Toledo mayor names gun violence manager, cites criminal record as resume enhancer

The City of Toledo has a long history of electing anti-gun rights mayors, who then proceed to support gun control initiatives which do nothing to reduce the rising crime they are supposed to be addressing.

From a failed ban on so-called "Saturday Night Specials" that unfairly targeted would-be gun owners in lower income brackets, to illegal confiscations of law-abiding citizens' firearms and operating an anti-gun task force instructed stop people who look suspicious, the Glass City is well-known for its animosity towards the Second Amendment.

So while it will come as no surprise that Toledo's latest chief executive, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz (D), is a gun control supporter, the types of qualifications that he considers as resume enhancers is likely to turn some heads.

From the Associated Press:

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has announced his selection for program manager of his initiative to curb gun violence in the Ohio city.

Kapszukiewicz selected former professional football player and Toledo native JoJuan Armour, 44, to lead the cities first comprehensive approach to address the root causes of gun violence as a public health crisis, the Blade reported.

Kapszukiewicz said Monday that Armour’s misdemeanor criminal record was considered in the decision and was viewed to be advantageous for the task at hand.

...

Armour’s record includes three impaired driving convictions and disorderly conduct charges.

Yes, you read that right. Mayor Kapszukiewicz views being convicted of the crimes of impaired driving and disorderly conduct as "advantageous" for his new Gun Violence Initiative program manager.

Kapszukiewicz is quoted as saying "some of the experiences [Armour] had made him the best possible person to hire into this job. Someone with the resume of an altar boy or a Boy Scout wouldn’t be able to relate as well to the folks that this position has to relate to.”

Got that? According to Mayor Kapszukiewicz, in order to relate to the criminals you are trying to relate to, you have to be a criminal yourself. Or, to put another way, applicants who have NOT been convicted of disorderly conduct or impaired driving (on multiple occasions), were at a disadvantage when it came to being considered for this salaried position, which is costing Toledo taxpayers $71,764 per year.

This isn't the first time Mayor Kapszukiewicz has made headlines for controversial gun control actions. In 2018, he announced a new policy that said the city would only purchase firearms from "responsible" gun companies (i.e. gun companies that don't sell modern sporting rifles to law-abiding citizens). two years later, the mayor was forced to admit his political posturing didn't work, and that not even one company had met the city's standards.

Chad D. Baus served as Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary from 2013-2019, and continues to serve on the Board of Directors. He is co-founder of BFA-PAC, and served as its Vice Chairman for 15 years. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website, and is also an NRA-certified firearms instructor.