter how much they vote for change (because the Dems have engineered this)
And the list goes on. You get the picture. Had enough yet?
Amen, Amen, Amen!
ShowandTell For Governor!
LOL! (God forbid) 🙂
Upvote for Showandtell!
This article really hits the nail on the head.
We have tried it their way, now let’s admit that was the wrong way and get back to the real world,
if it is not already too late.
Until these issues affect one of the politicians and lawmakers , there is no motivation to do otherwise.
I do not feel that the elected officials represent my needs as a tax paying citizen of California.
If they did, they would have phone numbers that we could call, not just email addresses.
When was the last time any of us received a personal callback or letter in response to our concerns. Of course, my email box is overflowing with emails begging for my hard earned money .
Barbara Lee, Diane Feinstein and Mike McGuire to name a few.
What a joke !
Oh, and a recent letter from Biden ‘himself’……..they all must be out of their mother-loving minds !
We absolutely need 30 more James Gallaghers up in Sacramento and ZERO Darrell Steinbergs anywhere near public office.
We who want law and order are not the crazy ones!
INSANITY! But hey, all we will be fixed when they hire illegal immigrants to police are streets! After all those that break fundamental laws will be able to rid our streets of crime????
Oops, (are) our,
I need to slow down. I am really worked up over all this nonsense, hope others are too and make a change this June 7,2022!
I know, Cali Girl —- feeling a bit more scattered than usual myself lately.
“However, the advocates for interventions around gun violence offered no specific solutions – just funding.”
No specific solutions with a huge price tag is par for the course these days. Look at Steinberg’s utter failure regarding the homeless mess in Sacramento. That “effort” is costing a fortune and producing no good results.
Exactly.
I’ve been wondering why the dummycrats are pro-crime, other than wanting to torture the citizens. Well, here’s the answer! Crime pays! Let the criminals run amok, then demand more money for your cronies.
This violence will galvanize interest in the up-coming election for county district attorney to replace Schubert who is running for attorney general. Ho and Matthews are leading candidates. Matthews is said to be a Soros-backed progressive. (https://www.foxnews.com/politics/soros-family-quietly-bankrolls-defund-the-police-candidates). We shall see if common sense will prevail or if we continue on the progressive path as exemplified by the Steinberg types.
Sacramento D.A. candidate Thien Ho sounds like he would make a great D.A. A straight-shooter, tough, knows his issues, stands his ground. He was covered in The Globe in February; Sacramento voters should take a look:
https://californiaglobe.com/articles/safety-not-politics-says-sacramento-prosecutor-running-for-district-attorney/
Obfuscation, pure and simple. When your policies don’t work call for more laws and more money to get what you want. It’s such an obvious and bankrupt strategy, but the MSM just keeps pushing it anyway. As a politician you can never, ever take responsibility for your actions. You must always claim that more laws and more money will fix the problem. How insightful of our exalted leaders.
Having had some limited experience working as a volunteer with gang intervention social workers in the LA area many years ago, one thing became clear to me. Regardless of the ethnicity – Chinese, Mexican or Black – the structure of the gang is the same. There are leaders and followers, hardcore and marginal members. They participate in the gangs for different reasons and the members are not always from low income families. One hardcore member of a Chinese gang was a runaway whose parents were both physicians; a social worker told me that his parents just didn’t care. The hardcore leaders are usually gang members for life; whereas, the marginal ones who are there mainly just to be part of a social group, can be approached and there is at least a possibility for successful intervention. Realistically, imo, policy MUST be a combination of “tough law” enforcement AND “tough love” outreach programs. (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/sacramento-carnage-came-out-of-the-blue-says-gang-intervention-worker/ar-AAW0fJ2)
Comrades
Crime is out of the bottle, swivel ya head always, see the bullet coming……
Like all those who belong to the deep-state Democrat cabal, Sacramento Mayor Steinberg looks very well fed? No food shortages for them?
Bus ’em to the mayors house.
Tent city on Pelosi’s lawn.
Porta potties and outdoor showers in Fair Oaks.
Safe injection sites at Weiners house.
A ‘place of healing ‘ for condemned inmates at Pan house.
Disgusting sell outs.
Let California succeed, we are dragging down the rest of the country.