Mayor Bowser Proposes Tougher Gun Penalties In New Legislation
Mayor Bowser Proposes Tougher Gun Penalties & More Pretrial Detention In New Legislation
Source: Kevin Dietsch / Getty
Mayor Muriel Bowser wants to make it easier to hold criminal suspects in custody, toughen the laws against possessing firearms, and create additional barriers for those convicted of major crimes to be released from prison early.
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The ideas are part of a larger package of legislation aimed at enhancing public safety that the mayor presented this afternoon. According to the police, a string of break-ins have harmed local businesses. Bowser expressed her hope that the measure would be enacted into law by the D.C. Council this summer.
Bowser’s bill, which she referred to as “common sense legislation,” lays out her ideas for tackling the city’s public safety issues going ahead. The bill would do the following:
– Increase penalties for crimes that target certain populations, including residents with physical and mental impairments, transit and for-hire vehicle workers, transit passengers, and people at rec centers
– Increase penalties for illegal gun possession
– Make strangulation a felony assault
– Make it easier for judges to deny the petitions of people seeking reduced sentences after 15 years in prison
– Give judges more discretion to have children accused of crimes detained ahead of trial
– Increase the amount of reimbursement residents can get for installing private security cameras outside their homes
– Require the city’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to release more data on the city’s criminal justice system and juvenile justice system.
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