“Guns are too accessible. I’m appalled that six high school students in Prince Georges County where I live have been killed in the past 6 months. Two were killed last week. One of whom was killed for his tennis shoes, while his body was left in the street. … Guns are used to protect the underground economy … when extend this scenario to include poor and failing schools and inadequate housing racial bias pervasive economic poverty and poor quality of education, our children see guns as a way of bolstering power,” said Reverend Dr. Jay Herbert Nelson II, director of the Presbyterian Church (USA), Office of Public Awareness in Washington, D.C.
As part of Gov. O'Malley’s public safety legislation package is $25 million in proposed school construction funds to strengthen school security with cameras at entrances, automatically locking doors, shatterproof glass, and buzzer entrance systems among other enhancements. The governor’s plan also establishes a Maryland Center for School Safety, a partnership between federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to ensure a comprehensive approach to school safety.
Homicide Rates Declining
State and federal lawmakers and researchers are examining the effects of gun legislation and engaging in discussions regarding the best methods to prevent and stop gun violence in the wake of the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
Gun homicide rates nationally have declined every year since 2007, falling from 12,791 in 2006 to 11,078 in 2010, according to the most recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. And the homicide rate declined even more because the nation’s population grew during this period. The homicide rate in 2010, which was 3.6 per 100,000 people, was the lowest since 1981, which is the year the CDC’s online database began.
Maryland homicide data follows the national downward trend, with 306 firearm homicide deaths in 2010, down from 424 firearm homicide deaths in 2007.
However, the number of gun fatal gun injuries nationwide has been increasing, according to CDC data. There were 55,544 nonfatal injuries in 2011 from assaults involving guns—a substantial increase from 44,466 in 2009.
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