A group of Democratic leaders and lawmakers in Maryland announced Friday that the state would receive $5.1 million in federal funding for its gun violence prevention programs.
A press release from Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the money would come from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG). It will fund the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services.
U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen along with Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Glenn Ivey, Kweisi Mfume, Jamie Raskin, Dutch Ruppersberger and David Trone joined in the announcement.
The delegation said funding will help develop and implement evidence-based violence prevention and intervention programs. Funding will go to court and law enforcement gun retrieval programs, crisis response and behavioral health deflection programs, among others.
“This funding makes critical investments in resources and programs to pave the way for earlier intervention and better targeting of the complex factors that lead to gun violence,” the lawmakers said.
The lawmakers believe this grant will help curb gun violence and prevent more tragedies in Maryland.
“We will continue to secure federal resources to protect communities in Maryland and across our country,” they said.
The lawmakers helped to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in June 2022, which was “a significant step forward in addressing gun violence” in the aftermath of the shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
