Baltimore is a dangerous place, with a homicide rate just slightly below that of St. Louis, the American city where you face the highest odds of becoming a murder victim. Something to consider if you are thinking about moving to Baltimore because you have been offered a job there. At, for instance, Johns Hopkins.
Or, perhaps, you are a bright high school senior applying for admission to elite universities. Will Hopkins be on your list? Or will you pass, not because the school doesn’t measure up but because you fear you might be shot down crossing the street there, on your way to class?
It is a question worth thinking about, according to an exceedingly successful and generous Hopkins alum.
Michael Bloomberg believes that security at his alma mater is insufficient. There is a university police force but its members are not armed. Bloomberg, according to this report in the Baltimore Sun, wants to change that and says so plainly.
Bloomberg is, of course, famously anti-gun and has backed up his words with his money. Of which there is plenty. He has given lavishly in the cause of gun control and is easily capable of outspending the NRA, which he appears willing to do.
… called Students Against Private Police expressed dissatisfaction with Bloomberg’s remarks. In a statement, the group said Bloomberg’s support for a private, armed police force is at odds with his other work to promote gun control.
Those parts of Baltimore that are outside the jurisdiction of the Hopkins security force will no doubt remain dangerous and hostile to ordinary good citizens going about the business of their lives. They will be reduced to depending on the Baltimore police who have, demonstrably, failed at protecting them.
They can be vulnerable constantly and victims all too often or they can look to their own self-defense. Which means arming themselves against the predators.
It takes a hard and elite heart to say they shouldn’t be permitted this choice.