Desperado! Civil Martial Law in Baltimore?!

Have we seen this before? Another law-and-order legislation that really does nothing about the root causes of crime?

"Desperate measures are needed when we're in desperate situations," said City Council Vice President Robert W. Curran, the bill's author. "What I'm trying to do is give the mayor additional tools."

By introducing the legislation, Curran - who is an ally of Dixon - is promoting increased enforcement at a time when City Hall is moving in the opposite direction, shifting away from zero tolerance and toward an approach that focuses more attention on individual criminals. Dixon has sought to ease tension between police and residents who feel the city's past arrest policies were overzealous.

In addition to closing businesses in the zones, the bill would permit police to limit the number of people who could gather on sidewalks, in streets or in other outdoor areas. It would prohibit the sale and possession of weapons, though Curran acknowledged that weapons used by criminals are almost always already obtained illegally. Zones could be established solely by the mayor, initially for a two weeks, with the option to renew indefinitely.

Mr. Curran, I bet you know the real root causes of crime: drug selling, poverty, underfunded schools, isolated and disadvantaged neighborhood. But you do not really care do you? You just placed that legislation just earn political points. Proof that politicians these days are more interested in maintaining problems rather than resolving them completely. Because if they solve them, these politicians would have no purpose.