Interesting times (in the Chinese sense) in Baltimore these days. “The increase in violence that has followed the death of Freddie Gray continued through the weekend, with four homicides reported since Saturday, according to Baltimore police. Ten people were reported shot on Sunday alone, including three who were shot to death within a span of 39 minutes. The violence comes as the city prepares for the Preakness on Saturday at Pimlico Race Course. Ten people were also shot Thursday.” How can that be? . . .
Reports like this are hard to reconcile since Maryland has the distinction being one of only six states in the union to receive an ‘A’ rating (and is ranked 4th nationally) from the anti-gun gunlawscorecard.org. The Brady Campaign has a high opinion of The Old Line State, too. Yet, since the Freddie Gray death blew up nationally and Baltimore’s mayor decided to provide room to destroy, the number of shooting deaths in the city has reached almost Chicago-like levels.
So maybe B’more needs a new nickname. When The City of Broad Shoulders was in its darkest days back before the McDonald decision ultimately forced concealed carry there, Chicago became known in some circles as Chiraq. Given the escalating body count in Charm City, it probably won’t be long before the town earns itself a new tag. Balghanistan maybe?
The title of this post is intentionally Butterfieldian. An excellent argument can be made that with less restrictive gun laws and shall-issue concealed carry permitting there (as if), the violence in Baltimore would likely be significantly reduced. As it stands, those who’ve allowed themselves to be whipped up by the professional social justice warriors and race baiters know good and well that law-abiding citizens aren’t likely to be able to avail themselves of armed self defense. Which means Marylanders should soon look forward to calls from the powers that be for still more restrictive gun control laws to “fix” the problem. Good luck with that.