“I’m Mad As Hell” | Governor Hogan demands action from lawmakers to combat violent crime in Baltimore

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan did not hold back in a recent interview, saying “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to let up” in reaction to a lack of action from state lawmakers who have yet to consider a series of bills to combat violent crime in Baltimore.

Governor Hogan recently appeared on WBAL’s “The C4 Show” to discuss the need to pass his legislation to address the violent crime crisis in Baltimore City.

During the interview, Governor Hogan expressed grave frustration over the fact that state lawmakers have yet to consider his crime package that includes tougher sentences for violent offenders with guns, stronger penalties for criminals who intimidate witnesses, and more transparency to hold judges accountable for their sentencing decisions.

“I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to let up,” Governor Hogan said. “I’m as frustrated as anyone else because I have been trying to do something for five years but I’m not getting a whole lot of support and not getting a lot of folks that are actually focused on the real problem.”

The state legislature has yet to consider the Governor’s legislation to tackle the violent crime crisis in Baltimore, instead largely focusing their efforts on a massive education funding proposal led by the Kirwan Commission.

It’s been well over a month since Governor Hogan introduced the crime package, which he said the legislature has ignored for over 42 days while dozens have been killed on the streets of Baltimore.

“We have a tough crime package that we submitted to the legislature that nearly everyone in the city supports, everyone in the state supports, which we can talk about,” Governor Hogan continued. “Instead, for 42 days, the legislature has ignored that legislation. Just since they’ve been in session, 38 more people have been killed and 59 more people have been shot while they’ve done nothing about crime.”

Governor Hogan vowed to continue his fight to pass the crime package and crack down on the criminals who are terrorizing and murdering city residents at an alarming rate.

“I’m going to keep hammering this, not because I want to disagree or have a fight with them, but because I want to stop people from being killed in the city,” Governor Hogan stated. “We have more people murdered in Baltimore City, we have 600,000 people, than in New York City with 8,600,000 people. We’re the murder capital of America. I mean, it’s crazy.”