DC and Maryland Attorneys General cracking down on interstate gun trafficking

WASHINGTON — The D.C. and Maryland Attorneys General are working together to crack down on illegal gun trafficking.

The pair is scheduled to announce a joint action at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the US District Court.

Scheduled to speak are DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, the executive director  of Everytown Law Eric Tirschwell, and the founder of The TraRon Center Ryane Nickens, which works with kids growing up around gun violence.

Founder of Peace Walks DC and longtime anti-violence activist, Pastor Delonte Gholston, said regional efforts like this one are critical.

"Gun violence does not know a jurisdiction. Gun violence does not stop and say, 'Oh, let me let me pause right here. I just got to the Maryland line. Oh, let me stop. I just got to the D.C. line.' That's definitely not how that works," Gholston said. "I think it's very important that we take a regional approach to this, because the reality is, a lot of folks who are being pushed out of D.C. due to gentrification are being just pushed right into Prince George's County because it's where they can afford.

He said communities and governments alike have to address the problem from a holistic point of view.

"[We need to deal] with the underlying causes of violence, the underlying pressures that cause people to be forced out of the city in the first place, and to deal with the root causes of poverty, the root causes of unemployment, the root causes of lack of access to quality health care, mental health care, the root causes of violence that that we know are alienation, isolation, and desperation, and anything we can do to really curtail those things regionally is going to make all of us have a better quality of life," Pastor Gholston said.

From Aug. 19 Aug. 26, police said they took 53 guns off the street, including ghost guns, high caliber handguns, rifles, and more.

Violent crime however has decreased compared to last year, according to police data.

It shows a 36% decrease in violent crime and 29% decrease in homicides.

There is a disconnect, however, with people who are still exposed to daily gun violence.

“Like anybody else, I'm glad to see the numbers going down, and yet, in a lot of our communities, a lot of our neighborhoods, you know, we are still seeing a high impact on a daily basis from community violence," Pastor Gholston said. "So it really depends on where you live, what your zip code is, what your street address is, as to whether or not you actually see a real time in real life reduction in violence."