Some Baltimore thug on the good use of guns during civil unrest
by digby
A thug who used to be Governor. This is just disgusting:
Former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich this morning used a strikingly mild characterization of the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, calling it “a case where maybe somebody screwed up.” Ehrlich, speaking on WMAL radio, added that “you have to let the process play itself out.” By contrast, Ehrlich emotionally condemned city residents who engaged in looting or arson, saying, “The way you don’t react is to trash somebody’s business and place police lives in danger. It loses all sense of credibility, all sense, none, zero, no rationalizations here, no excuses, no defense.”
Ehrlich’s response was elicited by a question from one of the hosts of Mornings on the Mall about riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968: “It was different then, wasn’t it? Because there were some people who stood on corners with shotguns, and entire neighborhoods were protected, were they not?”
Yes, that solved the problem. Here’s what actually happened:
Six people died, 700 were injured, and 5,800 were arrested. 1000 small businesses were damaged or robbed. Property damages, assessed financially, were more severe in DC ($15 million) and Baltimore ($12 million) than in any other cities. Most damage was done within the rioters’ own neighborhoods.
In addition, an active Army soldier died in a traffic accident while redeploying from the city. Rioters set more than 1,200 fires during the disturbance. Damage was estimated at over $12 million (equivalent to $77.5 million today).
Of the arrests, 3,488 were for curfew violations, 955 for burglary, 665 for looting, 391 for assault, and 5 for arson.
Guns don’t improve things in these situations unless you think it’s a good idea to start spraying crowds with gunfire. Most people don’t think that. Only thugs do.
Meanwhile, let’s hope that little Freddie Gray “screw-up” doesn’t result in any cops being unfairly charged with brutality. After all, if you get the attention of a police officer you should expect to have your spine severed on the way to jail. I’m pretty sure that’s right there in the Bill of Rights.
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