Car Thieves Aren't the Problem, Manufacturers Are

If a woman robbed at knife or gunpoint, do Democrats blame the manufacturer of the clothing she wears for not preventing the crime?

No, of course not.

Woe be to anyone who does. 

So why are Democrats blaming car manufacturers for their vehicles not being theft proof?

St. Louis, Missouri and several other cities have filed a federal lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia over the thefts of those brands of cars.

The lawsuit claims that between May 2022 and February 2023, an average of 15 Kia and Hyundai vehicles being stolen per day in St. Louis.

In the eyes of Democrats, it’s never the criminals who are guilty of committing crimes.

In this case, Mayor Tishaura Jones says the car manufacterers’ refusal to install anti-theft technology has led to an increase in stolen cars across the nation.

"Their failure to equip Kias and Hyundais with an immobilizer technology has resulted in an increased expenditure of city resources, forcing St. Louis to devote significant manpower to documenting, investigating and recovering stolen Kia or Hyundai vehicles," Mayor Jones said.

If that wasn’t brazen enough, she went on to place the blame for not having safer cars on the increase of other violent crimes: shootings, burglaries, and crashes.

"By refusing to follow industry standards making their cars so easy that a child could do it, Kia and Hyundai created a public safety hazard in cities across the country and put a target on the backs of their customers," she said.

Wow.

How about arresting and prosecuting the criminals you can find?

Don’t you think that would help lower the soaring crime rate in The River City?

St. Louis started taking action last October when Jones and Director of Public Safety Dan Isom signed off on a letter threatening to sue the companies because they are contributing to a public nuisance in the city, according to Fox 2.

"[W]th this letter, the city demands that Kia and Hyundai mitigate the defective conditions providing thieves — including teenagers as young as 13 — the instrumentalities by which they are destroying property, endangering city drivers and themselves, and, in some cases, committing violent felonies," City Counselor Sheena Hamilton wrote, in part.

Interestingly, their rationale for the lawsuit is that the manufacturers’ refusal to install anti-theft devices makes the vehicles easier to steal, and that makes them liable.

Following that logic, the city’s reluctance to properly fund its police department, prosecutes criminals, and sentence them to prison, makes it easier for criminals to commit crime in the city.

It can even be said, such a failure to protect citizens attracts criminals to the city. So, by Jones’s logic, isn’t she and her administration liable for the crimes committed in her city?

Maybe Hyundai and Kia should file a countersuit claiming the city should be liable for losses incurred from the theft of their cars because they won’t prosecute criminals and have reduced police on the street.

Or, encourage residents to buy a steering wheel lock device like the Club for less than $65.

Problem solved.

Michael Letts is the Founder and CEO of In-Vest USA, a national grassroots nonprofit organization helping to re-fund police by contributing thousands of bulletproof vests for police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs. He also has over 30 years of law enforcement experience. Read More Michael Letts reports — Here.