Last week, US Congressman Troy Carter penned an op-ed for the Times-Picayune. His op-ed is one of the least convincing articles I’ve read in a while.

To save you time from having to read it, I’ll give you the gist of Carter’s argument. It’s that legislature’s upcoming special session will make Louisiana more dangerous by expanding the death penalty and by becoming tougher on juvenile crime. He also waxes about Governor Edwards’ “soft on crime” criminal justice reform agenda from the 2017 legislative session and then offers to provide federal assistance to help with crime in New Orleans.

Where do we begin with Carter’s inane op-ed? The article is pure grandstanding and does not make a single factual argument in the whole piece. Not once does he mention Louisiana’s ranking as the most violent state in America. Not once does not he mention that New Orleans was the murder capital of America in 2022. Not once does he mention that Louisiana’s crime problem has exploded in the past seven years after the passing of the bi-partisan “soft-on-crime” policies from 2017.

Congressman Carter represents the city of New Orleans in the US Congress. In 2022, his city hit a 26-year high in murders.  Roughly 270 people were murdered in New Orleans in 2022. Murders went slightly down in 2023 but were still close to the 200-mark. In total, over 450 New Orleanians have been murdered over the last two years, but Congressman Carter has the gall to say that legislation from the Legislature’s special session will “make communities less safe.” Give me a break.

Moreover, according to the Metropolitan Crime Commission, over 1000 homicides, over 2000 armed robberies, and over 1000 carjackings have taken place in New Orleans over the past five years.

Not once does Congressman Carter mention the stories of the victims in Louisiana’s crime explosion. We can’t forget about the brutal murder of Linda Frickey. In March 2022, four juvenile delinquents carjacked Linda Frickey–a 73-year-old grandmother–at gunpoint and dragged her to death. This is the legacy of the Edwards administration and the Left’s all-out assault on law and order and common decency in a civilized society.

On a personal note, just last month, there was a daytime drive-by shooting a few blocks from my work’s office building in the CBD. Two of the three criminals arrested in connection to the shooting were juveniles–ages 16 and 17. I should not have to worry about shootings breaking out during the day outside of my work building, but New Orleans politicians like Troy Carter and others keep defending dangerous criminals instead of protecting law-abiding citizens. In Congressman Carter’s view, the dangerous teens who committed these crimes don’t deserve to be tried as adults–despite knowingly committing such despicable crimes.

Congressman Carter does not care about families who grieve the loss of loved ones who were murdered by dangerous juveniles. Congressman Carter does not care about the victims of carjackings at gunpoint. Congressman Carter does not care about law-abiding citizens. His out-of-touch, tone-deaf op-ed makes that fact frighteningly obvious.

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Nathan Koenig is a frequent contributor to RVIVR.com, a national conservative political site affiliated with The Hayride. Follow his writing on the Louisiana First Standard substack, on Twitter (X) @LAfirststandard, and on Instagram @tincanconservative. Email him here: thechristianmajority@gmail.com