ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A sweeping crime bill that increases the sentences for repeat violent offenders has raised concerns as it heads to Maryland’s House of Delegates.
HB0122 passed Maryland’s Senate, but it hit a snag as it heads to the House with just one more day to go in the Maryland General Assembly session. Gov. Larry Hogan has made tackling violent crime a priority in the legislative session, and he has urged lawmakers to address the issue.
Members of Maryland’s black and Latino caucuses objected to the increased jail time based on concerns that the sentences will fall disproportionately on minorities.
On the Senate floor Friday, the measure’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Bobby Zirkin, who represents Baltimore County, repeated his frustration with opponents of the crime package.
Pointing out that it contains provisions aimed at crime prevention as well as a get-tough approach for repeat offenders, he told reporters, “The idea that you can’t walk and chew gum is just ludicrous to me.”
“If you just do criminal sentences, you miss the boat. If you just throw money at it, you miss the boat. You have to do all of it,” Zirkin said.
In reference to the spike in homicides in Baltimore City, Zirkin said the emphasis has to be on dealing with repeat offenders. He cited a double homicide this week in which a woman and her daughter were shot to death in their own home after someone kicked in their door.
He linked the “March For Our Lives” movement, in which students led nationwide demonstrations after the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and said, “We should be marching for them, too.”
