They Screen You. They Hire Him.

Law-abiding gun owners face background checks, waiting periods, and fingerprinting. Meanwhile, the government is paying convicted gun felons to "interrupt violence" — and some of them are committing murder on the taxpayer's dime.

Here's how it works in America in 2026.

You walk into M&M Guns and Supplies to buy a firearm. You fill out a Form 4473. You submit to a federal background check. You wait. You provide your ID. In some states, you wait again — ten days, just in case. You are treated, from the moment you walk in the door, as a potential criminal who must prove otherwise before exercising a constitutional right.

Meanwhile, in Washington DC, a man convicted of an illegal gun charge was rehired — by a different organization — to work as a government-funded "violence interrupter." When asked why a convicted gun felon was put back on the payroll of a violence prevention program, a DC government spokesperson explained that "an individual who has been convicted of a gun charge is not necessarily disqualified from working as a violence interrupter as we value lived experience."

That same man was later charged with murder. Prosecutors allege he fired nine times into the dimly lit second-floor dance floor of a DC nightclub, killing a 31-year-old real estate agent and wounding three others.

Your tax dollars at work.

What Violence Interruption Programs Are

The theory isn't unreasonable on its face. The idea: hire people with credibility in high-crime communities — typically former gang members or individuals with criminal records — to mediate disputes before they escalate into shootings. Give them access to at-risk individuals that police and social workers don't have. Pay them to interrupt the cycle of retaliatory violence.

The Biden administration pumped hundreds of millions into these programs through the American Rescue Plan Act. Cities from Baltimore to Chicago to Los Angeles to Washington DC received federal grants to stand up or expand interruption programs virtually overnight.

The results have been — to put it charitably — mixed.

The DC Disaster

No city illustrates the failure more clearly than Washington DC.

Last year, DC Police Union Chairman Gregg Pemberton testified before the US Senate Judiciary Committee. His assessment was not gentle:

"There's almost no evidence of any efficacy of these violence interrupters. As a matter of fact, one of our city council members has been indicted for accepting bribes from a violence interruption organization, and I can name at least a half a dozen suspects who have been arrested for murder, gun charges, drug charges, other violence charges who have been paid by violence interruption organizations. Violence interruption in the District of Columbia is a grift and it is a way for tax dollars to get funneled into the hands of criminals. We shouldn't be spending a dime on violence interruption in the District of Columbia as there's absolutely zero proof that it works or has any level of efficacy whatsoever."

That's not a conservative commentator. That's the chairman of the DC Police Union — the people who actually work the streets — testifying under oath before the United States Senate.

And then the murder happened.

Illinois: Governor's Photo-Op Goes Wrong

DC isn't alone.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker posed for an official photo with a program "peacekeeper" — a feel-good moment designed to showcase the administration's commitment to community violence intervention. The photo was published on the governor's website.

The peacekeeper turned out to be a fugitive.

The photo was quietly removed. The governor's office said nothing. Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking for basic vetting and background check information — who approved this person, what checks were run, what was known about their criminal history. The governor's office largely ignored the request. Judicial Watch sued to compel disclosure.

As of now, the public still doesn't know what vetting — if any — was done before a fugitive was handed a government-funded role in a violence prevention program and photographed with the state's governor.

The Fundamental Contradiction

Here is the question nobody in the gun control movement wants to answer:

If a law-abiding citizen with zero criminal history must pass a federal background check, provide thumbprints, and wait days or weeks to exercise a constitutional right — why is a convicted gun felon considered an asset to a taxpayer-funded violence prevention program?

The answer, according to program administrators, is "lived experience." Former criminals, the theory goes, have street credibility that allows them to reach at-risk individuals in ways that police and social workers cannot.

Maybe. In some cases, that's probably true.

But the same movement that insists law-abiding gun owners must be treated as suspects until proven otherwise — surveilled, registered, restricted, and taxed for exercising a constitutional right — simultaneously insists that convicted violent criminals deserve not just sympathy but government paychecks and community access.

The double standard isn't subtle. It isn't accidental. And it isn't about public safety.

Gun control has never been about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. If it were, the DC violence interruption program wouldn't have rehired a convicted gun felon. The Illinois governor wouldn't have posed with a fugitive. City councils wouldn't be indicted for taking bribes from the organizations running these programs.

It's about controlling who has guns. Law-abiding citizens — the ones who follow the rules, pass the checks, and exercise their rights responsibly — are the target. Criminals are an afterthought at best, a funding source at worst.

What Actually Works

Armed citizens. Constitutional carry. Fast, consistent prosecution of violent criminals. Mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes committed during the commission of another felony.

Missouri has been a constitutional carry state since 2017. We don't fund violence interruption programs staffed by convicted gun felons. We trust law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, their families, and their communities. And the data — as we've covered extensively on this blog — shows that armed citizens stop active shooters at a rate nearly eight times higher than the FBI's own reporting suggests.

The most effective violence interruption program in American history is called the Second Amendment.

Stay current on 2A news and analysis at mmguns.com/blog/downrange. Stop in and see us at 5578 Salt River Road, Saint Peters, MO 63376 | 636-387-1199

All purchases subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws. Missouri is a constitutional carry state; however, individual municipalities and political subdivisions retain the right to require a valid CCW permit to carry within their jurisdiction. Know your local laws before you carry.