The residents of Kansas City are still reeling after the deadly shooting last week during the Chiefs Super Bowl parade. What should have been a day of city-wide celebration and unity for Chiefs fans ended with one woman dead and 22 others, many of them children, injured. On Friday, Jackson County Family Court authorities stated that two juveniles were being held in connection to the shooting on gun-related charges and resisting arrest. As the investigation continues, more charges against the juveniles could be forthcoming. 

But for Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, the priority is seemingly on semantics.

Wrong Priorities

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is upset, accuses Missouri Gov. Mike Parson of using a racial "dog whistle" by calling the Chiefs Parade shooting suspects "thugs".

Don't you feel he should be more concerned about those who were injured or killed by this act of… pic.twitter.com/ntSMcrTELo

— Conservative Brief (@ConservBrief) February 19, 2024

Don't you feel he should be more concerned about those who were injured or killed by this act of violence?

After Wednesday's horrific shooting, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) released a statement in which he said, “We can’t let some thugs just take over and ruin what happened.” Cue the playing of the race card in 3...2...1. In an appearance on radio station KCUR's "Up to Date" program, Quinton, a Democrat, promptly claimed that Parson's choice of words amounted to a racial "dog whistle." Lucas responded to Parson, saying:

I have respect for the governor. We get along well. I disagree strongly with how he would describe that situation. I certainly do think this was criminal activity. It was lawlessness, and I think that that’s troubling. But ‘thugs’ is a dog whistle in the most classic sense. I’ve seen this dog whistle time and again. There’s this kind of giant conservative theory on social media now that the reason these mug shots haven’t been shown is because the purported defendants are black, and if it were a white defendant we would have just shown them. That is absolutely preposterous. There are protections to juveniles.

But while Mayor Lucas is focused on Gov. Parson's supposed "dog whistle," he might want to shift that focus to some other, perhaps more important facts. Lucas himself stated that there were over 800 police officers in the parade area on Wednesday, including on rooftops. But even that massive amount of police presence could not stop people from taking their personal dispute to the streets. Another thing Mayor Lucas might want to focus on is the fact that Kansas City is like many other Democrat-run cities. In 2023, the city matched a previous record-high number of homicides at 182, most of which were gun-related. 

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas slams Gov Mike Parson for calling minor parade shooters ‘thugs’

22 shot, 11 children. These people aren’t capable of leadership

— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) February 19, 2024

The shooting has given Missouri Democrats a renewed platform to call for more gun control and argue that Missouri's restrictions on who can own, sell, or carry firearms are too lax. Missouri has no minimum age requirement to buy a gun, but federal law requires a person to be 21 to buy a handgun or handgun-caliber ammunition, and the federal Youth Handgun Safety Act prohibits those 18 and under from possessing a handgun. But obviously, juveniles who managed to possess firearms were not up on Missouri gun laws. This is yet another example of how Democrats assume criminals are following gun laws anywhere. 

Kansas City area State Rep. Ashley Aune appeared on the same radio program as Lucas and stated:

I'm not hopeful. The only solution to this is electing more Democrats in Missouri, full stop. That's the only way things will change. Republicans have had a supermajority in our state. They have been running everything for 20 years. That is why we are where we're at today with our very lax gun laws.

As usual, while Democrats go on about dog whistles and gun control, they fail to mention anything about mental health or teaching young people other ways to solve their disputes than with firearms. Data from the Kansas City Police Department showed that a quarter of homicide suspects in 2023 were under the age of 24, and the same pattern was found in 2022. Maybe something else the mayor should focus on.

Quinton Lucas is right: there are protections for juveniles, and rightly so. But as the investigation goes forward, and if and when these juveniles are charged with a very adult crime, how long will it take for the public to know their names and see their faces? Mayor Lucas, here is your chance to dispel that pesky "giant conservative theory on social media." 

One week ago the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl.

Had they lost the game, Lisa Lopez-Galvan would be alive today and many children would be bullet free. But unfortunately, the Super Bowl was won by a longtime Democrat controlled city.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas…

— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) February 18, 2024

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas seems more upset that the Missouri Governor called the shooters “thugs” than the fact that gang violence and murder is out of control in the 32-year Democrat run city. 

Last year Kansas City set its all time Murder record which was previously set in 2020. 

Mayor Quinton is more worried about “dog whistles” then solving the problem of murder on his streets.  

Young Black males are committing the majority of the murders in Kansas City and the majority of them are growing up without a Father in the home. Until this is addressed. Nothing will change.