Baltimore, MD—The City of Baltimore broke it previous annual record for the most homicides, with a death toll of 342 in 2019.
The population of Baltimore is just over 600,000, which works out to nearly 57 deaths per 100,000 residents.
And this year isn’t a fluke.
Last year the city saw 309 deaths, and 342 in 2017. In fact, the city’s homicide rate spiked several years ago and apparently hasn’t peaked yet.
What caused the spike in homicides?
Gun owners may remember April of 2015, when Baltimore’s neighborhoods were rioting after the death of one Freddie Gray while in police custody. Then-mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake went viral after she admitted that her office had told police to give the rioting residents “space to destroy.”
Shocking, isn’t it? Tell the criminals you’re going to look the other way and instead of calming down…they commit more crime.
In the last five years since that announcement, Baltimore has seen 300 homicides or more. Law-abiding residents claim that Police are still taking a hands-off approach to the crime happening in the city. But on the other hand, politicians are trying to crack down on guns as though they’re the problem.
News flash, Baltimore. The guns aren’t the problem. Criminals are the problem.
But maybe Baltimore is just the Wild West with no laws on the books to prevent these crimes?
Not even close.
Gun owners haven’t forgotten that in 2013, the Maryland legislature passed the Firearm Safety Act. This aggressive law forced citizens to submit their fingerprints before they could own a handgun. The Act also banned magazines over 10 rounds. It included strict regulations on the transportation and storage of guns and much more.
Meanwhile, all city and federal officials can do is stand around and act shocked by gun violence as though guns are stalking through the streets killing innocent people.
No, their policies are killing innocent people.