By: José Niño

The left’s stewardship, or lack thereof, of major cities nationwide has turned them into safe spaces for criminal activity.

In San Francisco’s case, the city has been afflicted by a surge in crime from 2020 to 2021. According to Breitbart News, car burglaries from June 2020 to June 2021 have increased by 753 percent.

And what has been the city’s response to its growing crime?

The City of San Francisco is now rolling out a program that aims to pay “high risk” individuals $300 to stop being involved in shoot-outs. A truly bizarre plan that honestly belongs in 2021 — a year filled to the brim with all sorts of irrational policymaking.

According to a Newsweek report, this program is titled “Dream Keepers.” The San Francisco Human Rights Commission’s Executive Director, Sheryl Davis, has stood up for the program. She argues that the money represents an “investment” in public safety.

“It’s not necessarily as cut and dry as folks may think,” Davis said. “It’s not as transactional as, ‘Here’s a few dollars so that you don’t do something bad,’ but it really is about how you help us improve public safety in the neighborhood.”

Davis is of the view that the causes of San Francisco’s soaring crime are in “so many ways” economic in nature. According to ABC 7, the individuals receiving $300 monthly could become eligible to receive $500 “if they meet certain milestones.”

It’s naive to believe that hardened criminals will simply lay down their arms and discontinue their criminal ways by being bribed with taxpayer funds. The case of San Francisco is one of lax policing and being situated in a state (California) that makes it increasingly difficult for lawful citizens to bear arms and defend themselves from criminals.

San Francisco is, after all, a city that has effectively decriminalized shoplifting and is notorious for letting its homeless problem get out of hand. Public order is not one of its highest priorities.

In a saner time, San Francisco residents would have the right to bear arms and a political class that stresses some semblance of public order. Unfortunately, that’s not in the cards currently. Many conservative and freedom-loving residents of San Francisco have picked up on this and fled the city — a tough move than many Californians have had to make over the last decade.

Those living in red states and jurisdictions should count their blessings. Whatever obstacles they face, people living in conservative jurisdictions can at least have some hope of reforming the areas around them and advance pro-gun legislation through hard work and dedication.

José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.