The Maryland General Assembly adjourned with the ritual over-applauding by its legislator perpetrators.
It is difficult to understand how at a time of murders, non-fatal shootings, violence, and bullying in schools dominating Baltimore, Baltimore County and other venues, the state legislature could virtually ignore taking on the challenge of long and short-term measures to slow down the dissolution of our great state.
But the legislature did not miss an opportunity to persecute and intimidate police, perhaps to communicate their continued obsession with police brutality, a diminishing phenomenon but one always good for demagoguing the issue of crime by getting left-wing stalwarts more upset and focused about past grievances.
As stated by The Washington Post, “On the last day of its 90-day legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly waited until literally the last minute to revise last year’s police reform legislation — and pass another bill designed to address escalating crime that left Republicans fuming. With one minute before midnight Monday, the House of Delegates voted 106-9 to approve a bill that, among other provisions, creates a trial board for state police agencies and prohibits collective bargaining from affecting the disciplinary process.” A bill only requires a task force to study Maryland State Commission on Criminal Sentencing Policy’s need to provide data regarding sentences from courts throughout the states.
Again, according to The Post , significantly, the Senate did not pass Gov. Larry Hogan’s crime package, which included increased penalties for repeat violent offenders. Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick) called it ironic that the House had passed an earlier bill that imposes new security restrictions on gun dealers but “didn’t find it important to punish the people who actually steal the firearms…Hogan said he was ‘frustrated’ the General Assembly did not pass a bill that imposed ‘tougher sentences for people who shoot people.’ “
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/12/maryland-crime-police-reform/
There is no bill, nor apparently was there any discussion about serious long-term solutions; namely, addressing the problem of fatherlessness, which guarantees the perpetuation of violence and its correlative horrors of school bullying, promotion of gangs-as-fathers and destructive poverty in Baltimore and Maryland. Former gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbrey, businessman Tyrone Keys and I have written extensively of the widespread destruction of families and havoc that are wreaked by single-parent families – no, not all, but in the aggregate. Regardless, the state’s religious leaders and teachers and office-holders and media – save WBFF Fox 45 and WCBM radio — don’t support or make laws limiting funding broken “families,” much less do they even discuss it on their shows in church pews or legislative sessions.
The General Assembly as well as local leaders couldn’t care less about the demolishment of Baltimore and elsewhere through children lacking a two-parent family.
As long as political leaders maximize their chances for re-election, the state of the state and cities be damned: A little program here, a little program there and say the problems will attenuate.
I often hear politicians and others asked about solutions to the terrors of Baltimore City and when they will end.
They won’t end as long as the population remains unchanged, as it will remain until we stigmatize and disincentivize single-parent families.
Sine Die (cheers)…
