After Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter to D.C. leaders complaining about crime rates in the nation’s capital, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb responded Tuesday, putting some of the blame on guns that come across Virginia’s borders.
“One way we can work together to make our communities safer is to advocate for common sense gun control laws in Virginia,” Schwalb said.
Schwalb cited figures from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, showing that most firearms recovered in the District originate in Virginia.
“Virginia is, by far, the source state for the most illegal firearms recovered in D.C.,” Schwalb said. “Virginia is the source for nearly four times the number of illegal firearms recovered in the District than the next leading source state, Maryland, which has stricter gun laws.”
WTOP reached out to Miyares’ office for comment.
In the letter sent to D.C. leaders last week, Miyares claimed that Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council demonstrate an “inability and refusal” to enforce public safety laws.
“It has become painfully apparent that Washington, D.C., can protect neither its residents nor the thousands of Virginians who commute daily to the city,” Miyares said. “Your unwillingness to enforce your laws and hold violent offenders responsible puts your residents and mine at risk.”
According to figures from D.C. police, homicides are up 30% this year when compared to the same time last year. Sex abuse crimes are up more than 60%, and motor vehicle thefts are up 110%.
Total crime overall is up more than 20%, according to police.
While Schwalb said he disagreed with many of Miyares’ “assertions and conclusions,” he said that he agreed with Miyares’ “observation that the proximity of our respective jurisdictions means that enhancing public safety is a regional issue which we must address cooperatively.”
Schwalb said that numerous areas in Virginia — including Richmond, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Newport News — have “experienced increased crime rates substantially higher than the national average over the past several years.”
