Federal weapons prosecutions plummets under Obama, but ironically, Hadiya Pendleton's Mom is a big Obama fan - Go figure

In a February 19 blog post, entitled, Hadiya Pendleton - Liberals' "Go easy on crime & gun violence" policies responsible for teen's death, I noted that President Obama - in his typical politically calculated, phony fashion - used the parents of 15-year-old Chicago native, Hadiya Pendleton - who was shot and killed [in January] by two gang members - as a prop to 1) promote his gun control initiatives; 2) portray himself and his Democratic colleagues as the protectors of today's youth; 3) to depict the Republicans as the source of all evil who are responsible for the huge number of murders perpetrated against America's youth.

"Hadiya’s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight," Obama proclaimed during his State of the Union [propaganda] address. "They deserve a vote."

I noted that although Michael Ward and Kenneth Williams, the murderers who killed Hadiya, were gang members [part of the SUWU gang faction], and as such, would have likely obtained firearms regardless of any kind of gun legislation - nevertheless, 'were it not for the "go soft" on crime and gun violence attitude that Liberals hold so dearly to their hearts, Hadiya Pendleton would likely still be alive today.'

Michael Ward, the one who actually pulled the trigger and shot and killed Hadiya Pendleton, was convicted of a weapons charge in 2012, and he pleaded guilty to Aggravated Unlawful Use Of A Weapon, a felony punishable by 1 to 3 years imprisonment in the state of Illinois. But Ward never went to prison for the aforementioned conviction because of a state law that mandates a "go soft attitude" towards offenders under the age of 18; Ward was 17-years old at the time of the offense.

It would have been impossible for Michael Ward to gun down Hadiya Pendleton from his prison cell. But sadly, he never went to jail. Ward was also arrested three times while on probation for his gun conviction but never went to prison. That's right, he violated his probation three times before he gunned down Hadiya, but only one violation was ever reported to the judge.

I also noted via Judicial Watch, as follows:

Last fall the Obama administration quietly shut down a crucial FBI division—National Gang Intelligence Center (NGIC)—dedicated to countering gang violence. The alarming move came at a time when gang violence in the United States was at an all-time high, according to the government’s own figures.

When the NGIC got the ax, its latest annual gang threat assessment had revealed that gangs are responsible for nearly half of all violent crimes in most parts of the country and up to 90% in many jurisdictions.

The following report from Investor's Business Daily confirms and strengthens the argument I made in my February blog post:

A murdered Chicago teen's mother attends the president's speech on gun control, not knowing federal gun-crime prosecutions have in fact dropped on his watch — with the Windy City [Chicago] bringing up the rear...

Obama met with [Hadiya Pendleton's mother] and some of the others in a small group before his formal remarks [State of the Union propaganda speech] and told them "how serious this issue really is and something needs to be done about it," said Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton, Hadiya's mother.

But President Obama did not tell this group that Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows that the Northern Illinois district ranked 90th out of 90 in prosecutions of federal weapons crimes per capita...

Considering that there were 522 people murdered in Chicago in 2012, one would think that the documented lack of enforcement of existing gun laws by a president seeking more of them would be a national scandal...

The Syracuse study also showed that nationally federal gun crime prosecutions hit a decade low in 2011 under President Obama, down 40% from their peak under President George W. Bush in 2004.

The number of federal weapons prosecutions fell from about 11,000 in 2004 to about 6,000 under the Obama administration in 2011, before ticking up to 7,770 in 2012.

Prosecutions for making a false statement when buying a gun are down 29% from five years ago, while prosecutions for illegal possession fell 14%, according to federal data...

In 2010, of 6 million Americans who applied to buy a gun, less than 2% — or 76,000 — were denied. Of those, the ATF referred 4,732 cases for prosecution. Of them, just 44 were prosecuted, and only 13 were punished for lying or buying a gun illegally.

President Obama didn't explain to Hadiya Pendleton's mom — or to the other mothers assembled — that while he pushes for universal background checks, which career criminals will ignore, there is only a slightly higher chance that you will be prosecuted for an actual federal gun crime (1.7 in 10,000 according to the Syracuse study) than you will be struck by lightning (1 in 10,000 according to the National Weather Service).

In light of the administration's record on prosecuting gun crimes, its complaints about gun show loopholes, assault weapons bans, and universal background checks ring hollow.

As I noted back in February:

Using Hadiya Pendleton's parents as a prop, during his State of the Union address, was a nice ploy by the President to promote himself and to try to fault Republican lawmakers for Hadiya's death, but a more appropriate propt would have been a huge banner proclaiming: "Democrats, stop being so soft on gun violence, and stop treating the criminals with kid gloves!"

Of course, I would never expect the President to do that, not when his image is on the line, not when he has the opportunity to twist the facts and publicly shame the Republican Party. But the American people deserve the truth. And most of all, Hadiya Pendleton deserves the truth, Obama's carefully crafted and phony image notwithstanding.

Related:  In 1999, Obama wouldn’t support tougher prosecution for school shooters. 'A Chicago Tribune editorial even accused Obama of being a “gutless sheep” for missing a vote on crime legislation in late 1999.'

The Jack Ryan Files: Obama ‘shamefully soft on crime and drugs’: Obama failed to 'support laws meant to protect battered women, ensure the privacy of rape victims and prevent the murder of witnesses....'