Johns Hopkins Report On Baltimore Homicides Is Bad News For Gun Control Fans

If gun control worked, Baltimore, Maryland should be one of the safest cities in the country. Maryland requires applicants for a concealed carry license to show “good cause,” and self-defense isn’t considered a valid reason, so there are only a handful of city residents legally allowed to carry a firearm. Residents of the state are required to obtain a Handgun Qualification License before legally owning a pistol, and all firearms must be registered with the state.

Despite all those gun control laws, Baltimore remains one of the most dangerous cities in the United States, and homicide rates this year are on pace to once again reach a record high. Now the Michael Bloomberg-funded Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research is out with a new report on crime trends in the city and how to reduce the number of shootings on the streets, and their suggestions may surprise gun owners and gun control advocates alike.

For years, Michael Bloomberg was a vocal supporter of “stop-and-frisk” policies that allowed police to stop individuals and frisk them for weapons with no probable cause of any crime being committed. Bloomberg publicly changed his mind about the policy shortly before he announced his run for president, but questions remain about the sincerity of his apologies for stopping and frisking 5-million New Yorkers, many of them young minority men, over the 12 years he served as mayor.

Stop-and-frisk causes more problems than it solves, according to the new report from the Johns Hopkins researchers, who say that even in high crime neighborhoods where residents are concerned about the illegal carrying of firearms, stop-and-frisk policies “elicit fear and distrust and are inconducive to public safety.” Considering the fact that stop-and-frisk is probably the easiest (if not the most constitutional) way to enforce laws against illegal gun possession, magazine bans, and other gun control laws, this finding strikes a blow to the traditional gun control enforcement model.