Dear Sir:

I suggest that concealed carry has more to do with reduction in crime than any other action.
There is no way police can respond in time to save any life when threatened by a gun carrying criminal.
I believe data across the country will support the above conclusion in reduction of violent crime.

Sincerely,
Charles Ruehle

It's a shame what happen to the Reseacher from JH. But this is a EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE HARD EAST BALTIMORE AREA. I think it's crazy a tradgey has to happen before the whole City building comes outside for the media. Also this is the first time I seen a Rally to stop violence. I believe its just the neighborhood with working class thats why the Mayor, Police cheif came out.. They are like forget the lower class families they are going to kill themselves anyway.. This just make you wonder who do the Mayor and everyone really cares about... Not to mention the Governor, he never @ a crime over East Baltimore... I am through with this city thats why the Mayor, Governor, and Police Cheif dont receive any respect from citizens in Baltimore... Personally I can care less about the Mayor and them it's all about Election..

Since he's back in Baltimore maybe somebody will ask him to explain the mass arrests of African Americans while he was Mayor. If he has trouble remembering, maybe somebody will refresh his memory as to his spending MILLIONS AND MILLIONS of DOLLARS in police overtime arresting African Americans for everything from littering to drinking a beer on their own porch! All to keep the murder rate down and his chances to be Governor up! I won't be holding my breath!!

I remember when Ehrlich did the Capital for a Day and everyone screamed about it. They passed a laws so Ehrlich couldn't do promotional tourism ads and to hamstring his chief fundraiser. Now O'Malley runs around doing this all the time, has his own show on MPT and gets driven back to Baltimore for his workout. And people wonder why the city and state are in such bad shape. Go look in the mirror.

Perhaps Johns Hopkins will consider more jobs for ex-offenders. The many building projects at Hopkins campuses rarely see Black men, but many Latinos. These people are angry and rightly so.

The overburdened judicial system failed.
And thats the problem. You have so many of theses clowns running around the tax burden becomes immense to incarcerate them. And people not willing to do their job because they are jaded from seeing so much of this on a daily basis.
As far as arresting many blacks in the city, could it have anything to do with that since the city is predominantly black, and many of the offenders are black, that may be why so many that were arrested when O'Malley was mayor were black. Anybody, repeat, ANYBODY can be arrested for open containers in public, and littering is a $1000 fine. Remember Earl Weaver was arrested for an open container. I guess if I lived in a predominantly white area most of the people arrested for crimes would be white.
This nonsense about protecting certain races because of past wrongs in American Society is rubbish. It doesn't matter what color your skin is. If you are guilty, you are guilty. Stop acting like idiots, and carry yourself with some respect, and there is a good chance you won't be profiled.
Do you think cities like Boston, or New York would screwing around with these criminals the way Baltimore does because they don't want to upset the Black Community. Anybody with a violent background should be permanently removed from society!

@David. It is illegal to litter and drink beer on the streets it doesn't matter what your ethic background is. Stop making everything about Black and White. It's about PEOPLE. EVERYONE should be able to live in a safe and clean enviroment. Be part of a solution for EVERYONE. Stop looking for ways to justify the behaviour of thoses who commit offenses. Proven stats show that if you nip petty offenses, there are less serious offenses. Hold EVERYONE accountable.

Why does it take the death of a young white male Hopkins researcher in affluent Charles Village for city officials to have a anti-violence rally? Young black males are killed every day all over this city and we didn't see this show of force until this man got killed. This is a slap in the face to the Baltimore City African-American community.

The only way you will be able to stop horrible crimes like this is to get rid of Pat Jessamy and most of the circuit and district judges who have allowed the criminal justice system to become joke and the jail system a revolving door.

@Anonymous:

They'd have to be ex-offenders with an accredited science degree from a mid-major college or better. Tell me, how many criminals have that? Leave those jobs for people who have actually earned them.

@everyone:

When it is mostly black families living in these areas, it's going to be mostly black people committing the crimes. It's simple math. Ignoring that fact in favor of arresting more whites and latinos is profiling.

When will the "progressive" government officials admit that not only can the police not be everywhere at once, and not always there when you need them. (NO disrespect to the fine people that serve in public safety careers, you lay your life on the line for us every day) The fact is and has been upheld all the way to the SCOTUS...the police do not have the duty to protect you the person, only the society as a whole and to serve as a deterrent to crime by their presence.

You have the right to protect your self and your family by any means available to you. Only in our great society, have we ever questioned a person's right to self defense and whether or not their actions were appropriate.

Does it seem ironic to anyone else that O'Malley crowed about Ehrlich's 'juvenile services' and 'crime prevention' records while bragging about his own in 2006? Now when he's at the helm of the ship, things are even worse! Ehrlich responded and at least didn't hide from the problems. O'Malley has turned into a real jokester of a Governor. You know he's more focused on his band's gig and his next fundraiser than he is on cleaning up the streets of the city that made his career! What a two-timer.

Are you kidding me? O'Malley is the worst. He has done nothing but raise fees ann taxes. Crime hasn't gone down. It didn't go down when he was Mayor. All lies. And this idiot wants to do away with the death penalty.
Vote for this moron if you want to. I will never vote for O'Malley.

@Nichele

Why does it take the death of a young white male Hopkins researcher in affluent Charles Village for city officials to have a anti-violence rally? Because these Hopkin's students are the cities future. These students will eventually become highly paid medical professionals. Many of them will choose to stay in Baltimore. These Highly paid professionals are taxed so that the city can pay for the services that 40%+ residents can not pay. If 1 "white male Hopkins researcher" is shot in an "affluent neighborhood" then those highly paid professionals will be convinced that the area is unsafe and move elsewhere... taking the tax dollars that pay for basic services with them. Someone has to pay for those services such as the Department of Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Police, Fire, Education, free medical clinics, and so many other services. Where else is the money going to come from? 40%+ aren't paying taxes because they are below poverty level. The high amount of people below poverty level are draining the coffers without adding anything to it. The city has to safe gaurd the few tax payers they have in order to continue to aide those in need.

It should be noted that the "quick announcement of new crime-fighting grants" was a bit of a stretch. The Governor's Press release implies that this is new money. It is money that has been administered by GOCCP since 2004. The money allocated by the General Assembly and is no more a grant than any other line item in the state budget.

The really interesting thing is that the amount provided for this round is less than what was provided 4 years ago under Ehrlich.