On Mardi Gras, there was much to celebrate in New Orleans. The weather was perfect, the crowds were awesome, and millions of dollars were pumped in to the local economy. Yet, as much as local officials try to put a positive spin on Mardi Gras 2009, it is hard to ignore the fact that this carnival was the most violent one in New Orleans history.

On Mardi Gras Day, there were 13 shootings and one murder. The violence was not limited to one area of the city; in fact, there were shootings all over New Orleans: Uptown, the French Quarter, the Hollygrove area, St. Charles Avenue, Mid-City, and New Orleans East. In addition, early Tuesday morning, a Tulane student was abducted and raped near Audubon Park, next to the most expensive homes in the city. In total, there were 14 victims, and many of them were innocent bystanders.

New Orleans has become a virtual shooting gallery. Police were all over the parade route on Mardi Gras Day, but it was not enough to prevent the onslaught of violence. The problem is that most of the shooters were felons with a long criminal history. It is a tragedy that our criminal justice is so broken that we are allowing hardened criminals back onto the streets of New Orleans with little or no jail time.

Some want to blame the violence on the prevalence of guns in New Orleans, but the real problem is not the weapon, but the criminal using the weapon. Too many of our young people have no moral values, no respect for human life. Disputes that a generation ago would have been settled with a fist fight are now settled with gunfire.

In the New Orleans area, decades of neglect have produced broken schools and decades of public assistance programs have produced broken families. Without a functioning criminal justice system and no family structure, criminals roam freely and commit crimes wherever they want. No section of the City of New Orleans is safe anymore.  

While local tourism officials and politicians might want to tout the great Mardi Gras crowd, the national media is only interested in the violence. The day after Fat Tuesday, all of the networks and many national publications produced news stories highlighting the rampant violence on the streets of New Orleans. This kind of negative exposure will undoubtedly hurt our recovery and our tourism industry.

What is being done in response? Right now, some local ministers are organizing a recall campaign trying to remove U.S. Congressman Joseph Cao (R-New Orleans) from office. His crime was not stuffing cash in his freezer, but voting against a wasteful stimulus bill. A much more productive effort for local ministers would be to put all of their energies into saving the youth of New Orleans.

Ministers should be providing spiritual guidance to the youth of New Orleans. The city needs people to step forward and serve as role models and provide recreational outlets for young people. Parents need to be involved in their children’s lives, reinforce school work at home and provide the type of moral guidance that can really make a positive difference.

Instead, we see a recall effort that is a racially divisive campaign aimed at dividing this community. The crime problem could destroy this community and our signature attraction, Mardi Gras. It is an urgent issue which should be addressed with urgent action.

Where are our church leaders, community activists, tourism officials and political leaders? Most seem to be trying to sweep this problem under the rug to focus on the positives of Mardi Gras. A better response would be to squarely address this crisis, without political correctness and without flinching.