Our nation's capital has come up with a new strategy to get people to stop killing each other: invoking God. Specifically, His sixth commandment, "Thou Shalt Not Kill."

Philip Pannell, a nonprofit director who's spearheading the poster movement, said, "The message ‘Thou shalt not kill’ is just as powerful and just as relevant in 2023 as it was thousands of years ago." Well, I would sure hope so.

The move comes after the police chief called last year's homicide rate "absolutely unacceptable." Though crime was slightly down from 2021, the past two years each saw over 200 murders, the first time that has happened back-to-back in nearly 20 years. And 2023 seems to be off to an even worse start, with car thefts already up 113%, robberies up 57%, and property crime up 42% since this time of last year.

Mayor Bowser's office is providing 1,000 posters and a local restaurant owner is underwriting the cost of 2,000 posters. Parnell hopes the posters will help reverse the desensitization to murder that has taken hold of D.C. residents and reduce gun violence.

An alternative solution to rampant gun violence could be - hear me out - prosecuting criminals. I know, I know. Crazy stuff. But last November, the D.C. City Council rejected an amendment to its soft-on-crime criminal code that would have increased penalties for carrying an unlicensed firearm. Mayor Bowser, to her credit, vetoed the code but said she supports the majority of it. Sigh.

I appreciate the good intentions behind these posters, but it is pretty hilarious. Just imagine a hardened criminal, gun drawn, about to terrorize some innocent civilians, but he suddenly sees this poster and remembers God doesn't want us to kill each other. He drops the gun, goes to college, marries the love of his life, and has three kids and a white picket fence. All because of the poster that reminded him that murder is bad, actually.

Yeeeeaaah. Probably not going to happen. But anything's possible!

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