City Councilman Jim Kraft remembers the day he was searching a back alley in West Baltimore for rats, but found something deadlier and more disturbing – two loaded handguns.
“They were sitting on top of a garage, just sitting there waiting for somebody to use them.”
Kraft uses the startling discovery to explain his desire to allow the City Council to pass gun laws, a privilege currently granted only to the state’s legislature.
“Our colleagues in other parts of the state don?t really understand the severity of the gun problem in Baltimore,” said Kraft, D-1st District. “We need to be able to pass our own laws.”
To spur action, Kraft introduced a non-binding resolution at Monday?s council meeting formally asking state legislators to pass a law ? during its regular session beginning in January ? allowing the city to regulate guns.
If successful, Kraft plans to explore applying forfeiture laws to illegal-gun owners.
“If you?re in a car and you get caught with an illegal gun, you lose the car. If it?s in your house, you might lose the house,” Kraft said.
“I want to give prosecutors and law enforcement every possible tool they can use to get illegal guns off the street.”
Anthony McCarthy, spokeswoman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, said she was open to discussion on tightening gun laws, but was focusing on suing gun manufacturers and possibly gun-store owners.
“The mayor has asked for the law department to take a hard look at the potential success of holding manufacturers liable for gun activities,” he said.
“There is also a conversation taking place among mayors about holding gun-store dealers liable who make bulk sales.”
Del. Jill Carter, D-41st, whose district is in Baltimore City, said she thought new laws were unnecessary.
“They are not the problem, it?s how we apply them,” she said.
