Wednesday’s shooting homicide marked the 211th in Baltimore this year, and now Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is taking a hard look at the nation’s gun control measures.
Police discovered a man who had been fatally shot in a vacant house in the Penn-North neighborhood of west Baltimore Wednesday, just one more death in a series of what the mayor is calling “four strands of rivalry and retaliation.”
The city hasn’t seen this many homicides this early in the year since the 1990’s, and Rawlings-Blake raised her concerns during a City Hall meeting.
“There are four major strands that are impacting the homicide rate in Baltimore,” said Rawlings-Blake. “We can trace it and we can trace the players. There are known entities who are battling it out on the streets like this is the Wild West, and we need help.”
Rawlings-Blake called on the public for help, requesting that anyone with information about the next potential victim or suspect come forward.
“If you know someone who is involved in this, who you know are either the next victim or the next perpetrator, if you don’t want to see your loved on die in the streets, we need you to help us do something, because if they are involved in these strands, it’s coming,” said Rawlings-Blake.
Rawlings-Blake acknowledged that Maryland already has strict gun control laws, but in light of the near record-breaking homicide rate in the city she encouraged stricter gun laws on a national level.
“What I am saying [is] the current approach, the state-by-state approach, has not been effective,” said Rawlings-Blake.
(The following was a submission from freelance writer Brent Rogers)
There’s the PROBLEM, strict gun control!
States with out it, don’t have a criminal use of gun problem.
The State’s with no gun control have the lowest crime rates; including those with the criminal use of firearms.
Criminals want unarmed victims and have the upper hand, a gun, even though illegal, they don’t care, they don’t buy them legally, so background checks ad registration schemes don’t work, and never will!
It’s long past time to throw out the “gun control” mantra. Gun control doesn’t work! Never has and never will. Doing the same thing over and over has never changed the outcome.
Let’s save innocent lives. Remove all gun restrictions on Law Abiding Citizens. Criminals need to be punished, either shot in the commission of committing their crime, or captured. But the only way is for Law Abiding Citizens to be armed and ready.
Yes that is right on point. Laws don’t stop criminals. God Bless it. People have no critical thinking ability. Criminals always have guns. Even the fight and carry one yourself. Bang for a bang.
What the Mayor needs to look at is LOCAL SELF-CONTROL, instead of giving her city’s hordes of illegitimate love children “space to destroy” .
Blake is completely out of her depth of knowledge when it comes to running a major city regarding black on black crime, yet she wants to toughen the very laws that would make her job even far more difficult.
The people of “Balmer” need to impeach her and get someone in the mayor’s office who fully understands the reason firearms are even more necessary when crime rises in gun restricted zones…
Mayor, you caused this problem when you allowed these thugs ( your words) to riot unabated. You then further complicated the matter by publicly shaming the Police for doing their jobs. Finally when the Police do their jobs and a previously convicted felon dies because of their behavior you arrest the Police. Tell me Mayor, why would anyone but a thug support you. You are the thugs best friend. You caused this, you fix it you idiot.
Amen brother
Sucker fish are bottom feeders. Put your bait on a heavy weight. Tight lines.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is a moron…a SMART black moron…but a moron! IF and WHEN she gets her head out of her BOOTY (doubtful) and realizes that SHE and her obummer DUMBOCRAPS are the REAL problem, then she will NEVER solve anything!! I absolutely guarantee you that SHE has only ONE desire, and ONLY one…that is to get obummer to again PROMOTE another failed black politician to a higher federal office…period! She knows that if she maintains her dumbocraptic line of BS, that obummer will reward her with a federal job and get her, at least, the H__L out of Baltimore…and screw the REST of the constituents! YO Baltimore!…wave bye-bye to Stephanie! Believe me!…SHE won’t let the door hit HER in the preverbal A_S when SHE leaves!!
Its not Democrats… that’s just a face to platform yourself. Hard left wing entitlement wannabes cause this shitstorm ….political party’s have nothing to do with this stupid shit. It’s stupid people. Look at middle east terrorism…it has nothing to do with Mhslims…it’s just crazy people using the Koran as their excuse to be insane.
So now let’s start blaming other states for the mess you created…. Look in the mirror to find the problem…
Gun control is only effective against the law abiding community, the community that does not break the law. The criminals are not going to obey the gun control laws. The democrat idea is to dehorn the gazelle and wonder why the lions are still killing gazelles. It makes no sense Bizarro World democrats. The current gun control has not changed yet the homicides in Baltimore have doubled.What has changed is the democratic mantra of BlackLivesMatter with its associated anarchy.
“” “There are four major strands that are impacting the homicide rate in Baltimore,” said Rawlings-Blake. “We can trace it and we can trace the players. There are known entities who are battling it out on the streets like this is the Wild West, and we need help.””
She makes the statement above admitting the city knows the who, what, where of the problem but what she does not say is how the city , not the taking on of gun control will solve the problem.
If all the variables are known as they are according to the mayor then the application of law enforcement to those areas should be able to solve the problems she speaks of. Attacking the problem with overwhelming forces in the areas she is talking of can and will remove for the most part the problems the city has. Simple application of the police logic of community policing is the answer. Place officers, in large numbers to permnant areas of the problems known or believed to be there and take the offensive. walk the areas, meet the people who live there, make friends, learn which lid goes on which trash can in the alleys and so on. Time is the predictor, a year or more may be the answer to this problem the city has, NOT trying to make new laws either at the state or the federal level for anything especially weapons. Enforce the laws currently on the books and make the judge stand tall for those they let walk on good cases made. Calls will sky rocket in the areas where many officers are newly assigned once the residents and property owners have learned to trust the police. Once the area folks have gotten all the problems off their chest and begin to talk openly to police then the calls will slow, crime will go down and the areas of problems will subside. Time and officers are the problem not making new laws to restrict something else.
I am a 25 year retired officer and I know this works. Hit the areas of problem hard, stay at it gain the trust of the locals and the problems will solve themselves over time.
Another stupid comment from this Racist, incompetent mayor. When you publically throw law enforcement under the bus, and tell your citizens that its ok to riot this is the result your going to get. Obama if he was a real leader, could have stopped this, but as usual when its Black people doing it he is silent. If he would have acknowledged the incident, and then publically stated the mayor was wrong and that rioting and looting would only cause more dharm in their own community, this riot would not have happened. But that leadership, something he is sorely lacking. Baltimore got what it deserved, if I was on their police force, I would no longer risk my neck for these ungrateful morons. They wanted anarchy and chaos, and they got it.
“What I am saying [is] the current approach, the state-by-state approach, has not been effective,” said Rawlings-Blake.
Hey fool, it seems to be working in MY State. No shootings in the neighborhood. YOU have a self inflicted problem.
I will not bother with the issue of Constitution rights since that is of no concern to such minded politicians and their supporters. Instead, I’ll attempt an appeal to logic. Gun control is merely a fools paradise and a rung in politicians ladder to absolute power. Murder is not caused by a gun anymore than a car is the cause of a hit and run homicide. Consider; did murder only begin since the introduction of gun powder and firearms? Heck no! Even if you COULD somehow eliminate all firearms altogether, such goings on would simply continue with the next most convenient weapon and so on right down to rocks and the “jawbone of an ass” (donkey, that is). Or is you create a totalitarian state wherein on the authorities have guns, the underworld will have them just as they have always done in such societies; by taking them from those who have them. There simply is NO solution to crime by gun control. It merely disarms the law abiding who are the natural prey of such predators. Something like trying to protect a rabbit from a coyote by tying its legs together so it can’t run. If that makes no sense whatsoever to you, that’s my point. Gun control as a means of controlling crime makes no more sense than that. In the case of gang violence or just plain violence between just plain violent people, gun control will not influence that. Picture. Some naturally violent type, maybe on alcohol and drugs, decides to attack someone. “I’m going to kill you!” he yells. Then… “oh. wait… I don’t have a gun. well, just forget it.” Yeah. Right. Base ball bat, tire arms, drawers full of hammers, screw drivers and kitchen knives, shall I go on?
No, gun control is completely incapable of reducing crime. It never has and it never will. ’nuff said.
“What I am saying [is] the current approach, the state-by-state approach, has not been effective,” said Rawlings-Blake.
What has not been effective is Rawlings-Black as mayor of Baltimore. This woman is a complete and utter failure starting with her “give the protesters room to destroy” to ordering the cops to stand down, not providing the proper riot gear for law enforcement and ultimately joining her partner, the District Attorney, in charging the police with all sorts of crimes which were non-existant in the incident that started this mess. More gun laws will do nothing to curb this problem endemic to any of these cities and certainly not Baltimore which along with the state has some of the most stringent gun laws in the country.
What this city needs is not more gun control laws, but effective management from city hall, a police force confident that the officers on the street are going to be backed by the command and the civilian leadership, and a show of force in the affected areas of the city where the majority of these crimes are being committed. Until Rawlings-Blake and her entire administration is replaced with people with some common sense and no racial agenda nothing will change. Baltimore is another glaring symptom of what happens in a city that has been under the thumb of Democratic/liberal rule for decades.
The first thing that needs to be done is to pull up your pants and civilize the culture.
So let me make sure I understand. You want to take a system that has proven to be a failure at stopping violent crime locally and expand it to a national level.
You have failed already you have no credibility, good sense or any sort of ability to lead. Step down before your city drowns in the filth you created.
What she really meant to say is this….”What I am saying is that Baltimore has a Democrat problem and the current approach by Dumbocrats like myself is not working”….Duh! Big red Truck! Just ask Chicago and Detroit…LOL
I gotta throw in that Detroit MAY be turning around. Only time will tell for sure, but there have been several reports that Police Chiefs in Detroit are starting to encourage their citizens to arm themselves. This could be a good thing. I know the Dumbocrats will try to twist the story, but that’s why we need to help keep light on it and encourage this to continue….so it will prove that armed cities are safer and lower in crime than the gun free zones. Detroit could be a light setting on a hill for the 2A community. We can always hope and pray anyway. But I think Detroit is worth noting.
I propose national dumb control laws. A series of sweeping rules aimed at eliminating the dumbassery that exists in all levels of government. I would start will closing the ineptness loophole that allows dumbasses to get elected in gerrymandered sections of the country.
The state-by-state approach is not effective? You know what else isn’t effective in controlling crime? Giving the black population of an entire city the green light to commit crime. Not the first time black privilege has backfired.
The best laid plans of liberals fail. No surprise,their planned utopia turns out to be an urban shit hole. They empower the criminal thugs , them blame everyone else for the mess. This women is a total disaster as a leader. She weakened the police force and allowed rioting. Seems to me , she got what she asked for.
Why dont you clean up your city, face the facts, its a Black Problem, a drug problem, face the facts, you need tougher Police presence and your sorry ass needs to back and support the Police, instead of the Black gang members.
OK mayor lady, your ineptness and inability to mayor a city is to blame, not the rest of the country…
Why the hell are politician so F****G clueless on guns?? No matter what laws that will be made, (out side harsher punishment for offenders) no matter if you take away every gun-shop, your only hurting the innocent! Majority of criminals, and ZERO drug dealers, or gang banger buy there guns legally. Nearly all are sent in from Mexico and South America and yes even from our OWN government! Just like trying to Ban cars in order to stop DUI deaths it senseless!!!
It’s not just that she’s clueless, it’s a general lack of personal responsibility in politicians, always looking for a scapegoat to blame for incompetence. It’s the Kansas City shuffle.
Right now Baltimore has one of the highest crime rates. It also has some of the strictest laws against self-defense. Now if only the rest of the country could have the same laws – their rate of violent crimes elsewhere could rise to the level seen in Baltimore. Then the mayor could pat her dumbself on the back and say Baltimore is no more dangerous than the rest of the Nation.
Wake up people in Baltimore. The problem isn’t the rest of the Nation. The problem is that you elect idiots to run your city. Restrict your police, restrict your honest citizens, allow looting of Pharmacies, and sit back and blame everyone else for the mess you created. Total idiots. And those who live there and allow these idiots to “control” their rights are as much to blame.
Your comment is not accurate. Most guns do not come from other countries they are made and sold here. We actually export ( legally or illegally) most of the guns to Mexico which has much stricter gun laws than here. I do agree though that banning guns or gun sales does nothing to combat crime. No criminal buys their gun at a gun store. Most are straw purchases and subsequent street sales. I do believe that guns should be registered and the owners held accountable for their use. If your gun is stolen, report it. If it is subsequently used in a crime you should be off the hook but the way gun laws are currently written in many states, no records are kept and therefore I could buy a gun a day for a year sell them on the street and if they were used in crimes, there is no easy way to track them back to me. I am a gun advocate but some sensible laws need to be enacted
Right, she’s asking the public to come forward, in other words the honest people trapped in the hood, who have been terrorized by the gangs, and who routinely kill witnesses for testifying. Even the most moronic mayor would know that if you can’t offer witnesses protection both before and after the trial, you are not going to get anybody to come forward.
Next, she back-stabbed her police department and gave them up. Do you really think any officers is going to go above and beyond the call if they know they’ll get kicked in the head for doing it?
No, what Baltimore needs is not gun control, it is a new mayor.
Of course, maybe if she hadn’t emasculated her police force and put thugs in control of the streets she wouldn’t be pleading for outside help.
This blame game Prosecutor will do and say anything shift responsibility from herself and the criminals involved. Her and the Mayors incompetence to implement aggressive anti-crime policies, their cowardice in the face of civil unrest, they restricted law enforcement from preforming their duties, they lost their credibility to lead Law Enforcement and respect from the Officers. When the decision was made to turn over several blocks to the rioters and allow them to freely gut the area with impunity set the standard for conduct within the city. She put fuel on the fire and now its burning her ass as the City decays further into lawlessness. Who is she going to blame for the stabbing, beating and drug overdose deaths? Its not a gun control problem. Its a problem of social and moral decay, witnesses that refuse to help police so the criminals stay on the street and continue to offend, and a police force that is ham strung by racial politics. “Gun Control” is the scape goat for politicians that refuse to call the problem what it is: OUT OF CONTROL CRIME. The murder rate is just the tip of the iceburg that gets the headlines. Look belod the surface to see the true scale of Baltimore’s crime problems.
Show me a single criminal activity with a firearm that is not covered by a Law. Just one! All these proposed new firearm laws only turn lawful activity into criminal activity. They are a placebo for them to rally aroud but have ZERO EFFECT ON CRIME.
Will,
You hit the nail on the head. I originally resided outside NYC since birth. the crime rate was astronomical. Then they had a great police commissioner and he changed their tactics. That was Bratton! The city became a destination and never saw the old dirty was again. The alone need to get control of their city ..period!!
It was Ray Kelly. Bratton is the current one. He’s dropped the aggressive tactics that Kelly adopted, and crime in NY is up again. I got out of NYC just before de Blasio/Warren/whatever he calls himself came in. I have no intention of ever going back.
There is no reason she should be in any authoritative position what-so-ever, let alone mayor of city. Face it she is stupid and a racist of the first magnitude.
The Hegelian dialectic on display.
Create the problem: openly publicize that rioting was condoned.
Observe predicted reaction: 37 pharmacies looted. War to control customer base and product results in war like body counts.
Manage solution: national gun control for a local problem caused by individuals in local government.
She has blood on her hands.
Of course that Mayor would not know or care about Hegel. Soros and Bloomberg are more the type to employ Hegelian dialectic.
How can you trust someone with TWO last names.
It’s called stricter gun laws so only the criminals have guns and see what u get “record number murders” committed by who the criminals that don’t care about the laws if u had more upstanding citizens with guns that are legal then u wouldn’t have such a problem not stricter gun laws for only us law abiding citizens take it to a national level and your gonna have record #murders nationwide look at the real statistics places that have more law abiding citizens with lawful guns have WAY LESS CRIME ACROSS THE BOARD
This coming from a mayor who’s policies and words have left her city in shambles. Blame someone else. Real credible.
Excellent assessment!