Girl, 10, Shot on Milwaukee Playground, Flynn and Barrett Angry

More gun violence in Milwaukee...

From FOX6 News:

Milwaukee police say an 10-year-old girl was shot while on a playground on Wednesday evening, May 21st — near N. 28th Street and Clarke Street in Milwaukee.

The shooting happened around 7:15 p.m. — on the playground of the Clarke Street School.

Police say their preliminary investigation indicates two individuals were shooting at each other, when the child was caught in the crossfire — and shot.

...FOX6 News spoke with a woman who says she’s the young girl’s aunt. That woman told FOX6 News the girl was shot in the head, the leg, and the knee — and was in surgery Wednesday night at Children’s.

There have been so many shootings in Milwaukee recently.

Kids are being shot.

The thugs doing the shooting obviously don't care.

It seems some in Milwaukee were never taught right from wrong; or if they were taught, they've rejected that teaching, choosing to behave in a criminal fashion.

It's hard to maintain order when members of society have no respect for the law.

Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn was angry when he spoke to the press. Not Obama VA scandal angry. Flynn seemed genuinely angry.

“Tonight, two so-called young men felt the need to engage in a shootout without any regard for the lives of children playing nearby,” Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said at the scene on Wednesday evening.

...“Sooner or later people enough gotta be enough! It`s not enough to complain about our tactics. It`s not enough to tell us we`re putting too many people in jail. We need you — the community, to help us solve this crime and to tell your young men to put the guns down!” Chief Flynn said.

...“I need the same Governor and the same state Legislature that found money to help us expand our ShotSpotter, the ShotSpotter that directed us to this location — to pass a law that makes these little monsters afraid to get locked up for possessing a gun. I need felony time for a felony crime of illegally carrying a firearm,” Chief Flynn said.

Milwaukee's mayor, Tom Barrett was also angry.

Mayor Barrett issued the following statement on this shooting:

“The thugs who thought nothing of having a gunfight on a playground need to be locked up for a very, very long time. Right now these gunslingers believe that there are no consequences to walking the streets armed and shooting whenever the mood strikes them. It’s time for the Governor and Legislature to go into special session and pass mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes and to come down hard on those who value life so little.”

Yes, enough is enough.

The dysfunctional Milwaukee community needs to take responsibility and start demanding that its members behave responsibly.

As Flynn says, "We need you — the community, to help us solve this crime and to tell your young men to put the guns down!"

That doesn't happen, certainly not enough if it does happen.

If a friend or family member of mine was engaged in this sort of criminal behavior, I wouldn't ignore it. I would cooperate with police. I would turn him in. If I didn't, I would have blood on my hands. I would do what's right, and not enable a thug.

Something like a march for peace on the streets is nice, but it's ineffective. Symbolic gestures like that aren't keeping kids from getting shot.

Unfortunately, both Flynn and Barrett continue to blame Governor Walker and the state Legislature for the violence.

Their fingerpointing is off the mark. Some of their anger is misdirected.

The thugs are engaging in criminal behavior. They are breaking laws, but Flynn and Barrett say the solution is to have tougher laws. In other words, what we have now allows innocent children to be shot.

Note to Flynn and Barrett: These animals will break new laws, too.

According to Flynn and Barrett, Governor Walker and the Legislature are to blame. None of this bloodshed would be happening if they weren't dropping the ball.

That, of course, is ridiculous.

It would be great if simply passing a law would make this all stop, but it won't.

Let's be honest. The real problem is the destruction of intact families, an outgrowth of the failed War on Poverty. We now are seeing the fruits of a failed experiment that created generations of dysfunction.

The family has a purpose in the functioning of society. The family unit provides social structure. It upholds social order.

Without stable families, we get thugs and 10-year-old little girls get shot playing at a playground in daylight.

This shouldn't be politicized. Thugs running amok shouldn't be exploited to attack Walker and Republicans.

Blame the thugs, not guns and certainly not Walker. Be angry at the thugs, not the Legislature. Hold the thugs accountable for breaking the law. Be angry at a judicial system that fails to lock up the thugs and protect law-abiding men, women, and children.

The fact is there are too many bad people in Milwaukee choosing to do bad things. And, there are way too many people in Milwaukee enabling these bad people, the thugs, by being unwilling to turn them in to police.

No more excuses. Hold people accountable.

If someone gave me a gun, I would never choose to use it in a criminal manner. I wouldn't shoot an 10-year-old girl while she played. No innocent person would get caught in crossfire because there wouldn't be any crossfire. That would never happen. Never.

Why?

I'm not a thug. I know the difference between right and wrong, and I choose to do what's right.

Laws do not stop me from behaving badly. My conscience does.
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Video of Ed Flynn and Tom Barrett: