A Chicago Democrat is asking gang members to limit shooting guns in the city to the overnight hours.
Maria Hadden, a Democrat alderwoman, recently promoted the proposal from community group Native Sons in an email newsletter. Called "The People’s Ordinance," the proposal asks gang members to refrain from shooting between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.
"We have to start somewhere," Native Sons co-founder Tatiana Atkins said of the proposal, according to CWBChicago. "Our goal is to approach our city’s gun violence problem strategically and not all at once. Things didn’t become this way overnight, and change won’t happen overnight.
"Under this ordinance, we ask that people stop associating with and glorifying 'shooters,' stop glorifying 'switches,' and stop wearing those ski masks everywhere which perpetuates you as some 'opp,'" Atkins said. "When those who live a certain lifestyle try to hang with 'regular' class citizens, they put everyone at risk."
"Switches" are after-market devices that turn some semi-automatic handguns into automatic weapons.
"If people know that after a certain hour, the likelihood of them being shot by an unknown and unprovoked assailant are at a higher risk, they will be less likely to be out and about, and they may become more proactive with the supervision of their children," she continued.
"At the end of the day, five-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, 14-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, 78-year-olds are being killed by gun violence, pregnant women are being killed by gun violence, young boys with bright futures are being killed by gun violence, fathers are being killed by gun violence, and this shouldn’t be happening," Atkins added.
While the community group calls the proposal an "ordinance," no legislation has been drafted codifying enhanced penalties for those who shoot their guns between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., according to CWBChicago.
The proposal comes as Chicago continues to grapple with gun violence under new Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat.
The city’s homicide rate skyrocketed nearly 40% under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, according to watchdog group Wirepoints.
Last weekend in Chicago, 23 people were shot, four of them fatally. An 8-year-old girl was among seven people killed the weekend before, according to The Washington Free Beacon.
Crime spiked 38% during Johnson’s first month in office, and robberies increased 17% in the last week of July compared with the same time last year.
Johnson was the only candidate in the Chicago mayoral race who did not support hiring more police officers to fill the roughly 1,600 vacancies. His campaign also backed efforts to "have health professionals, not police, respond to crisis calls."