On June 5, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa urged the U.S. Senate to pass legislation federalizing so-called gang crimes. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced the bill in January. Villaraigosa has consistently championed anti-worker measures during his tenure as mayor.
Other bill supporters include California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senator Barbara Boxer.
In reality, the bill would make “gang-associated activity”—very broadly defined—a federal crime, thus invoking stiffer penalties. It would also fund the expansion of the repressive capitalist state apparatus. The “prevention” aspects of the bill are mostly grants to state and local policing agencies to crack down on oppressed communities.
Violence attributed to urban gangs is on the rise in cities across the United States. This social problem cannot be addressed by tightening the screws of repression. It is symptomatic of the racism, national oppression, poverty and alienation experienced by working-class people, primarily youth, under capitalism.
