With violent crime on the increase and much of the D.C. City Council up for re-election, legislators are itching to make sweeping changes to the city’s criminal code.

The Council on Tuesday preliminarily approved a major overhaul to the District’s criminal code, redefining gangs, enhancing penalties for crimes against vulnerable residents and instituting a mandatory minimum jail sentence for possessing “cop killer” bullets. The legislation, introduced by Mayor Anthony Williams more than a year ago, must still go through a second reading before it becomes law.

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