Over the long holiday weekend in Baltimore, 29 were shot and nine were killed. The violence came just weeks after violent riots and protests over the death of Freddie Grey, who died in police custody. Since the riots and since Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake threw city police officers under the bus, law enforcement has taken a step back from aggressive policing.
When asked about the violence yesterday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest suggested more gun control was one of the solutions.
“Obviously there’s some common sense things we could do – certainly passage of some gun safety laws in Congress that could keep guns out of the hands of criminals would be one thing that we could do to try to limit the violence,” Earnest said.
There's just a few problems with that suggestion. Maryland already has strict gun control laws. In fact, it was just two short years ago that new gun control measures were passed through despite overwhelming opposition.
Maryland's already-strong gun laws will become among the strictest in the nation with a measure passed by the General Assembly Thursday, sending the bill to the Democratic governor who proposed the legislation in the aftermath of December's massacre at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.
The state Senate voted 28-19 for final passage, agreeing to a number of changes the House of Delegates approved Wednesday.
The measure would require people who buy a handgun to submit fingerprints to state police, bans 45 types of assault weapons, and limits gun magazines to 10 bullets. It also addresses firearms access for the mentally ill.
Maryland will become the first state in nearly 20 years to require potential handgun buyers to submit fingerprints to state police. Only five other states have a similar requirement: Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey.
Gun control advocates say the fingerprinting requirement will help keep guns away from criminals, because it will make people reluctant to buy firearms for those who are not allowed to have them. Opponents say the bill erode.
Regardless, the violence in Baltimore (and in Chicago and New York City) is raging. I guess the criminals just haven't been paying attention to the new rules and laws...
The criminals are armed and unabated, the innocent are defenseless and the police aren't around. That's the problem, not a lack of gun control in the state of Maryland or the city of Baltimore.
H/T Charlie Spiering