Shootings are becoming too common in Stockton, CA, and the city’s mayor, Michael Tubbs is looking at various ideas to curb the violence. One of those ideas is to hand out taxpayer funded rewards to criminals for not killing people.  Similar programs have allegedly had some “success” but the world is totally upside down when governments are compensating people not to be evil.

The city is exploring a couple options in the hopes of curbing the number of violent crimes in the city.

The first option is out of Detroit called Project Greenlight. In this situation, live cameras would be set up inside and outside of businesses in Stockton, and the cameras would be monitored in real-time from the police headquarters.

The second option is more controversial out of the Bay Area. Richmond’s Advance Peace uses taxpayer dollars to pay men with firearm history to not shoot guns.

In exchange, the men can participate in adult fellowship, mentorships and job opportunity programs.

This is like saying that law abiding young men are undeserving of these programs.

Ideas like this always have unintended consequences. Welfare has led to the deterioration of the family by driving fathers out of homes and increasing the number of children born out of wedlock. If benefits are available to those with criminal records but not to law abiding citizens, it’s not hard to imagine someone desperate for resources committing a crime in order to “pre-qualify” for the rewards.

Here’s a thought. How about enforcing the law?