Friends,
Voters want meaningful action on their top legislative priority-- the violent crime epidemic spilling out of Baltimore City. Toward the end of the 2019 Maryland Legislative session I stood on the Senate floor and highlighted the fact that the thousands of bills passed by the body that year failed to address the real causes of Baltimore’s crime spree. This week, former Senate President Mike Miller renewed the call for competent criminal justice in Baltimore City, saying “we’re sitting here while Rome is burning.” Sadly, one response in the Senate was that “folks outside the city” should leave matters to “the subject matter experts in the City.” Clearly that is not the solution - leaving this matter to those in the City is how Baltimore ended up a national poster child for uncontrolled crime. The current crisis began in 2014 when progressive City officials and judges instituted policy changes intended to greatly reduce meaningful criminal sanctions for violent criminal behavior. The state needs to insure that in every jurisdiction there are meaningful, swift, and certain consequences for criminal conduct. This is not an issue that belongs exclusively to the City. Crime originating in Baltimore City knows no boundaries. It is causing havoc throughout the region and doing serious damage to a regional economy.
Bob Cassilly
Senator, District 34
www.bobcassilly.net
Bob.Cassilly@senate.state.md.us
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