Maryland opens Office of Gun Violence Prevention after Harris call to action

Maryland will open a new statewide center focused on gun violence prevention following Vice President Harris's call for state officials to confront the issue on a state-level, Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced Tuesday.

“We have got to confront this inexcusable fact that 75 percent of all homicides in Maryland are committed with a gun. This is a public safety crisis, but it’s also a public health crisis. We need to get these illegal guns off of our streets, and we will," Moore said Tuesday during a news conference.

Moore discussed how the Biden administration created the first White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention last September and how Harris last month called on state leaders to mimic this office on a statewide level.

Her recommendations were part of a wider list of recommended gun safety measures for state leaders.

"Today Maryland is choosing to assert its leadership in that space and in that goal," Moore said.

Maryland is the first state to take action in response to the recommendation, according to Rob Wilcox, the deputy director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Wilcox applauded the new office, calling the issue of gun violence a "public health crisis."

"Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in America. And as President Biden says, this is not normal," Wilcox said Tuesday, adding later, "What we need is an ecosystem where the federal government has agencies, has partners at the state level, at the local level so we can make sure important funding dollars and government priorities get to where they need to go."

Wilcox said state-level offices will allow the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention to have points of contact in states that have the same ability as they do to tackle gun violence.

The announcement comes a day before the Maryland General Assembly is expected to gather for its 90-day legislative session. The governor on Tuesday laid out two other safety bills, including legislation for increasing public safety apprenticeships to help curb the shortage of law enforcement officers.

“We have a responsibility to recruit, train and retain quality law officers. This legislation will build stronger pipelines to law enforcement jobs for all Marylanders, even those who do not pursue a four-year college degree,” Moore said. “And as we contend with workforce shortages across our public safety agencies, this bill will help us get more boots on the ground and help us to keep the boots that we already have.”

The third bill is aimed at compensation of crime victims with the goal of breaking the "cycles of violence," in the community, Moore said.

"When people feel safe and feel like justice will be served and we have a better change of getting convictions and actually closing cases. And by forging stronger bonds with victims of crime, we can help break the cycles of violence in our communities," the Maryland governor said.