Baltimore County Police Chief Joins National Call For Tighter Gun Control
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- In the wake of the Aurora shooting, Colorado is reporting a spike in gun sales and permit applications. But one law enforcement group wants stronger gun measures.
Gigi Barnett explains one of the top cops in that group is Baltimore County's chief of police.
The Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo. became a crime scene last week, and family of victims continue to mourn.
But now in light of the mass shooting, thousands of miles away in the nation's capital, police chiefs from around the country are calling for tighter gun control.
"We've been derelict in our national response to gun violence. And for that reason the law enforcement community is united, like they have not been in decades," said Hubert Williams, president of the National Law Enforcement Partnership.
In a matter of days since the shooting that left 12 dead and dozens wounded, the state of Colorado is seeing an uptick in gun sales, permit applications and visits to gun ranges.
Nine major law enforcement organizations are teaming up asking lawmakers-- Republicans and Democrats-- to strengthen the nation's gun laws with tougher background checks for buyers and ban high-capacity ammunition magazines like the one used by Colorado shooter James Holmes.
"All across America, we've also seen violent offenders arming themselves with high-capacity ammunition magazines that have no purpose other than to inflict massive damage," Chief James Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department said.
Johnson is the incoming president of the NLEP. While Maryland already has strong laws controlling the sale of ammunition, other states don't, making it easy for criminals to find loopholes.
"It is clear we are not doing enough. America, we are not doing enough to keep guns out of the wrong hands," Johnson said.
Congress hasn't passed strict legislation on gun control in more than a decade.
