WBFF Fox 45 Baltimore
Marc Clarke:
Gun rights advocates are cheering a ruling from a federal appeals court calling Marilyn's handgun licensure law unconstitutional. That
Mary Bubala:
Ruling was announced this afternoon and has ignited a firestorm of debate. Jeff Abel is live with the fallout Jeff. Many lawmakers have long boasted about this state's tough gun control laws, but now a federal court has determined that a key component of those laws is simply not constitutionally correct. When the legislative session opened seven years ago, the governor was there to issue a challenge.
Gov. Larry Hogan:
We wanted to just come up with good ideas that help the citizens of our state. One of those ideas was the approval of a handgun qualification license, a measure which required Marylanders purchasing handguns to first undergo a background check, attend a gun safety course, and wait up to 30 days for state approval before anyone could own a handgun.
Delegate Robin Grammer:
It was ridiculous when they passed it. It did absolutely nothing to deal with crime in our state. And the only thing it accomplished was it created this massive hurdle for otherwise law abiding citizens to own a firearm.
Jeff Abell:
And now a federal appeals court has ruled that the measure trample on Marylander constitutional rights to own a handgun in a two to one ruling. The appeals court wrote that the challenge law restricts the ability of law abiding adult citizens to possess handguns. And even though Maryland's law does not prohibit plaintiffs from owning handguns at some time in the future, it still prohibits them from owning handguns Now.
Representative Andy Harris:
Well, it tells me that the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals got it exactly right. The state has no right to impede your ability of a law abiding citizen to get a handgun in Maryland to defend themselves.
Jeff Abell:
Congressman Andy Harris called the decision of victory for Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson predicts it'll leave Maryland more dangerous writing in a statement that this decision will unequivocally lead to more gun violence and firearm related deaths. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, wrote in a statement, in a time where the proliferation of firearms is threatening the safety of our communities, we should be more not less careful about who has access to these tools of violence.
Representative Andy Harris:
This actually makes people safer, not less safe. The bottom line is the criminals are going to have the firearms. Now, law abiding citizens who honestly live in a society that is increasingly violent are going to be able to defend themselves easier.
Jeff Abell:
The ruling comes as the courts examined. Another gun law more recently passed in Maryland, known as Senate Bill One, which greatly restricts where Marylanders can carry handguns. Delegate Robin Grammar predicts that measure will also be ruled unconstitutional.
Delegate Robin Grammar:
Every year we pass another law that criminalizes gun ownership and nothing has happened except violent crime has out of control.
Jeff Abell (03:03):
The court has ordered the state to stop enforcing this law immediately. So far, the state has not indicated whether it plans to appeal. We're live. Jeff Abel, Fox 45 News.
Mary Bubala
Jeff, thank you. Well, one of the residents' biggest frustrations with gun legislation in Maryland is a lack of regulation on illegal guns. Legal gun owners tell Fox 45 news, they have to T through rather 16 hours of classes to obtain a wear and carry permit, and the permit costs about $400. Meanwhile, law enforcement says illegal guns are often obtained within minutes.
Melissa Pinkleton:
They're stealing them from vehicles, they're stealing them from stores smashing grabs. They are committing crimes with guns that are acquired in an illegal manner to begin with, and it's a huge, huge problem.
Mary Bubala:
According to the A TF, more than 7,000 handguns were stolen last year in Maryland.
Marc Clarke:
Jeff mentioned Senate Bill one, which limits where legal gun owners can bring their weapons in. The state, lawmakers pushed to pass that bill during the last legislative session, but several of the bills relating to the crime didn't move forward. That includes a violent firearm offender act, which Republicans plan to reintroduce next session. Lawmakers also declined to make amendments to key juvenile crime laws, which some say contributed to a surge in youth violence this year.
John Dedie:
Basically, they kind of put the criminal justice, the crime stuff on the back burner. And the problem is if you leave something on the back burner and the burner is on, the pot's going to explode. And what's happened is the pot has exploded
Mary Bubala:
In the months since this year's session ended. There have been several high profile crimes involving juveniles. Two teens charged in the Brooklyn, a mass shooting in July. Were under supervision from the Department of Juvenile Services. At the time, earlier this month, a 14 and 12 year olds were caught on camera, allegedly beating a woman and trying to steal her car in Butcher's Hill. The boys were released just hours later after a call with DJS. The decision to release them prompted accountability questions from the 14 year old's mother joining police and prosecutors and voicing their frustration with DJS.
Mother:
I had no awareness that he was doing all these types of activities. I mean, something's got to give because like I said, the way he going, he not going to be here the way he keep going. He needs more discipline, more structure.
Jim Dewees, Carroll County Sheriff
If you don't work on this immediately and you say, we're going to look at it in January and we're going to ask the governor to sign it in April, may, or June, and it's effective in July or maybe October, the wake of victims is going to be tremendous.
John McCarthy, Montgomery County State’s Attorney
They come in, we can't detain them. They're back in the community. The next day they get picked up for the second one. Can't detain them. They're back in the community again. The next
Marc Clarke:
Mayoral Canada. Sheila Dixon says, Baltimore needs to be better about addressing violence after a double shooting. Last night near Mondal Mall, Dixon was set to speak at MACI's, a business near the shooting, but her appearance was canceled.
Mary Bubala:
It is not. The first time has been critical of the mayor in recent days, just hours before the shooting, Dixon told Fox 45 news. She'd never seen this level of dysfunction from City Hall. Echoing comments from Councilman Eric Costello last week and following the mayor's response on WBAL Radio.
Sheila Dixon:
I have to deal with the city on a regular basis with my clients and I can see the dysfunction not in one agency, but practically in every agency. And that is reflected of the leadership and reflected in who you hire, the people that work for you. I've never seen city government so dysfunctional as it is now.
Erik Baron:
Leadership that is failing the city is almost a laughable comment when my leadership has the city on page to be under 300 homicides for the first time and not in nine years, investing in our education, opening rec centers, not closing them like the person he's endorsing did when she was mad.
March Clarke:
Many attribute the drop in homicides to the partnership between City State's. Attorney Ivan Bates and US Attorney for Maryland, Eric Barron both promised a tougher on crime approach in the city, homicides are down 20% and non-fatal shootings are down 9%. Since that partnership began, mayor Scott addressed the claim.
Brandon Scott:
I love them both dearly. Their cases are made by police officers that work for Brandon Scott, the mayor of Baltimore City. We direct the event. The arrests are done by us. All the enforcement is done by us
Marc Clarke:
Shootings and homicides are down. Critics say there are flaws in the mayor's crime fighting plan. They point to skyrocketing car thefts. Baltimore has seen the number of thefts more than triple this year. Compared to last year, more than 10,000 cars have been stolen. Police say nearly 40% of people arrested in these cases are juveniles. The Safe Streets Plan is a centerpiece of Mayor Scott's crime plan, but the program continues to face transparency. Questions omitted. FBI investigation into several locations and employees. Fox 45 News showed up to an advertised Safe Streets meeting on Friday, finding a locked door and empty building. McKenzie Frost continues the story
McKenzie Frost:
On social media, the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, promoting several Safe Streets events including this expungement clinic held here at the Belvedere Safe Streets location off Park Heights Avenue. The flyer says the event lasting from three to six in the afternoon, but when Fox 40 Five's photographer showed up around four 30, the door was locked. Monsey completely ignoring our questions about the event. The apparent lack of event, despite being advertised isn't the only thing. We've reached out to Monsey asking questions about the city's online map, showing where the safe street zones are and each location, the map lists the Franklin Square location at five North Calhoun Street. So we went to that spot. We found a building seemingly under construction, no signs of Safe Streets. Zy again, ignoring our questions about the of this site. And that brings us here to the whiteboards. We know the Feds are investigating at least one Safe Streets location and at least one employee we know. We've been sending several questions to the mayor and his administration asking things like, will you release the names of the Safe Streets workers? Mayor Brandon Scott often says, no. Will you launch an investigation into all the Safe Streets sites? Again, the mayor says, the current federal investigation is isolated to just one location and one employee right now. So he says, more investigations aren't necessary. So now we have some new questions for the mayor and for Monsey about the Safe Streets program. According to the contracts the city has with the two nonprofits, those organizations are supposed to cover the costs for the background checks for Safe Streets' employees. But we have documentation showing that the nonprofits are seeking reimbursement from the city for those background checks. So we want to know who's actually responsible for covering the cost of the background checks for the Safe Streets' employees. And that raises questions about an audit. Some members of the city's audit commission have told us that they support an audit of Monsey, and we asked Mayor Brandon Scott about it recently. Here's what he said.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott:
I talked to the comptroller. We're open for any audit and we'll be working with him first because that is what the people of Baltimore have voted by Charter to have the city comptroller of Baltimore City duly elected by the residents to do that job. And we know he's a fabulous comptroller and he'll do that.
McKenzie Frost:
So if the state auditors were to say they wanted to do it, would you support that?
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott:
I just answered that question City first. And then if the state wants to step in and do that, they can have that. We're not hiding anything. And we know that the organizations that we work with, LifeBridge and others who have audits of their own, they're not hiding anything either.
McKenzie Frost:
So as we continue to dig into the inner workings of the Safe Streets program, we need help from you. If you have any information about this program that you think I need to know about, send it to me directly. Safe Streets tips@gmail.com. Meanwhile, we'll continue to demand answers from Mayor Brandon Scott and his administration about the Safe Streets program at the Accountability Desk, Mackenzie Frost, Fox 45 News.
Also read Maryland's handgun licensing law struck down by federal appeals court by Josh Rosenthal