Legislation

Sweeping gun-control legislation faces a battle in the Maryland Senate while the House of Delegates launches hearings on an assault-rifle ban, limitations on ammunition and the licensing of handgun owners. We continue our post-Newtown discussions with Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and one of the nation’s leading experts on firearms. He has briefed Maryland lawmakers on his research on illegal gun sales, and best ways to keep guns away from criminals and to reduce violence.

February 22, 2013

Negotiations.mp3

The debate over tightening restrictions on who can own a gun in Maryland reaches into mental health-issues.State Health Secretary Joshua Sharfstein talks about how the governor’s proposal tries to protect the gun rights of those with mental problems.

How has wine evolved over thousands of years? We talk with "Inventing Wine" Author Paul Lukacs.

How do you apply the principles of feng shui to a cemetery? We visits the new Garden of Tranquility at Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Baltimore County.

Can human traffickers be discouraged by the threat of law enforcement seizing the proceeds? Delegate Kathleen Dumais of Rockville has proposed an asset forfeiture bill three years running; it has died in committee. We discuss her chances of it passing this session.

Do you see purple?  As the Ravens get ready for the Super Bowl, our in-house amateur economists analyze fluctuations in the Purple Economy.

The American Library Association announced some prestigious children’s literature awards this week. Librarian Paula Willey tells us what won and what was skipped.

President Obama has proposed sweeping reforms to limit firearms violence in America. How much public support will the Obama administration enjoy against the organized and well-financed opposition of the gun lobby? What effect will the president’s actions have on Maryland and other states that enact gun control legislation of their own?

Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse L. Jackson was in Baltimore recently to protest the state’s plans to build a $70 million juvenile detention facility here. The facility, supported by the O'Malley administration, would hold teenagers who have been charged as adults. These teens are now being housed at the Baltimore City Detention Center, in the same building where adult inmates are held. We report the state's position on the need for the jail and hear from two activists who oppose it: the Rev.

In the aftermath of the deadliest elementary-school shooting in the nation's history, what saddened and outraged Americans can do to keep more gun massacres from occurring. Guests: Colin Goddard, a survivor of the Virgina Tech massacre and now with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; and Brad Sachs, Columbia-based family psychologist and author of books on adolescents and young adults.

Baltimore’s unemployment rate has lingered stubbornly in the double-digits for most of this year. As of September, the latest breakout available, it stood at 10.2 percent – down just three-tenths percent in a year.