In response to a deadly weekend in Baltimore, Mayor Jack Young is considering public boxing rings so people can settle their differences in a less-than-lethal way.
Baltimore police responded to eight shootings and a stabbing, and 11 people were injured and two men were killed, according to WBAL-TV11.
“Gun violence has been plaguing this city for the last 10 years. The murder rate in this city and non-fatal shootings have increased. I’m not happy with it and neither should the citizens of Baltimore,” Young said.
“If they want to really settle them, we can have them down at the civic center, put a boxing ring up and let them go and box it out. Those kinds of things, you know, and the best man wins and the beef should be over. Those are some of the things I’m thinking about,” he said.
Other ideas include focusing on helping young people get jobs so they are less inclined to join gangs.
Unorthodox ideas to combat gun violence have been proposed or tried in other cities. Kshama Sawant, 45, a Socialist Alternative party member in the Seattle City Council, proposed installing speed bumps and raised flower beds to help stop drive-by shootings.
In Detroit, people have been turning to paintball guns as a way resolve conflicts instead of real firearms.
